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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Robin on March 5, 2000, at 10:07:49
I have been taking Effexor XR (75 mgs) for a week. It makes me sleepy but I can already tell it is helping with my depression. I also can't sleep through the night. Has anyone used Dexedrine or anything else to help with the sleepiness in the day? What about meds to sleep at night. I can't decide if I should keep taking it or quit. I have tried just about every other drug and this one seems the most promising for me, Any help or sugesstions would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by Cam W. on March 5, 2000, at 11:54:39
In reply to Effexor XR Questions? (newbie), posted by Robin on March 5, 2000, at 10:07:49
Robin - You don't need Dexedrine, yet. I am not a proponent for Dexedrine augmentation of antidepressants, but others in this room are. Perhaps you should have been started on a lower dose (37.5mg XR daily) The sleepiness and disturbances in sleep pattern usually disappear in 2 to 4 weeks. Until then, ask your doctor if he/she could provide a few mild, low dose sedatives (Imovane-zopiclone 7.5mg or Restoril-temazepam 15mg or Ativan-lorazepam 0.5mg, etc.) for the sleep disturbances. Hope this helps - Cam W.
Posted by Robin on March 5, 2000, at 13:10:06
In reply to Re: Effexor XR Questions? (newbie), posted by Cam W. on March 5, 2000, at 11:54:39
> Robin - You don't need Dexedrine, yet. I am not a proponent for Dexedrine augmentation of antidepressants, but others in this room are. Perhaps you should have been started on a lower dose (37.5mg XR daily) The sleepiness and disturbances in sleep pattern usually disappear in 2 to 4 weeks. Until then, ask your doctor if he/she could provide a few mild, low dose sedatives (Imovane-zopiclone 7.5mg or Restoril-temazepam 15mg or Ativan-lorazepam 0.5mg, etc.) for the sleep disturbances. Hope this helps - Cam W.
Cam,
Thank you so much for your response. I don't like Dexedrine either.I do have some Temazepam , so I will take it to help me sleep. I am glad to hear that the side effects will go away. I always have a tendency to give up too fast when trying AD's, so I will give Effexor XR a month and see. My only hesitation is that I tried Effexor Tablets about 4 years ago and I gave it 6 weeks and didn't like it. I can already tell the XR is better.
Posted by Linda on March 5, 2000, at 13:48:27
In reply to Effexor XR Questions? (newbie), posted by Robin on March 5, 2000, at 10:07:49
Effexor XR is a serotonin & norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor - and, like many similar meds, it takes 4-6 weeks to see maximum therapeutic effects & a decrease in initial side effects. Effexor XR is not usually known to cause sleepiness, but anyone can have virtually any side effect due to our different chemistries. It does, however, frequently cause insomnia. More than likely, your daytime sleepiness is a result of your insomnia. This is a side effect that may subside with continued use. An amphetamine, such as Dexadrine, can be potentially dangerous with this type of med. Used together, these two meds have the potential to cause damaging CNS overstimulation, and both have the potential to raise BP independant of one another - this is only two of the problems you may encounter with combined use. Therefore, combined use should only be used under strict supervision of a doc. The safest over-the-counter alternative to your insomnia, if relaxation techniques do not help, is to try Benadryl (unless this causes excitation - which it does in small percentage of the pop.). Also, you can take your Effexor XR very early in the morning to avoid insomnia. If you feel this med is helping with your depression, give it time!
Posted by Cam W. on March 5, 2000, at 18:50:35
In reply to Re: Effexor XR Questions? (newbie), posted by Linda on March 5, 2000, at 13:48:27
Robin - Benadryl may not be the best hypnotic. It interferes too much with REM sleep and often causes a next morning hangover effect. Ask your doctor what he would like you to take as sleeping aid. Also, if you are taking the Effexor XR in the evening, perhaps switch to the morning. Godd luck - Cam W.
