Question:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi Enfilade, Effexor is a big time drug to be on for depression – it is usually used for major depression and even some psychotic disorders. I understand that you want off of the medication because you feel good now – but remember, that is the medication helping you to feel better and control your depression. If you are wanting to try something that won’t turn you into a zombie, ask your doctor about weaning off of it, while being started on something else. If you are taken off of medication completely and you begin to relapse, you could spiral downward before a new drug takes effect (anti-depressants usually take 3-4 weeks before full effect is reached). The consequesnces of that far outweight the benefits of being "drug-free." Also, a relapse is usually worse once being taken off of a medication because of the major changes in the chemicals in your brain… Please be careful 
I know there is a stigma attached to being on medication for depression, but it is an illness…. Really think of the benefits of the medication vesus the possible results of being off of the medication. Talk to your doc first about switching to a different kind, one that still helps your symptoms, but with less side effects. Good luck
This is wonderful advice, judging from my experience with clinically’ depressed loved ones. Have your doctor help you find a drug that does not interefere with your quality of life–but remember that depression kills. It is a terrible, debilitating disease.
Response:
I have to second this. These days with managed care, a lot of antidepressants are prescribed by general physicians who frankly don’t have the right pharmocological background.
Yes. And they are prescribing them to people without clinical illness, in many cases. Sometimes I think half the people on antidepressants are not clinically depressed, they just want to "feel better." I think this is dangerous. I’ve been very lucky– in a sense– because my depressions have always been under a psychiatrist’s treatment. I’m not saying this is true of everyone, but with my history, and my genetics, I have a very strong inclination towards depression. I would no more try to "tough" out a depression without medication than I would refuse insulin if I were diabetic. I have had the experience of withdrawing off a very tough drug (nardil), and while I never hope to repeat such a thing, it was incredibly important that I do it. I am now stable on a low dose of Wellbutrin, which seems to have little/no side effects for me.
Wellbutrin has been a wonder drug for a friend of mine. So few side effects for her.
Response:
That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn’t in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of thing until just now. I feel like I’ve gotten suckered into this situation, and that pisses me off. –Enfilade
I was on Effexor for about three years, and went off it for much the same reasons you mentioned. I’ve been off antidepresants for a couple years now, but it’s getting to be time to start again. Going to have to visit the doc to get a prescription for something other than Effexor. If you do it carefully, with the doc monitoring you closely, I’d sure think it ought to be possible to wean yourself off the Effexor until you can start with something else. Of course if you don’t have health insurance the "close monitoring" thing might be a problem too. We’ll be sending our best purrs that you are able to find a way to make the transition off of Effexor.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This is my first vent here… I want to get off the Effexor I’ve been taking for depression for almost a year now. I’ve been more stable than DP’s seen me to be in the past 8 years, in the last 6 months. Unfortunately, in those last 6 months I also sleep about 12 hours a day, and occasionally I get this "Stoned" sensation where stuff gets blurry and I have trouble thinking of words or figuring out just where I am…I’ll wander and then snap out of my reverie like, two hours later, wondering where the time went. The stuff’s expensive as hell, I have no drug coverage, and there’s no way I can do a master’s thesis in September if I’m sleeping more than I’m awake. If I want back on flight operations, I have to lose the drugs that could affect my ability to control an aircraft. So today I’m at the doctor’s and he tells me that if I quit the stuff, I’m almost guaranteed to relapse. DP’s afraid I will, sometime when no one’s around to stop me from cutting my throat–or someone else’s. I’m in my 20s. I don’t want to be on this crap for the rest of my life. Hell, the concept of being stuck on drugs is one of the big reasons I left my depression untreated until I became a menace to people around me as well as myself. I think I know the symptoms well enough–if I start inflicting injury on myself and viewing life through a red rage haze, it’s time to go back on the pills. I was depressed, I think, since about age 4 or so, but during that time I only had two severe (ie, want-to-kill-myself) episodes, and those 8 years apart. The minor rounds I could handle without chemical interference. At that rate, it’d be 2013 before I needed pills again. That’s a lot of money and a lot of drug-free years. That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn’t in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of thing until just now. I feel like I’ve gotten suckered into this situation, and that pisses me off. –Enfilade
Over the years, I worked my way through just about all the prescription drugs for depression. At this time, I’ve been on Venlafaxine for several years now; according to my shrink, I’ll never develop an "immunity" to it, the way I gradually did to each other. Ask your doctor to consider it.
Response:
If you do it carefully, with the doc monitoring you closely, I’d sure think it ought to be possible to wean yourself off the Effexor until you can start with something else. Of course if you don’t have health insurance the "close monitoring" thing might be a problem too. We’ll be sending our best purrs that you are able to find a way to make the transition off of Effexor.
Howdy folks! Thanks for all your comments. I really appreciate it. "Close monitoring’ is easy for me because DP is a medical student. Also, in Canada, visiting the doctor is free. The only thing I have to pay for is the pills. Now, with DP being a medical student, he and I have gone ’round on this one…while he thinks I should be on /something/, he also is willing to live by my decision, if a bit nervously. At first he insisted that Effexor couldn’t possibly make me sleepy because his medical journals say it causes insomnia; however, today he met up with a neurophysician friend, who said that there are instances of that side effect on record, so NA NAAAA *sticks out tongue* *Serves you right to believe the studies instead of me PPPPPPTHHH!!!* *ahem* As for side effects, once in a snowstorm I did without for three days and aside from a bit of dizziness (I’ve had far worse from the flu) I was fine. What I don’t like is, the doc says the stuff isn’t addictive, and yet if I’m not supposed to go off it EVER, I might as /well/ be addicted. What am I on it for? Well, for the most part, I have my stuff pretty well together. For 25 years I’d hit "lows", which never lasted more than about 6 hours. I’d spend those days in my room, watching videos if I could concentrate and lying around if I couldn’t, waiting for the "weather to pass." I could handle this. My first bad time hit when I started feeling abandoned by my friends, broke up with my boyfriend, had health issues, my grades slipped a bit, and I and got kicked out of the house by my mom for taking a spare to address the grades thing. I was living on people’s couches and/or the public airport, and wanted a lot of support from my friends that they didn’t or couldnt or didn’t know to give (I’m an independent SOB who didn’t know how to ask for help, so it wasn’t entirely their fault.) I was 17, had done all I wanted to do in my life, and didn’t know how I was going to keep myself fed and sheltered until I got to university, or if it wasn’t maybe ready for me to call my life "finished" since I’d met all my goals. My more recent one involved 7 months of looking for work when my EI ran out and I took a job at the mall. Another 2 months with a jealous co-worker actively trying to get me fired, a position that involved coercive selling despite what I was told at my interview, more unsuccessful job interviews, and me with a master’s degree going apesh!t from boredom, while DPs life was at its high point and he was celebrating being here in this city while I wanted to grab my duffel bag and go back to living in cars and airports if it’d get me out of here. It takes some pretty bad sh!t to set me off…so while I /am/ a little, er, short-fused at those times, normal life doesn’t evoke depression in me. I’m hopefully in a master’s program full time next year–academia is a stabilizing lifestyle for me. Better to do another master’s than end up in the nutty house. Anyway, I think my life will be pretty stable then–DP is such a calming influence on me. Sometimes I feel like he’s my nurse. Of course, on his part, he sometimes tends to be quite naive and carefree/careless, and needs me watching his back. "Just because YOU wouldn’t steal a car doesn’t mean someone else wouldn’t…so LOCK THE CAR." 
