In more being thrown onto random medication…
As my mood continues its rapid decline, at my medication review I was prescribed Effexor. I have to go to the hospital for blood tests and an EKG first. I think Hannah is taking me.
He said he was severely limited in what he could prescribe. Nothing that causes weight gain (I’m being treated for Body Dysmorphic Disorder, but doesn’t Effexor cause weight gain?), no SSRIs because they send my mood sky high and nothing that can be overdosed on since the medication is for suicidal depression. So Effexor, then, which hits other stuff at a higher dose.
They said I will have to be very closely monitored for mania. I think that this might be a really bad choice of medication. As far as I know, Effexor is one of the very hardcore antidepressants. There is absolutely no point on putting me on anything that causes weight gain as I’ll stop taking it at the first lb gained, regardless. I’ve worked very hard to get my weight down to a healthy number.
I am on the fairly severe end of the whole bipolar disorder shebang so I’m a bit worried that in a few weeks you’re going to see me on top of the BT tower with my clothes off. Though it’s either they do something or else I’ll be dead in a few weeks instead. Rob will be keeping an eye on me for manic symptoms and has Hannah’s number and the crisis team’s number. I’m well aware that I probably shouldn’t be on any antidepressants at all but I need help getting out of this episode.
Do any of you have any experiences with it?
Filed under: Bipolar Disorder, bipolar, depression, manic depression, mental illness | Tagged: bipolar, Bipolar Disorder, depression, manic depression, mental illness
Stumble It!
as you know, i have no experiece. but i reckon give it a go and we’ll take it one step at a time – i’m always there to high five or hug if it’s working/not working, and i can see super early if it’s making you poorly.
we can just give the rest to the cats, if it’s a bust.
xxx
I’ve been on it, didn’t do a whole lot for me and wasn’t a huge fan of the side effects (sweating and sexual dysfunction). Coming off it isn’t fun either, which could be a problem if you need to discontinue it quickly in case of mania. Was mitarzapine considered? It’s atypical, not an SSRI and ok in case of overdose, however weight gain is a definite problem (although not as bad as olanzapine I’m led to believe).
I’dl like to see what it does to the cats…
No really, doing a bit of research on the web would’nt hurt, I s’pose.
The doc prescribed it to you, but as you know the responsability for taking it is yours (notwithstanding being on the recieving side of the stinky side effects).
In culo alla balena (which is sort of a good thing to say in these circumstances).
G.
My worst dysphoric mania ever = Effexor.
Story on blog.
I don’t think it causes weight gain though. It’s sort of enough of an SSRI to do light nausea.
Didn’t do anything for me (except make me generally feel a bit rough), but who knows, they may work wonders for you.
From a bipolar view I obviously have no experience. But I was on it a few years ago but only for a few months I didn’t feel like it was any better than prozac so I went back on that. I was anorexic at the time but I can’t remember any weight gain, if there was it was minimal. The worst thing about it was coming off it, dizziness, shaking, drowsy, nauseous…etc. I guess if you’re up for trying it you never know as you know we’re all different when it comes to our reaction to meds.
Good luck hun
x x x x
I think it is a weird choice of medication, but then again I’m not an specialist.
I was prescribed Effexor two years ago because of my atypical depression, I was dealing with extreme hypersomnia and psychomotor retardation. So, they switched me from Prozac (an SSRI) to this one because it has double action. It is a Serotonine Selective Reuptake Inhibitor, but it’s also a Noradrenaline Selective Reuptake Inhibitor. It makes both of these neurotransmiters to be more available and for longer at the synapse. Effexor is an activator. It made me stop sleeping that much. I was more energized. But I have unipolar depression so there’s no risk of going too much to the other side.
Theoretically it seems like a weird option ofr you. But in medicine, theory is one thing and evidence might point somewhere else, so I’m going to go to my med journals and see if I can find anything about effexor and mania. I’ll get back to you.
Hi, only found your blog recently – very well written! Anyhows, re: Effexor (venlafaxine), I’ve been on this (75mg up to 150mg at present) for nearly 10 yrs now for unipolar depression. I have to warn you it can be an absolute bastard to get off – I’m looking at taking Prozac in parallel, then off the Effexor, then off the Prozac. Goody goody. As far as I’m aware it is grouped as an SSRI, and works on 3 neurotransmitters, which ones depend on the dose, the ‘Crazy Meds’ website is an excellent resourse to find out more. Other thing to point out is that I believe you can OD on it (why they gave it to me I don’t know! It’s nice to have that get out clause though {{half-joking}}). So, read up on it and good luck!
I was on Effexor for several months, a few years prior to being diagnosed bipolar; which means I was on it without a mood stabilizer. The side effects weren’t kind to me, and I had my first hallucinations on this wonderful drug. When I reported the hallucinations to my doctor, he titrated me down to zero in a week and a half, which was damned hard. I have lasting side effects like a very mild facial tick that shows up when I get anxious, and sexual side effects that are still with me after these seven years since popping the first pill. It caused me to be irritable to the point of aggressiveness, and didn’t pull me out of my depression.
That’s just how it interacted with me, though – there are plenty of people who take it and have no problem. Liz Spikol seems to be thankful for her experience with it, for example, and she might be a good person to contact. It’s also important to keep in mind that I took that stuff without a mood stabilizer. I hope your experience with it will be a lot better than mine was.
You can’t overdose on Effexor. I knew someone who took almost 9 grams of the stuff, and all she did was fall asleep for a few days.
