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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by volkwag63 on July 12, 2004, at 17:56:22
Hello,
I'm new to this site and I am so glad I found it. I have had many questions about this drug and I feel much better knowing that there are so many people out there having the same issues. With that being said, I have been taking Effexor XR for about 7 months and am on 150mg/day. It worked great for a while and I was able to deal w/ the side effects. But I don't feel like it is doing what it used to. I have lost all motivation and I feel tired all the time. Should I raise my dosage? And if I do raise my dosage, will I run into this problem again when my body gets used to that amount? Any insight that could be passed along would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by partlycloudy on July 12, 2004, at 20:12:34
In reply to Should I stay on Effexor?, posted by volkwag63 on July 12, 2004, at 17:56:22
Perhaps another AD in addition to the effexor would help? I was getting good results with effxor at that dose but still was crying every day. We added Wellbutrin and it helped immensely. The wb jacked me up (agitated) but we also put some ambien into the mix and I feel sooooo much better.
The side effects are a b*tch but better than where I was before.
Posted by Racer on July 13, 2004, at 1:27:40
In reply to Re: Should I stay on Effexor? » volkwag63, posted by partlycloudy on July 12, 2004, at 20:12:34
First thing, I'd say talk to your doctor about it. If Effexor was working, and you could tolerate it, talk to your doctor about why it might have stopped working and whether there's something he/she can do to help it become more effective again.
Then, based on nothing at all except my own experience on Effexor a few years ago, I'd also suggest that you ask your doctor about a glucose tolerance test, or about sending a glucometer home with you for a week to check whether the Effexor is playing with your glucose levels. Fatigue and lethargy can be symptoms of hyperglycemia. Again, this isn't a scientific suggestion, just one person's anecdotal experience. (My diabetic husband would test my blood sugar at times when he thought there might be something wrong with it. On Effexor, it varied pretty widely.)
And have you had your thyroid levels checked? Sometimes thyroid problems can manifest as depression.
Adding another drug is an option, too. Effexor on its own didn't work for me, but with the addition of a low dose of Prozac, it became effective in treating my depression -- although it pooped out for me, too.
Have you taken other anti-depressants in the past? Did any of them work well for you? If so, what drugs have you tried, successfully or not?
Hope there's something in there that helps you. Best luck.
Posted by volkwag63 on July 13, 2004, at 10:42:49
In reply to Re: Should I stay on Effexor?, posted by Racer on July 13, 2004, at 1:27:40
> First thing, I'd say talk to your doctor about it. If Effexor was working, and you could tolerate it, talk to your doctor about why it might have stopped working and whether there's something he/she can do to help it become more effective again.
>
> Then, based on nothing at all except my own experience on Effexor a few years ago, I'd also suggest that you ask your doctor about a glucose tolerance test, or about sending a glucometer home with you for a week to check whether the Effexor is playing with your glucose levels. Fatigue and lethargy can be symptoms of hyperglycemia. Again, this isn't a scientific suggestion, just one person's anecdotal experience. (My diabetic husband would test my blood sugar at times when he thought there might be something wrong with it. On Effexor, it varied pretty widely.)
>
> And have you had your thyroid levels checked? Sometimes thyroid problems can manifest as depression.
>
> Adding another drug is an option, too. Effexor on its own didn't work for me, but with the addition of a low dose of Prozac, it became effective in treating my depression -- although it pooped out for me, too.
>
> Have you taken other anti-depressants in the past? Did any of them work well for you? If so, what drugs have you tried, successfully or not?
>
> Hope there's something in there that helps you. Best luck.I have had my thyroid levels checked out and that wasn't an issue. I have not heard about the glucose thing though, that's interesting. Hyperglycemia does run in my family. So that would cause me to feel run down then?
This is the first anti-depressant I've taken and I'm not really excited about mixing a cocktail of varieties. Should I try something else entirely before I start adding more drugs?
Does changing the time you take the dose make any difference? I had let my prescription run out so I went a day and a half w/ out taking it (won't let that happen again!) so I took my pill as soon as I got it which was in the evening and I usually take it in the morning, but I feel great this morning. Is that because I was jonesing so bad or does mixing up the timing help?
Oh and 1 more thing. My tongue has become really sensitive in the last month. I don't know why, the only thing I can figure is that it's a reaction to the effexor. I haven't read anything on side effects affecting the tongue. It's hyper-sensitive to spicy foods and rough textures. it's really strange and really annoying, I love spicy foods and I can't eat them any more. Is this normal?
Sorry for all of the questions, I haven't had anyone to talk to about this and I've had all of these ?'s piling up. Thank you so much for helping.
Posted by Racer on July 13, 2004, at 13:45:02
In reply to Re: Should I stay on Effexor?, posted by volkwag63 on July 13, 2004, at 10:42:49
Aha!!! You didn't mention having run out of Effexor in your first post. Effexor has a very short half-life, which means that you can have withdrawal effects pretty quickly after missing a dose. When I was taking it, missing even two days was enough to set me into withdrawal, which can be quite ugly. If you're feeling better now, that may have been the whole problem you were having. (When you do stop taking it, you'll need to taper very slowly in order to avoid withdrawal. That's true of most anti-depressants, but especially true of Effexor.)
I can't remember any tongue weirdness for me, but then weird side effects are another place that mileage varies quite a bit. I know that my diet changed while I was taking it, and I did eat fewer spicy foods, but that had a lot to do with meeting the man who is now my husband -- he doesn't eat spicy foods, so I stopped cooking them.
As for hyperglycemia and feeling yucky -- oh yeah! Boy howdy can it make you feel run down and generally rotten. Hot, lethargic, like you're moving through jello all the time. Horrible. So, if you have a family history of diabetes or elevated blood glucose, getting that checked out is a very good next step for you.
As far as meds in general go, the rules on that keep changing as studies reveal more and more information about how the brain works and how the medications work. The general rule that I learned way back when which still seems to hold, is that the specific neurotransmitter system that is affected by a drug that works will generally be the effective system in subsequent depressive episodes. Meaning, if you take a drug that effects serotonin, for example, and it works, next time you need an anti-depressant, the serotonin system is the first one to shoot at with a med. All that means in practical terms for you is that, once you find a drug that works, it'll be easier to target a drug that will work next time. (If, of course, there is a next time. There may not be.) So, if Effexor works and you can tolerate it, you may never have to take any other drug. If Effexor poops out for you -- for real poop out, not just because you ran out for a few days which I suspect may be the case here -- then at least the doctor can say, "gee, Effexor hits NE and DA, so let's try [x] which also targets the same systems..." and save you a lot of trial and error. That's a Good Thing, from my point of view.
So, check yourself in the next few days, see if you continue to feel better now that you're back on the meds, and if you are, case closed. No poop out. If this is just a short reprieve, though, and you really are experiencing poop out, check with your doctor. Again, you don't have to take a cocktail, necessarily, although don't rule that possiblity out: for a lot of partial responders, a med cocktail is the best solution: it usually requires lower doses than the individual drugs alone, which usually means fewer side effects. But again, if this is just a case of a few days without meds, all of this is likely moot.
Best luck, and I hope that helps.
Posted by volkwag63 on July 13, 2004, at 13:52:30
In reply to Re: Should I stay on Effexor?, posted by Racer on July 13, 2004, at 13:45:02
thanks for the help.
I do think that the effexor isn't working as well as it once did because I've been feeling grappy for a couple weeks now and I only felt the withdrawals yesterday.
Thanks again and I'll have to look into that tongue thing. It's really bugging me.
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