–Fil
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Effexor isn’t the only antidepressant out there, and your doc is greatly remiss in not considering exploring other meds. There are ADs that don’t cause hypersomnia, and which might be less expensive than Effexor. The problem with Effexor is that quitting cold is not an option; it has to be done gradually and incrementally. Quitting all at once produces an extremely undesirable sensation known as "brain spins," "brain shivers," "brain surges," and other unsavory encephalitic phrases. One person described it to me as feeling like your brain is spinning inside your head. Alternatives are out there, and you deserve to have the chance to explore them. I can only add to what everyone else has said. AD medication is not yet totally understood. As sufferers, we have to accept that. After all, we all would like a perfect world, but it just isn’t there yet. The best thing is to find a practitioner who is willing to try different medication until the benefit outways the side-effects. Don’t forget you need a few weeks to wean off the old drug, and a few weeks for the new one to start to work properly. It took me a year or two of trying several different drugs until we found one that has almost no side-effects and works really well.
Absolute agreement. The withdrawal effects, and also trying to figure out if the new drug is starting to work, takes time. In some cases, it’s not just clearing confusion. In the case of the MAO inhibitors, not letting another drug clear (about 2 weeks) can kill you. MAO inhibitors are effective, but they have so many drug and food interactions — potentially lethal ones — that they are avoided. A drug that won’t let you have chocolate, chianti, or aged cheese? Perish the thought! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – If this sounds like a long time, it’s not really. Almost the first drug you try will help with the AD and you will feel better; from there it’s just a matter of fine-tuning the process so that the side-effects are reduced. Some people will put up with a bit of sleeplessness, others loss of libido, others jitterness. You just need to find a drug whose side-effects are acceptable to you. Good luck, and don’t give up, because it *does* help in the long run. I am feeling fine with my drugs and I’ve almost *no* side-effects.
Response:
On 2005-03-09, Karen penned: Well, I’ll tell you what. I work below a doctor’s office, and EVERY (every single solitary) day, I watch pharmaceutical reps tote in expensive (and I do mean from the BEST places in town) lunches for everyone. It is absolutely *revolting* to see this kind of "bribing" taking place every day. And you should see the vehicles the reps arrive in. No matter how much pharmaceutical companies cry "but it is SOOOOO expensive to research these very necessary drugs" whenever ever drug prices are brought up, I don’t believe it. I believe their marketing budget far outweighs their research. And how many pens and chairs (I kid you not, I saw two stadium chairs stamped with a huge Nexium logo woven right in at a garage sale this summer) and note pads do you see lying around? Makes me just want to urp.
My SIL worked as a biologist for a major pharmaceutical company and said basically the same thing. — monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What gets to me about the antidepressant drug business is that it’s very well known that some drugs will work for some people while others will work better for other people. But, the only way to find out which one’s right for you is the brute force approach – try ‘em all until you find one that works for you. There’s very little research that examines which antidepressants work best for which people out in the community and why. <cynic After all, drug manufacturers are probably doing quite well out of the brute force approach… it wouldn’t be in THEIR best interests to sponsor research that might find a better way. would it? </cynic Actually, there is a lot of research, or at least experience that gets shared among the psychiatrists that really want the information. They may be specialists in psychopharmacology. Sometimes, the extra training there can get them networking with the right people. I remember a scathing editorial on Medscape.com by a pediatric psychopharmacologist, who was furious at all too many psychiatrists who overprescribe the newer drugs. Why? Not studying? Too much influence by pharmaceutical companies? Now, pharmacology has always been one of my interests. I’ve found a surprising number of doctors that don’t know the biochemistry of the multiple classes of drugs useful in different kinds of depression and with different patients, including: Post-synaptic nonselective of ST and NE, operating on the catechol-O-methyl-transferase enzyme system Post-synaptic nonselective of ST and NE, operating on the monoamine oxidase enzyme system Pre-synaptic selective ST reuptake inhibitors "Atypical" pre-synaptic ST reuptake inhibitors Pre-synaptic nonselective ST/NE reuptake inhibitors Pre-synaptic selective NE reuptake inhibitors Anticonvulsants Lithium Stimulant amines like Ritalin Strattera … need I go on? Something that often gets missed is a patient with mixed anxiety and depression, who may need an anxiolytic as well as an antidepressant. There are also drugs that can help minimize the side effects of some of the psychotropics, such as beta-blockers to minimize the hand tremor common with the anticonvulsant valproate. OK, I’m only a number-cruncher – I freely admit that I know nothing about pharmacology and I’m just spouting speculation. But it does seem to me that an awful lot of published drug studies don’t reflect how medications are really used in the community as opposed to what happens in carefully controlled clinical trials.
Precisely. In the US, the manufacturer applies to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with a New Drug Application (NDA) seeking licensing of a new drug. The FDA and the manufacturer agreee on the clinical trials that have been done [1] or need to be done, and, when there is sufficient information, an approval officer or panel decides whether to authorize a license. [1] Earlier in the process, a manufacturer, or independent researcher, can apply for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application, which gives the authority to use it in clinical trials. INDs are not available by prescription, although there is a "compassionate use" procedure by which a clinician can request a supply of the experimental drug for a patient in whom all other therapies have failed. Each NDA is for a specific list of "indications", or conditions the manufacturer asserts the drug will treat. Physicians are permitted to prescribe drugs for "off-label" indications not in the manufacturers’ literature. Part of the time, off-label prescribing can be a good way to use the knowledge of experienced physicians, especially for rarer conditions where the manufacturer didn’t want to pay for clinical trials for the other indication. An unfortunate other part of the time, however, we have seen pharmaceutical company representatives pushing off-label indications to increase sales, with no data backing it up. Incidentally, I’m not opposed to all pharmaceutical representatives, often called "detail men". Some are extremely knowledgeable, help independent researchers and clinicians meet one another, and act as a channel between practicing physicians and the company research department. Others have the ethics of used car salesmen — and that’s increasingly common in their profit-driven upper management. It’s sad to remember that the accepted term for the US prescription drug manufacturers was the "ethical pharmaceutical industry." At one time, many of the manufacturers really did have a commitment to medicine over short-term profit. In Australia (don’t know whether things are different in the USA) hardly anyone would be able to get their antidepressants prescribed by a psychiatrist – there are just so few of them that even if you’re able to pay privately, the waiting list for an appointment will be months long. You really have to be so ill that you’re a danger to other people (a danger to yourself isn’t enough) to be able to see a psychiatrist quickly. So, most people have to go to a GP to get a prescription, and I guess the shared experience of specialist psychiatrists on choosing an antidepressant isn’t reaching them. Then again, the shrinks are probably too darned overworked to publish what they know…
Quite frankly, then, I’ll put in a suggestion to the Australian medical authorities that they might do well to use computer assistance from one of my research areas: expert systems for prescribing. While my work has more been in cardiology and infectious disease, it’s quite possible to construct a "consultant in a box" that can help a primary physician select drugs and find alternatives. Unfortunately, there is an overall problem of specialist knowledge reaching GPs. In the US, there are several annual studies that show poor dissemination of knowledge. For example, cardiologists (a subspecialty of internal medicine, with their own subspecialties beyond that) usually know what drugs have been found good and bad in treating heart attack or congestive heart failures. Some of the effective drugs are NOT intuitive. Internists don’t have as high a knowledge of the correct drugs. The percentage of primary care physicians that know the most up-to-date therapies tends to be even lower. I must say that cuddling a cat is one of the best ways I’ve found to deal with depression in the short term. I personally find a big, heavy one with long whiskers and loud purrs most effective.
