Posted by LynnPerley on April 21, 2006, at 22:24:02
In reply to Positive experiences with Effexor, Anyone?, posted by Violetskyye on April 18, 2006, at 20:36:21
Violetskyye - EffexorXR was the second med I tried, after giving up Prozac due to excessive bruxism (jaw clenching). I still take Effexor, but in a combination. I started taking it about 3 and a half years ago. I have a seizure history, so I can't take Wellbutrin, otherwise, I would probably not have taken Effexor at all.
The thing about Effexor is that it seems to be dose dependent and you can't jump right in at a high dose. I have taken from 37.5 to 300 mg a day. It is more stimulating at some doses and more sedating at others. At one point I took generic Ritalin to offset the sedating effect. You have to be able to pay close attention to how it affects you. It had a tendency to demotivate me, and I think I went about 6 months before I realized it was too sedating/demotivating. I think I forgot what it felt like to have motivation - but I certainly wasn't depressed, and I was more functional than I had been before. I set my psydoc appointments too far apart and I wasn't very self aware.
Withdrawal is certainly a problem. I tried going off it and could not go below 75mg at all. We added back the Prozac because I said I would deal with the bruxism just to get some motivation back. Going from 150mg to 75mg while taking prozac (and not abusing alcohol) has been very easy. I'm going to stay at this level for a few more months, then try to get off the Effexor entirely if I can.
Also - one time I went on a weekend trip and forgot my Effexor. I bummed some Celexa from a relative, and it got me through the weekend, although I felt a little weird.
Let us know what you do. Are you seeing a general doc or a psydoc?
poster:LynnPerley
thread:634595
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060417/msgs/635710.html