# anyone ever take something called effexor?



## preso (May 1, 2009)

Doctor gave me some today for hot flashes. I don't know what to expect, on a very low dose and only short term.
If you have taken this before, how did it make you feel? 

The literature on the medication is kinda scary  but it'll be worth it if it stops all the hot flashes.


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## maybeimcrazy (Jun 27, 2009)

Effexor for hot flashes, really?? I took effexor for about 3 years or so for GAD (anxiety) and after the first few weeks of getting used to side effects and whatnot i love how it helped me! I met a few folks who had also taken it and not one of them agreed, it was hated by most!!

It just goes to show everyone reacts differently of course but what REALLY confuses me is it was given to you for hot flashes? As my own personal experience i started taking Effexor in december, it was cold and i am a cold person. I hate the cold and am ALWAYS complaining to the hubby about how cold our house is (he's always hot!) I noticed not even a few days into effexor that i was hot...all the time, hot!! I could feel the heat radiating off my feet as i lay in bed tring to sleep it was the most prominent side effect i had off this medication, i'll never forget. I started complaing about it being hot and the hubby would be cold, it was so strange how i started turning down the heater for once, hubby was amazed!!

SO, like i said, everybody has different side effects and reactions and i never heard anyone complain about the same side effects i had but i'll never forget how i quit complaing about the cold the whole time i was on it. When i saw your post i was baffled!!

Hope all works out well for you!!! much support on your quest to be comfortable again!!!


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## Sandy55 (Jun 3, 2009)

It is for ANXIETY and DEPRESSION and bipolar disorders, et al. 

Am _really_ saddened to see a doc prescribe this for your hot flashes Preso. 

If I had a doc give me Effexor "for hot flashes" I'd change doctors. 

The reason the doc likely gave this to you is the age old tendency for docs to buy into the FALSE notion hot flashes in menopausal and perimenopausal women are "all in your mind..." and that "perimenopausal women are just older ladies with all sorts of "issues" in their HEADS. 

 I am a nurse, and this type of doc should be drawn and quartered.  Effexor can create all kinds of problems depending on how YOU react to it, but if your issue is hot flashes, Effexor isn't going to do a _darn_ thing because hot flashes are related to hormone IMBALANCE.

This just  because if men go in with testosterone issues, lack thereof, they don't give HIM Effexor or think HE is going off the deep end with anxiety and depression or think he might be bipolar. 

Can you tell this just :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:


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## MsStacy (Nov 11, 2008)

My mother is on Effexor for hot flashes also....prescribed by her doctor. It has helped her. She is on the lowest dose possible and does notice a difference. She still has hot flashes but she says they are not as extreme and it definitely makes it more comfortable for her. She was truly miserable before the medication. She doesn't experience any side effects unless she forgets to take her pill. 

As far as it not being a drug for "hot flashes"....there are many drugs out there that work for conditions "off label"...meaning it is not what the drug is intended for. This may or may not work for you, everyone is different, but I hope is does provide you with some relief.


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## Sandy55 (Jun 3, 2009)

MsStacy said:


> My mother is on Effexor for hot flashes also....prescribed by her doctor. It has helped her. She is on the lowest dose possible and does notice a difference. She still has hot flashes but she says they are not as extreme and it definitely makes it more comfortable for her. She was truly miserable before the medication. She doesn't experience any side effects unless she forgets to take her pill.
> 
> As far as it not being a drug for "hot flashes"....there are many drugs out there that work for conditions "off label"...meaning it is not what the drug is intended for. This may or may not work for you, everyone is different, but I hope is does provide you with some relief.


While I won't debate your rationale regarding "off label" use of some drugs like Effexor and your answer is OK for what it is worth:

Effexor helps "deal" with the hot flashes by mellowing one out so the person doesn't get so "bothered" by them. Effexor causes one to feel less agitated and irritable (more mellow if you will) so if hot flashes seem to diminish, it may be because when a hot flash is bad it makes one irritable and crabby and the Effexor kind of mellows out Mom, if you know what I mean. It doesn't fix the _cause_ of the hot flashes: lack of hormone therapy. 