Absolutely. Purring time should be reimbursable under all insurance plans!
Response:
This is my first vent here… I want to get off the Effexor I’ve been taking for depression for almost a year now. I’ve been more stable than DP’s seen me to be in the past 8 years, in the last 6 months. Unfortunately, in those last 6 months I also sleep about 12 hours a day, and occasionally I get this "Stoned" sensation where stuff gets blurry and I have trouble thinking of words or figuring out just where I am…I’ll wander and then snap out of my reverie like, two hours later, wondering where the time went. The stuff’s expensive as hell, I have no drug coverage, and there’s no way I can do a master’s thesis in September if I’m sleeping more than I’m awake. If I want back on flight operations, I have to lose the drugs that could affect my ability to control an aircraft. So today I’m at the doctor’s and he tells me that if I quit the stuff, I’m almost guaranteed to relapse. DP’s afraid I will, sometime when no one’s around to stop me from cutting my throat–or someone else’s. I’m in my 20s. I don’t want to be on this crap for the rest of my life. Hell, the concept of being stuck on drugs is one of the big reasons I left my depression untreated until I became a menace to people around me as well as myself. I think I know the symptoms well enough–if I start inflicting injury on myself and viewing life through a red rage haze, it’s time to go back on the pills. I was depressed, I think, since about age 4 or so, but during that time I only had two severe (ie, want-to-kill-myself) episodes, and those 8 years apart. The minor rounds I could handle without chemical interference. At that rate, it’d be 2013 before I needed pills again. That’s a lot of money and a lot of drug-free years. That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn’t in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of thing until just now. I feel like I’ve gotten suckered into this situation, and that pisses me off. –Enfilade
Response:
That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn’t in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of thing until just now. I feel like I’ve gotten suckered into this situation, and that pisses me off. –Enfilade
Aw Fil, I know *EXACTLY* how you feel. My doctor put me on Effexor because it’s supposed to help with the pain of Fibromyalgia. Not *ONCE* did he tell me that the withdrawals from this drug are worse than the withdrawals from heroine – and last longer. Please, *PLEASE*, don’t quit taking this drug cold turkey (that’s what I did because my doctor wouldn’t help me get off them in a gradual way). I ended up in the emergency room and found out later that I could have killed myself by doing this. My daughter was also put on Effexor, but for depression. She wanted to get off of them too, but couldn’t, not even with a gradual withdrawal (as soon as she missed one dose she would have horrible, severe flu-like symptoms. Some other withdrawal symptoms of Effexor that I had are feeling like I was being electrocuted with pulsing shock like feelings all through my body, nausea, heart palpitations, cold sweats, insomnia, dizziness, headaches, shakes, going into fugue states and not remembering where I was or what I was doing (really scary when you’re driving), crying jags and screaming rages. There is supposedly a class-action lawsuit against Wyeth-Ayerst Labs because they knew all about these symptoms but still pushed this drug for all kinds or medical problems besides depression. There are newsgroup and chat rooms dedicated to nothing but the horrible side effects and withdrawal symptoms of this drug. Here is the result of a google search on Effexor withdrawal symptoms: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=effexor+withdrawals. Again, please be very careful how you go about getting off this drug, if you decide to. I’ve heard that ClaritinD helps somewhat with the withdrawals. Hugs, CatNipped
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi Nipped, That is one of the symptoms I had when I first stepped down the dosage – major flu like symptoms, and extremely exhausted. I am now over that, but it took almost a month. My dr. said it was a Fibromyalgia flare, and it was because the Effexor had been controlling the symptoms and it wasn’t any more. Honestly, I felt WORSE after this drug than I ever did before as far as the fibro went. It is like it exacerbated it, rather than controlling it. Yeah, for me too. I really didn’t feel any diminishment of pain from the fibro while I was on the Effexor. It *did* help the depression that was caused by the fibro (finding out that you’re going to be in constant pain for the rest of your life can be quite depressing). And you’re right, the pain during withdrawals was definitely worse than the pain I had before I started taking it. I really don’t know why they haven’t taken this drug off the market – there’s beeen thousands of complaints to the FDA about it. I think there’s been some *marjor* payoffs regarding this golden goose of the drug company that manufactures it.