Posted by Cindy W on March 5, 2000, at 19:31:23
In reply to Re: Effexor XR Questions? (newbie), posted by Cam W. on March 5, 2000, at 18:50:35
>
> Robin - Benadryl may not be the best hypnotic. It interferes too much with REM sleep and often causes a next morning hangover effect. Ask your doctor what he would like you to take as sleeping aid. Also, if you are taking the Effexor XR in the evening, perhaps switch to the morning. Godd luck - Cam W.Am glad to report that Effexor-XR is really starting to help with my OCD and depression! My brain feels quiet (no counting, no worrisome nagging to check and recheck, no thoughts about suicide, etc.). Am now taking 375 mg/day and feel like I imagine "normal" people must feel. I cleaned part of my house, today, and plan to try to get rid of my hoarded clothes over the next month. Then maybe I can straighten out the rest of my life (I hope). Re: sleep...at first, Effexor-XR really made it hard for me to sleep, and I tried taking about 30 mg of Serzone at night. I stopped this after it didn't seem to help that much. When I got tired enough, I started sleeping right! And now feel more rested when I sleep. It seems to take at least 6 weeks, as people have said, for the Effexor-XR to start working. I still feel very anxious, but I guess that's OK, since at least I'm managing (so far) to resist going out and overspending and overeating, although that's what I've always done to feel better.-Cindy W
Posted by Robin on March 5, 2000, at 20:48:49
In reply to Re: Effexor XR Questions? (newbie), posted by Cindy W on March 5, 2000, at 19:31:23
> >
> > Robin - Benadryl may not be the best hypnotic. It interferes too much with REM sleep and often causes a next morning hangover effect. Ask your doctor what he would like you to take as sleeping aid. Also, if you are taking the Effexor XR in the evening, perhaps switch to the morning. Godd luck - Cam W.
>
> Am glad to report that Effexor-XR is really starting to help with my OCD and depression! My brain feels quiet (no counting, no worrisome nagging to check and recheck, no thoughts about suicide, etc.). Am now taking 375 mg/day and feel like I imagine "normal" people must feel. I cleaned part of my house, today, and plan to try to get rid of my hoarded clothes over the next month. Then maybe I can straighten out the rest of my life (I hope). Re: sleep...at first, Effexor-XR really made it hard for me to sleep, and I tried taking about 30 mg of Serzone at night. I stopped this after it didn't seem to help that much. When I got tired enough, I started sleeping right! And now feel more rested when I sleep. It seems to take at least 6 weeks, as people have said, for the Effexor-XR to start working. I still feel very anxious, but I guess that's OK, since at least I'm managing (so far) to resist going out and overspending and overeating, although that's what I've always done to feel better.-Cindy WCam & Cindy,
Thank you for reponding to my questions. I can't take Benadryl it makes me very nervous. I am suppose to take Sonota as a sleep aid, but I don't like it at all. It isn't strong enough for me. I will go back to Temazapam.
Cindy, How long have you been takening Effexor XR? How did you work up to your current dose?Robin
Posted by Cindy W on March 6, 2000, at 8:39:06
In reply to Re: Effexor XR Questions? (newbie), posted by Robin on March 5, 2000, at 20:48:49
> > >
> > > Robin - Benadryl may not be the best hypnotic. It interferes too much with REM sleep and often causes a next morning hangover effect. Ask your doctor what he would like you to take as sleeping aid. Also, if you are taking the Effexor XR in the evening, perhaps switch to the morning. Godd luck - Cam W.
> >
> > Am glad to report that Effexor-XR is really starting to help with my OCD and depression! My brain feels quiet (no counting, no worrisome nagging to check and recheck, no thoughts about suicide, etc.). Am now taking 375 mg/day and feel like I imagine "normal" people must feel. I cleaned part of my house, today, and plan to try to get rid of my hoarded clothes over the next month. Then maybe I can straighten out the rest of my life (I hope). Re: sleep...at first, Effexor-XR really made it hard for me to sleep, and I tried taking about 30 mg of Serzone at night. I stopped this after it didn't seem to help that much. When I got tired enough, I started sleeping right! And now feel more rested when I sleep. It seems to take at least 6 weeks, as people have said, for the Effexor-XR to start working. I still feel very anxious, but I guess that's OK, since at least I'm managing (so far) to resist going out and overspending and overeating, although that's what I've always done to feel better.-Cindy W
>
>
>
> Cam & Cindy,
> Thank you for reponding to my questions. I can't take Benadryl it makes me very nervous. I am suppose to take Sonota as a sleep aid, but I don't like it at all. It isn't strong enough for me. I will go back to Temazapam.
> Cindy, How long have you been takening Effexor XR? How did you work up to your current dose?
>
> RobinRobin, I've been taking Effexor-XR for about 9 weeks. My pdoc is really great, and started it really slow (37.5 mg/day for a week, then 75 mg/day for a week, then 150 mg/day for a week, then 225 mg/day, then 300 mg/day (by the end of two months), now 375 mg/day. Starting with a very low dose seems to have really helped, I think. So far, I can't believe how great I feel without any side effects. But people are all different, so hope you have good results, too!
Posted by Robin on March 6, 2000, at 9:17:01
In reply to Re: Effexor XR Questions? (newbie), posted by Robin on March 5, 2000, at 20:48:49
> > >
> > > Robin - Benadryl may not be the best hypnotic. It interferes too much with REM sleep and often causes a next morning hangover effect. Ask your doctor what he would like you to take as sleeping aid. Also, if you are taking the Effexor XR in the evening, perhaps switch to the morning. Godd luck - Cam W.