A shot of bourbon three times a day would likely make the hot flashes feel less uncomfortable, too.  Off label use of liquor I guess?


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## Country Girl (Apr 19, 2009)

Plenty of doctors prescribe Effexor (low dosages) for hot flashes. Many cancer doctors give it to breast cancer patients taking tamoxofin. Patients on tamoxofin have a real problem with hot flashes. And, of course, they can't be given estrogen. Most say the Effexor really helps

It is an off label use though.


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## MsStacy (Nov 11, 2008)

Sandy55:



> While I won't debate your rationale regarding "off label" use of some drugs like Effexor and your answer is OK for what it is worth


 :scratchhead: "OK for what it is worth?" :scratchhead: Gee...Thanks!



> It doesn't fix the cause of the hot flashes: lack of hormone therapy


Everyone cannot have hormone therapy, nor does everyone want to. We have a history of breast and uterine cancer in my immediate family so hormone therapy is not an option for my mother. My mothers sister went through breast cancer and my mother has an elevated risk. 



> A shot of bourbon three times a day would likely make the hot flashes feel less uncomfortable, too. Off label use of liquor I guess?


 Well....whatever floats _your_ boat.


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## preso (May 1, 2009)

well here is the update, so far... hot flashes have decreased.
BUT... I feel really strange............. in my head.... so I took only half
the dose last night and this morning.
This is a very low dose I'm on...
as
My hot flashes were severe, as in 20 -30 a day and sometimes so bad I'd get disoriented for a minute.
The hot flashes are decreased, tis is temporary until results from testing come back as I may go on bio-identical hormones once its determined where I am hormonally.
My head feels odd... a little cloudy or soemthing ( hard to explain) and I have little appetite, which isn't a bad thing to drop a few pounds.
I may opt to stay on this med rather than take hormones 
to avoid the risks with cancer... as long as the swimmy head issue 
can be resolved. 
This doctor has really helped me, the past one I went to threw premrin in my face, which I refuse to take !!!
she claimed it was standard to take premrin on my insurance.. shesh.. I will no way take premrin !!! and she offered me no alternatives


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## Sandy55 (Jun 3, 2009)

MsStacy said:


> Sandy55:
> 
> :scratchhead: "OK for what it is worth?" :scratchhead: Gee...Thanks!
> 
> ...


Well, I was trying to be nice...MsStacy. Maybe I should have not praised it "Ok, for what it's worth...". Sorry. Of course not every woman can take hormone therapy. 

Geez. The bourbon comment was just being whatever, that is all. Wasn't recommending she drink, because drinking makes hot flashes WORSE, dilating blood vessels, etc....

No one said she was a breast cancer survivor, so, didn't go into that part of hormone therapy....but I still stand with the Effexor decreases anxiety, et al.

I just don't think drugs like Effexor SHOULD be used for hot flashes, they need to figure out one that isn't _psychotropic_ perhaps? 

And yes, I know liquor is also psychotropic....so don't flame me on that either...


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## MsStacy (Nov 11, 2008)

Sandy55 said:


> Well, I was trying to be nice...MsStacy. Maybe I should have not praised it "Ok, for what it's worth...". Sorry. Of course not every woman can take hormone therapy.


Sorry....I'm a little b*tchy across the board these days. I shouldn't have let that come through in the post. You have read my thread and I appreciate your input. I'll crawl back into my cranky hole for now.....


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## preso (May 1, 2009)

well.... my hot flashes have decreased.
I am feeling better although head still a little swimmy. I can
deal with swimmy head much better than 20-30 hot flashes a day.

unexpected side effect, no appetite, which is OK by me, can lose some weight
which should also help hot flashes. Speciffically no taste for sweets or anything with milk.
you don't know how nice it is to not be hot flashing constantly, its like having a sudden fever and I get nauseated and feel sick...
this is much better for me now


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## MsStacy (Nov 11, 2008)

I am happy to hear it is giving you some relief. I know how miserable my mother was!