It really does work for some people – me for one. When I started it I felt like I’d been woken up after years asleep. I’m not good at describing this sort of thing, but on this drug I actually started to feel like I could DO something – make choices and take actions – that might have some sort of effect on my life. I’d been through the usual list of other antidepressants – some didn’t work at all, some worked for a while, one worked well but I had an allergic reaction to it. I’m down to a really low dose now, but am not keen to stop it altogether in case I slide back into that old black hole again. So I can say it’s been good for me, but obviously it’s not good for everyone and probably is dangerous for some. What gets to me about the antidepressant drug business is that it’s very well known that some drugs will work for some people while others will work better for other people. But, the only way to find out which one’s right for you is the brute force approach – try ‘em all until you find one that works for you. There’s very little research that examines which antidepressants work best for which people out in the community and why. <cynic After all, drug manufacturers are probably doing quite well out of the brute force approach… it wouldn’t be in THEIR best interests to sponsor research that might find a better way. would it? </cynic
Response:
Hi Enfilade, Just want to let you know I wrote you a private email on this subject. Let me know if you don’t get it. regards, Christine
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This is my first vent here… I want to get off the Effexor I’ve been taking for depression for almost a year now. I’ve been more stable than DP’s seen me to be in the past 8 years, in the last 6 months. Unfortunately, in those last 6 months I also sleep about 12 hours a day, and occasionally I get this "Stoned" sensation where stuff gets blurry and I have trouble thinking of words or figuring out just where I am…I’ll wander and then snap out of my reverie like, two hours later, wondering where the time went. The stuff’s expensive as hell, I have no drug coverage, and there’s no way I can do a master’s thesis in September if I’m sleeping more than I’m awake. If I want back on flight operations, I have to lose the drugs that could affect my ability to control an aircraft. So today I’m at the doctor’s and he tells me that if I quit the stuff, I’m almost guaranteed to relapse. DP’s afraid I will, sometime when no one’s around to stop me from cutting my throat–or someone else’s. I’m in my 20s. I don’t want to be on this crap for the rest of my life. Hell, the concept of being stuck on drugs is one of the big reasons I left my depression untreated until I became a menace to people around me as well as myself. I think I know the symptoms well enough–if I start inflicting injury on myself and viewing life through a red rage haze, it’s time to go back on the pills. I was depressed, I think, since about age 4 or so, but during that time I only had two severe (ie, want-to-kill-myself) episodes, and those 8 years apart. The minor rounds I could handle without chemical interference. At that rate, it’d be 2013 before I needed pills again. That’s a lot of money and a lot of drug-free years. That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn’t in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of thing until just now. I feel like I’ve gotten suckered into this situation, and that pisses me off. –Enfilade
Response:
Is there a different antidepressant, with fewer side effects, that your doctor can help you switch over to? Nobody wants to be on meds for the long haul. That goes double for a med that’s causing side effects that are as disruptive to daily living as the problem the medicine is supposed to be relieving. But some people, including me, would be in a permanent state of depression without meds. In my case, even what I USED to think of as a normal state was a low-level state of depression, and I’ve wavered between that and flat-out clinical depression since I was 10. (Which means I’ve been dealing with this for over 30 years.) But it was being downsized a few years ago that brought on a really, REALLY severe and unrelenting case of depression. Finally, I went to the doctor because the symptoms were not only debilitating, they were showing no signs of lifting. The prescription I’m on right now is Celexa (citalopram), and it has helped a lot. It also doesn’t have the side effects you were describing. Maybe you can discuss switching over to that or to a different prescription that will help the depression, minus the side effects you’re getting from the Effexor. My husband is on thyroid medication, permanently, because his thyroid doesn’t produce enough hormone on its own. Friends and relatives of mine take insulin or pills to regulate diabetes, since their bodies don’t produce enough insulin. And there’s no difference between their permanent need for meds, and the fact that my body needs some help getting the serotonin level right. There’s no shame in needing any of those meds, or any other prescription, not even if it’s necessary over the long haul. It’s not fun AT ALL to have to deal with these issues. 
( But see if you can work with your doctor to change to a different medication. And if this doc won’t work with you on that, it’s time for a second opinion. Keep us posted. Donna
Response:
Effexor isn’t the only antidepressant out there, and your doc is greatly remiss in not considering exploring other meds. There are ADs that don’t cause hypersomnia, and which might be less expensive than Effexor. The problem with Effexor is that quitting cold is not an option; it has to be done gradually and incrementally. Quitting all at once produces an extremely undesirable sensation known as "brain spins," "brain shivers," "brain surges," and other unsavory encephalitic phrases. One person described it to me as feeling like your brain is spinning inside your head. Alternatives are out there, and you deserve to have the chance to explore them.
I can only add to what everyone else has said. AD medication is not yet totally understood. As sufferers, we have to accept that. After all, we all would like a perfect world, but it just isn’t there yet. The best thing is to find a practitioner who is willing to try different medication until the benefit outways the side-effects. Don’t forget you need a few weeks to wean off the old drug, and a few weeks for the new one to start to work properly. It took me a year or two of trying several different drugs until we found one that has almost no side-effects and works really well. If this sounds like a long time, it’s not really. Almost the first drug you try will help with the AD and you will feel better; from there it’s just a matter of fine-tuning the process so that the side-effects are reduced. Some people will put up with a bit of sleeplessness, others loss of libido, others jitterness. You just need to find a drug whose side-effects are acceptable to you. Good luck, and don’t give up, because it *does* help in the long run. I am feeling fine with my drugs and I’ve almost *no* side-effects.
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What gets to me about the antidepressant drug business is that it’s very well known that some drugs will work for some people while others will work better for other people. But, the only way to find out which one’s right for you is the brute force approach – try ‘em all until you find one that works for you. There’s very little research that examines which antidepressants work best for which people out in the community and why. <cynic After all, drug manufacturers are probably doing quite well out of the brute force approach… it wouldn’t be in THEIR best interests to sponsor research that might find a better way. would it? </cynic Actually, there is a lot of research, or at least experience that gets shared among the psychiatrists that really want the information. They may be specialists in psychopharmacology. Sometimes, the extra training there can get them networking with the right people. I remember a scathing editorial on Medscape.com by a pediatric psychopharmacologist, who was furious at all too many psychiatrists who overprescribe the newer drugs. Why? Not studying? Too much influence by pharmaceutical companies? Now, pharmacology has always been one of my interests. I’ve found a surprising number of doctors that don’t know the biochemistry of the multiple classes of drugs useful in different kinds of depression and with different patients, including: Post-synaptic nonselective of ST and NE, operating on the catechol-O-methyl-transferase enzyme system Post-synaptic nonselective of ST and NE, operating on the monoamine oxidase enzyme system Pre-synaptic selective ST reuptake inhibitors "Atypical" pre-synaptic ST reuptake inhibitors Pre-synaptic nonselective ST/NE reuptake inhibitors Pre-synaptic selective NE reuptake inhibitors Anticonvulsants Lithium Stimulant amines like Ritalin Strattera … need I go on? Something that often gets missed is a patient with mixed anxiety and depression, who may need an anxiolytic as well as an antidepressant. There are also drugs that can help minimize the side effects of some of the psychotropics, such as beta-blockers to minimize the hand tremor common with the anticonvulsant valproate.
OK, I’m only a number-cruncher – I freely admit that I know nothing about pharmacology and I’m just spouting speculation. But it does seem to me that an awful lot of published drug studies don’t reflect how medications are really used in the community as opposed to what happens in carefully controlled clinical trials. In Australia (don’t know whether things are different in the USA) hardly anyone would be able to get their antidepressants prescribed by a psychiatrist – there are just so few of them that even if you’re able to pay privately, the waiting list for an appointment will be months long. You really have to be so ill that you’re a danger to other people (a danger to yourself isn’t enough) to be able to see a psychiatrist quickly. So, most people have to go to a GP to get a prescription, and I guess the shared experience of specialist psychiatrists on choosing an antidepressant isn’t reaching them. Then again, the shrinks are probably too darned overworked to publish what they know… I must say that cuddling a cat is one of the best ways I’ve found to deal with depression in the short term. I personally find a big, heavy one with long whiskers and loud purrs most effective.
