Posted by Ritch on October 20, 2002, at 14:16:30
In reply to Can Effexor alter personality?, posted by caitline on October 19, 2002, at 19:20:46
> My spouse has been taking 75mg of Effexor XR for over a year. His body could only handle 75mg because of it's over-sensativity. However I have noticed his behavior patterns have changed. He's more of a loner. He has far more extreame mood swings. Has next to no patients or tolorence for anything. He doesn't seem to care about the consequences of his actions. He's more careless. Physically; he has frequent headaches and stomach related problems. However I'm more concerned about the behavior changes and I wondered if anyone on Effexor has noticed any of these characteristics of themselves after going on Effexor.
Has his doctor excluded the possibility of bipolar disorder? Antidepressants (by themselves) can cause bipolars to become more unstable rather than less. He also could be undertreated (as Phil mentioned), and may need to be switched to a different med (that he can tolerate) at a therapeutic dosage. It sounds like the Effexor has increased his apathy and made him more angry. Serotonergic AD's can be very disinhibiting and *worsen* impulsiveness in some folks. I can't handle more than a tiny amount of serotonergic meds. What are his mood swings like on the *upside*? What is his sleeping like?
poster:Ritch
thread:124292
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021019/msgs/124381.html