Effexor XR and Serotonin Syndrome

[jmg72]

This is the first time I

[kattknipp]

Hi,
I just found this forum and wanted to ask anyone out there a question.  I noticed that one of you did say something about it but only one - and was wondering if anyone else had had this problem.

I have MS and Lupus - and my dr. did have me on Zoloft.  It worked okay for a couple of years but then didn't really seem to do much. Didn't really NOT do anything...just that I had a "heavy" feeling on me that wouldn't go away - if you can understand what I mean.  I told my MS dr. about it so he changed me to Effexor XR about 2 1/2 months ago.  I was on 75mg. a day to start off with (after the initial 37.5, etc.) but it did not seem to be helping.  My mind still raced (which Zoloft did not do.  I had never taken antidepressants before Zoloft and was amazed at HOW much I worried ALL the time and how wonderful it was not to have my brain engaged in some kind of thought constantly!), and I just couldn't quit worrying and was jumpy.  So....he increased the dosage to 150 mg. - which, to me, would only exacerbate the problem - but he said no...not necessarily.  Most times it would help.  Well....for the past 3 weeks, I guess it has slowed my brain down...(been busy with several other things and thought that was it but I really think it DID help in that area) although I have still been depressed over things.  THEN.....about two weeks ago, I started this minor (then) itching.  At the same time (a couple of days AFTER the itching, though) I was having GI tests run and the GI dr. had put me on antibiotics - so I thought perhaps it was them.  Looked them up and nope....they normally don't do that and besides...I stopped them last week.  The itching hasn't stopped, though.  It has gotten horrible!!!  The past few days have been misery for my whole family as I feel like a dog with mange or something...itch, itch, itch.  I didn't have any rash -at first!  I look like I do now, I have scratched so much.  And the itching is everywhere! Arms, legs, torso, hands, fingers, breasts, - you name it, it's there.  

I wouldn't have thought to look up and find a forum on this except my husband went to pick up some Zrtech (?) last night and the pharmacist looked at my records and said he "bet" it was the Vicodin I was taken.  I have taken Vicoden for 30 years for migraines and all the aches and pains that we just found out what was causing all of them two years ago!  I have researched it today and it mainly makes you itch immediately if you are allergic to it - not a build up whereas, from what I have read on Effexor XR, it builds up and is hell!  (By the way, the Zyrtech or whatever has NOT stopped any itching.  Benadryl is much better but I sleep so much anyway, I hated to add more sleeping time!)  After reading some of this in your column, I am almost convinced it is the Effexor as the itching started about a week or so after I doubled the dosage and got really bad once it got all through my system.

Has anyone else had this problem?  Am I really crazy?  I am thinking seriously of going back to Zoloft.  I lost weight on in (not that I have gained any on this one) but it never made me itch or have horrible dreams (which I have also been having).  I may just cut back to the 75mg. and see if this lessens and then switch back.

Someone please give me input!

Thanks so much.  I am so glad for forums where we can share our feelings and see how things REALLY affect the people who use this medicine!

kattknipp

[klc123]

I am currently weaning myself off Effexor.  My doctor and I decided that I would reduce my dose 75 mg each month.  I've gone from 300 mg per day to 225 per day.  While it's been livable, it has not been pleasant.  My head feels like it is full of water, I am irritable and cannot focus at work or any other time for that matter.  How long will these side effects last?

Also, one reason I am getting off the effexor is that I have gain a considerable amount of weight while on the drug and have had no energy to exercise.  Will the energy come back and if so when?  Also, while I plan on exercising to get the weight off, will I lose any just by getting of the effexor alone?

[themachine]

Hey Everyone,

I'm new to this forum and would like to share my experience with using and tapering off of Effexor. I had been taking 150mg per day of Effexor for the last 2 years. Over the last 10 years I was on (at one time or another) Paxil, Welbutrin, Zoloft and Prozac. You name it-I took it for depression and axiety. The negative side effects from all of these drugs made be sleepy, lazy, gain weight and sexless. Like OrlnadoMan,I noticed more episodes of violent verbal explosions, more "amped" with a greater level of adrenaline and I needed to set my thermastat to at least 69 degrees in order to be comfortable.

By lowering my dosage from 150mg to 75mg per day, I've been tapering rather successfully for the last two weeks and have not had any zaps, dizziness or nausea yet. Tomorrow I will begin the 37.5 mg regimen, however I do expect a challenge and plan to take Dramaine for nausea, headache, dizzieness, etc. in case I need it.    