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This is my first vent here… I want to get off the Effexor I’ve been taking for depression for almost a year now. I’ve been more stable than DP’s seen me to be in the past 8 years, in the last 6 months. Unfortunately, in those last 6 months I also sleep about 12 hours a day, and occasionally I get this "Stoned" sensation where stuff gets blurry and I have trouble thinking of words or figuring out just where I am…I’ll wander and then snap out of my reverie like, two hours later, wondering where the time went. The stuff’s expensive as hell, I have no drug coverage, and there’s no way I can do a master’s thesis in September if I’m sleeping more than I’m awake. If I want back on flight operations, I have to lose the drugs that could affect my ability to control an aircraft. So today I’m at the doctor’s and he tells me that if I quit the stuff, I’m almost guaranteed to relapse. DP’s afraid I will, sometime when no one’s around to stop me from cutting my throat–or someone else’s. I’m in my 20s. I don’t want to be on this crap for the rest of my life. Hell, the concept of being stuck on drugs is one of the big reasons I left my depression untreated until I became a menace to people around me as well as myself. I think I know the symptoms well enough–if I start inflicting injury on myself and viewing life through a red rage haze, it’s time to go back on the pills. I was depressed, I think, since about age 4 or so, but during that time I only had two severe (ie, want-to-kill-myself) episodes, and those 8 years apart. The minor rounds I could handle without chemical interference. At that rate, it’d be 2013 before I needed pills again. That’s a lot of money and a lot of drug-free years. That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn’t in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of thing until just now. I feel like I’ve gotten suckered into this situation, and that pisses me off. –Enfilade
Effexor isn’t the only antidepressant out there, and your doc is greatly remiss in not considering exploring other meds. There are ADs that don’t cause hypersomnia, and which might be less expensive than Effexor. The problem with Effexor is that quitting cold is not an option; it has to be done gradually and incrementally. Quitting all at once produces an extremely undesirable sensation known as "brain spins," "brain shivers," "brain surges," and other unsavory encephalitic phrases. One person described it to me as feeling like your brain is spinning inside your head. Alternatives are out there, and you deserve to have the chance to explore them.
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In article – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Is there a different antidepressant, with fewer side effects, that your doctor can help you switch over to? Nobody wants to be on meds for the long haul. That goes double for a med that’s causing side effects that are as disruptive to daily living as the problem the medicine is supposed to be relieving. But some people, including me, would be in a permanent state of depression without meds. In my case, even what I USED to think of as a normal state was a low-level state of depression, and I’ve wavered between that and flat-out clinical depression since I was 10. (Which means I’ve been dealing with this for over 30 years.) But it was being downsized a few years ago that brought on a really, REALLY severe and unrelenting case of depression. Finally, I went to the doctor because the symptoms were not only debilitating, they were showing no signs of lifting. The prescription I’m on right now is Celexa (citalopram), and it has helped a lot. It also doesn’t have the side effects you were describing. Maybe you can discuss switching over to that or to a different prescription that will help the depression, minus the side effects you’re getting from the Effexor.
Celexa is in a different family than Effexor. Celexa, along with Paxil and a few others, is considered an "atypical" selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. I’ve gotten biochemical enough without getting into why these are considered "atypical" with respect to Prozac, Zoloft, etc. Yes, yes, yes. If one psychotropic drug doesn’t work well, there tend to be alternatives, both within the same family and in different families. For example, I have intolerable dry mouth with the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline (Elavil), but not with the closely related nortriptyline (Pamelor). My husband is on thyroid medication, permanently, because his thyroid doesn’t produce enough hormone on its own. Friends and relatives of mine take insulin or pills to regulate diabetes, since their bodies don’t produce enough insulin. And there’s no difference between their permanent need for meds, and the fact that my body needs some help getting the serotonin level right. There’s no shame in needing any of those meds, or any other prescription, not even if it’s necessary over the long haul. It’s not fun AT ALL to have to deal with these issues. ( But see if you can work with your doctor to change to a different medication. And if this doc won’t work with you on that, it’s time for a second opinion.
Exactly. I find more physicians "stuck" with a very few psychotropic drugs than almost any other class of medications. If an infectious disease specialist only wanted to use 2 or 3 classes of antibiotics, they’d be considered candidates for psychotherapy, or at least intensive retraining. Why can’t psychiatrists bother with the alternativews available to them?
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Too many psychiatrists are overly fixated on single drugs or drug classes. They seem to fixate on the newest drugs, rather than older ones that can be quite effective
Well, I’ll tell you what. I work below a doctor’s office, and EVERY (every single solitary) day, I watch pharmaceutical reps tote in expensive (and I do mean from the BEST places in town) lunches for everyone. It is absolutely *revolting* to see this kind of "bribing" taking place every day. And you should see the vehicles the reps arrive in. No matter how much pharmaceutical companies cry "but it is SOOOOO expensive to research these very necessary drugs" whenever ever drug prices are brought up, I don’t believe it. I believe their marketing budget far outweighs their research. And how many pens and chairs (I kid you not, I saw two stadium chairs stamped with a huge Nexium logo woven right in at a garage sale this summer) and note pads do you see lying around? Makes me just want to urp.
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What gets to me about the antidepressant drug business is that it’s very well known that some drugs will work for some people while others will work better for other people. But, the only way to find out which one’s right for you is the brute force approach – try ‘em all until you find one that works for you. There’s very little research that examines which antidepressants work best for which people out in the community and why. <cynic After all, drug manufacturers are probably doing quite well out of the brute force approach… it wouldn’t be in THEIR best interests to sponsor research that might find a better way. would it? </cynic
Actually, there is a lot of research, or at least experience that gets shared among the psychiatrists that really want the information. They may be specialists in psychopharmacology. Sometimes, the extra training there can get them networking with the right people. I remember a scathing editorial on Medscape.com by a pediatric psychopharmacologist, who was furious at all too many psychiatrists who overprescribe the newer drugs. Why? Not studying? Too much influence by pharmaceutical companies? Now, pharmacology has always been one of my interests. I’ve found a surprising number of doctors that don’t know the biochemistry of the multiple classes of drugs useful in different kinds of depression and with different patients, including: Post-synaptic nonselective of ST and NE, operating on the catechol-O-methyl-transferase enzyme system Post-synaptic nonselective of ST and NE, operating on the monoamine oxidase enzyme system Pre-synaptic selective ST reuptake inhibitors "Atypical" pre-synaptic ST reuptake inhibitors Pre-synaptic nonselective ST/NE reuptake inhibitors Pre-synaptic selective NE reuptake inhibitors Anticonvulsants Lithium Stimulant amines like Ritalin Strattera … need I go on? Something that often gets missed is a patient with mixed anxiety and depression, who may need an anxiolytic as well as an antidepressant. There are also drugs that can help minimize the side effects of some of the psychotropics, such as beta-blockers to minimize the hand tremor common with the anticonvulsant valproate.
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(Snip) But some people, including me, would be in a permanent state of depression without meds. In my case, even what I USED to think of as a normal state was a low-level state of depression, and I’ve wavered between that and flat-out clinical depression since I was 10. (Which means I’ve been dealing with this for over 30 years.)
I have to second this. These days with managed care, a lot of antidepressants are prescribed by general physicians who frankly don’t have the right pharmocological background. I’ve been very lucky– in a sense– because my depressions have always been under a psychiatrist’s treatment. I’m not saying this is true of everyone, but with my history, and my genetics, I have a very strong inclination towards depression. I would no more try to "tough" out a depression without medication than I would refuse insulin if I were diabetic. I have had the experience of withdrawing off a very tough drug (nardil), and while I never hope to repeat such a thing, it was incredibly important that I do it. I am now stable on a low dose of Wellbutrin, which seems to have little/no side effects for me. Theresa Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com
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This is my first vent here… I want to get off the Effexor I’ve been taking for depression for almost a year now. I’ve been more stable than DP’s seen me to be in the past 8 years, in the last 6 months. Unfortunately, in those last 6 months I also sleep about 12 hours a day, and occasionally I get this "Stoned" sensation where stuff gets blurry and I have trouble thinking of words or figuring out just where I am…I’ll wander and then snap out of my reverie like, two hours later, wondering where the time went.
