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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by rickj on February 25, 2003, at 9:37:51
In reply to Re: My Effexor experience -- another nasty drug » daizy, posted by daizy on February 21, 2003, at 10:14:36
Thks Daizy.
> mdma.net, has research you might like to see.
Posted by starlight on February 25, 2003, at 18:19:53
In reply to Re: Weight gain! Dizziness! Help!, posted by napaba on February 24, 2003, at 13:30:54
Have you tried Wellbutrin? I had great results on Wellbutrin until I got manic and they changed my diagnosis from Depression to Bipolar. Now I'm on Trileptal and Lamictal and have had positive results. I had a severe eating disorder in my late teens, early twenties, so I refused to take anything that had weight gain in it's profile of side effects (life is bad enough at times, I couldn't imagine struggling with the weight issue again).
Other things to try are the Atkins Diet and Bikram Style yoga. Bikram yoga is excellent for stimulating the metabolism and well - the Atkins diet is a great way to eat good portions of food (which your body needs) and still lose weight.
Good luck
starlight
> > > Well, unfortunately in my case overweight and underhappy seem to go hand-in-hand. I do believe, however, that my weight issue lies deeper than my depression problem, and the medication has made life so much more bearable! Just out of curiosity, was this coming from someone who is thin???? Millie?????
> >
> >
> > Yes, I was thin. I gained a few pounds after a very bad accident and had lost most of them. I was a few pounds shy of my normal weight (135) when I went on Effexor. That was 6 months ago. I now weigh 176. This is why I went off the Effexor. All the doctors said it couldn't be the Effexor. I have had more blood drawn and tests run trying to determine what caused such rapid weight gain. (It wasn't what I was eating. I'm pretty health conscious as I used to do part time modeling.) This web site has confirmed what I thought was the problem. I'm now off the medicine with terrible side effects - extreme dizziness and iritability, etc. I think I am even more unhappy now than I was before Effexor. However, noting was stopping the weight gain. Now, I cannot get it back off. I exercise several hours a week, eat like a bird, take diet aids, and still nothing is helping. I really regret the day I went on the stuff.
> >
>
>
> You may not be eating enough to loss weight. Your body may be in starvation mode. (yes, you can be over weight and your body can still think it's starving) Try a low carb diet. I've found you get to eat a lot. I've noticed an improvement in my modes, much more consistant. Try the book "How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet and Lost Forty Pounds"
>
Posted by KrissyP on February 25, 2003, at 23:00:47
In reply to Anyone have NO WITHDRAWL or minimal with EFXR?, posted by Jack Smith on February 24, 2003, at 15:36:09
> Also, how does effexor withdrawl compare to paxil withdrawl? Which one is worse?*********
When i went off of Effexor-XR in December, I had minimal if no withdrawal effects. What happened when the drug was finally OUT of my system wa pure living hell, so I satrted back on it yesterday. As far as Paxil, I can only speak from experience and 1 week into the treatment I got manic as heck and landed in the ER and back into the psych ward. I don't remember withdrawing off of Paxil because I was only on it for a week. I prefer Effexor.
Posted by Jack Smith on February 26, 2003, at 0:25:28
In reply to Re: Anyone have NO WITHDRAWL or minimal with EFXR? » Jack Smith, posted by KrissyP on February 25, 2003, at 23:00:47
> > Also, how does effexor withdrawl compare to paxil withdrawl? Which one is worse?*********
> When i went off of Effexor-XR in December, I had minimal if no withdrawal effects. What happened when the drug was finally OUT of my system wa pure living hell, so I satrted back on it yesterday.I assume you are talking about rebound depression/anxiety and not withdrawl? What is your diagnosis and what meds are you on, if any, in addition to effexor???
Posted by KrissyP on February 26, 2003, at 0:44:18
In reply to Re: Anyone have NO WITHDRAWL or minimal with EFXR? » KrissyP, posted by Jack Smith on February 26, 2003, at 0:25:28
> > > Also, how does effexor withdrawl compare to paxil withdrawl? Which one is worse?*********
> > When i went off of Effexor-XR in December, I had minimal if no withdrawal effects. What happened when the drug was finally OUT of my system wa pure living hell, so I satrted back on it yesterday.
