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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by shan on January 7, 2000, at 15:01:19
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by Noa on January 7, 2000, at 5:23:25
i'm kinda scared to take lithium, any info that might help? would be greatly appreciated.
thanx :)
Posted by Noa on January 7, 2000, at 16:08:50
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by shan on January 7, 2000, at 15:01:19
> i'm kinda scared to take lithium, any info that might help? would be greatly appreciated.
> thanx :)
I was, too. About 3 years ago or so, my doc introduced the idea to me, but I did not want to go there. He said he understood. Since I hadn't tried what I considered to be less "serious" medications at that time, at least in combo, I thought I didn't really need to consider lithium. Well, more recently it has become clear that I need something of a different class than the usual drugs, both to augment the AD effect, and to address what appears to be a cycling aspect of my depression.So, I started the lithium. I asked a lot of questions here and had a bunch of tests done, spoke with my GP about my overall health and the appropriateness of lithium, etc. She agreed it was a good idea to try it.
So far, it is ok. The lithium has had none of the usual sorts of side effects, like drowsiness, headache, etc. The main problem is the annoyance of having to pee a lot, and being thirsty all the time. But I am getting used to it.
As far as safety, my doc has had me get blood levels twice. The first time (at dose of 900 per day) my level was low, 0.5. I just took another blood test yesterday. When I get the results, I will let you know. My doc does not like to go above 1.0, even tho it has been customary to treat bipolar disorder above that. Toxic levels are something like 1.5. What my doc does is combine lithium with another mood stabilizer, like neurontin, depakote, or lamictal, so the person doesn't have to keep lithium levels up close to toxicity. I think the aim for me is around 0.8.
When we decided to go the route of a mood stabilizer, I asked why he prefered lithium. His response, and incidentally, my GP had the same response, was that lithium is a better known entity and has a good record of producing a good antidepressant effect.
S. Suggs wrote that he has been taking lithium for three years and is happy with how it works.
Where are you at in your thinking/decision making? Are you looking at lithium for augmentation of the effexor xr? Do you have bipolar symptoms in addition to the depression?
Posted by shan on January 8, 2000, at 21:32:30
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by Noa on January 7, 2000, at 16:08:50
well, i thought that i just had depression.
i had a few manic episodes here and there, then all of a sudden i became more manic than depressed. i started scaring my friends and family. for now i'm taking 300mg effexor xr along with 2 mg klonopin too keep the manic episodes down. in a couple weeks i think that i will try out the lithium, i just need more time to think. i read Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel, and i think that's what kind of scared me. thanx for replying, keep in touch.
Posted by Cindy W on January 11, 2000, at 9:14:46
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by saint james on January 11, 2000, at 0:50:35
Have been on Effexor-XR for about l l/2 months now. Recently increased to 225 mg/day. It seems to give me more energy and makes me feel less hopeless, but I feel kind of agitated and restless. Does not seem to have the sexual side effects that Prozac, Luvox, and Zoloft did, but doesn't reduce the social anxiety like Serzone did. It seems to have some effect on OCD (I feel like I'm spending less energy and time obsessing about things). --Cindy W
Posted by Noa on January 11, 2000, at 22:03:41
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by Cindy W on January 11, 2000, at 9:14:46
Cindy, I also have felt some kind of jitteriness from the effexor xr, but with my current dose of serzone (225 mg.), I notice the jitteriness is gone, I guess because of the sedating qualities of the serzone. BTW, I take 375 mg of effexor xr.
Posted by Cindy W on January 11, 2000, at 22:18:51
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by Noa on January 11, 2000, at 22:03:41
> Cindy, I also have felt some kind of jitteriness from the effexor xr, but with my current dose of serzone (225 mg.), I notice the jitteriness is gone, I guess because of the sedating qualities of the serzone. BTW, I take 375 mg of effexor xr.
Noa, thanks for letting me know about your taking both Effexor and Serzone. I'd like to ask my psychdoc about combining them, when I go see him at the end of this month, because I suspect that would be a good combination for me too. Right now, I only take 225 mg/day of Effexor. I used to take 450 mg/day of Serzone. Hope things are working out well for you.--Cindy W
Posted by Noa on January 11, 2000, at 22:30:09
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by Cindy W on January 11, 2000, at 22:18:51
thanks, Cindy. I also take cytomel and synthroid, as well as methylphenidate, and started lithium last month. I think I am doing better because of the lithium. But I am also working hard in therapy to try to understand the psychological aspects of my depression. I sometimes wish the medication would do it all, but I know that isn't how it works.