Funny how things work — we are looking at it as an alternative, but only if we can’t tweak the dosage on my present drugs. If Effexor does have a positive effect as well as side effects, there is a reasonable class of alternatives: the "first-generation" tricyclic antidepressants (TCA). Cheap, and with a different side effect profile. Both Effexor and the TCAs differ from the "second generation" selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) in being nonselective: they elevate both serotonin and norepinephrine, rather than just serotonin. The two classes do it by different mechanisms. Effexor works presynaptically, slowing the reuptake into the transmitting cell. TCAs work postsynaptically, inhibiting the enzyme catechol-O-methyl-transferase, which metabolizes serotonin and norepinephrine in The stuff’s expensive as hell, I have no drug coverage, and there’s no way I can do a master’s thesis in September if I’m sleeping more than I’m awake. If I want back on flight operations, I have to lose the drugs that could affect my ability to control an aircraft. So today I’m at the doctor’s and he tells me that if I quit the stuff, I’m almost guaranteed to relapse.
Too many psychiatrists are overly fixated on single drugs or drug classes. They seem to fixate on the newest drugs, rather than older ones that can be quite effective — and usually much cheaper. IIRC, a month’s supply of nortriptyline is around USD $10. TCAs fall into two families, the first drug of one class being amitriptyline and the first drug of the second being imipramine. The second group tends to be less sedating, although you can usually minimize sedation by changing drugs within the same group. I’m in my 20s. I don’t want to be on this crap for the rest of my life. Hell, the concept of being stuck on drugs is one of the big reasons I left my depression untreated until I became a menace to people around me as well as myself. I think I know the symptoms well enough–if I start inflicting injury on myself and viewing life through a red rage haze, it’s time to go back on the pills. I was depressed, I think, since about age 4 or so, but during that time I only had two severe (ie, want-to-kill-myself) episodes, and those 8 years apart. The minor rounds I could handle without chemical interference. At that rate, it’d be 2013 before I needed pills again. That’s a lot of money and a lot of drug-free years.
That may be perfectly good reasoning. Having someone that can get creative with the drugs, seeking less sedating and cheaper alternatives, also can be valid. That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn’t in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of thing until just now. I feel like I’ve gotten suckered into this situation, and that pisses me off.
Personally, I don’t have a "rest of my life" concern with psychotropic drugs, any more than my cardiac drugs — _IF_ they are appropriately prescribed with plenty of thought.
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<very gently snipped My daughter was also put on Effexor, but for depression. She wanted to
get off of them too, but couldn’t, not even with a gradual withdrawal (as soon as she missed one dose she would have horrible, severe flu-like symptoms. Hi Nipped, That is one of the symptoms I had when I first stepped down the dosage – major flu like symptoms, and extremely exhausted. I am now over that, but it took almost a month. My dr. said it was a Fibromyalgia flare, and it was because the Effexor had been controlling the symptoms and it wasn’t any more. Honestly, I felt WORSE after this drug than I ever did before as far as the fibro went. It is like it exacerbated it, rather than controlling it. Thanks for the tip on ClaritinD – I will most certainly try it. Patti
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Hi Nipped, That is one of the symptoms I had when I first stepped down the dosage – major flu like symptoms, and extremely exhausted. I am now over that, but it took almost a month. My dr. said it was a Fibromyalgia flare, and it was because the Effexor had been controlling the symptoms and it wasn’t any more. Honestly, I felt WORSE after this drug than I ever did before as far as the fibro went. It is like it exacerbated it, rather than controlling
it. Yeah, for me too. I really didn’t feel any diminishment of pain from the fibro while I was on the Effexor. It *did* help the depression that was caused by the fibro (finding out that you’re going to be in constant pain for the rest of your life can be quite depressing). And you’re right, the pain during withdrawals was definitely worse than the pain I had before I started taking it. I really don’t know why they haven’t taken this drug off the market – there’s beeen thousands of complaints to the FDA about it. I think there’s been some *marjor* payoffs regarding this golden goose of the drug company that manufactures it. Hugs, CatNipped – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thanks for the tip on ClaritinD – I will most certainly try it. Patti
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This is my first vent here… I want to get off the Effexor I’ve been taking for depression for almost a year now. I’ve been more stable than DP’s seen me to be in the past 8 years, in the last 6 months. Unfortunately, in those last 6 months I also sleep about 12 hours a day, and occasionally I get this "Stoned" sensation where stuff gets blurry and I have trouble thinking of words or figuring out just where I am…I’ll wander and then snap out of my reverie like, two hours later, wondering where the time went. The stuff’s expensive as hell, I have no drug coverage, and there’s no way I can do a master’s thesis in September if I’m sleeping more than I’m awake. If I want back on flight operations, I have to lose the drugs that could affect my ability to control an aircraft. So today I’m at the doctor’s and he tells me that if I quit the stuff, I’m almost guaranteed to relapse. DP’s afraid I will, sometime when no one’s around to stop me from cutting my throat–or someone else’s. I’m in my 20s. I don’t want to be on this crap for the rest of my life. Hell, the concept of being stuck on drugs is one of the big reasons I left my depression untreated until I became a menace to people around me as well as myself. I think I know the symptoms well enough–if I start inflicting injury on myself and viewing life through a red rage haze, it’s time to go back on the pills. I was depressed, I think, since about age 4 or so, but during that time I only had two severe (ie, want-to-kill-myself) episodes, and those 8 years apart. The minor rounds I could handle without chemical interference. At that rate, it’d be 2013 before I needed pills again. That’s a lot of money and a lot of drug-free years. That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn’t in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of thing until just now. I feel like I’ve gotten suckered into this situation, and that pisses me off. –Enfilade
Hi Enfilade, Effexor is a big time drug to be on for depression – it is usually used for major depression and even some psychotic disorders. I understand that you want off of the medication because you feel good now – but remember, that is the medication helping you to feel better and control your depression. If you are wanting to try something that won’t turn you into a zombie, ask your doctor about weaning off of it, while being started on something else. If you are taken off of medication completely and you begin to relapse, you could spiral downward before a new drug takes effect (anti-depressants usually take 3-4 weeks before full effect is reached). The consequesnces of that far outweight the benefits of being "drug-free." Also, a relapse is usually worse once being taken off of a medication because of the major changes in the chemicals in your brain… Please be careful I know there is a stigma attached to being on medication for depression, but it is an illness…. Really think of the benefits of the medication vesus the possible results of being off of the medication. Talk to your doc first about switching to a different kind, one that still helps your symptoms, but with less side effects. Good luck
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This is my first vent here… I want to get off the Effexor I’ve been taking for depression for almost a year now. I’ve been more stable than DP’s seen me to be in the past 8 years, in the last 6 months. Unfortunately, in those last 6 months I also sleep about 12 hours a day, and occasionally I get this "Stoned" sensation where stuff gets blurry and I have trouble thinking of words or figuring out just where I am…I’ll wander and then snap out of my reverie like, two hours later, wondering where the time went. The stuff’s expensive as hell, I have no drug coverage, and there’s no way I can do a master’s thesis in September if I’m sleeping more than I’m awake. If I want back on flight operations, I have to lose the drugs that could affect my ability to control an aircraft. So today I’m at the doctor’s and he tells me that if I quit the stuff, I’m almost guaranteed to relapse. DP’s afraid I will, sometime when no one’s around to stop me from cutting my throat–or someone else’s. I’m in my 20s. I don’t want to be on this crap for the rest of my life. Hell, the concept of being stuck on drugs is one of the big reasons I left my depression untreated until I became a menace to people around me as well as myself. I think I know the symptoms well enough–if I start inflicting injury on myself and viewing life through a red rage haze, it’s time to go back on the pills. I was depressed, I think, since about age 4 or so, but during that time I only had two severe (ie, want-to-kill-myself) episodes, and those 8 years apart. The minor rounds I could handle without chemical interference. At that rate, it’d be 2013 before I needed pills again. That’s a lot of money and a lot of drug-free years. That red haze is starting to creep back a little, since the doc didn’t in any way suggest that this was a "for the rest of my life" kind of thing until just now. I feel like I’ve gotten suckered into this situation, and that pisses me off. –Enfilade Hi Fil, I have been on Effexor for about 3 years, and am now in the process of stepping down the dose in order to quit. I was having some of the same symptoms as you – the feeling of ‘not being there’ is one major one, and the just not caring about things. Plus, I am one of the 5 to 10% that develop high blood pressure while taking it. 