It is difficult to come off of. You get this ‘electric shock’ kind of feeling when you are titrating down. It’s a good antidepressant. I was sleeping for 20 hours a day, and Effexor picked me up. (I have schizophrenia with depression.) No weight gain here, but everyone reacts differently. Sexual side effects.
I switched to Wellbutrin. (Zyban) I don’t know if that’s available where you are. It’s a different kind of antidepressant. (Not an SSRI.) And is also used to help people quit smoking. Works well. Best antidepressant I’ve been on, and no sexual side effects and no weight gain. (Some weight loss.) Look into it.
Watch for mania. Hubby went sky-high (dysphoric of course; not the fun-for-him kind) within a week or two. Check out crazymeds.us for lots of good info. Good luck, love.
At first, I didn’t think it was really fair to give it to the cats.
On the other hand, the lovable greedy l’il bastards did nick your salmon. They’ve got it coming to ‘em.
i’ve never had effexor but like you antidepressants for me = dysphoric mania, so i’m generally very wary of the idea of bipolar people taking them.
i hope if you take it they keep a very close eye on you
I”ve been on Effexor (from 75mg up to 300mg) for major depression, so not quite the same medical reasons as you’ll be on it. Two things:
1. don’t panic about the side effects and/or coming off it. I had minimal side effects – decreased sex drive, which managed to right itself a few weeks after going on it (or an increase). I didn’t gain any weight (unlike Lexapro, my current meds ). I also didn’t have too many probs coming off it. Felt a bit wobbly, but no brain zapping etc. It can be scary reading about the side effects of it, and the nastiness of coming off it, but these are not universal, so don’t panic until they actually happen.
2. it didn’t actually do anything for my depression. Great for the anxiety – I sat around in a zombified state, not giving a crap about anything – but no ability to actually, you know, function.
Anyhow, good luck with it. Keep perservering!! You’ll never know unless you give it a go. This may be the med you need for your depression. Good luck!!
I’m on 150mg slow release (1 per day), in combination with 1200mg per day Carbamazepine. I recently switched to it after having a bad failure with Prozac. There’s no weight gain so far and I do feel more managed.
I’m on 90 mg, slow release, for (unipolar) depression. No problems with weight gain (unlike some other meds – mirtazapine, I’m looking at you…). Some sexual side effects, fairly minor.
It’s got my depression under control where no other drug did (treatment-resistant recurrent depression).
I was on it years ago, before being diagnosed bipolar. As a matter of fact, it’ s why I was diagnosed bipolar. Don’t remember the dose, but being on Effexor with no other medications sent me into a hypomanic/manic state that got increasingly worse and more aggressive over a period of 2 years. (I was managed by my GP at that time, and not seeing her very often. I was also not very good at realizing anything was actually wrong.)
So, be careful and watch for signs. But with your other medications, it may work out. Good luck!
I;m on 75mg efexor a day, started it 6 weeks ago, the side effects arent all that noticable. except the sexual ones, but i dont have muych intrest in sex at the moment anyway so they’re not a bi deal. not noticed any weight gain, unlike the cipralex, i put on about 2 stone with that over a year.
certainly worth giving it a go, seems to work for most people who try it from what i’ve heard, but can take a bit longer to “kick in” than some other meds.
I took effexor for years and went super manic when the doctors doubled my dose. I’m now off and on something else. I’ve heard Effexor can really increase rapid cycling….
i hate effexor for the withdrawals alone. i will be on this shit the rest of my life and it really, really pisses me off.
it used to work for my nerve pain, but doesn’t anymore.
and i have many hits from google that specify “effexor mania”.
beware.
that is all.
except, love you girl!
i’ve been on 75mg effexor since november. it’s an absolute bastard to get off. i’ve failed to halve it on two seperate attempts. mine’s for bpd and it does take the edge off the anxiety a bit but after four months i developed a bad skin rash from it, which needs antihistamines daily. I have gained weight but that may be down to how inactive i’ve been since i left hospital. good luck with it.
Hi Seaneen,
I also have rapid cycling, which was triggered by taking Prozac at a higher dose four years ago (I had a less severe form of bipolar disorder up till then). I take Efexor, but it doesn’t send me sky-high, perhaps because I take Lamictal and valproate at the same time.
Good luck with it. I’ll be thinking of you.
My ex, Lee…you know the one…was prescribed effexor slow release many many years ago, when he was convinced that my mum and I were trying to poison him, and that I was a prostitute…they did seem to work and the only notable side effect I can remember is the already mentioned, loss of libido. Can’t say I was complaining about that.
He did eat more, but only because during his time on it he stopped thinking we were trying to kill him with lasagne.
He did however stop taking it very abruptly, as he decided he didn’t need it anymore…stopping so suddenly was a big mistake and he became evenmore unbearable than usual to the point where I took 24 of them with a bottle of vod…yeah you can’t really overdose…I just ended up hallucinating and shivering for 3 days.
As far as I know he has since been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic, so I don’t know how that would effect the effet if you know what I mean….
Have been on the modified release Effexor for 4 years now – mainly for depression/anxiety and on varying doses depending on how I’m dealing with life. See my GP once a month for checks, and have recently been referred through to Psych to try to deal with issues of self esteem (is it or isn’t it cyclothymic disorder ?), so could be med changes on the way.
This has been a good med for me inthat it does help more than the beta blockers, Mirtazapine and Prozac, but so far I haven’t had to come off it ! I have found that libido has gone which distresses me and I eat anything that isnt nailed down (and it’s when I read that I realise hiding under the quilt has its moments.) Best of luck with everything