Posted by NikkiT2 on October 26, 2002, at 10:21:03
I'm posting this on behalf of a friend, hope someone can give her a batter answer than I could!!!
_____
Can you help me with a question over response to medication - might it
> indicate bi-polar tendencies or drug dependency/addiction?I'm currently taking 300mg Efexor (Venlafaxine XL) daily in divided dose.
>
> I am finding the current cycle with the medication I am on: I hit a very
low
> patch so I up the dose, I feel wonderful, great, fantastic, on top of the
> world for a while, then it levels off, then I crash again, so I up the
dose
> and the cycle starts again. The whole cycle lasts a few months with the
> 'high' lasting a few weeks.
>
> Also I have noticed the following: if I miss a dose (and I am taking it
split
> throughout the day even though it is an extended release version as this
> seems to help) I really notice it in that my mood drops and I get
lethargic
> and lose all energy and get black thoughts. When I take the dose it takes
at
> least an hour and then it 'kicks in' and I feel great again.
>
> Are these normal responses to a drug that is meant to have a long half
life
> and be a slow release version at that? There have been questions raised as
> to whether I am bi-polar, might this contribute to my experiences? Or is
it
> a kind of dependency, in that I need a 'fix' to keep me happy? I am on a
> high enough dose as it is, I am worried about what will happen when I need
> to increase it again.
>
> I am not seeing a psychiatrist at the moment so there is noone I could ask
> the above who might know.
>
> Thank you very much.
poster:NikkiT2
thread:125293
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021025/msgs/125293.html