I finally told my doc that I WAS going to d/c this, with or without his help. He finally agreed, with the proviso that if I become depressed again I would tell him. It hasn’t been completely easy, but at least I am able to feel again. I hope you can get your dr. to take you off this, and that everything goes ok! Patti
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Doda1207 schreef: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just started taking Zoloft four days ago for panic disorder and depression. For the first two days I had a really bad headache. For the past two nights I have suddenly woken up from a nap with a sort of intense rush in my body. I feel as if I can’t breath, my entire body chills over, I feel detatched and unreal, my heart beats really fast, and it is almost a panicky state that I’m in, but not quite. I’m starting to get terrified about going to sleep. Now, I’ve had panic attacks in the past, but never two in a two days. My symptoms are generally more chronic (chest pain, headache, on edge feelings). It just seems wierd that I would start Zoloft and then start getting more panic attacks. Can anyone offer any advice for me? Medication or just the panic disorder rearing it’s ugly head? If I were you I would tell my doc to change your medication, I had a similar reaction on Prozac, and it is frustrating to have the medication CAUSE what it is supposed to help. I am now on Paxil (started it today) and hoping for more success. My doctor says it is very common to have to change meds due to side effects, so talk to your doctor. Hope this helps, take care, Dody
All SSRI’s (and Zoloft belongs to this group as do Paxil and Prozac) will worsen your symptoms during the first 2-8 weeks. To assess if this is really the med for you or not the best thing to do is to wait a few weeks. I know what it’s like, believe me. But it does take a while for these meds to kick in. You might ask your doctor for a benzo on the soide as this softens the side effects of the first weeks. Xanax and Ativan come to mind, which are fast-working meds with a very short half-life. A combo of SSRI and benzo for maintenance is quite common these days as well. Don’t give up too quickly…(I know how hard this can be) Philip Peters
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just started taking Zoloft four days ago for panic disorder and depression. For the first two days I had a really bad headache. For the past two nights I have suddenly woken up from a nap with a sort of intense rush in my body. (It just seems wierd that I would start Zoloft and then start getting more panic attacks. Can anyone offer any advice for me? Medication or just the panic disorder rearing it’s ugly head? If I were you I would tell my doc to change your medication, I had a similar reaction on Prozac, and it is frustrating to have the medication CAUSE what it is supposed to help. I am now on Paxil (started it today) and hoping for more success. My doctor says it is very common to have to change meds due to side effects, so talk to your doctor.
It is not uncommon to have exagerrated anxiety while adjusting to an SRI. I would recommend calling your doc and asking for something to help while you adjust. It takes weeks before one can assess if Zoloft is right or wrong for you. When I started Paxil I had attacks too. That ended after a few weeks. I couldn’t possibly have made a decision after 4 days. Gwen
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just started taking Zoloft four days ago for panic disorder and depression. For the first two days I had a really bad headache. For the past two nights I have suddenly woken up from a nap with a sort of intense rush in my body. (It just seems wierd that I would start Zoloft and then start getting more panic attacks. Can anyone offer any advice for me? Medication or just the panic disorder rearing it’s ugly head? If I were you I would tell my doc to change your medication, I had a similar reaction on Prozac, and it is frustrating to have the medication CAUSE what it is supposed to help. I am now on Paxil (started it today) and hoping for more success. My doctor says it is very common to have to change meds due to side effects, so talk to your doctor. It is not uncommon to have exagerrated anxiety while adjusting to an SRI. I would recommend calling your doc and asking for something to help while you adjust. It takes weeks before one can assess if Zoloft is right or wrong for you. When I started Paxil I had attacks too. That ended after a few weeks. I couldn’t possibly have made a decision after 4 days. Gwen
Nothing snipped so as to cause no annoyance Steve replied: I have tried Prozac, Effexor and Zoloft. All were a nightmare for me (ME, Steve) I can speak for no one else. The dreaded ‘benzos’ seem to work for me. Good luck, Steve Treloar
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Zoloft did this to me too. I just dealt with it (a little xanex helped) and eventually, it passed. Scary stuff though… cathy
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just started taking Zoloft four days ago for panic disorder and depression. For the first two days I had a really bad headache. For the past two nights I have suddenly woken up from a nap with a sort of intense rush in my body. I feel as if I can’t breath, my entire body chills over, I feel detatched and unreal, my heart beats really fast, and it is almost a panicky state that I’m in, but not quite. I’m starting to get terrified about going to sleep. Now, I’ve had panic attacks in the past, but never two in a two days. My symptoms are generally more chronic (chest pain, headache, on edge feelings). It just seems wierd that I would start Zoloft and then start getting more panic attacks. Can anyone offer any advice for me? Medication or just the panic disorder rearing it’s ugly head?
Many people here (including myself) have experienced that starting an SRI such as Zoloft will actually increase panic in the early going. For most, this side effect will wear off in a few weeks. There are a couple of ways to get around it. One way is to start on a very low dose of Zoloft, and gradually increase the dose until you reach a therapeutic level (possibly taking several months to do it). This low start and slow increase eliminates most of the side effects. Another way to reduce side effects is to take a benzo on a temporary basis, until you are established on the Zoloft. The benzo can help control the anxiety produced by the medication. Do talk to your doctor about this, as increased anxiety is a common early side effect of SRIs, and there are ways to get around the problem. Best wishes, Hirsch address in header has been changed to avoid junk mail. To reach me by email, substitute erols for nospam in my reply-to address.
