Posted by Minnie-Haha on January 25, 2005, at 17:55:43
In reply to Re: Has anyone had success on Effexor, posted by dancingstar on January 25, 2005, at 14:21:19
I went and did some Google-ing and Yahoo-ing to see what I could find -- good or bad -- about Effexor, and aside from about a b-zillion sites that are hawking drugs online, I found a pretty wide mix of glowing testimonials, horror stories, and everything in between. The EffexorXR.com web site itself has an "Important Safety Information" statement at the bottom of the pages I clicked on. It says *IN PART* that common side effects include "anorexia, constipation, dizziness, dry mouth, insomnia, nausea, nervousness, sexual side effects, sleepiness, sweating, and weakness." It warns that when you suddenly stop takng or lower your daily dose that discontinuation symptoms may occur. It says to talk to your doctor before discontinuing or reducing your dose of Effexor XR.
At Askapatient.com 423 respondents rated Effexor XR:
96 (23%) were Very Satisfied with it
117 (28%) were Satisfied
102 (24%) were Somewhat Satisfied
39 (9%) were Not Satisfied
70 (16%) were DissatisfiedThe overwhelming majority had taken it for depression and/or anxiety. I'm not sure what time period the survey covers, but the main page is copyrighted 2004. The link is at http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=20699&name=EFFEXOR%20XR
Once again, it is my opinion that Effexor may be a bad drug for some people, and that it is also a good drug for others, just like all drugs discussed on this board. It certainly has a slew of potential side effects -- like other drugs discussed here -- and a potential for nasty discontinuation or "withdrawal" effects -- also like other drugs discussed here.
Has Wyeth known from the start what may be "bad" about the drug, or disclosed everything it knows about what may be bad? I don't know. But I do think it has been and continues to be good for many, many people.
poster:Minnie-Haha
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050124/msgs/447623.html