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Med Changes

bisexplicit

bisexplicit

but i'm a lesbian
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Posts
28,710
So, mostly I just want to complain, but if anyone has any advice or suggestions that would be great too.
I started on a new medication today - and was fine for about the first two hours - and then I ended up spending the rest of the day throwing up and with a pounding headache. (At nine tonight I managed to get down a whole pretzel...and by nine thirty a half a banana.) Basically, it was horrible and miserable; although, at least I'm doing a bit better now (except I can't sleep).
Now, the real kicker is, we called the doctor, and they want me to take the pill /again/ tomorrow. :(
Has anyone else gone through this sortof thing? Any advice or suggestions?
I've done med changes before, but all they did was effect my mood...I've never had such bad symptoms like this. :(
 
uh...bi, w/out knowing what meds and the symptoms it's meant to address, i can't imagine that anybody is gonna have any meaningful comments. given your doc's recommendation, i'm guessing that he or she feels that it might be a matter of adjusting to the meds.

ed
 
silverwhisper said:
uh...bi, w/out knowing what meds and the symptoms it's meant to address, i can't imagine that anybody is gonna have any meaningful comments. given your doc's recommendation, i'm guessing that he or she feels that it might be a matter of adjusting to the meds.

ed
Click to expand...

Yeah, duh, that would've helped some, hunh?
Its effexor.
Not that any of you are (most likely) doctors...
I was just hoping there some sortof advice that could possibly make tomorrow go better.
 
Edit: Ed asked and you answered first.

I've never taken Effexor, but have taken other SSRIs (some with side effects, some with not many). It's up to you, but you may want to talk to the doctor directly about the possibility of cutting the dose/phasing in, taking something like compazine for the nausea, and treating the headache while your body adjusts. I don't know drug interactions or have any training, so I don't know if those are possible or not, but I'd imagine they can do something for you.
 
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SweetErika said:
What class of medication is it, if you don't mind sharing? I always go through a process of weighing the benefits with risks/side effects, and a lot depends on what condition it's treating.
Click to expand...

Its not an SSRI (?) its the other kind...I haven't taken any in this class of medication before. Its for treating depression/anxiety.
And I kindof feel stupid now, 'cause the reason I stopped my old one (Paxil) was because it was contributing to me gaining weight. Which seems like a lot worse of a side effect than illness.
 
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Gekken said:
Hi Bi, I am a medic. effexor can and will have very profound side effects, especially when combined with other MAOI's or in a phase-out period of a another drug. see this site: http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-e02.html
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Thanks for the advice, thats really helpful. I'm gonna call my doctor about that in the morning...Ugh, and she didn't even tell me to take it with food - I took it on an empty stomach this morning.

Don't you just love the list of side effects, too?
Side effects:
Most common: asthenia, sweating, nausea, constipation, anorexia, vomiting, somnolence, dry mouth, dizziness, insomnia, nervousness, abnormal dreams, anxiety, tremor, abnormal vision, anorgasmia, abnormal ejaculation/orgasm and impotence in men.
 
bisexplicit said:
Thanks for the advice, thats really helpful. I'm gonna call my doctor about that in the morning...Ugh, and she didn't even tell me to take it with food - I took it on an empty stomach this morning.

Don't you just love the list of side effects, too?
Side effects:
Most common: asthenia, sweating, nausea, constipation, anorexia, vomiting, somnolence, dry mouth, dizziness, insomnia, nervousness, abnormal dreams, anxiety, tremor, abnormal vision, anorgasmia, abnormal ejaculation/orgasm and impotence in men.
Click to expand...

Well, we are talking about changing brain chemistry. Have you considered non-medication alternatives? also please note that some of these side effects are caused psychosomatically, and yet others are caused by an allergy to the binding suspension (which is not controlled by the FDA)
 
Gekken said:
Well, we are talking about changing brain chemistry. Have you considered non-medication alternatives? also please note that some of these side effects are caused psychosomatically, and yet others are caused by an allergy to the binding suspension (which is not controlled by the FDA)
Click to expand...

I'm not sure non-medication alternatives is the right route for me. I had a suicide attempt back in January, which is another reason why I'm switching medication...but also why I don't want to go without altogether.
 
bisexplicit said:
Its not an SSRI (?) its the other kind...I haven't taken any in this class of medication before. Its for treating depression/anxiety.
And I kindof feel stupid now, 'cause the reason I stopped my old one (Paxil) was because it was contributing to me gaining weight. Which seems like a lot worse of a side effect than illness.
Click to expand...
I edited. :D I'd so some reading on psychiatric drugs...some have less of a chance of weight gain, sexual side effects, headaches, etc. If the prescribing doctor isn't a specialist, you might want to consider doing some research and going back armed with info or consulting a psychiatrist.
 
SweetErika said:
I edited. :D I'd so some reading on psychiatric drugs...some have less of a chance of weight gain, sexual side effects, headaches, etc. If the prescribing doctor isn't a specialist, you might want to consider doing some research and going back armed with info or consulting a psychiatrist.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I suppose I always left it up to the doctor to do most of the research and figure things out...but, theres no reason why I can't have some say in whats going on.
 
I'm not sure if it'll help or not, but I found this at http://www.healthsquare.com/newrx/eff1153.htm:
Recommended dosage

EFFEXOR

The usual starting dose is 75 milligrams a day, divided into 2 or 3 smaller doses, and taken with food. If needed, your doctor may gradually increase your daily dose in steps of no more than 75 milligrams at a time up to a maximum of 375 milligrams per day.

