Posted by Penny on March 5, 2002, at 15:30:54
In reply to Re: URGENT HELP REQUIRED!!!, posted by Angel Girl on March 5, 2002, at 14:04:52
Angel Girl,
Forgive me if I'm repeating myself, as I could have sworn I had already responded to your most recent post, but anyway...
I am no longer on Effexor. Took it for a year and went off b/c I was doing 'okay' then went back on 6 months later and couldn't tolerate it. But I must say, for the year I was on it, I felt more balanced than I had in a really really long time. And I was frustrated that it didn't work the second time around.
I had responded to your post of "What can I expect from Effexor XR???" yesterday, regarding the suicidal ideations, etc. In general, my thoughts are that 225 mgs might be too much for you, as you are having what seem to be pretty bad side effects, which could mean that you're not tolerating the Effexor as well as you could. It could also be that Effexor is not the med for you...meaning that, of course, we all react differently to different meds and you might want to try something else. For example, I was recently on Paxil, got up to 80 mgs, with a Wellbutrin augmentation, and instead of helping my anxiety & depression, it made it worse. But I know people who would swear by it. So...
As for the suicidal ideations, I agree with much of what's been posted on the board, which is to talk to your pdoc about an antipsychotic (I took Seroquel). Supposedly, they're supposed to help with suicidal ideations, though I honestly can't say it helped me, but I was on a very low dosage, more for sleep purposes.
I don't know your history of what meds you've tried, full diagnosis, etc., so this is the best advice I have given the info I have. Hope it helps, at least a little! Please keep me posted on how you're doing.
Penny
> Penny
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> That is EXACTLY how I'm feeling now. I'm ExTREMELY 'woozy' dizzy. I'm holding onto walls when I walk. I think I'll go and lie down and go to bed early tonight. I can handle this if this is as bad as it's going to get. I just was very anxious that I would actually go through some major withdrawal symptoms and I was not looking forward to that. Thanks for replying so quickly and for your advice.
>
> BTW, do you have any side effects taking 225mg? I'm having a MAJOR problem with twitches and jerks and feel I need to drop my dosage down but unfortunately I am still having suicidal thoughts even at this level so I'm not sure what to do. My pdoc was going to actually increase my dosage to 300mg today but his office was unexpectantly closed for the day and now I don't have an appointment. I'm not sure what to do. All I know is that I need a stronger dosage for the anti-depressant effect, especially the suicidal tendencies but I can't handle the side effects now. So, I was curious since you're taking the same dosage, what you're experience is. Are you taking other meds too??? What side effects are you having???
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> Angel Girl
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> Renee
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> I can't remember exactly when I started this dosage. I know it wasn't the same day I picked up my prescription. I had already thought of counting the remainder of what is left in the bottle but I don't think I'll know by doing that. Thx for that advice, it would have been an easy way to figure it out had I started it the same day I picked up my prescription.
>
> Angel Girl
poster:Penny
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020301/msgs/96557.html