>
> I assume you are talking about rebound depression/anxiety and not withdrawl? What is your diagnosis and what meds are you on, if any, in addition to effexor???--------For the first week or two getting off of Effexor-XR, yes I felt "foggy", and frustrated. However, those feelings went away and they weren't severe. I was diagnosed with major depression in 1995. I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2 in Nov. 1999. I was in a sophomore English class and my teacher made this statement, "You are really, really 'up', or you are really, really 'down' when you come to class". This was back in 1986 and it was ignored. I have, for the most part had severe mood swings most of my 32 years. Currently, I am on 75mg Effexor-XR 1x a day, 2mg Klonopin at night for sleep, 100mg Seroquel for sleep, and 50mg Lamictal 1x at night. I hope this helps?
Posted by michael on February 26, 2003, at 17:40:05
In reply to Anyone have NO WITHDRAWL or minimal with EFXR?, posted by Jack Smith on February 24, 2003, at 15:36:09
> Also, how does effexor withdrawl compare to paxil withdrawl? Which one is worse?
I had no withdrawl. Don't remember my final dose - I think it was 225mg? Didn't taper.
michael
Posted by Tina P on February 26, 2003, at 20:28:54
In reply to Re: Anyone have NO WITHDRAWL or minimal with EFXR? » Jack Smith, posted by michael on February 26, 2003, at 17:40:05
I was on 30 mg a day of Paxil for like 3 years and I had no withdrawl when I tapered off and switched to Effexor XL.
Posted by bluedog on February 26, 2003, at 21:10:48
In reply to Re: Anyone have NO WITHDRAWL or minimal with EFXR?, posted by Tina P on February 26, 2003, at 20:28:54
I came off Effexor XR using the following approach. I definiteley still had side effects from the withdrawal but they were kept down to a minimum. Unless your really lucky I think Effexor XR is such a nasty drug that withdrawal symotoms are inevitible. Unfortunately I haven't come across any psychiatrists who had the sense to let their patients know about this method. When I showed my own Pdoc this printout his only remark was "that seems like a good idea" and that was that. Psychiatrists seem to be in some kind of denial about how severe Effexor XR withdrawal symptoms are......especially that last niggly 37.5mg that your body and brain simply refuse to want to give up.
I got this tip from a post on PB last year and I liked the advice so much that I saved a copy to my hard-drive. I unfortumately don't have a link to the original thread.
Anyway I followed this advice and it helped enormously after failing to get off Effexor the "traditional" way recommended by most Pdocs.
"How I Got Off Effexor XR
Posted by Jenka on May 29, 2002, at 12:29:54
I successfully weaned myself off Effexor XR this past winter and spring. A gradual approach is the way to go. Some background: I was hospitalized for 10 days with severe depression in May, 2001. I started taking Effexor XR then. By June, 2001, I was up to 112 mgs.--a dose that seemed to work for me. I continued at 112 mgs. for six months feeling normal with no symptoms of depression. In late December, I decided to see if I could go off Effexor. My psychiatrist had been supplying me with 37.5 and 75 mg. Effexor capsules.
Starting in early January, I weaned myself off Effexor by doing gradual dose reductions. I dropped from 112 mgs. to 96, to 75, to 56, to 37.5, to 19, to 12, to 6, to 3 and then off completely by late March. You can come up with fractional doses of Effexor by doing splits with the 37.5 mg. capsules. Most of my capsules contained about 90 tiny white Effexor beadlets. Doing splits with the 37.5 capsules was easy. I used dark paper, a knife, and shallow glass custard dishes to divvy the beadlets into equal portions.
The only physical symptoms I noticed during my reduction sequence that I thought might be attributable to Effexor withdrawal were mild headache, lethargy, and some lightheadedness. Aspirin easily counteracted these symptoms. In terms of positive benefits of going off Effexor, I noticed that by March I was able to get by on less sleep. During the six months of my full dosage of 112 mgs. I was typically getting 8 to 9 hours of sleep during a 24 hour period. By March I was down to 6 or 7 hours and during the day I began to feel more alert and energized. Since I began going off the medication in January, I haven't experienced any symptoms of depression. My mood, motivation, ability to complete tasks, and interact positively with others have seemed normal to me. I've been functioning fine during the past two months of being Effexor-free. Now I just need to work on taking off the 12 pounds I've gained since I began taking Effexor in May of 2001.
