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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Bell_75 on January 16, 2004, at 0:35:05
I've been on Effexor-XR 75mg for 12 months now and my main concern that has me asking the females here is that I have stopped having my period for the last 4 nearly 5 months.
Before I went on Effexor I was abit irregular but thats sort of expected in younger women but never ever have I gone this long without a period and its really worrying. Before effexor I never missed a period any month all year.
I saw my GP about it in December 2003 and he said I should trial going off my meds then go back to see him if i dont feel well (i went to see him because I had ran out of repeats and needed a new script).
I knew in myself that it was a bad time of the year (really busy period at work and xmas chaos) to go through the gruelling withdrawal symptoms that come with coming off Effexor. (I also had a pregnancy test which came back negative and I have not been sexually active since due to relationship break-up etc).So I kept myself on them and had hoped to god that I'd get my period and not need to go off them. My depression is really strong atm and my therapist also thinks it would do more harm to go off my meds than good.
Time has passed since then and still no menstral cycle. I'm turning 20 this year and this is a really worrisome issue for a woman of my age and any other woman I'm sure. I'm now worried it may affect my chances of being fertile in the future.
So, I couldn't get in to see my GP this week and hes going on holidays next week. However, my medication runs out sometime next week so i booked in to see a different doctor i havent seen before.
I just wanted to see if there are any other women out there who have experienced similiar problems to this and whether they changed drugs or stopped completely. My GP didn't really give me much insight in my last visit so I'm hoping for more luck with a different doc.
I'm worried, this doesn't feel right. My female instincts are telling me there's something very wrong about this yet my depression is saying I wont be able to handle going off my meds now.Any help/advice will be much appreciated.
Thanks for reading :)
Posted by Psychopoppy on January 16, 2004, at 3:17:33
In reply to For the females, medication-related. Effexor-XR, posted by Bell_75 on January 16, 2004, at 0:35:05
Thats really awful, what your'e going through.Well, first off, GET another Doctor !! If you're doc isnt worried then dump him and find one who will listen. I know its easier said than done but keep trying.
I've been taking Effexor and apart from the awful memory-loss, dampening of sex-drive, low energy and sleep distrubances (and one wonders why we still fill our bodies with this chemical crap !?!), it didnt affect my menstrual cycle a whole lot. I have to admit that this is first time I'm hearing of your problem.
Since you''re so afraid of going off the stuff (for obvious reasons), have you considreed switching drugs ? Like to an SSRI (prozac..etc) ? That way you might kill two birds with one stone...as in you might alleviate the withdrawal symptoms and also find your menstrual cycle coming back to normal.I would consult a gynaecologist too in the meantime. I hope you can get a referral.
SO, dont give up and get some answers.
Posted by crazychickuk on January 16, 2004, at 3:18:35
In reply to For the females, medication-related. Effexor-XR, posted by Bell_75 on January 16, 2004, at 0:35:05
If you had irregular periods before, then maybe there is something going on down there.. i was like that, i went to the doctors and was refered to a gyni turnt out i had poly cystic ovarys... i am lucky to get a period every 4/5/6 mnths.. might just be something simple like that... although stress can cause it, i am not to sure about ad's doing it.. but it would be a good idea to get it checked out.
Donna
Posted by Bell_75 on January 16, 2004, at 3:53:04
In reply to Re: For the females, medication-related. Effexor-XR, posted by crazychickuk on January 16, 2004, at 3:18:35
> If you had irregular periods before, then maybe there is something going on down there.. i was like that, i went to the doctors and was refered to a gyni turnt out i had poly cystic ovarys... i am lucky to get a period every 4/5/6 mnths.. might just be something simple like that... although stress can cause it, i am not to sure about ad's doing it.. but it would be a good idea to get it checked out.
> DonnaThanks Donna for the advice :) much appreciated.
My periods before were only irregular as in a day or so late than i had counted so maybe that could be a case of some people having a shorter cycle and some having long (as in the time between ovulation.)
As poppy said 'I need to get a new doc!' I haven't liked this guy's attitude from the day he first diagnosed me with depression. In my opinion he tries to cover up his lack of knowledge with a really laid-back clinical attitude towards everything but thats another story.
When I went to him and said I was worried about my periods stopping he looked up the list of side effects and said that 2% of people experience period disturbance but he didn't say anything about them stopping all together. Then he went on to add...oh it could be this, this and this (insert ovarian conditions that he didnt write down or bother to explain to me) but we'll just stop your medication anyway (instead of exploring those options).
