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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by ST on March 13, 2002, at 5:54:29
I don't think anxiety was one of my problems when I first got on medication.......but now I can't remember. All I know is I'm more anxious now than when I was on Serzone or Celexa. Because Effexor works differently, is it possible that my two prior meds helped with anxiety and the Effexor has no anti-anxiety effects? I'm going to look through the archives.
It's weird. I'm worried alot. And nothing's really changed in my life. I'm just more...um...anxious. And I don't think its hypo-mania.
Any thought would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Sarah
Meds I'm on:
Depakote
Wellbutrin
Effexor XRPreviously:
Depakote
Wellbutrin
Celexa (and before that, Serzone)
Posted by johnX2 on March 13, 2002, at 6:16:34
In reply to Anxiety is increased now that I'm on Effexor, posted by ST on March 13, 2002, at 5:54:29
Hi Sarah,I wonder if you can read into it too much.
I'm Bipolar II.
Look I got these 2 med responses (of a zillion):
-Effexor made me VERY anxious (much more soo than any other medicine and more so than I EVER am without medicine). And it wasn't hypomania.
-Wellbutrin no anxiety.I think Effexor has anti-anxiety people for
some people and not others. If you look at my
responses, probably gobs of people could say they
got the opposite on those meds.But I gess from looking at your meds,
you plopped some more noradrenaline from the
Effexor on top of the Wellbutrin. Maybe it is
too much, or maybe you need more time...May I ask why you swapped out Celexa for Effexor?
Hope you feel well.
John> I don't think anxiety was one of my problems when I first got on medication.......but now I can't remember. All I know is I'm more anxious now than when I was on Serzone or Celexa. Because Effexor works differently, is it possible that my two prior meds helped with anxiety and the Effexor has no anti-anxiety effects? I'm going to look through the archives.
> It's weird. I'm worried alot. And nothing's really changed in my life. I'm just more...um...anxious. And I don't think its hypo-mania.
> Any thought would be greatly appreciated.
> Thanks,
> Sarah
>
>
> Meds I'm on:
> Depakote
> Wellbutrin
> Effexor XR
>
> Previously:
> Depakote
> Wellbutrin
> Celexa (and before that, Serzone)
Posted by sid on March 13, 2002, at 22:31:06
In reply to Anxiety is increased now that I'm on Effexor, posted by ST on March 13, 2002, at 5:54:29
I can't help to elucidate the reasons of your reaction to Effexor XR, but what I know is it helps me fight my anxiety. I've been on Effexor XR for 3.5 months now, and my anxiety is the lowest it's been in years. I never took ADs before. I've heard of many others whi's anxiety was lessened by Effexor XR.
Good luck figuring this one out; JohnX2 has a few good ideas that could help you.
- sid
Posted by ST on March 14, 2002, at 3:35:54
In reply to Re: Anxiety is increased now that I'm on Effexor » ST, posted by johnX2 on March 13, 2002, at 6:16:34
Hi John,
I stopped Celexa because I gained thirty pounds! I've since lost half that in the two months I've been on Effexor. But with the Celexa and even the Serzone before, I was pretty calm.
Yeah, I'll give it more time.
Sarah
Posted by HMK on March 15, 2002, at 16:34:24
In reply to Anxiety is increased now that I'm on Effexor, posted by ST on March 13, 2002, at 5:54:29
I'm a bipolar II who has taken Effexor XR for nearly 3 years. For me, I need the antidepressant to keep me from being depressed but I do have the side effect of anxiety with Effexor XR. I have to be careful to balance that with my other meds to keep it from throwing me into a hypomanic state. However, I stick with this medicine because it works very well for my depression and has no other side effects. You may want to play with the dose you're taking or increase the amount of mood stabilizer you're on.
Best of luck to you!
-Heather
Posted by Else on March 15, 2002, at 17:01:19
In reply to Anxiety is increased now that I'm on Effexor, posted by ST on March 13, 2002, at 5:54:29
Effexor is supposed to be good for anxiety (it is aprooved for the treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder) but it did not work for me at all.
It made me very irritable, agitated and more anxious and I had trouble sleeping while I was on it. I don't think it made me hypomanic because I felt very tired during
the day when I could not sleep at night because of it. I was never able to tolerate this medication although I know it has worked wonders for others.
I think I might have tolerated it a bit better if I had been on Xanax or Klonopin at the same time. Wellbutrin was another 'activating' AD that made me almost psychotic (manic once, psychotically depressed another time) but I felt
OK on it as long as I took benzodiazepines (Dalmane) along with it to calm my tremors, insomnia and anxiety. I might have been able to tolerate Effexor if I had taken a benzo with it
but I will never know since the only other drug I was taking at the time was Depakote. I feel OK on Remeron which targets noradrenaline and serotonin
receptors like Effexor, although in a slightly different way. I find that Remeron reduces anxiety and if you don't tend to gain weight easily
(or if you don't mind), it might be a good alternative.
Posted by ST on March 16, 2002, at 1:16:17
In reply to Re: Anxiety is increased now that I'm on Effexor, posted by HMK on March 15, 2002, at 16:34:24
Thanks for the info. What other meds are you on in addition to the Effexor?
I have to forget upping my dosage of mood stabilizer since it makes me zombie-like.
Sarah
Posted by HMK on March 18, 2002, at 8:02:14
In reply to Re: Anxiety is increased now that I'm on Effexor » HMK, posted by ST on March 16, 2002, at 1:16:17
In addition to a lose dose of Effexor, I take Valium, Neurontin, and Geodon. As long as I take a high enough dose of Neurontin to keep me calm, I'm usually okay on the Effexor. I recently lowered my dose of Effexor to 75 mg. which was a good choice for me- less tension/anxiety and still a good level of antidepressant. Best of luck you!
Posted by Jackd on March 18, 2002, at 23:39:51
In reply to Anxiety is increased now that I'm on Effexor, posted by ST on March 13, 2002, at 5:54:29
How long have you been on Effexor? Any drug that raises your Norepinephrine levels is going to make you feel more anxious, more edgy at first. This usually passes.
This is the end of the thread.
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