Effexor, any comments?

My doctor wants to start me on Effexor A/D med. She says it starts to work faster then if she Rx Wellbutrin, as other A/D's could take up to 6wks. to feel effects. Does anyone have experiance with this med? Also had my first injection of Nupogen last Saturday because my white count bottomed out. My blood test came back today with the white count back to normal. So no decrease in my interferon tx. (yea!) Once again, any feedback on the A/D medication would be appreciated. This stuff scares the heck out of me.  Thanks...Rich

[cat_no]

I am on Effexor, have been for a month and a half, I was always feeling tired, and the dr thought i was just depressed. It took me awhile to get used to it. But I was still feeling tired and sick all the time, and just found out I have hep c. I don't know if i still need to take it now. I will find out next week when I go to the doctor.

[Snookmiester]

I took effexor XR for about 6 months..It was Rx'ed to me for anxiety most of all, but also for AD properties. I took 75mg I think. Make sure they give you the starter pack, the 37.5mg capsules for the first week. Sx's I noticed, where excessive sweating!!! Man, I would just drip!
But other than that, I can not complain. Started working within a week, and a month in, full effects.
Also, make sure you taper off when you decide to discontinue.. I learned the hard way!! LOL

[beamishboy]

longterm use of wellbutrin is not liver friendly

[RichCM]

Thanks for your help. Glad to see there were no serious sx.

[sfbaygirl]

Where do you find out which drugs are not liver friendly and which ones are?  I have searched the web and haven't found a good site for this.  Janus talked about bleaching needles and using pure drugs on the interation page...I am not using drugs,  but my Dr's did not tell me to stop anything,  I want to find out on my own.

Thanks

[MissAntithesis]

Richm - I, too, resisted the A/D because avoid taking meds... My family/friends gave the same advice.  Historically, I have reluctantly used A/Ds for brief perionds out of desperation.  Deciding to do this tx is still very unsettling to me, considering my aversion to the medical community overall.  

roaming - I started A/D a couple of months b4 tx because mt doctor begged me for 3 or 4 weeks.  I am very ADHD and have struggled a lot with depression, hence I am always a little on the wacky side...

The doc increased my dose in week 8 because I made a joke that I was "not only meaner than imaginable, but actually enjoying it."  After I would "rip you a new one," I felt no sense of apology or responsibility.  In fact, I thought that you were lucky that I didn't say more.  I am usually comical and cocky... but never mean.  The doctor soberly said (get this =) "Before you hurt anyone --or yourself-- call me.  Call me the minute you consider it."  [

I think what I 'enjoyed' was that I had no clue that I could be that tough... grrrrr =)

[roaming]

When does the rage really start kicking in. My husband does shot nine tonight. He says he does feel those grumpy moments but really does not talk about it. This week he seems to be really on edge. I am starting to get a little nervous about this. He is still at the beginning of the road. Does it get worse as tx progresses?

[MissAntithesis]

of course, it is different for everyone.  my 2nd month seemed the worst.

[roaming]

Is that when you started the a/d's. Hubby tried to do them as a preventative but did not feel them agreeing with him. He said they made him edgy. The nurse thought that maybe not needing them was why they were not working for him then. I have once brought it up since then but his answer is that he will deal with it. He just seems very irritable this week.

[RichCM]

I am into week 7. I thought I could get through this also without a/d meds. My wife and doctor said why suffer more then I have to? These are powerful drugs and though I really don't like taking medication in the first place, if this helps me get through this so be it. The mood swing, grummpyness and just the overall lousey feeling are there. The tx reminds you 24/7 that you are on it. So hopfully this will take the edge off. Hope you can convince your husband to give it a try. Took my first dose this morning, will keep you posted.

[roaming]

Thank you for your reply. I am starting to think he may need some assistance. I wish you well.

[NYgirl]

When I first started the antidepressant Paxill I HATEd it. I was tired all of the time and really thought it was DREADFUL! After a few weeks however my body got totally used to it and now I could not manage treatment without it and I know it. I LOVE it and never want to go off of it in my life.

turns out I've probably needed it to 'cool my jets' for all of my life but i never knew it.

[MissAntithesis]

I get my treatment at the Liver Institute in Texas... Livers is ALL they do.  Their tx monitoring is intense.  I had a Gastro doc before and was disappointed, so I went to a "Liver Place"

I take Effexor/Wellbutrin...  They tried me on 75 mg. of each morning and evening.  My riba-rage was still intolerable (I was downright hostile).

Now I take:

A.M.  150 mg. Effexor and 150 mg. Wellbutrin (bupropion, generic)

P.M.  75 mg. Effexor and 150 mg. Wellbutrin

I feel remarkably better.

Hang in there.  Give it a chance so you can feel as good as possible through Tx.

btw: It is the Wellbutrin XL that is hard on the liver, because it is time-released.  The 75 mg. are available "non-XL".  They aren't time released.

[SB1]

AD's were the worst for me. Bad AE's that never diminished. Many swear by them as lifesavers and there's lots of evidence to support that. I think it's obvious now too that alot of the bad has been swept under the rug, so hence the beginning of black box warnings. They made me mad as a hatter. I think they are vile. They just need to be prescribed to the right folks and I wasn't one of them.