Posted by zinya on July 18, 2003, at 15:49:18
In reply to Effexor XR for menopause?, posted by rdeoldy2 on July 17, 2003, at 19:14:24
Hi Christie,
I wasn't sure whether to say this or not, cuz i really know nothing about the various uses Effexor might be for that i'm ignorant of, but I must say i reacted a lot like Mercedes did to your post. Because I am right now at 100 mg of Effexor (my fifth level of increase, taking it much more slowly than 'normal') but at each stage and again now, my single biggest side effect at each stage has been inordinate sweating and feeling heat in ways i haven't before in my life, i thought "yikes! this would seem to make menopausal symptoms worse not better!"
However, I hasten to add that we've all learned this drug affects each of us differently and often in opposite ways (makes one sleepy, the other insomniac, etc.). So it's possible that it could also have an opposite effect on someone who's already experiencing hot flashes. Who knows. One would *hope* your doctor would know enough to only have prescribed it based on such knowledge. But we also know there are a lot of careless doctors who just don't know enough or think things through enough, so i too would urge you to find out more, talk to your pharmacist, talk again to your doctor, etc.
But also if you do go off, make sure even at low dosage, that you go off very slowly. Some people go off from the lowest level (37.5) by taking one every other day for a while. Others of us open up a capsule and divide granules as a way of tapering up or down, so you could do that with 75 mg capsules too, but do NOT stop taking 75 mg cold turkey if you do quit.
good luck! and let us know how it goes and what you learn more about this,
zinya
> This is my 4th day on Effexor, 75mg. I am not depressed, but had a hysterectomy when I was 24 and have really bad hot flashes from it. I was on Celexa for the hot flashes, but it stopped working so I was switched to Effexor. I was wondering if anyone else is taking it for his reason?
>
> Christie
poster:zinya
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030718/msgs/243253.html