Effexor

I know there is already a very long discussion about Effexor in another thread but most of it seems so negative. I’m supposed to start Effexor XR at 37.5 mg and I’m so freaked out by all I’ve read on here about it. Has anyone had a positive experience besides Jenny on this stuff? And it seems like people were opening their capsules & counting beads. My neurologist never mentioned this although he knows I’m EXTREMELY med sensitive. He wants me to start right at 37.5 mg. I feel like refusing to try it after all the horror stories but then I keep thinking there must be alot of people it’s helping if these guys keep prescribing it. I can only talk to my doctor through email so it’s so hard because we can’t have a conversation about my options. I’ve been on amitriptyline & nortriptyline in the past with no problems and no problems weaning off them either. I’m wondering if this means I might do ok on another antidepressant drug. I cried all night after reading he wants to switch me to Effexor. Anyone else have anything good to say about Effexor?

i wish you lots of luck on Effexor. I wish I had something positive to add. I was wondering why your doctor had you stop Nortriptyline/amitriptyline?

Hmm. I’m not a doctor (duh), but… If you’ve tried both amitriptyline and nortriptyline (the latter is “part” of the former, in the body, but still) without success, I take it… Why try yet another drug that inhibits serotonin/noradrenaline reuptake? :?
I’d personally want to try something else rather than going the same way again.

Tranquility & MAVLisa–I actually had success on nortriptyline (switched from Amitrip to Nortrip because of tiredness) and only came off after having a fast heart rate for months on end. The dr said it was not good to have your heart beating that fast all the time. It was a side effect of the nortriptyline. I’m currently on neurontin & not seeing much results, only side effects after a month. The dr. thought it was time to try something different.

Lisa–didn’t you try Effexor for a while?

Dizzygrl - just wondering what dose did you reach on Nortriptyline when you were feeling better?
I did take Effexor, but I said that I had nothing to add because it wasn’t so positive. I wasn’t able to get past 25mg due to side effects, and I also have concerns about the withdrawal symptoms. But, everyone is different. I hope this is the right drug for you.

I was definitely one of the people who had a bad experience, as you will probably see from the thread I started a while back. However, I have had a bad time with almost all the serotonin enhancing drugs I have tried. Notrtiptyline made me hugely vertiginous, citalopram brought on immediate migraine activity in the form of a visual aura, pizotifen which inhibits serotonin made me unspeakably anxious. The only drug I could tolerate in the anti depressant class was amitriptyline - I actually felt ok on this but it caused severe reflux and I had to come off it.

I guess what I’m saying is that these drugs don’t agree with me generally, so it’s possible effexor might not be a problem for you.

If you decide to go with it, you can always follow what Dr Hain says re effexor - it’s on Chicago dizziness and balance site. He suggests starting at 12mg, so one third of the lowest dose and then titrating up by 12 mg a week after that till you hit 37.5. I think he prescribes the XR version but I’m not sure. My doctor didn’t seem to know about this starting very low approach - many don’t. I just didn’t do as he said and started much lower as I don’t think he had as much experience with these things as the doctors in the states in this field.

Hope this helps,

H

I have also always been med sensative…but for some reason all of the preventaives that I am on have given me no problems what so ever. Anyway, I started at the 37.5 dose for Effexor SR or ER. Just give it a try. you never know, it might just be the one that works best for you.

Pam