I'm unimpressed and darn right concerned. So..while my GP is away I'm booked in at the same medical centre to see a female doctor and hopefully get some clear answers and options.
My therapist advised me to have clear in my head (possibly write down) any questions I have and make sure they get answered because its part of the patient knowledge right or something of similar name to that.
I know something isn't right. A few times during the month I've noticed that I've been getting all the PMS like symptoms but the actual event never occurs. I get cramps, mood swings, emotional...you name it! I feel like my body is trying to get out but it cant :('*hugs* take care.
Posted by dragonfly25 on January 16, 2004, at 7:40:12
In reply to For the females, medication-related. Effexor-XR, posted by Bell_75 on January 16, 2004, at 0:35:05
hi
i hope this is a little reassuring...but i lost my period for a year when i was on, i think prozac, i was 19. i expereinced cramps every month but i never really did anything about it b/c, well i really don't know. so i never got to the root of it but eventually i got my period back. and i have gone for months when i don't have a period where i believe it is due to drug changes. but it probably isn't normal and your doc should be reasurring you, not brushing it off.
hope all works out
Posted by metalflipflop on January 16, 2004, at 9:50:55
In reply to For the females, medication-related. Effexor-XR, posted by Bell_75 on January 16, 2004, at 0:35:05
=/ sorry you are in this situation. when i went on meds (celexa, now zoloft and lamictal) i remember reading that they can (though rarely) cause menstrual irregularities. my periods have been SO erratic lately (i am 21, been on medication since i was 20), and my gyno attributes that to weight loss. my appetite is so lost on these meds, and now i'm a bit too thin. i think it can work either way though--has your weight changed much? have you been consistently stressed, even about this issue? i have read about the stress sort of jinxing ourselves regarding the very reason we are worrying!
i have gone 70, 80 days without a period though usually have had random spotting. i too have felt like i am still cycling somehow, feeling pms and bloating and cramps and all that, but just never actually having my period start! i bet there are so many interactions we don't know about between serotonin-increasing drugs and hormones. what we do know is that hormones definitely affect mood, so why not the other way around? my doc says my symptoms indicate that i am having anovulatory cycles, meaning that i don't ovulate so my uterine lining doesn't build up and shed like normal. my estrogen level is normal, however, so i still go through its monthly fluctuations.
??????
doesn't make a lot of sense to me, really, no matter how much i read about the subject. it is slightly worrisome as i don't want children now but in the future want to at least have the option! i mean, we're young, we should be fertile, right?? i agree that you should go to a female doc (gp or gyno) and have her check your hormone levels--estrogen, thyroid, whatever they can do--as well as ruling out all other possible causes.
our bodies are telling us something, whatever it may be.
good luck,
liz
Posted by Bell_75 on January 16, 2004, at 22:26:50
In reply to Re: For the females, medication-related. Effexor-XR » Bell_75, posted by metalflipflop on January 16, 2004, at 9:50:55
Yeah I've put on all the weight I lost during the heaviest part of my depression and then some. I'm not happy about this but I think its mainly due to the medication. What isnt, eh? Also around the time that I started to stop getting my period was a really stressful period with a relationship break-up and difficulties at work along with the stress increasing the more i do go without a period.
Your situation does sound similar to mine and its such a relief to hear that I'm not the only person having these qualms and questions about their fertility especially at a young age.
For now all I can do is wait it out for a few more days till I see the female GP and hopefully get somethings clued up and questions answered.
Thanks for your help :)
Posted by torislittlefaerie on February 22, 2005, at 14:50:16
In reply to For the females, medication-related. Effexor-XR, posted by Bell_75 on January 16, 2004, at 0:35:05
I can't even begin to tell you how releaved I am to have read your message! I am 26, almost 27. My periods were pretty regular for the most part, give a day or 2.
I started on 75mg of Effexor toward the beginning of January, and haven't gotten a period since. Been freaking out because I was seriously beginnin to think I was pregnant, but now I know it's because of the Effexor. I love Effexor for the way I can finally think clearly, but hate that I had to read all these messages to finally tell me, that I am not preggers (Thank Goodness!). I took 3 pregnancy tests, all of which came back negative.
You are not alone. I'm sure there are many more women out there. It's good to know I'm not the only one out there. :-)
This is the end of the thread.
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