Effexor 225 mg; What else might help?

[Guest Blacklakelu]

Hello,

I'm sort of new...

Been on 150-225 mg of effexor for a year and a half.

1 mg ativan h.s. for about 7 years. (began at .5 mg which I'd chunk in half)

did well previously on:

Had depression/then some juicy ptsd stuff

Prozac one year

imiprimine one year

serzone & some depakote for 4 years

So, the taper from serzone to effexor was bloody awful, two months of daily crying, really scared it wouldn't work. It finally did, for the most part.

Quit smoking for a year in there somewhere. Smoking a lot now, staying up late and smoking like a fiend; it's probably for keeping things/people out, having my own world... than awakening late and feeling shitty guilty out of control for this pattern. (I'd spent 20 yrs. getting up at 7 for kids to get to school, go to work etc.)

Anyhow, I feel sort of blah/depressed about 3 days a week....had thought I was only on 150 mg effexor but realized it's been 225 actually for many months.

so for two days pdoc let me try adding 150 wellbutrin, but I was stoned out of my mind, like on alcohol, clumsy & dizzy and very high (that felt good!) So I felt good enough to do things but I was too clumsy, had accidents, so couched it for the two days.  At the end of day two of wellbutrin plus effexor experiment had high pitched sound, or sort of buzzing.... which I still have, actually...

that was a month ago.  I wonder if anyone knows what can be added to help with lack of motivation....gets kind of bad & I don't take care of self and connect with people...then hate self for doing that to self, then smoke a lot. Not suicidal at all; can work ok....

I don't know why but I really don't want to be on higher dose of effexor... the ear ringing thing is not great on 225; did not have it at 150. Actually, I was on 150 a long time and was ok and can't remember why I went up to 225...think my friend told me to even tho pdoc said I could use whichever dose felt better.

so what can I add? Can I go down to 150 effexor and add something?

Can I switch from the ativan 1 mg to trazedone with effexor to help with sleep? Trazedone helped with sleep with one of the previous ad's..can't remember which one. I do remember pdoc saying I couldn't do trazedone with serzone....hence the ativan....  Anyhow, I'd consider trazedone because  it was designed as antidepressant  so it could boost the effexor?

Anyhow, thanks.... hope to hear if someone has some ideas so when I see pdoc Aug. 10th I can be a bit proactive and maybe feel more energy/feel better.

Thanks, blacklakelu aka Luli2545

[Guest Blacklakelu]

Hello again,

Sorry for the somewhat jumbled post I just made.

Anyone know if I could add 10 mg prozac to 150 effexor? would that just affect seratonin (lift depression) or could it help with energy/motivation?

thanks,

blacklake lu aka luli2545

[Alice]

Hi Lu,

Adding Prozac would target serotonin, but I have read that it is one of the more (most?) stimulating of the SSRIs. I don't have experience with it because I developed a rash after about a week of taking it (my first AD 7 years ago).

I've been on lots of meds since then, but my current mix is 10 mg Lexapro, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL (until recently I was on 300 mg). This has been an ok combination. I also tend to be very tired and lack motivation when I'm depressed. (Or maybe I'm depressed because I am tired and lack motivation, who knows?)

I believe Effexor has some stimulating properties. My current pdoc told me that the most common reason that an AD doesn't work well is that the dose is too low. This can be fixed by either increasing the dose of the one med (if possible) or adding another med to augment it. Either approach is reasonable.

Talk to your pdoc. Tell him as accurately as you can what your symptoms are, let him recommend something. Present him with the problem, not the solution. Once he makes a suggestion, you can talk it over and ask about meds you may have found here.

I am always tempted to prescribe to myself based on my own reading, but I am, after all, not a doctor.

Good luck,

Elaine

[Cerberus]

Lu -

The difference between your 150mg dose and your 225mg dose is that 225 is usually the threshold where Effexor XR begins to work on Norepinephrine as well as Serotonin.  You can go as high as 375, into the range where Dopamine is affected.  Wellbutrin also made me wiggy, and I can't imagine taking in along with Effexor in the 225mg range.  You might talk to your pdoc about adding a mood stabilizer like Lithium.  Lithium is frequently used in conjunction with Effexor, and it did help me somewhat while I was taking it.

The ringing in your ears is called tinnitus, and it can come and go.  It's a major pain, I can vouch for that, but it's a side effect of many crazy meds.  You just have to decide "which sucks less."

Good luck,

Cerberus

[Greenyflower]

Blacklakelu,

that was a month ago.  I wonder if anyone knows what can be added to help with lack of motivation....gets kind of bad & I don't take care of self and connect with people...then hate self for doing that to self, then smoke a lot. Not suicidal at all; can work ok....

This is an accurate description of how I felt on 150 mgs of Effexor when it started pooping out after about a year and a half.

