Posted by Marginal on October 23, 2002, at 19:43:48
In reply to Re: Sleeeeeeepy on Effexor XR today. Any advice?, posted by Mr Cushing on October 22, 2002, at 15:45:26
So, kelranji, you were taking the XR for 7 plus weeks, went through the sleepiness/spaciness side effects, and THEN the medicine kicked in?
I'm hearing stories of this nature regarding Effexor, where it shows a flicker in the first 10 days or so, and then sputters; next, at weeks 2 and 3 (and possibly beyond) come the side effects (everything we know so well, PLUS a uniquely virulent fatigue and sense of being 'out of it'); only THEN -- after 4 weeks or longer -- does the medicine kick in the way it should. A state resembling remission. Or so I hear.
This has been a problem for me with Effexor: I'll lose patience sitting through the side effect phase, not knowing whether the fog will ever clear for me, as it does for so many others with this med. Abruptly, I'll go off the medicine in frustration. A lifelong battle with this demon doesn't make for much patience. Since its introduction, I’ve gone through this pattern perhaps 4 times with Effexor: start on it, ramp up the dose, and never ‘stick it out’ more than 6 weeks.
Just recently, I went off Effexor during the heavy stage of side effects, giving the whole trial about 4 weeks. [I know, this is abysmal; I was trying it again in a last attempt to break a particularly vile and resilient depression after getting discouraged with the ‘better than nothing’ effects of the SSRIs]
Going off the Effexor made my depression much worse, to the point of considering ECT (see other posts).
But over the past two weeks of getting Effexor out of my system, we've thrown in some Remeron, which is OK. But it's meant just to stabilize, as we decide what to try next...
Just a ramble...thanks for the ears...and eyes
poster:Marginal
thread:124728
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021019/msgs/124928.html