If you have kidney or liver disease or are taking other medications, your doctor will adjust your dosage accordingly.

EFFEXOR XR

For both depression and anxiety the usual starting dose is 75 milligrams once daily, although some people begin with a dose of 37.5 milligrams for the first 4 to 7 days. Your doctor may gradually increase the dose, in steps of no more than 75 milligrams, up to a maximum of 225 milligrams daily. As with regular Effexor, the doctor will make adjustments in your dosage if you have kidney or liver disease.

This site looked interesting too: http://www.crazymeds.org/effexor.html
 
Thanks guys. Thats really helpful. I'll make sure to read up and see if I can talk to my doctor about it all. :)
 
Hi Bi,
Hope you are feeling better. I haven`t had any experience with effexor, but I am going through a med change too, switching from zoloft to lexapro as the zoloft appeared to be losing its effectiveness.
At least my doc did warn me that things could get a bit rough, and he was right, at least I didn`t have the vomiting like you, but I did feel like a zombie for most of the day plus the headaches, my mind racing at a million miles an hour, suicidal thoughts and the usual depressive stuff.
The next day was fine and so far things are going ok, except for the fact that it seems to have little effect on my anxiety, which is really bad timing considering the week I have had.

I have made a conscious effort not to read too much about the side effects of my meds, at least not until I have been taking them for awhile, mainly because there are so many people against antidepressants that you get a lot of negative responses, and the drug companies go the other way playing any bad effects down, I prefer to take note of any changes without too many preconceived ideas, not saying you have, by the way, hurling is a fairly obvious thing so I would guess that is a very real sympton. ;)

Anyway I guess the point was that the symptons can subside relatively quickly for some of these drugs, hoping yours do.
I understand your reluctance to go the non drug route, perhaps once they find one that is suitable for you then you may have the right state of mind to look into it.
Hmm not sure if there was anything of value in this post, but anyway just letting you know you are not alone.
:rose: :rose:
 
bisexplicit said:
quoll: Thanks, it is nice to know that I'm not alone. :)
Click to expand...

You're certainly not alone. I've been on meds in the past as well, and the side effects were too much for me to handle. I was on both Paxil and Prozac (at different times, of course). Both caused me to be jittery and dizzy, killed my sex drive, and made me even more apathetic about the world than I was pre-medication. They were only minimally beneficial to me, so I quit taking them altogether. I've been meaning to find a new doc and try some non-SSRI meds, but my anxiety kinda gets in the way of my doing that. Good luck with your Effexor...I hope the side effects clear up for you!
 
bisexplicit said:
Don't you just love the list of side effects, too?
Side effects:
Most common: asthenia, sweating, nausea, constipation, anorexia, vomiting, somnolence, dry mouth, dizziness, insomnia, nervousness, abnormal dreams, anxiety, tremor, abnormal vision, anorgasmia, abnormal ejaculation/orgasm and impotence in men.
Click to expand...
That's nothing! They say nothing about heart attacks and bleedings in the brain... :D

The side-effect lists most time don't list only the effects that can actually be caused by the drug, but they list ANY effect that showed during ANY tests. If they testet 100.00 rats and only 1! rat gets a bit weak in the legs, they have to add it to the list, even when there is no prove that it was caused by the drug.
 
Little Bird: I hope they're testing them on something else aside from rats before giving them to me, hehe.
But, yeah, I know that many of the side effects aren't common at all...And, you're right, as long as it doesn't list "death" as a side effect, I should consider myself lucky, hehehe.
 
I was going to recommend cutting the dose in half for a few days and work your way up.. unfortunately since I take Effexor I know it is a capsule and thats not possible. I assume he is starting with the 37.5 mg dose? I believe thats as low as it goes.
 
My son had problems with abilify and nausea, try this: In the drugstore they sell motion sickness wristbands, wear them, its only accupressure really but it immediately took his symptoms away. The sickness usually goes away in a few days but try the wristbands.
 
bisexplicit said:
Thanks for the advice, ........
Don't you just love the list of side effects, too?
Side effects:
Most common: asthenia, sweating, nausea, constipation, anorexia, vomiting, somnolence, dry mouth, dizziness, insomnia, nervousness, abnormal dreams, anxiety, tremor, abnormal vision, anorgasmia, abnormal ejaculation/orgasm and impotence in men.
Click to expand...
When we went on lamactil the pdoc said it did have a black box warning and to get to the ER immediately if he gets sores around his mouth.Although rare, it is deadly~ Makes one ask 'At what price sanity?'
Last year we were on so many different combinations of meds., nothing worked longer than four months. After effexor,trileptal,celexa,serazone,rispidral,lamactil,abilify and depakote all stopped working I took him off everything but .5 abilify so we could establish a base incase we went onto lithium. That was last October. He is still on .5 abilify but nothing else, OK well half a .25 xanax once, we work through the rough spots when they occur; the pdoc says we have a 50/50 chance he'll stay stable. I'm not fooling myself here,he has a long and very difficult road ahead but at least,for now, he can just be a kid for a while. :rose:
 
There are a few links on the depression thread regarding Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, they might be of interest to anyone either struggling with meds or unable to take any.
See sig line below or first page of the cafe. (Yes I shamelessly bump)
 
I actually have started working with a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist and so far that kind of therapy has seemed to work best for me. :)
 
quoll said:
There are a few links on the depression thread regarding Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, they might be of interest to anyone either struggling with meds or unable to take any.
See sig line below or first page of the cafe. (Yes I shamelessly bump)
Click to expand...
As you well should, quoll...that's an excellent thread, and CBT changed (and no doubt saved) my life.
 
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