Posted by als1972sd on December 17, 2004, at 0:52:20
In reply to A whole new hell , I discovered, posted by jubilee on December 16, 2004, at 14:24:55
I have been on Effexor for 3.5 years at 300mg per day. This drug was the magic bullet for curing a lifetime of chronic depression (dysthymia). I highly recommend it to anyone who has had poor results with SSRIs (I tried prozac, wellbutrin, paxil first). Effexor is generally well tolerated, but side effects can become apparent at higher doses. I experienced slightly elevated heart rate and blood pressure and some constipation, but it was not clear that the elevated heart rate was not due to my lethargic body being reanimated by the medication. To anyone starting this medication, I suggest spending several months evaluating your dose.
When I made it to 300mg/day I found myself sweating excessively during exercise and while sleeping. My doc suggested this might be due to being out of shape and indeed, after a physical traing program and having reduced some of the stress associated with the recovery process the sweating went away. I did find that the elevated blood pressure, heart rate and constipation did not go away however, so a new doctor recently suggested I try Lexapro. Lexapro is reported to have the lowest magnitude of side effects (esp intestinal), so it seemed like a good idea. I started my change over by lowering Effexor to 150mg/day and taking 10mg lexapro/day. I continued this for a week and had no withdrawl symptoms other than a very very slight flu like feeling on day one. At the end of the first week I stopped the Effexor entirely, continuing with 10mg/day Lexapro. During week two I experienced some insomnia and a funny electrical sensation when I walk that is like suddenly becoming aware of your nerve transmissions as they run along your limbs. It is a strange sensation but not painful or disabling at all. My mood has not changed for the worse and I have felt more of an antianxiety effect than I did on Effexor. I have read that Lex is great for anxiety.
I think my experience demonstrates the wisdom of taking a SSRI while discontinuing Effexor even if you do not plan on staying on it long term.
Another thing I found really helpful in treating depression was omega-3 fatty acid supplements. These are used as a natural treatment for depression in Europe and made me feel noticeable more stable emotionally even while on Effexor.
Hope this was useful,Aaron
poster:als1972sd
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041211/msgs/430620.html