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I just started taking Zoloft four days ago for panic disorder and depression. For the first two days I had a really bad headache. For the past two nights I have suddenly woken up from a nap with a sort of intense rush in my body. I feel as if I can’t breath, my entire body chills over, I feel detatched and unreal, my heart beats really fast, and it is almost a panicky state that I’m in, but not quite. I’m starting to get terrified about going to sleep. Now, I’ve had panic attacks in the past, but never two in a two days. My symptoms are generally more chronic (chest pain, headache, on edge feelings). It just seems wierd that I would start Zoloft and then start getting more panic attacks. Can anyone offer any advice for me? Medication or just the panic disorder rearing it’s ugly head?
I’m terribly sorry to read this but, if it’s any consolation, it isn’t at all uncommon – indeed, Zoloft did that to me, too. All the SSRIs seem capable of causing increased anxiety when first started and to counter this some doctors start patients at very low doses, slowly increasing them till the desired effect is achieved. Some also prescribe anxiolytics (typically benzodiazepines) to offset this side effect. If it’s very bad, I’d really recommend you talk to your doctor about it. Hope that’s some help – good luck! — Gary Cooper
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I just started taking Zoloft four days ago for panic disorder and depression. For the first two days I had a really bad headache. For the past two nights I have suddenly woken up from a nap with a sort of intense rush in my body. I feel as if I can’t breath, my entire body chills over, I feel detatched and unreal, my heart beats really fast, and it is almost a panicky state that I’m in, but not quite. I’m starting to get terrified about going to sleep. Now, I’ve had panic attacks in the past, but never two in a two days. My symptoms are generally more chronic (chest pain, headache, on edge feelings). It just seems wierd that I would start Zoloft and then start getting more panic attacks. Can anyone offer any advice for me? Medication or just the panic disorder rearing it’s ugly head?
If I were you I would tell my doc to change your medication, I had a similar reaction on Prozac, and it is frustrating to have the medication CAUSE what it is supposed to help. I am now on Paxil (started it today) and hoping for more success. My doctor says it is very common to have to change meds due to side effects, so talk to your doctor. Hope this helps, take care, Dody
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the two most common benzodiazapines (that I come across in reading posts) used to bridge the adjustment period to a SSRI are Xanax or Klonopin I was given klonopin to get over the adjustment to paxil.
+AD4- +AD4- +AD4-Doda1207 schreef: +AD4- +AD4APg- +AD4- +AD4APg- +AD4-I just started taking Zoloft four days ago for panic +AD4APg- +AD4-disorder and depression. For the first two days I had a +AD4APg- +AD4-really bad headache. For the past two nights I have suddenly +AD4APg- +AD4-woken up from a nap with a sort of intense rush in my body. +AD4APg- +AD4-I feel as if I can’t breath, my entire body chills over, +AD4APg- +AD4-I feel detatched and unreal, my heart beats really fast, and it is almost a +AD4APg- +AD4-panicky state that I’m in, but not quite. I’m starting to get terrified +AD4APg- +AD4-about +AD4APg- +AD4-going to sleep. Now, I’ve had panic attacks in the past, but never +AD4APg- +AD4-two in a two days. My symptoms are generally more chronic +AD4APg- +AD4-(chest pain, headache, on edge feelings). It just seems +AD4APg- +AD4-wierd that I would start Zoloft and then start getting more +AD4APg- +AD4-panic attacks. Can anyone offer any advice for me? +AD4APg- +AD4-Medication or just the panic disorder rearing it’s ugly head? +AD4APg- +AD4APg- If I were you I would tell my doc to change your medication, I had a similar +AD4APg- reaction on Prozac, and it is frustrating to have the medication CAUSE what it +AD4APg- is supposed to help. I am now on Paxil (started it today) and hoping for more +AD4APg- success. My doctor says it is very common to have to change meds due to side +AD4APg- effects, so talk to your doctor. +AD4APg- Hope this helps, take care, +AD4APg- Dody +AD4- +AD4- All SSRI’s (and Zoloft belongs to this group as do Paxil and Prozac) will worsen +AD4-your symptoms during the first 2-8 weeks. To assess if this is really the med for +AD4-you or not the best thing to do is to wait a few weeks. I know what it’s like, +AD4-believe me. But it does take a while for these meds to kick in. You might ask your +AD4-doctor for a benzo on the soide as this softens the side effects of the first +AD4-weeks. Xanax and Ativan come to mind, which are fast-working meds with a very +AD4-short half-life. A combo of SSRI and benzo for maintenance is quite common these +AD4-days as well. Don’t give up too quickly…(I know how hard this can be) +AD4- +AD4-Philip Peters +AD4-
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I just started taking Zoloft four days ago for panic disorder and depression. For the first two days I had a
really bad headache. For the past two nights I have suddenly
woken up from a nap with a sort of intense rush in my body.
I feel as if I can’t breath, my entire body chills over, I feel detatched and unreal, my heart beats really fast, and it is almost a
panicky state that I’m in, but not quite. I’m starting to get terrified about
going to sleep. Now, I’ve had panic attacks in the past, but never two in a two days. My symptoms are generally more chronic
(chest pain, headache, on edge feelings). It just seems
wierd that I would start Zoloft and then start getting more
panic attacks. Can anyone offer any advice for me?
Medication or just the panic disorder rearing it’s ugly head? Hi, From what I hear (I can’t remember myself) Many times when you start on an antidepressant, your symtoms can become worse at first. It is always a good idea to give a new med a couple of weeks, for the medication to build up in your system and let the side effects die down. Unless of course the side effects are really bad, in that case I would immediately talk to your doctor. Hope that helps. Lee "Life is too important to be taken seriously"
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I just started taking Zoloft four days ago for panic disorder and depression Now, I’ve had panic attacks in the past, but never two in a two days. My symptoms are generally more chronic (chest pain, headache, on edge feelings). It just seems wierd that I would start Zoloft and then start getting more panic attacks
Very common for SRI’s to increase anxiety (even to the point of panic) in the first few weeks. You might want to talk to your doc about adding or increasing a benzo til your body adjusts. I don’t take Zoloft – but had a heck of a time adjusting to Paxil. Gwen
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I just started taking Zoloft four days ago for panic disorder and depression. For the first two days I had a really bad headache. For the past two nights I have suddenly woken up from a nap with a sort of intense rush in my body. I feel as if I can’t breath, my entire body chills over, I feel detatched and unreal, my heart beats really fast, and it is almost a panicky state that I’m in, but not quite. I’m starting to get terrified about going to sleep. Now, I’ve had panic attacks in the past, but never two in a two days. My symptoms are generally more chronic (chest pain, headache, on edge feelings). It just seems wierd that I would start Zoloft and then start getting more panic attacks. Can anyone offer any advice for me? Medication or just the panic disorder rearing it’s ugly head?
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