Posted by copperhair_1 on November 15, 2004, at 10:55:59
In reply to Just starting on effexor, posted by Hoping to be normal on August 6, 2004, at 16:34:41
Hi all,
I am brand new here and came across this board because I was searching for information on Effexor after having an interesting experience with it the other day. I came today and wanted to post when I saw this thread, so thought I would just jump right in. I hope you don't mind.
I have Bipolar disorder that tends to keep me very depressed most of the time. I have never had a psychosis with a manic episode as manic for me is being very productive, sleeping less and losing weight. I have though, been so depressed (when I failed to seek treatment) that I had psychosis with severe almost comatose depression. I live in the mid-west, am a Wellness Recovery Action Planning Facilitator, Worked as a consumer/provider at our local mental health agency until about a month ago, have my own support board somewhere across the net, have two grown sons (one headed to Iraq shortly) a wonderful grandson and a cat.
I have struggled for years with my illness and how best to deal with it. For many years when I was younger I simply failed to deal with it and had my whole life fall apart several times. I am determined that this will not happen to me again. I worry about the fact that had I dealt with my illness effectively, I would probably have a better prognosis now, but I can't go back and change the past. I am thankful that we are able to get on the Internet and get information and support now, as hopefully fewer people will have to wander around without the knowledge that they need to manage their illness.
Anyway, I came to the board the other day via a search engine. I had forgotten to take my medication the day before and was experiencing some distressing (what I would call neurological) symptoms. I read through quite a few posts on Effexor and was grateful for the information.
Even though I am aware that this medication can cause some distressing symptoms, I am also aware that it is what is keeping me alive. I have been on most all antidepressants and am currently taking both Effexor and Wellbutrim xr. I have found that my response to medications is my response alone. They usually effect me differently than they do others taking the medication, so I generally listen to others input but have to see for myself what they will actually do. I have spent years at times searching for a medication that will help, so feel that a few side effects are not too much a price to pay for a medication that allows me to lead a normal life. I don't think there is any perfect medication, although I am sure that we are all looking for it. :)
I doubt that I will ever stop taking Effexor unless it stops working for me. At that point I will slowly taper off and hope for the best. When my doctor gave me the medication, she told me that it was very, very strong and that back in the day of long hospital stays they would only put you on it while you were in the hospital. Now that admissions are way down, they are allowing folks to go on it at home. The first few weeks that I was on it, I did have a lot of headaches (normally never get one). That did pass with time. Now, I have the occasional dizzy spell, but unless I don't take it at all, I seem to do fine.
Having worked at the agency, I can tell you that it does not surprise me that the doctor is using an Effexor pad to write notes on. I have a purse full of drug company pens as we speak. I doubt though, that the doctor would be swayed by the fact of that notepad when it comes time to write a prescription. I am sure he also has a pad for Lexapro, Wellbutrim, Zoloft, etc. It is just part of the way that drug companies do business and is taken with a grain of salt. The really valuable thing they do though, is give those drug samples. Again, I doubt that would sway the doctor about what drug to prescribe, but it does allow them to give someone a sample of whatever they do prescribe to try out before they spend a bunch on a thirty day prescription. Those samples also tend to find their way into the hands of folks who have a crisis and are unable to afford their medication that month. So, that makes me feel really friendly toward those drug reps as I have taken samples before. I do want to point out also that the doctor also no doubt has samples of every other medication known to man that they would like to prescribe, so I doubt that it would affect their decisions much. What is a concern to me is when the drug company comes around to do training's for the doctors to allow them to keep their continuing education credits up to date, as that is something more "swayed" that I wish were done in a manner that was less biased. They generally don't talk about specific drugs though, as they do "classes" of drugs. I guess that the drug companies are the ones who are willing to pay for those research studies into medications though and until someone else wants to, things will probably continue on as they have. I also know that the physicians are as aware of how the system works as I am. (Also, the drug companies do "programs" if you can't afford your drug so for the person who is concerned, you may want to talk to your doctor about that.)
Anyway, thanks for letting me introduce myself and give an opinion. My suggestion would always be to research, talk to your doctor, try a medication and see what works for you. You are an individual and even the doctor can not always predict what will and won't work for you. They do, however, have much more experience with knowing about a medication with a specific set of symptoms and can probably then make a better judgement. I know that without my doctor and my medications I would not be here right now. If I had a life threatening cancer I would not hesitate to take something that might make me sick or cause side effects. I feel that I have a life threatening psychological illness, so am willing to pay the price for life......not just life, but quality of life I guess.God Bless,
JC
poster:copperhair_1
thread:374803
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/newbs/20040812/msgs/416198.html