When that happened to me, my pdoc bumped me up to 300 mgs of Effexor. Sometimes the problem is too low a dose of an effective antidepressant. It didn't work for me, but hey, vive la difference.

Talk with your doc about Cymbalta, too. It's also a dual reuptake inhibitor, but it works on serotonin and norepinephrine more equally than Effexor.

Good luck. Please let us know how you're doing and what you and your pdoc figure out.

Greeny

[Guest Blacklakelu aka luli2545]

Hello and thanks to all!

I think this site was down or something yesterday so I was cruising the older site.... glad to be back!

Ok. I never had tinnitus before the dumbo 150 wellbrutrin two day experiment. I have it now too but I just pretend there are crickets in the house......  

I sort of thought that tinnitus was a symptom of too much seratonin... thanks... didn't have it with serzone etc.....

Ok. So, I'll talk to pdoc about it all.

So, when you posted about Cymbalta being more equally affecting seratonin and norepinephrine, can you say a bit about that?  Like, what does the norepinephrine part do?

When the effexor started to work well, it was about 4-5 months into 225, I think. I was actually kind of happy! I sort of fell in love and had a fun time!

I really never understood about meds pooping out....the longest one I was on was Serzone and I am thinking it did very well for about 3 years....

If my meds are pooping out, it's not that bad...but I recall feeling ALOT better ... is pooping out sort of a gradual thing? Maybe I'm chasing rainbows ....

Thanks so much, I am so glad to have responses!

Blacklakelu aka luli2545  

[Guest luli2545]

Thanks for answering; I had logged in before I knew what login name I was gonna use, so I'm now Luli, and have been for a bit. I'm gonna think on all this effexor stuff and repost under luli2545...

[sheismistaken]

I have been on Effexor XR for about a year. In May of this year I went from 150 to 225 and it made me batshit crazy. It does have a side effect of anxiety, especially at higher doses...and adding Wellbutrin to it will only add to that stimulating effect.

Now I am on 150 mg Effexor XR and 30 mg Remeron and am doing great...and to curb my anxiety I take 0.5 mg klonopin twice a day.

[zsandoz]

yeah i agree, the remeron is an excellent booster.  im even thinking of getting down to 37.5mg of effexor because this remeron stuff is much better.  im at 75mg right now.  i take the neurontin (300mg 3x/day) instead of the klonopin, but yeah it curbs my anxiety (i have MDD and GAD and seizures so im taking  dilantin for epilepsy and switching to trileptal)

I have been on Effexor XR for about a year. In May of this year I went from 150 to 225 and it made me batshit crazy. It does have a side effect of anxiety, especially at higher doses...and adding Wellbutrin to it will only add to that stimulating effect.

Now I am on 150 mg Effexor XR and 30 mg Remeron and am doing great...and to curb my anxiety I take 0.5 mg klonopin twice a day.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[semtex]

This is an accurate description of how I felt on 150 mgs of Effexor when it started pooping out after about a year and a half.

When that happened to me, my pdoc bumped me up to 300 mgs of Effexor. Sometimes the problem is too low a dose of an effective antidepressant. It didn't work for me, but hey, vive la difference.

Hmm..I've been on Effexor for at least a year and a half? Every few months I've had to had the dose raised because it seems to do really well for a while & then taper off. Currently I'm at 300mg, I worry what will happen when/if I hit the ceiling of 375mg??

None of the SSRI's I've been on have worked as well & their side effects are always worse O.o

So I guess I'm asking is that did you feel a whole lot better days after each increase and then have it gradually taper off (end then Teh Depression tiptoes its sneaky ass back inside ...) or was it a gradual thing like with SSRIs?

Oh also the Effexor is augmented by 8mg of Gabatril as of 2 1/2 months ago - for anxiety and my craptactular sleep cycles. While it helps me sleep at night for a while I'm not sure it does jack shit for anxiety.

[Fiona]

I actually found lithium to be a great addition to Effexor when I was taking it. It pushed the Effexor into slightly more effectiveness and really slowed the change in my mood between "suicidal but managing" to "kill myself now!" Lithium is fairly commonly used to augment antidepressants.

Fiona

[Min]

antipsychotics are a great add on to effexor I've found.  i just haven't found the right one yet. :/

also, try going back on a benzo.  i'm on effexor 300mg + clonazepam 1mg/3 times daily and its going well. 

[actingup]

I'm up to 225 Effexor, and 300 Wellbutrin. I'm so anxious I'm about to gnaw my own hands off.

[Guest PinkToo2grrl]

i couldn't take wellbutrin.  it made me stoned and stupid.  i'm too sensitive to the dopamine factor.  that had been added to an ssri.  i'm now on cymbalta and depakote which seem to be just a lovely combo for me, working only on the serotonin and the neurepinephrine. 

cymbalta might be a good option for you if you too felt stoned from the wellbutrin.