Posted by SandyWeb on March 13, 2007, at 12:21:24
In reply to Effexor Experiences?, posted by Sandra62 on March 11, 2007, at 20:57:52
Hi Sandra (gotta love the name!! (*smile*)
I've been on Effexor XR 225 mg for a short while. I had a miserable time adjusting to the 75 mg and finally had to stop. But my problem (or maybe I should say my "non-problem") has always been serotonin. Just leave my serotnin alone because it is fine just at the level that it is, and causes all sorts of weird thoughts and actions when too much starts bouncing around in my head!
It takes 3 days for Effexor XR to reach steady state, so I went back to 75 mg for ONE day, then did 150 mg for 4-5 days, and now I'm holding steady at 225 mg. Most of the impact is upon the norepinephrine rather than the serototin, and I do SOOO much better with that neurotransmittor. That is why all the SSRIs didn't work, and Remeron was my all-time favorite AD (except for the tremendous weight gain, which made me have to stop it and now switch to Effexor XR).
On 225 mg I do not feel doped, sluggish, unmotivated, sick, suicidal, or even depressed anymore. And I know that if the depression returns at some point, I still can increase my dosage. I can't say that is has helped my anxiety any, BUT....at 75 mg it actually made it worse. My startle reflex came back big time, and my body was tense whenever I heard someone near my apartment, and my tummy was tight. But at 225 mg, I don't have those symtoms anymore. And I was even on clonazepam (and still am), and it didn't help at all when I was on 75 mg of Effexor XR.
The only "bad" point I can make about the Effexor XR is that it does cause more problems with my sleep (and I take it first thing in the morning). I have insomnia, among other things, and even with the clonazepam I still don't sleep very well at all. But what else is new, right? I'm willing to put up with it just to be out of the pit and not be suicidal anymore.
Take care!
God bless,
Sandy
poster:SandyWeb
thread:740260
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070308/msgs/740695.html