Going to ask my psychiatrist for Effexor…scared.
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Anonymous
| I am really f’ing struggling these days. For the first time in my life I am experiencing what feels like true clinical depression. I’ve always sort of dealt with periodic low moods and PMDD, but for PMDD I was able to pop a Zoloft from ovulation until when I got my period, and it worked mostly fine. For low moods when they happened, I was able to exercise, hang out with friends, or do something else uplifting and that would help. Now that I am 46 years old and in perimenopause all bets are off. I get seriously dark moods where I feel flat and empty, with seriously bad fatigue. I tired full time Zoloft instead of intermittently like I was doing for pmdd, but it put me into a total stupor, like my brain was just empty and killed my short term memory. I think I need something stronger and that works on dopamine as well as serotonin. I did try going on birth control, the one that is good for PMDD, as I took it in my 20s and did well, and my gyn thought it would help with the perimenopause mood stuff, but this time I had a very bad reaction, like I felt completely drugged and just straight up ill. Side effects I can def deal with, but this felt like poison to my body, so I had to stop after 7 days. Anyway, I am just a mess. I am scared about trying Effexor because of horror stories I’ve read online, but please please can another woman in perimenopause tell me you did well on it. |
Anonymous
|
I've been on effexor for three years for insomnia anxiety and night sweats. For the first time in years, I'm finally sleeping and the night sweats have pretty much disappeared
As a bonus, I feel a lot less anxious during the day. The one side effect I've had is sleepiness. I probably should take it at bedtime, but I don't like to do anything that messes with my sleep potentially. But I think if you take it before bed, the daytime sleepiness will not be an issue. I have had no issues with it at all. |
Anonymous
| ^ okay not true. I did have some weight gain but after year two my doc prescribed metformin to go along with it and the weight gain stopped |
Anonymous
|
Sorry to hear you’re struggling but thank you for sharing your story (I’m 45 and just entering peri…).
I don’t know about Effexor but wanted to offer that when I first started taking Accutane 20 years ago there were a lot of stories online and offline about its potential to cause depression, including suicidal ideation. The drug has changed the course of my life for the better, I have no doubt, but I did have to monitor its many effects for a while and adjust dosing. I ended up on a tenth of the dose that is normally prescribed and that was perfect for me. So my advice is keep very informed and work closely with your doctor to monitor ANY and all symptoms and discontinue or adjust down the drug if and as soon as symptoms arise. That would be my approach. Of course your doctor should be able to help you determine whether that’s a reasonable approach with this particular drug. I wish you a clear mind and many sunny and happy days soon! Hang in there. This being a woman thing is no joke. |
Anonymous
| Why not just describe your symptoms to your psychiatrist and see what they prescribe? They know the full range of options and side effects better. |
Anonymous
|
Everyone is different, OP, and will have different experiences on a medication. The horror stories bubble to the top because there are fewer people shouting “I’m just so damn happy” – especially when dealing with a population being treated for depression. As PP said, it is important to monitor and report any symptoms or side effects, especially mental health related ones. A good relationship with your doctor is key, because they can often spot issues that might not be apparent to you as a patient, especially if you’re generally highly functional but feeling bad.
I’m currently on Pristiq, which is similar to Effexor, for major depression and anxiety. It’s helped a lot and I haven’t experienced any side effects. I’m sorry you’re in a crap place right now. |
Anonymous
| I am also on pristique and like it a lot. I don’t get the times of utter despair and a feeling of drowning anymore. Feel content. It’s been so nice and I was against medication for years |
Anonymous
| The issues I’ve heard with family relate to stopping the medication. My niece found it highly successful but the weaning off process was pure unadulterated hell for her. |
Anonymous
OP here…thanks for sharing about Pristiq. I forgot that I did try Pristiq and I don’t think it was quite for me. It gave me really bad constipation, weight gain, and an unrelenting eye twitch, which didn’t go away until a few weeks after I stopped. I think maybe it did help with the lowest lows, but I just didn’t totally feel normal/better. I think I took it about 7 weeks at the lowest dose. Perhaps I should have tried to stay on it longer, but the constipation was so awful. |
Anonymous
OP here…thanks for sharing. See my other comment about Pristiq. I do drink a green smoothie for breakfast every morning, which I wasn’t doing when I tried Pristiq, so maybe that would help with the constipation if I decided to try it again, or if my psych thinks I should try again. |
Anonymous
| I am the 2nd PP about pristiq and it does make me constipated too! And some weight gain. No perfect solution I guess |
Anonymous
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The issue with Effexor is when you try to come off donor. It is unique among psych medications in how difficult and prolonged the tapering off needs to be and some people have a really hard time.
For PMDD the usual choice is an SSRI. I’d try lexapro before Effexor. -doctor |
Anonymous
| Consider Ketamine infusions as adjunctive treatment. |
Anonymous
| I'm similar and trying mdma or mushrooms |
Anonymous
| Watch how to change your mind on Netflix |