kovaahe Posted August 14, 2004 Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 Hi. I'm 27, male, and have been diagnosed with partial dysautonomia. My primary symptoms are fast heart rate (esp. after eating), fatigue, brain fog, frequent urination and chemical sensitivity. After some convincing, I just started on Effexor a few days ago (a friend of mine had/has a bad experience with this drug, and I was wary of it). But the Effexor is making me sick (haven't thrown up, but I felt like it) and feel very strange--it makes me giddy for a while, then I get very sleepy, but when I try to sleep, I can't. It also seems to be increasing my paranoia about things. I started out at 25mg bid, today went up to 37.5 bid. Do these side-effects go away eventually? I sure hope so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DancingLight Posted August 14, 2004 Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 hello and welcome!are you taking effexor xr or just effexor? wanted to clarify, b/c there is actually a big difference b/w the two. effexor (not xr) is a much older drug and worse side effects (i couldn't tolerate it at all)however, the xr i can tolerate. it sounds like you are having pretty extreme side effects pretty quickly and at a really low dose...i started at 12.5 mg and gradually tapered off. i take 75 mg now. i cannot tolerate more than that or i feel agitated and can't sleep too.is effexor the only drug you are taking? is there a reason you chose this particular med?i like it a lot and have tried a zillion anti-depressants...but it doesn't help with a lot of the symptoms you are describing...at least for me!i guess of course we aren't medical doctors here...and you have to decide how extreme the side effects are and if you can wait them out. sometimes they get better sometimes they don't. it can take several weeks for the side effects of anti-depressants to subside.i did have a lot more nausea especially when starting the effexor and that did go away. but it didn't with other ones i tired....i.e. zoloft i felt so agitated and couldn't sleep...and that never wore off even after a couple of months.i definitely wouldn't increase the effexor at all untile you can at least tolearte the amount you are taking. sometimes a subclinical dose is enough for us folks.keep us posted...hope you find some relief soon...emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calypso Posted August 14, 2004 Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 I am taking Lexapro and had nausea early on, and my dad, who took Effexor a couple years back, had horrible nausea the first week with Effexor. He was told it is the most common side effect, as well as insomnia and vivid dreams. I remember he told me he had the same dream over and over all night long the first or second night he took it, where he was counting a pile of money. My sisters and I laugh about that all the time!I would give it a week, and if the side effects are still there, ask your doc if you can wean off and try something different. Effexor can raise blood pressure, so maybe that's why you were told to try it, since many POTS patients have low BP. Or maybe because it's just very effective.Good luck,Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyLeesWife Posted August 16, 2004 Report Share Posted August 16, 2004 My husband takes Effexor XR and when he was starting it I remember nausea and some other gastro problems for a few days, then he would be OK. The ramping up schedule from the doctor was to increase every 3-4 days but because of the problems we stretched the schedule out so he always increased on a Friday which means that his yucky days would fall on the weekend when we had more control over our schedule. He has bee lucky, he has tolerated the medication well for the past two years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catelynnw3 Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 I have previously tried several SSRIs and did really well with Celexa until I hit a point that it seemed to not be working as well. (Could have been my thyroid issues though) Then I decided to try Effexor XR (SSNRI) since my dad swears by it. I feel worse, but have been afraid to wean off and restart the Celexa because I know how awful I feel without anything. Anyway, one reason I strongly believe it bothers me is because a side effect is dry mouth. I wake up extremely parched with my heart pounding. I am constantly drinking liquids, but still always feel dry. Other side effects include, dizziness, weakness, nausea, increased sweating and nervousness. This is not to say that these happen to everyone, but I have experienced night sweats (again, loss of fluids), chronic nausea and nervousness. (I also recently found something on the internet that talked about the effects of norepinephrine on tachycardia. I believe it was one of the topics discussed at a forum presented in our area, in which Dr. Grubb participated. I will have to re-look it up since I am not positive about this)I hope you find something that works well for you, soon! Let me know if you are still taking it, and if so, how are you feeling. Cathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.