Posted by sanfran on August 17, 2004, at 14:39:53
I have never posted on this board before, but read extensively from others postings. It is past due for me to add my own personal experience in the continual journey of medication trial & error. The main reason is that when I had no one to dialogue with regarding medication induced side-effects, this board literally gave me a thread of sanity in my internal questions of what I was feeling or not feeling. Is it me or is it the medication?
Soooo...here is my personal experience with Effexor for anyone considering it or who has already tried it & possibly experienced the same effects:
DOSE:
Effexor XR 75mg once daily
Duration: 3 months
Why the dose: Very sensitive to meds and the lowest possible dose always works for me. I couldn't go beyone 75 w/o bad headaches.POSTITIVE AFFECTS:
1) ANXIETY GONE: Erradicated mine COMPLETELY, which included: facial blushing, speaking in large groups, heart racing, obsessive thoughts, GAD, specific anxiety, social phobia.
2) DEPRESSION GONE: The depression that has plagued me on & off since I was 15 and only recently battled with this past year was gone. Didn't even consider the question why am I alive and what is it worth anymore. Self-esteem was normal. Getting through the day was easy, no crying, no questioning. Able to function normally like other people. Daily frustrations and disappointments were not the crashing events they used to be. Could no longer cry at nothing.
NEGATIVE AFFECTS:
1) HAIR LOSS & THINNING: noticed this after 3 months. Severe enough that the complete texture of my hair just changed. Ratty, whispy hair was my style now. U-G-L-Y
2) NO MOTIVATION: I could barely get the motivation to mountain bike, which I usually did without thinking 4 times a week. I had no interest in anything really. Just a blah feeling...not good or bad, just no feeling.
Depersonalization: again, I just wasn't affected 'either' way on the spectrum. Never too happy or too sad. I had a hard time getting excited about anything.3) EXTREME FATIGUE: This side effect only popped up the last 3 weeks I was on it. I could sleep 11 hours and wake up, do some work on the computer, and feel this horrific impending fatigue. Not a tired feeling, but a feeling of being anemic and simply not strong enough to get up and move. Horrible to exist this way.
4) CYSTIC ACNE: Confined (weirdly enough) only to my jaw & neck. It scarred me in two places and the acne was painful and took weeks to de-flate.
5)TMJ: Grinding my teeth so severely in my sleep that I woke up unable to open my mouth... diagnosis was TMJ. I also found myself clenching my teeth (unknowingly) during the day.
6) WEIGHT GAIN: Intially, the med in it's first 2 weeks gave me zero appetite. I am by genetics, a naturally thin woman who has never battled food or weight. I gained 10 pounds, and my appetite was ravenous. My body had insane cravings that I couldn't control with will-power..they felt un-natural and obsessive, almost as if my body had to comply.
SUMMARY:
I had been looking for a medication like Effexor for years. Have been on all the SSRI's...and Effexor was the only one to rid me completely of my anxiety (blushing & social phobia being the mainstays) & severe depression. It worked in curing me of those symptoms, but it also brought with it other tiny devils that I simply could not live with.As of today, I have gone off of effexor completely, although with a slew of mixed feelings. Currently in search of the med that won't make me tired, will keep me out of my organic depression and alleviate the anxiety & blushing that have haunted me my entire life.
If you have any suggestions or experiences, please write and share. Best of luck to you all!
poster:sanfran
thread:378771
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040817/msgs/378771.html