> >
> > Am glad to report that Effexor-XR is really starting to help with my OCD and depression! My brain feels quiet (no counting, no worrisome nagging to check and recheck, no thoughts about suicide, etc.). Am now taking 375 mg/day and feel like I imagine "normal" people must feel. I cleaned part of my house, today, and plan to try to get rid of my hoarded clothes over the next month. Then maybe I can straighten out the rest of my life (I hope). Re: sleep...at first, Effexor-XR really made it hard for me to sleep, and I tried taking about 30 mg of Serzone at night. I stopped this after it didn't seem to help that much. When I got tired enough, I started sleeping right! And now feel more rested when I sleep. It seems to take at least 6 weeks, as people have said, for the Effexor-XR to start working. I still feel very anxious, but I guess that's OK, since at least I'm managing (so far) to resist going out and overspending and overeating, although that's what I've always done to feel better.-Cindy W
>
>
>
> Cam & Cindy,
> Thank you for reponding to my questions. I can't take Benadryl it makes me very nervous. I am suppose to take Sonota as a sleep aid, but I don't like it at all. It isn't strong enough for me. I will go back to Temazapam.
> Cindy, How long have you been takening Effexor XR? How did you work up to your current dose?
>
> Robin
When taking Effexor XR, How do you know what doseage is right for the individual, Do you know what the recommended dosage is?
Robin
Posted by Cindy W on March 6, 2000, at 21:08:01
In reply to Re: Effexor XR Questions? (newbie), posted by Robin on March 6, 2000, at 9:17:01
> > > >
> > > > Robin - Benadryl may not be the best hypnotic. It interferes too much with REM sleep and often causes a next morning hangover effect. Ask your doctor what he would like you to take as sleeping aid. Also, if you are taking the Effexor XR in the evening, perhaps switch to the morning. Godd luck - Cam W.
> > >
> > > Am glad to report that Effexor-XR is really starting to help with my OCD and depression! My brain feels quiet (no counting, no worrisome nagging to check and recheck, no thoughts about suicide, etc.). Am now taking 375 mg/day and feel like I imagine "normal" people must feel. I cleaned part of my house, today, and plan to try to get rid of my hoarded clothes over the next month. Then maybe I can straighten out the rest of my life (I hope). Re: sleep...at first, Effexor-XR really made it hard for me to sleep, and I tried taking about 30 mg of Serzone at night. I stopped this after it didn't seem to help that much. When I got tired enough, I started sleeping right! And now feel more rested when I sleep. It seems to take at least 6 weeks, as people have said, for the Effexor-XR to start working. I still feel very anxious, but I guess that's OK, since at least I'm managing (so far) to resist going out and overspending and overeating, although that's what I've always done to feel better.-Cindy W
> >
> >
> >
> > Cam & Cindy,
> > Thank you for reponding to my questions. I can't take Benadryl it makes me very nervous. I am suppose to take Sonota as a sleep aid, but I don't like it at all. It isn't strong enough for me. I will go back to Temazapam.
> > Cindy, How long have you been takening Effexor XR? How did you work up to your current dose?
> >
> > Robin
>
> When taking Effexor XR, How do you know what doseage is right for the individual, Do you know what the recommended dosage is?
> RobinRobin, talk to your pdoc about the recommended dosage. Apparently it varies according to the severity and duration of depression (I've read up to 225 mg/day is recommended, in the drug co. literature). For OCD, up to 375 mg/day is recommended (Dr. Michael Jenike, OC Foundation). I've been wondering the same thing: how to know when you achieve maximum benefit from a medication or whether to ask for an increase. One site (Dr. Ivan Goldberg) recommended as high as 500-600 mg/day, but I think that sounds excessive. I would imagine it is a trial-and-error process...try a small dose, increase it to a "normal" dose, and if it still isn't doing the trick, increase it to the maximum, as long as you don't have terrible side effects or serotonin syndrome or something. Let me know how the Effexor-XR works out for you! So far, it seems to be really helping (and I hope it lasts and gets better).--Cindy W
Posted by barry on June 26, 2003, at 23:17:55
In reply to Re: Effexor XR Questions? (newbie), posted by Robin on March 6, 2000, at 9:17:01
I haven't tried Effexor.....but there are lots of sites about people having major problems with it..being on it ...and trying to get off it... type in Yahoo search: "Effexor withdrawal nightmare" .....you'll then see. I took two other "SSRI's" --same family as Effexor..Paxil and Zoloft..they SCREWED ME UP BIGTIME!! ..in a short time.. and what a NIGHTMARE weaning off them!! I don't think there's anything good for anxiety or depression....you either get addicted to them-the benzo's--xanax/valium.. OR they mess you up and make your depression worse--Paxil / Zoloft...ect.
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