Effexor?
 

Anyone taken this for menopausal hot flashes or any other reason? Did it work for you? What side effects did you experience? My friend is suffering from chemo-induced menopause and the hot flashes are a serious problem, particularly during the night interupting her sleep.

So the doc eventually prescribed Effexor. She asked me to research whether she's being fobbed off with happy pills and potential side effects etc and I'm finding that it is mentioned in relation to menopausal hot flashes, but also that insomnia is a reasonably common side effect.

So now I'm after anecdotal evidence from people I trust, namely you lot.

thanks

http://depression.emedtv.com/effexor...e-effects.html

A know a lot of women who have to switch their anti-depressants around due to lack of sexual drive or anorgasm.

monnie - do you know what milligram dose and if it's effexor XR? I took effexor XR - 150mg (If i am recalling rightly) - made me nutty (manic-y) but your pal may be on a low dose.

no, but I will in about 20 mins -I've been reading that 75 is usually recommended for maximum effect minimum side effects. did you take it for hat flashes? did it work?

I don't know if it works for hot flashes. I seem to get them anyway, and I have been taking Effexor XR 150 mg for a few years now. Of course, I don't know that these are full-blown legal hot flashes: I may just be temperature-regulation challenged.

The half-life of Effexor is extremely short, comparatively. The withdrawal symptoms come fast and furious...so if you miss a dose you are going to feel pretty badly the next day. Fierce, fierce withdrawal. More so than any other anti-depressant, I know partially from experience and partially from research. Because of the withdrawal issues, I've read a lot about people who had a hard time getting off the drug if they decide to do so.

http://www.taoofherbs.com/products/3.../Promensil.htm

I took Promensil. It works! but if I had to do it over again I would have found a naturopathic physician for a guide because too much of anything is not a good thing but then going natural when possible is better.

I understand that sometimes natural homeopathy isn't an option or the best course.

No other natural photo-estrogen works like that one does though.

It's apparently not appropriate for patients with hormone reactive cancer

I did not take it for hot flashes - took it for depression. It just made me manic-y. No help with anything.

right, thanks. i passed it on. she's not taking it yet and the dose prescribes is lso low I'm wondering what her doc is aiming at -12.5mg/day. She too was concerned about so many people saying it's hard to come off, and also the claims that it turns people into alkies, as she's been off the booze since before the surgery and fancies some reet bad but wishes to continue abstaining until she's off the painkillers.

It turns people into alkies? :eek: I'd never heard that one!

As to the coming off them, I think she has a valid concern. I've read about people actually trying to take a pellet out of the capsule, one more each day, as a way of "weaning."

Everyone is different, obviously, but as to withdrawal it's pretty awful: to hear that it's awful for people who are actually under a doctor's "weaning" program worries me.

Just some food for her thought.

edit: for what I take it for, the benefits outweigh the risk. For me, it's sort of good that I have to take it without fail due to withdrawal: it saves me from thinking "eh, I'm all right, fuck 'em." For her too, then, I guess if her symptoms are bad enough and it's supposed to help she might consider it. Did they offer any alternatives? I mean, what element of Effexor (essentially an SSRI) is not available in other types of SSRI? Do you know why it's recommended?

yeah. it's "anecdotal" -I suspect by people who were alkies before but just wouldn't admit it- but there' a lot of that claim out there.

I think I heard that it makes your tolerance for alcohol so you drink more, now that I think about it.

I've always been able to put 'em away like a sailor, so I don't know. :lol:

150mg/day here, and my personality has been really fucked up since I started taking it.

[cricket pause for everybody to pick up the straight line . . . ]

But I do have to say, I now have no menopausal symptoms.

[Sorry . . . . you know what happens when I get like this]

I don't have anything specific to share that hasn't already been posted or linked to. I have found it helpful though. If you want more rantings PM.

thanks, all input helps.

Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised.