Effexor XR + Concerta literally feels like hell!

[Anonymous]

So we all know that hell is a rather hot place. That is the way I feel on Effexor XR alone, no matter the dose, though I am up to 300 mg now. Specifically, I sweat profusely, get flush in the face, and exercise is difficult since it drenches me in sweat and makes me feel like I’m burning up! It has helped with depression, but I have been having motivational issues.

A brilliant psychiatrist (who unfortunately couldn’t keep TWO follow-ups with me) saw ADHD in me, and adding medication for it has been quite transformative in getting me over my motivational slump. I tried Vyvanse and Adderall IR (yes we have this in the US), but evening headaches and this medication crapping out have made them useless.

So I move on to Ritalin…kind of sucks in the evening but my ARNP only wrote bid and refused to write tid. So I move on to Concerta. First 36 mg and now 54 mg. It IS helping greatly! Yet the combo of Effexor XR + Concerta make me sweat even at rest as the Concerta kicks in, they make me hot and flushed in the face, top that off with some mild tachycardia and palpitations, inner restlessness, and paranoia about the cardiovascular (CV) side effects.

Whenever I’m a dissatisfied patient, I have *always* done inadvisable things. Trying to mitigate the CV side effects, and given that Effexor XR has had *plenty* of chance to work, but Concerta is fairly new in my regimen, I want to give Concerta a fair chance without having to worry about CV problems. So I discontinued my Effexor XR: 7/6: 300 mg, 7/7: 150 mg, following 2 days: 0 mg.

Rant: Other than side effects, I’m a dissatisfied patient because every psychiatric service I’ve been to has neglected the fact that perhaps they ought to be doing some minimal physical examination! There are people out there who don’t take psychiatry seriously as a medical discipline and think it’s just some hocus-pocus. Whenever clinicians start doing more physical examinations for the effects of mental problems or the side effects of their medications, that will give patients a better sense of being treated by a doctor!

Now, you don’t have to ask us patients to strip and put on a gown, but if you do, you could check us over for cutting, injection sites, or other forms of self-harm. If you take our blood pressure and pulse oximetry, you could tell if we were reacting badly to medications or were experiencing anxiety. Weight, too, is an indication of eating disorders and medication side effects. Looking at the knuckles can reveal forced vomiting in bulimia.

I must say, I really don’t feel as bad! I still feel a little hot and flush, and I still have a little inner restlessness in the middle of my chest, and I still don’t feel like sleeping til 3 am, but I feel like I’m headed somewhere with this!

Yet I did like my mood better on the combination. I feel like I’m halfway to crying.

I don’t know if it’s worth it to go back on the Effexor XR or consider an SSRI. I say SSRI because Effexor XR blocks reuptake of serotonin (5-HTP) and norepinephrine (NE)…making these chemicals float around longer, and an SSRI only does so for 5-HTP. I also realize that Concerta both blocks reuptake and causes release of NE and dopamine (DA)…so there is more NE and DA floating around longer.

Hence Effexor XR + Concerta = NE overload…yet SSRI + Concerta = independent effects on 5-HTP, NE, and DA.

I just want some input from you wise people out there.

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[Anonymous]

Coming off effexor 75 mgs…brain zaps..noticing I seem to be dreaming very vividly and that I was not dreaming much at all since being on effexor. Seems the sex drive is coming back remarkably quickly..does anyone jknow if if effexor is known to bloack dreaming. There seems to lots wrtten on this drug causing vivid dreams..but little about it potentially blocking dreams.

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[Patte Rosebank]

Ah, the well-known brain zaps. Those little buggers can continue for several months after you’ve stopped taking Effexor! In fact, Wyeth (the manufacturer of Effexor) got nailed by the FDA for grossly understating the withdrawal symptoms. Wyeth stated that something like 15% of people may experience withdrawal symptoms. In actual fact, it’s more like 75% or more!

And now that Wyeth has “invented” a new drug called Desvenlafaxine (which is essentially identical to Venlafaxine, which is the actual drug in Effexor), purely because its patent on Effexor had run out, we can expect even more people to have trouble with withdrawal symptoms. However, if, like me, you discover that your depression is chronic, so you need to be on Effexor for the rest of your life, withdrawal symptoms are a moot point.

You may find your withdrawal symptoms are reduced if you really lengthen your weaning-off process, and open the capsules and remove a certain number of beads, increasing the number you remove, every couple of days.

Or, you may find you need to take another med, like Prozac, to minimize the withdrawal symptoms.

Dr. J. has written about this, elsewhere in the Forum.

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[Anonymous]

I’ve been on several meds for sleep. (lack of

And the worst experience I’ve ever had is from the withdrawal of Effexor!

I experienced bad side effects while on it, and even worse when having stopped it, so BE WARNED.

I’m sure it can affect different people in different ways, but I just wanted to put this out there for people considering this medication.

Not sure if I have ADHD yet, but sounds like I do, so if anybody has any advice or experiences to share that would be great.

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