Posted by TANYA on January 14, 2000, at 10:48:44
In reply to Re: starting effexor... keep posting.. success/dosage?, posted by lg on November 7, 1999, at 19:11:05
Hi, I have just started taking effexor xr and I have only been on it for 3 days. I had been suffering from mild depression and sleeplessness. My dr. has also given me tryodozone for sleeping at night. it really helps and I wake up feeling refreshed after sleep. I don't have much of an appetite which to me feels good because I need to loose some weight. The only concern that I have is that I get severely tired during the day when taking the effexor xr the dr. said he wants me to take it during the day so that it will give me energy, but i haven't experienced that yet. I know it's only been 3 days, but am worried that I don't want to feel this exhausted during the day while taking it. Did anyone else experience this and if so how long before it went away?
thanks,
tanya
Posted by RG on January 14, 2000, at 12:14:30
In reply to JUST STARTED TAKING EFFEXOR XR, posted by TANYA on January 14, 2000, at 10:48:44
> Hi, I have just started taking effexor xr and I have only been on it for 3 days. I had been suffering from mild depression and sleeplessness. My dr. has also given me tryodozone for sleeping at night. it really helps and I wake up feeling refreshed after sleep. I don't have much of an appetite which to me feels good because I need to loose some weight. The only concern that I have is that I get severely tired during the day when taking the effexor xr the dr. said he wants me to take it during the day so that it will give me energy, but i haven't experienced that yet. I know it's only been 3 days, but am worried that I don't want to feel this exhausted during the day while taking it. Did anyone else experience this and if so how long before it went away?
> thanks,
> tanyaIt goes away! But not for 5 weeks with me. Don't worry about it, just take a nap or relax more and let it pass with time. It will pass once you adjust.
Posted by Cindy W on January 14, 2000, at 21:23:34
In reply to Re: JUST STARTED TAKING EFFEXOR XR, posted by RG on January 14, 2000, at 12:14:30
> > Hi, I have just started taking effexor xr and I have only been on it for 3 days. I had been suffering from mild depression and sleeplessness. My dr. has also given me tryodozone for sleeping at night. it really helps and I wake up feeling refreshed after sleep. I don't have much of an appetite which to me feels good because I need to loose some weight. The only concern that I have is that I get severely tired during the day when taking the effexor xr the dr. said he wants me to take it during the day so that it will give me energy, but i haven't experienced that yet. I know it's only been 3 days, but am worried that I don't want to feel this exhausted during the day while taking it. Did anyone else experience this and if so how long before it went away?
> > thanks,
> > tanya
>
> It goes away! But not for 5 weeks with me. Don't worry about it, just take a nap or relax more and let it pass with time. It will pass once you adjust.Tanya, I agree with RG...the fatigue passes. After about three weeks, I started feeling like I had much more energy. Hope it works out for you!--Cindy W
Posted by Sassy on January 17, 2000, at 17:34:07
In reply to JUST STARTED TAKING EFFEXOR XR, posted by TANYA on January 14, 2000, at 10:48:44
Hi,
After the second week for me, that tireness went away and now, I don't recognize any effects at all.
By the way, I really am pleased with the results.
Sassy
> Hi, I have just started taking effexor xr and I have only been on it for 3 days. I had been suffering from mild depression and sleeplessness. My dr. has also given me tryodozone for sleeping at night. it really helps and I wake up feeling refreshed after sleep. I don't have much of an appetite which to me feels good because I need to loose some weight. The only concern that I have is that I get severely tired during the day when taking the effexor xr the dr. said he wants me to take it during the day so that it will give me energy, but i haven't experienced that yet. I know it's only been 3 days, but am worried that I don't want to feel this exhausted during the day while taking it. Did anyone else experience this and if so how long before it went away?
> thanks,
> tanya
Posted by jacquie on January 18, 2000, at 20:30:54
In reply to Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by jp on October 24, 1999, at 14:59:14
>Hi i just started on effexor today . Am opptimistic. Hi there,
>
> Anyone care to comment on the use of Effexor? Anyone
> "happy" with it? I have tried Prozac (too much anxiety),
> Serzone (too sedating). I am currently on Buspar for anxiety.
>
> Been reading many different reports... Effexor seems
> to have a lot of success...
>
> please share your thoughts on this.
Posted by Dave on January 19, 2000, at 23:48:27
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by jacquie on January 18, 2000, at 20:30:54
> >Hi i just started on effexor today . Am opptimistic. Hi there,
> >
> > Anyone care to comment on the use of Effexor? Anyone
> > "happy" with it? I have tried Prozac (too much anxiety),
> > Serzone (too sedating). I am currently on Buspar for anxiety.
