Effexor anyone?
Question:
::snipped:: I have been on effexor XR as well. ::snipped:: I started feeling a lot better, but then I started having nasty side effects and wanted to end the program or back down to a different dosage. You increased every week in dosage.
What were your nasty side effects. Elizabeth eluded to a similar experience in a previous post and I’m very curious as to what the specifics are regards this. After I pulled myself out of the study, I found out that I had indeed been taking Effexor XR. My only point is, YMMV, but a lower dose (not sure what that would be) had a better effect for me than increasing it.
Thank you, John. I started at 37.5 mg. yesterday, then I’m up to 75mg. in 7 days. At that time, I’ll discontinue to Zoloft and Klonipin and see how this flies. ~Valerie
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Okay, I finally have the cardiac thing back in the closet and I get the worries…. you know, the disease-of-the-week type. My pdoc recommends starting Effexor XR, while still on 100 mg. of Zoloft and .25mg. of Klonipin, weaning off of Zoloft and the Klonipin after I’ve been on 75mgs. of EFX for 2 weeks. Problem, in my experience, I’ve never met anyone with a true PD to be satisfied with the results of this SNRI. Anyone out there with a brighter perspective on this med? And what side effects can I anticipate if I do decide to take it? BTW, to anyone who may have followed my plight, the desipramine was an anti-cholinergic disaster even at 10mgs….vision problems, ear ringing, resting pulse of 110!! As always, your opinions are much appreciated…. ~Valerie (who is much better with other people’s PD than her own sometimes!!!)
I have been on effexor XR as well. As a matter of fact, I was on it before it was released in the U.S. How? I was part of a study with a well established psychiatric research center in Atlanta. You know, one of the ones where they get all of the final info before they release it. Of course at the time you didn’t know what you were taking. This particular subject was either Effexor XR, BuSpar, or placebo. I had taken enough meds to know that I wasn’t taking the placebo. I started feeling a lot better, but then I started having nasty side effects and wanted to end the program or back down to a different dosage. You increased every week in dosage. After I pulled myself out of the study, I found out that I had indeed been taking Effexor XR. My only point is, YMMV, but a lower dose (not sure what that would be) had a better effect for me than increasing it. The psychiatrist heading the program tried to allow me to back down on the dosage while I was in the (double-blind) study. However, the pharmaceutical firm wouldn’t allow any changes in the program. John L
Response:
Valerie, I took Effexor XR for a little while – six weeks perhaps – and I thought it was fine. I didn’t have panic attacks while I was on it. I had this nasty reaction that I’m loath to describe because it might freak you out and I’ve never heard of anything similar happening to anyone else, that caused me to stop taking it. The main side effect, otherwise that is, was tremor. I’d tried regular Effexor (immediate-release) back in 1996 and it made me sick to my stomach so I stopped after a few days. The XR didn’t do that. If you are sensitive to SSRI side effects, Effexor is likely to do the same thing. Start at a low dose – say, 1/2 or even 1/4 of a 25mg tablet (immediate-release – then go to slow-release later) – and increase gradually; you know the drill. 
-elizabeth
Response:
Okay, I finally have the cardiac thing back in the closet and I get the worries…. you know, the disease-of-the-week type. My pdoc recommends starting Effexor XR, while still on 100 mg. of Zoloft and .25mg. of Klonipin, weaning off of Zoloft and the Klonipin after I’ve been on 75mgs. of EFX for 2 weeks. Problem, in my experience, I’ve never met anyone with a true PD to be satisfied with the results of this SNRI. Anyone out there with a brighter perspective on this med? And what side effects can I anticipate if I do decide to take it? BTW, to anyone who may have followed my plight, the desipramine was an anti-cholinergic disaster even at 10mgs….vision problems, ear ringing, resting pulse of 110!! As always, your opinions are much appreciated…. ~Valerie (who is much better with other people’s PD than her own sometimes!!!)
