Effexor Day 4: tired and hot
 

Hi,
I am taking one half of a 37.5 mgs capsule (18.75 mgs).

I was very sleepy and hot all day.
I'm going to go to bed soon.


The a/c was out at work and I slept very little last night so I can't know exactly if the Effexor is causing this, but I'm sure it is.
Ugh. I had to leave early from work.

Pdoc told me to take it in the AM because it is activating. ??!

M.

hi.

yes, it is activating. many antidepressants are or can be, but different people react different ways even to ones in the same class. like i CANNOT TOUCH Paxil, but zoloft is fine if approached slowly, and i took celexa before too and that was ok too.

i can say for sure that this time, i had some activation initially with Zoloft, but pretty mild and it did pass after about a week at the same dose.... i actually noticed it more at the beginning, 25mg and then 50mg.... so i think it was very helpful stay low until i was "comfortable" again. now i am taking 150mg of it and did not notice any side effects at all increasing from 100 to 150mg!

the sweating might resolve too. that could be related to the activation. i had that problem with Effexor, but at night more than in the day... now i can't remember when i took it but i'm thinking morning, also. also had other sleep issues with it - maybe i metabolize it more slowly so that it ends up messing with me at night. Anyway Effexor and i did not get along. i hope you do better with it.

~ waves ~

I think you are sleep deprived....and the fact that your ac was out...that too can make you tired.
I am hoping that you can get some good sleep sometime soon.
((((HUGS))))
bizi

Paresthesia
 

Hi,
I took a nap and still feel sleepy and foggy.
Now I also have paresthesia in my face, arms, . . .Pdoc had said that paresthesia (or formication) could be caused by activation / norephedrine.

I might take 1/4 dose tomorrow morning: (9.38 mgs).
After that I will decide tomorrow whether I am going to stop this drug.

I need to be able to function at work.


M.

Dear Mari

indeed with your doc's explanation i was a tad surprised at his wanting to replace the Wellbutrin (acts on norepinephrine, dopamine) with Cymbalta or Effexor (act on norepinephrine, serotonin).

the mechanism is different - Wellbutrin is not a reuptake inhibitor but still... if increasing your NE levels is the problem..... how about we don't take a med whcih does that??? hmmmmm. well i'm sure doc knows something i don't about that. this is yer, non-doc, lay-man's logic sorta thing here. :rolleyes:

Are you still going to ask about the Zoloft? (it only affects serotonin).

if you do, ask him for 25's. seriously. so that you can start at 12.5. it will be slow going but i (who can take it) had unpleasantness last time, starting at 50, which is a common starting dose. even 25 i did notice it, but it was much better.

in your case i'd go up by 12.5mg every week (assuming no problems or problems improve), until you reach 50mg. then 25mg per week.

you can tell him flat out you want to do this. i think by now he has seen you go through enough crap to realize you can react strongly to meds and even if he doesn't "buy it" medically, he can humor you at this point.

what i tell my docs, if i'm "arguing" dosing needs is... "i would be much more comfortable with ...."

his role is to help you be more comfortable, not more uncomfortable.

good luck! :hug::hug::hug:

waves

I'm not taking this anymore: foggy, hot, and stingy pins and needles, . . .
 

Dear Waves,
Yeah I knew the first time he explained that crap to me that he was bs-ing.

Recently I saw this about the action of Effexor at much higher doses than I would be taking:

http://www.crazymeds.us/effexor.html
I told him that I had run across how the brain stuff happens depending on dose. He shrugged.

Pdoc is ok with my starting at baby doses. He gave me very small doses of Wellbutrin. He prescribed baby doses of the Cymbalta that insurance did not approve. He did prescribe baby doses of the Effexor.

Since April, I have been trying to find an anti-depressant. I'm taking a break so I can focus on

1. work (Yesterday I worked through the brain fog but barely functioned. Today I stayed home -- feel just as bad as I did yesterday and I have not taken any Effexor.) Things would really stink if I stayed on this long enough to have to try to discontinue it.

2. all those tests that mdoc wants.

The paresthesia is a serious concern. I wonder if I would have a reaction with most ADs.


At the end of our last appt, I checked with pdoc by saying something about if I am going to have problems with Effexor I will know early and if it helps me I will know in a month or so. He said, "yes." I know that this is not exactly true. My point is that this is the agreement we had when I left the office --- if the med stinks in the beginning, I'm not going to wait out the month.

M.

Mari

You will know is so right. Just give it a little time though please.

Donna:grouphug:

Dear Mari,
You are wise to listen to your body.
I am sorry thta you are having to go thru the medication roller coaster.
It does not sound like fun at all.
I don't understand why the welbutrin worked for years for you but not now?
sorry if you have explained that before.
bizi

Dear Bizi,
I started Wellbutrin around 1993. I started having the paresthesia off and on around 2004. Eventually the side effects got worse so I went off Wellbutrin around 2006 or so.

I had hoped that when I re-started Wellbutrin I might not have the same side effects, but I did.

I'm having the same side effects with the Effexor.
I'm concerned that I cannot take an AD at all.

M.

Mari,

Are you taking the extended release tabs, or regular effexor?
Are you going to be on any AD at all?

I think it's pretty common to have drug sensitivities.
I have a lot of experience with paresthesias and I know uncomfortable it can be. Since you've got a history with this, I really can't blame you for wanting to stop the effexor.

I took zoloft for years and didn't have any side effects until I went to higher doses. Even then, it was stomach issues that were pretty well controlled by prilosec. I love having to take an extra med to control the s/e of another med...

Mari, I hope that you feel better soon, whichever route you choose to take.
:hug: