Possible Medication Switch

Since my mood has been boucning around. Since I phoned her another night and told her about all the anxiety i've been getting,how it felt like I was going to cry alot, and I did cry alot during the last couple weeks... she asked me if I had any feelings of hopelessness or suicidal thoughts, I told her no just feeling very discouraged.

She said that she thinks the Remeron might not be doing the trick anymore, because I am usually not like this. So she said either she might try me on Effexor or Prozac.

I don't want to be on Prozac because I know there is weight loss while on this drug, and I don't really want to loose weight, I just don't want to gain anymore. So I might be doing the route of effexor.

Now I need some info on it, I looked it up on my PDF electronic Library but that's it.

Anything I should know about Effexor? Pros & cons?

I found this information on http://www.medlineplus.gov
They have an extensive list of medications there.

This is general information on Effexor.

Side effects from venlafaxine are common:

upset stomach
drowsiness
weakness or tiredness
excitement or anxiety
insomnia
nightmares
dry mouth
skin more sensitive to sunlight than usual
changes in appetite or weight
headache
Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

constipation
difficulty urinating
frequent urination
blurred vision
changes in sex drive or ability
excessive sweating
If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:

jaw, neck, and back muscle spasms
slow or difficult speech
shuffling walk
persistent fine tremor or inability to sit still
fever
difficulty breathing or swallowing
severe skin rash
yellowing of the skin or eyes
irregular heartbeat

This is the information on Effexor XR and Effexor.

Brain disease or damage, or mental retardation or
Seizures (history of)—The risk of seizures may be increased

Heart disease or
High or low blood pressure—Venlafaxine may make these conditions worse

Kidney disease or
Liver disease—Higher blood levels of venlafaxine may occur, increasing the chance of side effects; your doctor may need to adjust your venlafaxine dose

Mania (history of)—The risk of developing mania may be increased

Weight loss—Venlafaxine may cause weight loss; this weight loss is usually small, but if a large weight loss occurs, it may be harmful in some patients

I'm going to tell you the truth of the matter. This is pretty much the same side effects I've had on Prozac. I've had some weight loss, but I'm thinking it's not been that much. I wish you luck, anyway. Apparently the med you're on now isn't working anymore if you're so down again. I want to offer ((hugs)) and hope everything gets lined out for you. (4 weeks in on Prozac has me feeling great!)

Take Care.
Kimberly

Kim,

These are the ones that most concern me

This is the information on Effexor XR and Effexor.

Brain disease or damage, or mental retardation or
Seizures (history of)—The risk of seizures may be increased

Heart disease or
High or low blood pressure—Venlafaxine may make these conditions worse

Kidney disease or
Liver disease—Higher blood levels of venlafaxine may occur, increasing the chance of side effects; your doctor may need to adjust your venlafaxine dose

Mania (history of)—The risk of developing mania may be increased

Weight loss—Venlafaxine may cause weight loss; this weight loss is usually small, but if a large weight loss occurs, it may be harmful in some patients

What exactly does that mean? that there is a chance to get mania, liver diease etc, or is this just mean that if you are already suffering from them that the medications could make them worse?

The way I'm reading that, the only one it causes is weight loss, the others sound like they're effects on pre-existing conditions, nothing to worry about if you don't already have the condition.

Good luck with meds. Sucks looking for new ones, hope you find something good.

I do have sinus arrythmia, but it doesn't say anything like that with the effexor about that. Hopefully not with the prozac either.

Ok it's good to know that information is mainly for people who suffer from mania, etc.

That eases the mind a bit, but I still feel terrible.

I had good luck with Effexor, no major side effects other than being sleepy till the first couple of weeks had passed.

I stopped taking it because after awhile it didn't seem to work that well anymore.

You'll be okay on it, I think. Take care.

I'm not 100% sure if it's effexor i'm going to be on or prozac.

I think I want to know all the pros and cons, the thing i like about prozac is the weight loss since i've gained a couple pounds while i've been on remeron and that's kept my mood low too.

I don't want to change meds, but it might help, i'll know more when I have my next session in 8 days.

I've tried Prozac as well. Actually was on it for about a year and a half. Maybe this wouldn't happen with you, but it did with me.

I had to keep having the dosages increased. I got to where I was taking 80mg a day. I lost a year of my life, memory-wise, from that high of a dose.