Please wish me luck because I have been at my job for less than a year and don't have much sick or vacation time to use yet, so I have to be careful and be sure I'm able to get to work.

Does anyone out there have any suggestions or experiences with natural or homeopathic remedies for "Mood Disorder."  According to my new doctor, this is my condition.

The Machine

[Ravenswing]

I, too, stumbled onto this site, and I'm glad I did. It encouraged me to go to my doctor and tell him that when I asked him for help 4 years ago, he treated the symptom (depression) not the cause (type II diabetes). I am now cutting back slowly and fully intend to get off this "drug from hell". Don't get me wrong, it made me feel like a million bucks; but for a price...sweating, increased doses to keep me feeling that way...until it finally reached 225 mg. per day. I became so dependant that when I missed a dose last December, I thought I was dying...so he upped the amount. Along with counselling, I really started to feel better. Then the sweating got so bad, it was dripping off me and I have to live in air conditioning along with fans just to keep reasonably cool. When I first started seeing my doctor, I controlled my diabetes with diet alone, and had some nerve damage in my feet. As my glucose levels rose, he prescribed Metformin. It did the trick for a while; but the nerve damage increased to that now I can hardly walk. I had testing done on my feet and hands a couple of weeks ago and a lot of information started coming to me that I wish I had known years ago. My doctor is not supportive of my cutting back on the Effexor and defends his treatment. He maintains that I will be back when I need more.

Yesterday was my first day on a lower dose and it wasn't too bad, just a few shocks in my feet and hand. I will succeed and get away from this monster.

Someone asked for a natural solution that might make it easier to cope with withdrawal. Here's my solution: EXERCISE. The very best is pool aerobics because it's easier on your body and you don't feel the stiff muscles afterward. Swim laps. I started with 2 (when I was coping with my divorce)...and could hardly finish the second. Then kept increasing until I finally lost
count somewhere around 200. Walk...with a friend is best...and keep up a steady pace. Endorphins kick in and a feeling of well being takes over. Then, as a reward, for all you chocolate lovers, try an "85% Swiss dark chocolate bar"; but only in really small amounts. It makes you feel good (if you like chocolate that is)and lowers your blood pressure among other good things.

I hope this helps someone! We all need support, don't we. Wishing you all success.

[wantmylifeback]

all those out there still making a effort to get off this ****, props to you all.

I waited until the third day to take my pill and it wasn't bad,
so now i'm going to take 75mg every third day

[Cosmic Cowgirl]

I have a history of depression, although I have not taken meds for it continually until now.  I took Zoloft for six months while undergoing a divorce, and it worked well.  So when I got depressed again, I wanted to try something different because the zoloft did upset my stomach.  So, the doctor ordered Prosac (or rather Fluoxetine..the generic copy).  I did not like the way I felt on the Prosac, too much dizziness.  So I basically just didn't take it.  Time went on, and one day I really wound up in a black hole, so I went back to the doc.  Friends of mine were all on Effexor, so I asked for it.  The doc laughed and said it was the newest "designer" drug, but he prescribed it for me.  The first six months was wonderful.  I was alive again.  About eight months in, I was depressed again, so he upped the dose from 150mg/day to 300mg/day.  For the first week, I saw flying objects which were not there, but the nurse said I would adjust.  After a week, I was fine again.  I have now been on the Effexor at 300mg/day for about seven to eight months.  For the past three months, I have had sore muscles in my neck and back.  But now, steadily increasing the symptoms, my neck is so stiff, I cannot work.  I am seeing an accupuncturist and it is helping a lot, but I am wondering if the Effexor is causing it.  The little "electric shocks" are a natural part of my day.  There is a knot in my right side of my neck which does not go away.  The accupuncturist says it is a stress spasm in my neck muscle. My job is very high stress; I am a realtor.  However, muscle stress does not continue to get worse and worse.  The muscle in the right side of my neck is like steel cable; even massage will not release it.  Accupuncture is the first thing which has helped.
I really believe it is the effexor side effects.  Oh, I have tremendous sweating attacks.  Sweat dripping off my forehead; I am always hot and sweat 90% of the time.  I also have had itching spells on my arms and legs.
And headaches from hell!!!  I get up feeling as if I have been hit by a train.
My doctor poo poos the idea.  He tells me I don't know what I am talking about, and gives me even more medicine to knock me out for the headaches!  I have had it.  But I know better than to just stop taking the stuff.  I need for him to wean me off gradually.
I think it is safe to say the medical field has no idea what the long term effects of these drugs are.
Has anyone tried a natural alternative yet?