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    • Question: Starting tomorrow!!

    Hello all. I am to start taking it tomorrow, what can I expect? The doctor did not tell me anything.<br>I saw a few of the messages that you all wrote, should I be concerned? I just fiished taking Zoloft, it was not working for me. Please let me know if there is something to be concerned about.

    Thanks, Ruth

    Answers:

    A: My worst initial side effects were nausea, a shaky jaw, insomnia at night and tiredness during the day( fixed by adjusting time of dose), panic attacks, depression, yawning, anxiety(this is why I am taking it so that really got bad), Erratic sleeping pattern. The first couple weeks really sucked for me (it may also have be worse for me since I had not been on anything previously to compare it to), but most of the side effects went away in time. Remaining are, to a lesser degree than before, the erratic sleep patterns, yawning,
    shaky jaw, panic attacks (intensity very slowly decreasing but length is greatly reduced), sporatic depression (not too bad though) thats about it. There are supposed to be sex function side effects but since I haven't had sex in a while I can't really comment on them
    having not been field tested.

    Good luck I hope it helps, My Ex-girlfriend takes Zoloft and had some really bad side effects that hung around so if you had to go through any of those these might not be so bad, she had and has a hard time dealing with some of them but overall it seemed to help her.

    Everyone here seems pretty helpful ask and someone might just know the
    answer:)

    Travis

    A: hi, Ruth, and welcome! Most medications have some kind of side-effects, some of which lessen with time, as your body gets accustomed to the med, or as the level of med in your body at any one time reaches a certain point. As Wylie said, there may be sexual side effects, nausea, increased appetite, decreased appetite, weight gain/loss, yawning, tiredness, insomnia, mental effects [acting 'dopey', not thinking real clearly, etc.]; and, not everybody experiences the same things. Personally, I've been on Effexor since late March, 2000; at 75 or 150 mg per day, the XR (capsules) didn't help at all; at 75mg I noticed an immediate (same day)
    change when I started on the tablets. After building up to 300mg on the tablets, my doc switched me to the XR capsules (so I wouldn't be taking as many doses during a day; to even out the tiredness, I was taking 1- 75mg tablet every 6 hours, total of 4x per day); they are helping a lot, but in most cases of depression there are environmental reasons that add to biological reasons for being depressed--for me, I still need to address my environmental issues [read this as, "life at home"]. My big side-effects are sweating (incredible increase when dosages are changed, alosng with feeling very warm), tiredness, decrease in libido, increased gas (not meaning to be crude, but you asked "grin"), and some short-term memory change. IF you miss a dose, especially if you're taking the tablets, don't be surprised if you get a killer headache. See the first link below for withdrawal syndrome.

    All in all, though, its helping me a lot to be taking effexor----period! most doctors in the US don't pass along very much info to their patients, either; along those lines, the Internet is a godsend for gathering&exchanging information.

    The best advice I can give is to not be afraid to express your concerns or experiences to your doctor; also, this group and others are here to provide support as much as anything else. I hope all goes well for you, and again, welcome.

    best wishes,

    Rick

    A: Thanks for all the information! BUT.... I think depression does not sounds all that bad after all, compared to all you have told me. Ha Ha,

    just kidding. I am not sure if I will start it today or not.

    A: In spite of the side effects, I still think that it is worth trying. It has helped me a great deal. The few inconveniences that it causes are minor and the overall positives are far greater. Good luck whatever you decide :)

    Travis

    A: I agree with Wylie, overall its worth it. Besides, the others have side-effects, too. If the initial side-effects aren't bearable (should be over the worst in 1 - 2 weeks, at most), talk with your doctor aobut switching.

    Rick