If I had it to do over again, knowing what I know now, I'd make a few changes. Primarily, I'd be more systematic about scheduling dose reductions. As I mentioned, the withdrawal symptoms that I felt were associated with lowering my Effexor dosage were minimal. Once someone got a fix on what their own symptom set appeared to be, a plan like this might work well: after dropping to a reduced dosage of Effexor, wait until you have at least a full 24 hour period symptom-free. Then continue at that new lowered dosage, assuming no new symptoms occur, for seven more days before attempting the next drop. I believe I stayed at 75 mgs and 37.5 mgs. too long this winter before attempting the next reduction. If I had followed a more systematic approach, I think I could have moved from 112 mgs down to zero in two months instead of three. All in all though, I'm satisfied with how free of discomfort the entire procedure ended up being.
Hope this helps those of you who are contemplating going off Effexor. Best of luck!
Jenka"
This advice was invaluable to me and I hope it can help some other as well with their own Effexor XR withdrawal
Regards
bluedog
Posted by KrissyP on February 26, 2003, at 23:47:14
In reply to Re: YES I had minimal withdrawal from EFXR?, posted by bluedog on February 26, 2003, at 21:10:48
I had to respond to this post. It really irates me about your pdoc:when I saw you stated,"When I showed my own Pdoc this printout his only remark was "that seems like a good idea" and that was that". Why do doctors have to be like that? I ended up in the ER because after cancelling an appt with my psychiatrist , I called back to reschedule. I specifically told her I didn't have enough Klonopin until I saw her again. She totally did sooooooooo not hear me. So, to save the 3 that I had left, I didn't take it for 2 nights. As a result, NOT the ER doc, NOT my psychiatrist, but the PHARMACIST said you probably were on the verge of a seizure-and that I should have NEVER just abruptly stopped the Klonopin. Is this my fault? I get intimidated when doctors don't tell me something like this could happen with a prescrtibed med, let alone ignore my point about not having enough to get me through to the next appointment. So, I go Friday morning to see her and I am petrified-does this help my situation? no :( I have had several "red flags" concerning her she seems to want to talk more about "driving for her son at a party when he was drunk instead of letting him drive"-what on God's green earth does that have to do with my meds and my emotional health?-I am sorry, but isn't there a line doctors should draw?
Kristen
Posted by Tabitha on February 27, 2003, at 0:17:21
In reply to Re: YES I had minimal withdrawal from EFXR? » bluedog, posted by KrissyP on February 26, 2003, at 23:47:14
I switched from Effexor to Celexa. If I tapered at all it wasn't more than a week. I don't remember any particular withdrawal effects.
Posted by fayeroe on February 27, 2003, at 15:54:10
In reply to Re: My Effexor experience -- another nasty drug, posted by rickj on February 25, 2003, at 9:37:51
I've lost a ton of weight recently and have no appetite whatsoever. I take Effexor Xr. 75 mg. Have been taking it about 1 year. It worked very well on my anxiety attacks but lately I've been really depressed and am having trouble sleeping.
Posted by Tina P on February 27, 2003, at 16:46:30
In reply to unusual weight loss on effexor?, posted by fayeroe on February 27, 2003, at 15:54:10
Were you already overweight to begin with? My weight is a real issue, and I started on theis stuff hoping it would help matters.
Posted by KrissyP on February 27, 2003, at 19:20:33
In reply to Re: unusual weight loss on effexor?, posted by Tina P on February 27, 2003, at 16:46:30
My weight is a real issue too, and I found I gained when I first started on an OCD med-ANAFRANIL in 1995-some just have the tendency to add excess poundage unfortunately. However, I am on day 3 of Effexor and I have had no appetite-it's weird. I kind of remember this when previously using it, but it didn't last, but out of all the AD I've tried, which include all of them Effexor has never made me gain as much as I did with Prozac or Luvox. Overall, I only gained about 13 pounds when on Effexor-the rest of my weight is emotional eating and not believing I deserve to be healthy as well as realizing it takes work and taking care of my body IS a full-time job. Sorry to Whine Whine-it's a tough one for me. hope this helps:)
Kristen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- previous statement>>>>(Were you already overweight to begin with? My weight is a real issue, and I started on theis stuff hoping it would help matters.)
Posted by fayeroe on February 27, 2003, at 19:26:15
In reply to Re: unusual weight loss on effexor?, posted by KrissyP on February 27, 2003, at 19:20:33
i was not overweight before. i am underweight now. and absolutely no appetite. i force myself to eat. and only once a day. effexor is the only med that i take, so it has to be causing this. plus not sleeping like i used to. i am definitely going to talk to my doctor soon.