> >
> > Been reading many different reports... Effexor seems
> > to have a lot of success...
> >
> > please share your thoughts on this.Just stopped taking Effexor this past weekend. Effexor made a definite improvement in my life. Just decided it was time to row my own boat for awhile and see what happens. The situation which produced the need for an AD has been mostly resolved anyway. My wife currently takes Effexor and had tried nearly everything else with absolutely no success. If you stick with it and give it a fair trial you may quite pleased with the results. Have to say though that going off of Effexor makes the minor initial side effects seem pretty tame. I knew going in that getting off Effexor would not be fun, and it hasn't been, but the benefit to my life certainly outweighs what I am now dealing with. Hope it helps you.
Posted by juniper on January 21, 2000, at 1:34:06
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by Dave on January 20, 2000, at 23:23:02
i think that it sounds like a good idea not to stop effexor while you are not at a stable physiological place. i've taken myself off the drug a couple times for no reason other than whims, and did not have the flu-like side effects that many complain of. i do think i entered a psychological funk though where i was reclusive, withdrawn, and too introspective for my own good.
i have heard that slowly tapering the dose can help combat withdrawl effects, as can taking benedryl or other anticholergenic meds.
i think a search would pull up more suggestions hidden in the past few months archives.one little tiny whispered warning though: it is not uncommon to find a med that works, discontinue it because you feel fine, and then become depressed again. but when you retake the original med that worked for you, it doesn't give the same effects. i do not know the physiological reasons for this, but i do know that it happens somewhat regularly.
i hope that you feel better, and keep us updated on how you are doing.
juniper
Posted by EFFEXOR WITHDRAWAL on January 21, 2000, at 23:04:10
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by Dave on January 20, 2000, at 23:22:06
I have been tapering off EFFEXOR XR for 2 months now and am stuck at 75 mg, down from my high dose of 600 mg. When I try to cut down to 37.5 mg, I get terrible nausea. My doctor says just to stay on the 75 mg to prevent the nausea, but I'm not crazy about that idea. Anyone have any better ideas?
> > Just stopped taking Effexor this past weekend. Effexor made a definite improvement in my life. Just decided it was time to row my own boat for awhile and see what happens. The situation which produced the need for an AD has been mostly resolved anyway. My wife currently takes Effexor and had tried nearly everything else with absolutely no success. If you stick with it and give it a fair trial you may quite pleased with the results. Have to say though that going off of Effexor makes the minor initial side effects seem pretty tame. I knew going in that getting off Effexor would not be fun, and it hasn't been, but the benefit to my life certainly outweighs what I am now dealing with. Hope it helps you.
>
> For anyone who is interested I only lasted 5 1/2 days after stopping Effexor. Just before stopping Effexor I had taken the last bit of Vicoprofen (hydrocodone) and that didn't help things. Also dealing with a stomach virus and I assumed that all of the nausea, cramps, etc. was due to virus. This AM I felt like I was on the verge of shutdown. No sleep, leg cramps, stomach horrible, head buzzing constantly plus all the rest. Then my wife and the doc talked me into at least taking med till he can devise a plan to lessen withdrawal effects. Does weaning off Effexor make it easier?
Posted by martha on January 22, 2000, at 16:07:05
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by EFFEXOR WITHDRAWAL on January 21, 2000, at 23:04:10
> I have been tapering off EFFEXOR XR for 2 months now and am stuck at 75 mg, down from my high dose of 600 mg. When I try to cut down to 37.5 mg, I get terrible nausea. My doctor says just to stay on the 75 mg to prevent the nausea, but I'm not crazy about that idea. Anyone have any better ideas?
> > > Just stopped taking Effexor this past weekend. Effexor made a definite improvement in my life. Just decided it was time to row my own boat for awhile and see what happens. The situation which produced the need for an AD has been mostly resolved anyway. My wife currently takes Effexor and had tried nearly everything else with absolutely no success. If you stick with it and give it a fair trial you may quite pleased with the results. Have to say though that going off of Effexor makes the minor initial side effects seem pretty tame. I knew going in that getting off Effexor would not be fun, and it hasn't been, but the benefit to my life certainly outweighs what I am now dealing with. Hope it helps you.
