Shown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Jennifer1 on April 5, 2001, at 20:00:50
I've been taking Effexor XR 37.5 mg for a week and a half now. And I think I am one of the lucky one because I have not experienced all of the side effects that everyone has been describing. I have had trouble sleeping at night but I have been working that out. Since I have been doing a lot of research on Effexor and it seems that this could possibly be a dangerous drug, I'm opting to ask my doctor to switch me to something else. I have a friend that has been taking Celexa and hasn't had anything bad to say about it. I wanted to know if anyone has taken it and if they experienced any good things or bad things with it.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing your feedback.
Posted by mila on April 5, 2001, at 22:42:00
In reply to Effexor XR vs. Celexa - Any feedback welcome, posted by Jennifer1 on April 5, 2001, at 20:00:50
Hi Jennifer,
Effexor took a good care of my depression, but made me experience rage, being mean to people, and a huge outbreak of psoriasis. Celexa caused a major depression (way deeper than my 'regular' kind) and an unbearable feeling of universal guilt. Paxil had been the greatest drug for me so far. It addressed both my anxiety and depression. I am thinking about writing a thank you letter to the creators of paxil:)
mila
Posted by Fred Potter on April 6, 2001, at 0:04:02
In reply to Re: Effexor XR vs. Celexa - Any feedback welcome, posted by mila on April 5, 2001, at 22:42:00
They used to say in the 70s and 80s that depression was suppressed anger. I don't know if that's still taken seriously. For me Paxil, after the 4 week wait, made me feel together and wonderful - for one afternoon. I poop out real quickly. Same with Celexa and Prozac. I ended up following the TIPS suggestion of augmenting (40mg Prozac by then) with the opioid antagonist Naltrexone. Goodness knows why, but after 3 days later I felt together and marvellous again, until the money for Naltrexone ran out (really expensive in New Zealand).
Moclobemide pooped out too, Serzone never worked in the first place and I haven't tried Effexor yet. However, Prozac by itself made me worse so I gave it up and took up SJW. So far (3 weeks) I feel pretty good (for which reason I can't be sure).
Celexa is I believe the most selective SSRI for Serotonin - which sounds an odd thing to say, but others have varying effects on Norepinephrine (NE) and Dopamine, and goodness what else. With Effexor it depends on the dose. At high doses Dopamine begins to be noticeably affected. Sounds like the increase in NE availability given by Effexor was too great for you to handle. By the way, are we talking Effexor XR? I think it makes a difference . . . ramble . . . ramble
Posted by mila on April 6, 2001, at 0:30:42
In reply to Re: Effexor XR vs. Celexa - Any feedback welcome » mila, posted by Fred Potter on April 6, 2001, at 0:04:02
Hi Fred,
yeah, we were talking effexor xr.
I also tried SJW with good results. (it was part of my strategy to avoid seeing a doctor then:) I quit it for two reasons: I am highly suspicious of herbal cures (even when they work I just can't stand not knowing why they do:(, and I wanted to feel excellent, not just good. My husband took SJW for a month, it really helped him to go through changing jobs situation.
I am so very glad to hear that you feel pretty good. YESSSS!!!
:):):)
mila
Posted by allisonm on April 6, 2001, at 8:31:46
In reply to Effexor XR vs. Celexa - Any feedback welcome, posted by Jennifer1 on April 5, 2001, at 20:00:50
Jennifer,
If you aren't experiencing any side effects, why not try Effexor for a while longer to see whether it helps? I was on Effexor XR for a number of weeks, but had to come off it because it made my heart race and made me feel like I was "zooming." My pdoc weaned me off of it correctly. I had absolutely NO withdrawal problems. From talking with my pdoc, how you are weaned off of Effexor makes all of the difference in the world. If you don't have a doctor who knows how to do it, that could be a problem, but if it is used properly I know it has helped many many people. I would not reject it so quickly.
I also took Celexa for a couple of months. It made me very tired and unmotivated. I felt calmer, though. However, I didn't like feeling so flat. I've now started Serzone. I also take Wellbutrin (400mg) and Neurontin (600mg).
Posted by Bill L on April 9, 2001, at 9:13:46
In reply to Effexor XR vs. Celexa - Any feedback welcome, posted by Jennifer1 on April 5, 2001, at 20:00:50
I have also read a lot about Effexor. My advise would be to stay on it and give it a chance. There are always a lot of negative posts about any drug if you search the internet. Lots of people have success on Effexor. I think that you should stop looking up information on it just for the next 2 months. That way you can give it a fair and unbiased trial. After a couple of months, then if you want you can do more research.
Also, remember that people with bad experiences tend to post on the internet groups more than people with good experiences.
If Effexor does not work well for you, you should gradually come off of it. That will minimize any discontinuation side effects.
> I've been taking Effexor XR 37.5 mg for a week and a half now. And I think I am one of the lucky one because I have not experienced all of the side effects that everyone has been describing. I have had trouble sleeping at night but I have been working that out. Since I have been doing a lot of research on Effexor and it seems that this could possibly be a dangerous drug, I'm opting to ask my doctor to switch me to something else. I have a friend that has been taking Celexa and hasn't had anything bad to say about it. I wanted to know if anyone has taken it and if they experienced any good things or bad things with it.
>
> Thanks and I look forward to hearing your feedback.
This is the end of the thread.
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