I can't remember anything of it. The only way I discovered it was my former T told me we'd been seeing each other for almost 4 years, and I said, nahhhh maybe 3. He proved it to me and I had to reread all his notes from that missed time frame. It scared me that I couldn't remember.

Don't know if anyone else has had that experience. Just be careful, please.

Now I don't want to take either Prozac or Effexor.

just put me back on Zoloft.

Sundance:

A little overwhelming isn't it? I'm on Prozac and the only real thing I felt from it was sleepy, and terrible nightmares for about 2 1/2 weeks. I feel much better now and still on the 20 mg. original dose.

Sorry I didn't clarify earlier. I didn't mean to scare you! Those were for pre-existing conditions other than the weight loss thing. Seems that most anti-depressants can cause weight loss. Who knew? Ofcourse, to me, that's a plus because I'm about 40 lbs. overweight!

Everybody reacts differently and you can find lots of information on the net regarding side effects of these meds. I think generally our physicians do weigh the pros and cons for us. That's why it's good that our medical and pdocs know our entire history.

I'm sure it'll all work out fine!

Take Care.
Kimberly.

Hi Sundance,

I can only talk from personal experience with effexor and effexor XR(had them both-both work the same in my mind-currntly on effexor XR).

It really did help with the depression side of things for me.No highs of any sort just takes away the depression really.The other bonus(which is primarily why I went on to it in the 1st place) is that it relieves anxiety and stress( really does help with this).The only 2 'side effects' I had really were mini seizures(really dont happen that often and only happened when I lay down to rest-nothing to worry about!).The other I found is that If you skip a days med I had withdrawal symptoms.The only 2 small prob's I have.

All in all I would say its a good anti-depressent.Good luck which ever you end up getting!

Crawf.

I'm not sure which medication i'll be on, my psychiatrist may not switch me at all, i'll know more in 7 days when I see her next.

I have heard of someone having really bad adverse reactions where she actually lost her memory for 3 months or so. I know that would have been a rare case, but it's scary none the less. I know there are more studies on Prozac because it's an older anti-depressant then Effexor.

I have questions I will ask my Psychiarist during our next session and go from there. Still don't like changing meds again, not use to it because when I was on Zoloft I didn't have to change my meds for 8 yrs now this is my second drug since Zoloft. I know quite a bit of people that who have tried like 8 different medications, so I guess i'm lucky in that aspect if I do change my meds it'll be meds #4 not to mention lorazepam and clonazpam..

If there are possible siezures with Effexor I don't want to be on it.. Definatly don't want that as a side effect, no thank you too me that's a bit too scary, now i'm leaning more towards prozac...

Hi Sundance

I probably shouldn't have mentioned these 'mini seizures' as I called them.More like an electric jolt I get sometimes when I lie down to sleep.This could just be me and have nothing to do with the medication!!(must stress this!)

The only prob I had really was withdrawal If I missed taking Effexdor 1 day...that it really.Otherwise I think its an excellent anti-depressant and really helps with my anxiety.

Cant honestly say Ive ever had a loss of memory using effexor and like you said this is probably very rare.

Apologies for being a bit loose with my words in my previous post

Best of luck with whatever anti-depress. you go on to!!

cheers,
Crawf.

If there is no seizures with Effexor then I'd feel better about that, I can understand getting a Zap, i've had that happen to me once or twice.

I'd like to loose a couple pounds, so maybe Prozac is a way too go, i'd be worried about becoming under weight though, that's not a good reason however to get on an anti-depressant.

I gotta know all the pros and cons with both meds in order to make that kind of decision, i'm always weary trying new stuff. Obviously for the simple fact is that I've never been on it beore. I wrote down some questions regarding both medications so i'll talk to my psychatrist about it next Monday when I see her next. The Remeron just isn't working for me anymore. Today I was anxious and I cried today, not really sure why that was. Anxiety has been bad too, remember how I always use to say that I could talk my way out of anxiety, well that's getting harder to do. I get anxious over the littlest things, feeling hot could trigger anxiety for me out of the blue.. It sucks! Depression isn't going to good either, got to remember to go up in minutes in regards to my lighbox.

Sundance - I wish that I had more time to answer this, but we are heading out the door for 3 weeks vacation.

Don't let the product monographs of Effexor™ (venlafaxine) and Prozac™ (fluoxetine) scare you. These mongraphs include everything that ever happened to someone while taking that particular drug, whether the drug caused it or not. A psychiatrist friend defines a drug monograph as, "A lawyer's document written by lawyers, for lawyers."

