Effexor XR Help Please!

[externalsmile]

PMSL (at myself of course) I was just reading away and then OH DAMN! I FORGOT TO TAKE MY EFFEXOR!! It is an hour since my dinner so I am praying I won't have a sick stomach tonight.

I must say I have been lucky, a few times I have forgotten one or been a few hours late with only a bit of extra tearfulness on some of the occassions.

I used to take the tablet in the morning and lately my mood was dipping alot in the evening. I changed last week to taking it in the evening for convinience and have found I am not getting the dips in mood.

Glad a change in dosage helped with your pain.

 

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CherryBlossom,

I count with a dream journal. Last cycle I dreamed my husband was doing the dishes, the one before that I had just been given a new pair of sneakers, before that was the reoccurring back in school nightmare with a new twist... it was middle school (horrible year at a catholic school where I experienced major depression for most of the year). Hopefully I will work up to lucid dreaming. Another way to count is to track the number of times I get woken up and the length of time between these disturbances.

ExternalSmile,

Glad you remembered! I hope you will be OK. Its interesting you mention dips in mood. I read that Effexor has a really short half life. I am already planing to talk to my quack about splitting up the dose to every 12 hours (like I am doing now). I wonder if anybody else has info on that.

One more side note about the pain: I had also been experiencing a lot of rapid weight gain even though I was eating much less than normal. I also noticed that my hands were swollen and sore to the point where it was hard to move my rings. Apparently Effexor, Propanol, and NSAID pain medication (like Tylanol) all make you retain water. I dropped the Propanol and NSAIDs, avoided salt and sugar, took pills for water retention, wrapped myself up in ace bandages and laid on a heating pad for about a day. I lost 6 pounds of water in 24 hours and noticed I could breathe better and the swelling had gone down dramatically. This combined with yoga (which thankfully I can do again) seems to have solved the problem.

 

[externalsmile]

In work I have seen doses divided of Effexor XL. Morning and night doses.

As for water retention....green tea is great for that. It takes about 3 cups a day and tastes weird at first. After a few days you will start enjoying it. You will pee like a racehorse for the first few days also but it works wonders.

 

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Omega 3 fatty acids have been helping a lot with that zappy feeling and GABA has been helpful with the lack of concentration and focus.

I am trying to get off the stuff now because I was starting to fiend for it at the higher doses like a hard core drug addict. I was completely loosing my mind. I had some Prozac left since that was what I was on before Effexor XR. The Prozac totally stopped the cravings and it has been almost 48 hours since my last Effexor dose. I am having withdraw symptoms, but the Prozac has made them much less severe (along with everything else I am doing). I know its just swapping one drug for another but I am looking at it as the antidepressant equivalent of using methadone to get off heroine. So far its working.

I love green tea so I will absolutely be trying that out. Other things I have been doing include water with lime, lemon, or grape fruit juice splashed in (without sweetener). I have also used compression on the worst areas combined with heat. Occasionally I will use an OTC diuretic when the swelling in my hands gets too bad.

I think its good for us to share ideas on what helps then we can be better educated next time we go to our doctors.

Best wishes,

Liz

 

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One quick update to Effexor users: 877*612*1148 is the phone number to call to ask questions and document the effects you have had. It is disturbing how little info the company had. For starters each study had been short term, interaction with other substances not controlled, and low four figures in number of people (statistically insignificant). I also asked about the interaction with my medications as well as some common OTC meds. Do not take NSAIDs as internal bleeding may result... this is due to elevated serotonin levels decreasing the platelet's ability to form clots. Interaction with antihistamines is completely unknown. Interaction with Lunesta and Ambien also has not been tested. Interaction with Colonzepam may increase risk of serotonin syndrome (weird and counter intuitive). At least one week is needed for each adjustment. Beta blockers showed reduced efficacy due to increased epinephrine levels... although only one was tested and it was neither Atenolol nor Propanol. No studies have been done for PTSD.