> >
> > For anyone who is interested I only lasted 5 1/2 days after stopping Effexor. Just before stopping Effexor I had taken the last bit of Vicoprofen (hydrocodone) and that didn't help things. Also dealing with a stomach virus and I assumed that all of the nausea, cramps, etc. was due to virus. This AM I felt like I was on the verge of shutdown. No sleep, leg cramps, stomach horrible, head buzzing constantly plus all the rest. Then my wife and the doc talked me into at least taking med till he can devise a plan to lessen withdrawal effects. Does weaning off Effexor make it easier?
new post:
I had been on Effexor XL 187.5 mg daily, from Dec 1 this was 150 mg daily, then over three weeks Christmas holidays/New Year I reduced down to 0 mg. I have had some real mood swings, plus tiredness to the point of exhaustion, plus intense sudden bouts of irritability. But I have persevered and now, nearly 3 weeks after no Effexor, am holding my own. I still feel slowed down a bit mentally, not as sharp or articulate, a bit forgetful. But I had this on the Effexor, too. Same goes for the exahustion. I'm going to persevere "rowing my own boat" for a while longer, as long as I can. End of Jan. early Feb is almost always a time when I get one of two "biggie" depressions per year. How I manage of this period will be an important indicator to determine if I can manage off Ads altogether. I want to reduce or discontinue ADs so I can reduce or discontinue lithium, as I am concerned about my kidneys. I am peeing great quanitities of urine, not concentrated. Have been on lithium for 9 years and understand after about a decade, kidneys changes may be permanent. Any info or sharing of your experience gratefully accepted.- Martha
Posted by Rich G on February 11, 2000, at 13:10:48
In reply to Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by jp on October 24, 1999, at 14:59:14
>Hi, Here is my experience with the drug. I saw my Dr. for treatment for A.D.D. He is very resilliant to prescribe drugs which have documented success. So he
said "We" have had alot of success with EffexorXR on adults with A.D.D. The results I experienced were a 30 pound weight gain in two months and no results for treatimg the A.D.D.
There you have it.Hi there,
>
> Anyone care to comment on the use of Effexor? Anyone
> "happy" with it? I have tried Prozac (too much anxiety),
> Serzone (too sedating). I am currently on Buspar for anxiety.
>
> Been reading many different reports... Effexor seems
> to have a lot of success...
>
> please share your thoughts on this.
Posted by Caz on February 11, 2000, at 20:46:26
In reply to Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by jp on October 24, 1999, at 14:59:14
Success is subjective :)
Effexor DID help alleviate my anxiety symptoms (mainly constant nervous anticipation (butterflies) and worry about having somehow forgotten something) and it did elevate my mood. In that respect it was succesful with no immediately noticeable side effects. After 8 months at 75mg SR per day I have gained 20 pound and my blood pressure rose from 120/80 to 150/90.
I'm just beginning a slow withdrawal to see if I can lose the weight and get my blood pressure down again.
Thanks to info I found here I was able to discuss all this with my doc who wasn't all that knowledgable about this drug.I'm posting a new thread about BP and this drug, want to know if it will go back to normal and when.
> Hi there,
>
> Anyone care to comment on the use of Effexor? Anyone
> "happy" with it? I have tried Prozac (too much anxiety),
> Serzone (too sedating). I am currently on Buspar for anxiety.
>
> Been reading many different reports... Effexor seems
> to have a lot of success...
>
> please share your thoughts on this.
Posted by melissa on February 26, 2000, at 17:23:44
In reply to Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by jp on October 24, 1999, at 14:59:14
Hi, I've been on Effexor XR 75 for 6 months. I have developed a problem with wearing contacts becasue the Efexor dehydrates me. My eyes are so dry that the contacts pull on the cornea causing corneal rips and tears. I have went back to wearing glasses after I had one rip in the left eye and three in the right eye. My face is so dry it doesn't matter how much water I drink or lotion I use, nothing helps. I've just started drinking gatorade to see if that will help. Anyone else out there with this problem?
