Posted by leslieg on December 10, 2002, at 13:09:17
In reply to Re: Effexor XR: Any advice would be appreciated..., posted by jtc on December 9, 2002, at 21:31:13
> > My son was on Zoloft (and ritalin) from about 7 years old until he was about 11 years old. He's still on adderall for his ADHD. We used Zoloft because it had worked so very well for me; there was a definite assumption that genetically he had a greater chance of reacting well to the same med I had reacted well to. I am very afraid of Effexor, and based on my own reactions and withdrawal from it I would *never* let my kids take it. But perhaps you are doing very well on it. I weaned my son off of Zoloft as he entered his teenage years because Zoloft made me inorgasmic and I did not want my son to go through his "high-hormone teen years" with no sex drive! Sure, it may have made me worry less, but it isn't normal! Our home life had changed enough that his depression still hasn't come back. (Yea!)
> >
> > As for meds being approved for use on children, most are not (psychiactric or otherwise). You need to have a doctor who has used the drugs with enough children clients to have a feel for what works and what doesn't.
> >
> Hi leslieg,
> Thanks for your response. I am curious as to what problems you had while on Effexor and what were your withdrawal symptoms? I have thought about trying to go off of Effexor because I have been researching it on the internet and it sounds a little scary. That is why I am a little scared for my daughter to take it. For the most part it has helped me except for the weight gain and I also notice that if I miss a dose I start to feel lightheaded and really strange. I am on 75 mg and my daughter is on 37.5 mg. I don't need to gain any more weight though. I find myself eating all the time even when not hungry. My daughter lost 1 1/2 pounds since starting the Effexor three weeks ago and she is already thin enough. It seems like she is doing a little better since starting the Effexor. I will have to speak to her psychiatrist and get her advice about any other medications my child could try. Thanks so much for responding to my post.
> jtc
> >While I was on Effexor, I was taking it "once a day". Since I was very sleepy all the time, I would take it when I was up and about, which was definitely not the same time every day. But because Effexor has such a short half-life, it needs to be taken at the same time every day, or your body starts to go through withdrawal (I was not told this until too late!). I didn't realize that was what was causing my periodic dizziness and general feeling of un-wellness. I gained weight, but I had also stopped exercising and my eating had gone out of control. Although I weaned off over a 3-week period, when I finally stopped I had electrical sensations (I heard a buzz every time I moved my eyes), twitches, anxiety, weepiness, generally felt bad ... I can't remember all the symptoms. The twitches (I call them voluntary spasms), a funny non-physically-based limp and slurring words when I am tired are three things that started when I got off the Effexor which, 2.5 years later, I still have.
-- Leslie
poster:leslieg
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021210/msgs/131244.html