Remember, any drug that is absorbed into the body can kill a person, if they are susceptible. It is really no different than life, in general; a falling lunchpail can kill you if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As for seizures with Effexor, I have never personally seen one, although I here it has happened. what I don't know are the circumstances surrounding the seizures. There is always more to the story than is initially apparent.

Effexor is a good drug that works well for many, many people. As drugs go, it does need to be respected for it's actions more so than some other drugs. When starting this drug, the dose needs to be titrated upwards, sometimes more slowly than other antidepressants. The big difference from other ADs is when you are stopping the the drug. It is very important .... no, vital, .... that one is weaned from this medication. Effexor has a relatively short half-life, and because of this missing even one dose can cause a person to experience serotonergic withdrawl. When weaned slowly, I have seen very few people have any significant discomfort coming off of the Effexor.

Effexor was the saving grace for me. I took it for about 3 years before finally coming off of it this last May. I was on doses as high as 450mg/day, but was maintained for most of the time between 225 mg/day and 300mg/day. I really experienced nothing but relief.

One must be cautious with drugs, any drugs. The must not be feared, but respected for what they can potentially do to the body. The word "potentially" must be emphasized, there are few absolutes (eg. speed of light in a vacuum .... maybe). Perhaps give the Effexor a try, but talk it out with your doctor first. You have to be comfortable with your decision.

I hope that this is of some help. - Cam

Cam,

I know that they have to list everything from seizures, to sores ect with all and any medication because people have had them with that particular drug... And I know that the chances of getting an adverse reaction is very small.... and I know that it's rare, but it's still in the back of my mind... it's still scary to know that there is that slim chance, even though there is that kind of thing with my current medication, as well as Celexa and Zoloft. Still doesn't exactly ease the mind. I think i'm just getting worried even though i'll likely be fine once the side effects go away.

"A lawyer's document written by lawyers, for lawyers."

I like that saying, maybe i'll have to write that down somewhere so I remember. I know also that with drugs that if you have had a problem with seizures in the past, or have high blood pressure, etc that the chances are greater and the only thing that I have if Sinus Arrythmia which is very common to get, and I know it's not dangerous. Last time I had an EKG done I still had it.

I'm not too concerned with being weened off medication because i've always weened off medication and then onto another one, so I didn't really go through the withdrawal, I only got weened off Celexa awhile back and then tried going meds free to see how i'd react with no chemicals in my body. With the help of my Psychiarist, and crashed after 3 days. That's when I went on Remeron. Now drug has helped me like Zoloft did, even though after 8 yrs that stopped working for me. Remeron I haven't been on a year, Celexa it was 6 weeks. So it's a bit nerve wrecking for me when I don't know what to expect. And i'm hearing more 'horror' stories with Effexor then I am with Prozac at the moment, like missing one dose of Effexor and you really feel it, it's horrible etc. There is bound to be a day that I'll miss a dose. I have with Remeron and Zoloft ( days at most with Zoloft) and didn't feel it, I know with Zoloft you can miss two days, but anymore then that and you feel it, Remeron you can miss one day... obviously it's not reccomended that you do that, but i'm sure it's bound to happen with anyone.

The fact that the doses rage in the 100's is a different thing for me to, considering that i've bounced around with doses with Zoloft ranging from 50mg-150mg... Celexa was a low dose, and Remeron I went from 15mg-30mg. Being in the 200's and up is iffy, even though I know you said that it's short lived.

You mentioned Effexor but nothing about prozac...

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
I know that they have to list everything from seizures, to sores ect with all and any medication because people have had them with that particular drug...

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

I want to give you a little insight into the records that they keep. I took part in the clinical trial for nexium (esomeprazole magnesium), the heartburn medication. In order to take part in the study (and get free drugs and other perks), I had to be otherwise medication free. I was withdrawing from an antidepressant anyway, so I took part in this clinical trial. During the few months I was in the trial, my depression got worse. There is no connection between the med and my depression, but it happened during the trial. So, there I am, listed in "potential side effects, incidence less than 1%", under "Nervous system/Psychiatric"....depression aggravated. That's me.

You have to take those side effect lists with a grain of salt.

Lar

I've been on both Prozac and Effexor, and each was different. I can't remember all the various things I experienced on each, but I want to ease your mind about weight loss: there is a possibility of initial weight loss on Prozac, and possibly Effexor -- I think I remember Effexor as being more weight neutral, though -- but after somewhere between three and six months, that initial weight loss is likely to go away. In fact, after that point, the SSRIs can cause weight GAIN.