Posted by Sarah on February 29, 2000, at 12:59:20
In reply to Re: dehydration from Efexxor XR, posted by Melissa on February 26, 2000, at 19:55:46
> Hi Noa, my eye dr. told me at the beginning that I must have developed an alergic reaction also to my contacts. After ending up at his office for the fourth time we decided to let the contacts go for now and just wear glasses. I told him about the Effexor I'm on and he said that it apears my eyes are so very dry that if I wanted to continue to wear contacts I had to use drops all day so I don't get another corneal tear. Who can remember to put drops in your eyes all day, I went to glasses. I have an ointment I put in my eyes at night (over the counter) to keep them moist. I have never had a problem with dry flaky skin on my face before but now I do, I'm thinking it has to be the Effexor. I'm going to a skin dr. this Thurdsay and I'll see what he has to say about Effexor
Hi, I had the same problem on Effexor. My skin was a mess! I drank gallons of water a day and used all kinds of lotions and to no avail! I also had the problems with my contacts. I quit taking Effexor a few months ago and the problem seems to have reversed itself! (course the adderall now keeps me pretty dry!)(if it's not six of one...) :-)
Posted by Louise on March 14, 2000, at 23:35:34
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by Rich G on February 11, 2000, at 13:10:48
Just got sample of Effexor XR. I've been on Paxil 20mg. for 1 yr. I feel great and my panic attacks are gone. BUT --- I keep gaining weight. I told my dr. to give me something else. Did anyone gain weight on this stuff? Does anyone use this for panic attacks. My dr. told me I could go right from Paxil to Effexor XR, stopping one and starting the other with no withdrawl symptoms. ANyone try it. Thanks for any input.
>
Posted by Brenda on March 15, 2000, at 10:02:21
In reply to Effexor XR vs. Paxil and weight gain , posted by Louise on March 14, 2000, at 23:35:34
> Just got sample of Effexor XR. I've been on Paxil 20mg. for 1 yr. I feel great and my panic attacks are gone. BUT --- I keep gaining weight. I told my dr. to give me something else. Did anyone gain weight on this stuff? Does anyone use this for panic attacks. My dr. told me I could go right from Paxil to Effexor XR, stopping one and starting the other with no withdrawl symptoms. ANyone try it. Thanks for any input.
> >Louise - I went directly from Paxil to Effexor. I stopped the Paxil because of constipation problems and sedation. It did help with the panic though. The effexor was the wrong med for me. I was extremely agitated - even on a low dose. I only took it for a few weeks, so I don't know about panic. I was too agitated to notice any panic. I am currently on 100 mg. of Zoloft and have no weight gain, lessened panic (not completely, but almost gone) and NO agitation. My depression is currently under control and I feel 100% better.
Good luck to you. B.
Posted by Cindy W on March 15, 2000, at 13:37:41
In reply to Re: Effexor XR vs. Paxil and weight gain , posted by Brenda on March 15, 2000, at 10:02:21
> > Just got sample of Effexor XR. I've been on Paxil 20mg. for 1 yr. I feel great and my panic attacks are gone. BUT --- I keep gaining weight. I told my dr. to give me something else. Did anyone gain weight on this stuff? Does anyone use this for panic attacks. My dr. told me I could go right from Paxil to Effexor XR, stopping one and starting the other with no withdrawl symptoms. ANyone try it. Thanks for any input.
> > >
>
> Louise - I went directly from Paxil to Effexor. I stopped the Paxil because of constipation problems and sedation. It did help with the panic though. The effexor was the wrong med for me. I was extremely agitated - even on a low dose. I only took it for a few weeks, so I don't know about panic. I was too agitated to notice any panic. I am currently on 100 mg. of Zoloft and have no weight gain, lessened panic (not completely, but almost gone) and NO agitation. My depression is currently under control and I feel 100% better.
> Good luck to you. B.Louise, I have tried several SSRI's, and gained weight esp. on Zoloft, but have noticed no weight gain on Effexor-XR, which I've been taking for about 3 months now. At first, I felt very agitated and nervous, but that diminished after a couple of weeks. Hope this helps!--Cindy W
Posted by Cindy W on April 10, 2000, at 21:52:43
In reply to afraid to take effexor/bad experience w/paxil, posted by stef on April 6, 2000, at 21:43:03
> is there any suggestions for me
Stef, there are lots and lots of antidepressants: tricyclics (like imipramine), SSRI's (Paxil, Luvox, Zoloft, Celexa), Effexor-XR, Serzone, Remeron, MAOI's, etc. Have you talked with your pdoc about your fears? He/she can probably suggest a new med depending on what your symptoms are and what side effects you have experienced in the past. Have you ever tried anything besides Paxil? Also, if you try another med, you may want to start VERY slow (some people even crush the pill and put it in water and take VERY VERY small doses until they see how they are going to react).
Posted by David on April 11, 2000, at 15:50:53
In reply to Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by jp on October 24, 1999, at 14:59:14
I have been taking Effexor XR at a dose of 150mg a day for over a year now. Sad to sad, I really haven't felt much improvement in the overall picture (anxiety and depression). I have good days and bad days, about 50/50. I'm still searching for a medicine which can set me up to help myself get better. So far, over about 6 years, I've tried prozac, luvox, zoloft; all pretty worthless for me.
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