Posted by LyndaK on February 27, 2003, at 20:51:35
In reply to Re: unusual weight loss on effexor?, posted by fayeroe on February 27, 2003, at 19:26:15
> i was not overweight before. i am underweight now. and absolutely no appetite. i force myself to eat. and only once a day. effexor is the only med that i take, so it has to be causing this. plus not sleeping like i used to. i am definitely going to talk to my doctor soon.
Hi,
I just wanted to let you know that I also experienced weight LOSS and no appetite when on Effexor. It also gave me insomnia which I had to take Ativan to counteract. Definitely talk to your doc.
Lynda
Posted by KrissyP on February 27, 2003, at 23:02:37
In reply to Re: unusual weight loss on effexor? » fayeroe, posted by LyndaK on February 27, 2003, at 20:51:35
Oh my, I just got done saying I have no appetite, none and even though I need to lose a few, I literally just feel blah-I hope this will get better with time. Only after 3 days back on Effexor, I feel weird-and am just not hungry. I am also already experiencing the "hyperness" and I am hoping that the Lamictal counteracts this feeling-as I have never taken the 2 meds at the same time.
I hear you here
Thanks
Kristen
Posted by napaba on February 28, 2003, at 7:43:14
In reply to Re: unusual weight loss on effexor?, posted by Tina P on February 27, 2003, at 16:46:30
> I gained 50 pounds over the past two years. I was reaching for food everytime stress or dispare took over. I started taking Effexor 6 weeks a go and have lost alomost 10 pounds. I'm no longer depressed and my anxiety is much better. I am now able to stay on a diet, because I am no longer over whelmed with those feelings constently, I'm not eating nonstop. I take 75 mg's.
Were you already overweight to begin with? My weight is a real issue, and I started on theis stuff hoping it would help matters.
Posted by fayeroe on February 28, 2003, at 7:55:05
In reply to Re: unusual weight loss on effexor?, posted by napaba on February 28, 2003, at 7:43:14
i was not overweight before. so it's pretty distressing to lose so much weight and have no appetite. i am going to talk to my doctor next week.
Posted by Tina P on February 28, 2003, at 9:33:56
In reply to Re: unusual weight loss on effexor?, posted by napaba on February 28, 2003, at 7:43:14
Are you on any meds other than the 75mg of Effexor? Because I'm on the exact same dose, and I don't believe it's suppressing my appetite, however, the emotional eating is a bit more controlled.
Posted by napaba on February 28, 2003, at 10:02:57
In reply to Re: unusual weight loss on effexor?, posted by Tina P on February 28, 2003, at 9:33:56
>Effexor is the only medication I take. I've also given up sugar. I was getting a lot of headaches. I eat a low carb diet, you can still eat a lot of food and loss weight. I average between 1600 and 1800 calories a day, so I'm not hungry and the Effexor controls the anxiety and depression eating.
Are you on any meds other than the 75mg of Effexor? Because I'm on the exact same dose, and I don't believe it's suppressing my appetite, however, the emotional eating is a bit more controlled.
Posted by fayeroe on February 28, 2003, at 10:27:02
In reply to Re: unusual weight loss on effexor?, posted by Tina P on February 28, 2003, at 9:33:56
yes, i'm on 75mg....and yesterday i forced myself to eat more and today i'm miserable. i did have pneumonia in December and ended up being given THREE different very strong antibiotics. i caught the worst kind of pneumonia in the ER where I worked. i am wondering, after thinking of this, if those antibiotics tore my stomach up so much that it has caused the loss of appetite. i'm going to mention that to my doctor. whatever it is, i'm tired of it. i'm glad that the Effexor is working on the emotional eating that you were doing. i do think it is a good drug. i had horrible anxiety attacks before i started on it and they completely went away.
Posted by KrissyP on February 28, 2003, at 11:07:46
In reply to Re: unusual weight loss on effexor?, posted by napaba on February 28, 2003, at 7:43:14
I am so happy for you! Not only because your depression and anxiety has lifted but that the Effexor at 75mg has seemed to help with your weight. That is great:) As I went back ON Effexor 4 days ago,I hope this feeling of no appetite continues, I find myself, also, just not reaching for food lately. Do you take the Effexor XR? At night or in the morning?
