Posted by CincyJack on October 27, 2001, at 0:54:13
Thought I would share my experience with Effexor after having been on it for 8 months. My interest in posting is partially motivated by my first significant experience with accidental withdrawal.
To level set any newcomers, I will briefly and simply state that Effexor was recommended by my psych doctor after I had a particularly nasty panic attack followed by weeks of insomnia and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). I had been treated for depression about 5 years ago with Prozac and did not like the way it made me feel after my initial weepiness was alleviated. Depression is all over my father's side of the family and my sister takes meds as well.
Effexor has been basically good for me. Some loss of libido and some sort of weird prostate side effects but since I have not been in a relationship, this has not been a show stopper. Not as bad as Prozac was.
I did get relief from my symptoms and began to sleep soundly in short order. As the medecine stabilized, I felt good and realized I had been experienceing more depressive thoughts prior to the panic attack than I had realized. Or maybe I just thought I would have to tough it out...
I noticed at first when working out in the gym that my body had a sort of tingley or energized feeling, even in the muscles, that was not at all unpleasant. In fact, I felt REALLY GOOD. That has subsided over time and I feel, shall I dare say, normal.
The most aggravating side effect is similar to what I experienced with Prozac - memory loss. It's not like the memories are permanently lost, more like I simply cannot access them as quickly or at will as I can when not taking antidepressants. I am 47 and colleagues have suggested it's a sign of age but there is no doubt that Effexor impairs my memory. This is troubling mainly in my line of work but also frustrating as I grope in conversation sometimes for memories that should be right there (Where did I go on vacation this summer?). Eventually I can remember but it's just not with the same snap. I cope at work by writing notes to myself.
Today I had my first real experience with the dreaded Effexor withdrawal. I think I might have actually missed two doses, yesterday morning and this morning. I have only missed a dose one other time and I simply took a half measure when I got home from work. Not too bad by 6 PM. I usually take an XR at about 7:30 A.M.
Last night I was at the gym and I felt really funny, very lightheaded with short bursts of dizziness. I think now that I forgot a dose yesterday but.. I can't remember. I woke up this morning feeling very, very tired, as if I could have slept another three hours. I went to work and I'm 90% certain (now) that I missed another dose. I was a bit of a space cadet at work and felt that dizzy, half-faint feeling. No electric spikes but my ears were ringing a bit. I thought I was getting the flu, coughing, just starting to feel like I had a bug.
But as my ears were ringing and I thought about how I was feeling, I realized this is sort of how I felt the only other time I missed a dose. So, when I got home, I took the standard 150 mg. and laid down for a bit. I am happy to say I felt much better 2.5 hours later. It is true, you don't want to quit this stuff cold turkey. Rather uncomfortable. Not sure how much worse it would have gotten.
I just wanted to share this experience in the interest of helping newcomers make reasoned judgements. Sometimes I think there is a bit of hysteria on this site. These drugs work in different ways for different people. Personally, I will stick with Effexor for the near future because it works for me and other than the memory lapses that I suspect would be common to all serotonin enhancers for me, the drug does not have any other really irritating side effects.
Best of luck to everyone. This site was useful to me when I was put back on meds.
poster:CincyJack
thread:82422
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011025/msgs/82422.html