Effexor is a good drug, broader spectrum than the SSRIs, targetting norepinephrine and even dopamine to varying degrees at varous dosages. It can be very effective. As Cam said, titrating up and down rather slowly is important. And the XR is a bit easier, since it can be taken once a day.

Prozac might be a better choice for you, if you responded so well to Zoloft for so long, though. Zoloft is an SSRI, and so is Prozac. If you did OK on Zoloft, you're likely to do fine on Prozac, too.

Another option to discuss with your psychiatrist, though, is whether it's worth giving Zoloft another try. Often, once an SSRI has stopped being effective, a vacation from it can make it effective again. I haven't seen anything saying how long the optimal vacation is, but it's something to think about.

Good luck, and don't be afraid of trying something new. It is a drag, but if you have a bad reaction, you can revisit the question again.

<font color="blue">Genevieve,

I'm not too concerned with loosing a few pounds with meds, i've been self consious about my weight abit anyways even though i'm probably at the most right now 115 lbs, but I think I lost a few... my self esteem went downhill when I jumped from a 96-98 lbs too that weight.

I heard that from my Psychiatrist that you can loose weight on Prozac, and aparently alot of people who feel that they are abit overweight, depressed, anxious what have you will be put on that so they can loose a bit of it. My Psychiarist also said that usually with Effexor you wont loose or gain, that you just stay the weight that you are etc. I definatly don't want to gain weight. Since being on Remeron I have gained... so definatly don't want to gain anymore, if anything i'd rather loose a couple of pounds

I did wonderful on Zoloft, I was on it for 8 years, and at the end of 2003 it just quit working...

I'm not really afraid to try something new, but I'm just weary about it, after Zoloft I went on Celexa and after 6 weeks I felt still horrible. And with the guidance of my psychiatrist we decided to go meds free for a bit to see how my body would react to no chemicals in my system, since I've been on meds since 16 years old, and after 3 days I crashed... that's when I went on Remeron. I've also been on the benzo's Clonazepam and Lorazepam.....

I just don't want to keep changing meds every few months because one med doesn't work, it takes alot out of you to conintually having to go through all those nasty side effect etc...I just want to be on something that works and continues to work for a longer period of time... </font>

Believe me, Sundance, I understand not wanting to continue switching meds, going through the adjustment phase side effects, etc. I've been tried on more meds in the past year than I've ever taken in the past twenty years, and it has been a nightmare. It's gotten to the point that I don't want to try anything new at all.

If the Zoloft just stopped working in 2003, it probably is too soon to try it again. But you might try the Prozac, since they're pretty similar.

As for the Effexor, when I started taking it, it did decrease my appetite a bit at first, which then levelled off after the first few weeks. It was good for anxiety, which is probably part of that decrease. You may find the same sort of thing if you try it.

Good luck to you.

<font color="purple">I'm really not sure which way to go in terms of meds, I don't like being on something that I am not familiar with etc. Especially when I don't know all the facts about both drugs and so forth.

Talked to my Pdoc today... I guess we are going to go over everything that happened in the last while or whatever on Monday and go from there.

I'm kinda not looking forward to it though, tempted to cancel it but I wont. </font>

If you're concerned because you don't know about these drugs, check out the following sites for more information on them:

www.medlineplus.com -- this site has drug info from both the USPDI and Medscape. It's basic patient info, which does overlist all the side effects, as usual.

www.rxlist.com -- this site has the most detailed information, which may be overwhelming to you. If you really want to know every detail available on the drugs, though, give it a try.

www.pdr.net -- this site has a patient's info section, where you can look up what the PDR has to say about drugs.

I hope that more information helps ease your mind.

Thanks hon I really do appreciate it i'll go through the links after i'm done writting this post. I do have a PDR electronic library that my boyfriend downloaded that he found for me that has all info on meds etc, but some of the stuff I don't understand because i'm pretty sure it's for doctors.

Anywho- I got off the phone with my psychiarist today and she knows how hard of I time I'm still having since the last time I spoke with her over this past weekend.. she I think said the meds should be switched or even try a combo of meds together which I'm not too sure i'd want to do ... one med to deal with is enough thank you very much.... lol.....

Gotta review some stuff too and i'm assuming she means meds.. guess we'll see on monday. I'm not looking forward to this appt.