Kristen--------------------------------------------------------------------------------->I gained 50 pounds over the past two years. I was reaching for food everytime stress or dispare took over. I started taking Effexor 6 weeks a go and have lost alomost 10 pounds. I'm no longer depressed and my anxiety is much better. I am now able to stay on a diet, because I am no longer over whelmed with those feelings constently, I'm not eating nonstop. I take 75 mg's.
Posted by napaba on February 28, 2003, at 11:32:26
In reply to Re: unusual weight loss on effexor? » napaba, posted by KrissyP on February 28, 2003, at 11:07:46
> I take mine at night. When I took it in the morning I was tired all day and didn't sleep well at night. Sence I made the switch I no longer yawn all day and feel like I'm in fog and my sleep is very restfull. I sleep between 6 - 7 hours. Good luck I hope the Effexor helps with your appetite.
I am so happy for you! Not only because your depression and anxiety has lifted but that the Effexor at 75mg has seemed to help with your weight. That is great:) As I went back ON Effexor 4 days ago,I hope this feeling of no appetite continues, I find myself, also, just not reaching for food lately. Do you take the Effexor XR? At night or in the morning?
> Kristen--------------------------------------------------------------------------------->I gained 50 pounds over the past two years. I was reaching for food everytime stress or dispare took over. I started taking Effexor 6 weeks a go and have lost alomost 10 pounds. I'm no longer depressed and my anxiety is much better. I am now able to stay on a diet, because I am no longer over whelmed with those feelings constently, I'm not eating nonstop. I take 75 mg's.
>
Posted by Badger on February 28, 2003, at 12:31:03
In reply to Re: unusual weight loss on effexor?, posted by napaba on February 28, 2003, at 11:32:26
I've been taking Effexor for the past 4 months, starting off at 75mg/day and for the last three months at 150mg/day (XR formulation). Although I had some loss of appetite for the first few days, I got over this and have since put on 15 to 20 pounds, which I definitely didn't need. However, I'm not going to worry about the extra weight right now, preferring to concentrate on feeling better and getting my life in order.
I started seeing a therapist 2 months ago, and something seems to be working - whether it's the medication, the therapy, or just the fact that the days are finally getting longer I'm not sure. In any event, I'm planning to stay on the Effexor for the probably the next year or so and then reevaluate my options.
I'm lucky that my medical insurance from work pays 80% of the drug costs. They also pay 80% of the therapist costs, but unfortunately only up to the first $1000 of treatment. At $130/hour, that's not very many sessions. While I'm very happy with my therapist, I'm afraid that I will have to give up seeing her fairly soon.
The points I wanted to emphasize for those who are new to this drug (and to this message board) are that:
1) Many (not all) side effects do go away in time, either in a matter of days or weeks - unless they are really debilitating, don't let the initial effects deter you from giving this medecine time to do its work.
2) Although I had a brief period of relief after about two weeks on the drug, I fell back into depression, although not as bad as before I started. I would say that it took at least 2 months on my current dosage before I started to feel significantly better (and as noted earlier, it's hard to tell if other factors are also responsible).
3) This drug affects everybody differently. Some people lose weight while others gain it; some suffer from insomnia and become hyper, while others sleep much more than usual and are tired all day; some (most?) lose interest in sex, while others (lucky ones) actually seem to have an increased sex drive. These are all real, legitimate side effects, whether your doctor believes you or not.
4) Finally, while I haven't experienced it yet, it seems fairly obvious from posts here that discontinuing Effexor can be very difficult for some people. Still, I think it's important to recognize that those who have no problems are unlikely to seek out, or post to, sites like this. I've seen the same phenomenon on other message boards related to computer hardware and software. If one were to judge solely from them, one might conclude that the products were useless or worse. In fact, if that were the case, those products (and this drug) wouldn't be on the market for very long. I think that people need to be aware and be cautious, but not panic. There are ways to reduce withdrawal symptoms - e.g., cut back *very* slowly, and possibly take Prozac or an antihistamine when you first eliminate the drug altogether. You should always talk to your doctor first, and if they don't acknowledge or understand your situation, try to find another doctor who will.
I don't know why I've rambled on so long, but I've been lurking here for some time, and thought I'd finally try to contribute something back.
Best wishes to all -
Badger
Posted by justyourlaugh on February 28, 2003, at 13:07:32
In reply to Re: no withdrawal here..., posted by Tabitha on February 27, 2003, at 0:17:21
i stopped effexor suddenly.
i have the stranges"brain zapps"as i seen them being called here,for about a month.
they felt really cool....
pleasurable...
?
jyl
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