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## Sandy55 (Jun 3, 2009)

preso said:


> well.... my hot flashes have decreased.
> I am feeling better although head still a little swimmy. I can
> deal with swimmy head much better than 20-30 hot flashes a day.
> 
> ...


:smthumbup: Whatever works, and the swimmy goes away and you tolerate it well, then good deal. Not to be too personal but see if it affects the O or not after a few weeks on it?

Boy, nauseated and sick with hotflashes? Hmmm, they must be really bad ones! 

And you aren't even in Texas, are you? 

Women in Texas get hot flashes without even being menopausal, as a matter of fact so do the _men_!:rofl: 

(If the _power_ doesn't come back on in this part of Texas, the whole place is gonna go up in one big hot flash before sundown...!)


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## preso (May 1, 2009)

yeah
it was more than horrible, constantly sweating and feeling kinda mean and grouchy !!!
It really has helped... when the tests come back she will adjust my hormones with something other than premrin, something like estradiol ( natural) just a bit
because I was really dying and so glad doctor gave me something to hold me over.
I know this is just short term

but..........
with the unexpected loss of appetite, I may try to keep taking them awhile ( lost 7 pounds over the weekend !)

to sandy, I am in early menapause due to a recent hyst and yes they are reallllllly bad. So bad I sometimes feel like I'm gonna pass out and die.


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## Sandy55 (Jun 3, 2009)

preso said:


> sandy, I am in early menapause due to a recent hyst and yes they are reallllllly bad. So bad I sometimes feel like I'm gonna pass out and die.


Totally understand!! 

Docs just jump in there and yank out the ovaries and it is a nightmare! They really _should_ give an Estrogen patch a few hours _before_ surgery, then it isn't so rough. Then can wean off the patch, if possible.

Doing it cold turkey is like taking heroin away from an addict! Except you really NEED estrogen for things other than baby making equipment! 

My sister had to do "no estrogen" due to breast cancer at 28; she had breast cancer back in 1981, so the chemo and rad killed her ovarian function way back then. Her cancer was estrogen receptive, so she has been without estrogen for about 28 years now and her skin looks so thin and she has SO many wrinkles! My 72 year old aunt and she have skin that _looks_ nearly the same, and they are 20 years apart in age! I feel so BAD for my sister!  

I keep the estrogen for the way I feel without it. My skin also changes if I am off it (I do a "test" trial without estrogen every 18 months, just to feel it out), my skin gets *dry* as does my hair! So I promote estrogen not just for hot flash relief but also for dryness EVERYwhere.  Effexor can't fix dry, thin skin due to estrogen deficiency. 

When my skin starts to look wrinklier, WITH the estrogen, I will stop taking for that reason, but if the HF keep going on and on, I will keep it just for that. 

Like you, I HATE the hot flashes, are horrible. And mean and cranky....whew. Glad there is _some_thing.....

Oh, did you go to the HYSTERSISTERS web site? LOTS of support for hyster and menopause....


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## preso (May 1, 2009)

They left my ovaries in, they stopped working about 2 years after hyst, early menapause was expected but not this early or severe.

At the doctors appointment I also found out I am hyrothyroid, waiting lab results to confirm, so I'm a mess here with all my innards... lol
Will be going to the doctor every month this year I bet, to get it all stariaghtened out.

I am not really wanting to take estrogen at all, but will short term only until I'm over menapause ( few years)
I don't care about getting older, I just want to feel better, not sweating all the time.
I have had cancer before so not wanting to take estrogen at all to be honest but will if I must, only short term.
Far as wrinkles, I look younger than my age, so if I get wrinkles I'll just look my age  and I'm ok with that... we can't be young forever.


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## preso (May 1, 2009)

UPDATE:
I have halved my medication dosage to 75 mg a day rather than 150 mg... because with the full dose I get too swimmy headed.
No hot flashes and no odd food cravings either.

I only wish I didn't get swimmy headed, like this morning I made rice and added double the water because I couldn't think in my head how much water to add to 2 cups.
All I can say is: I'm glad I'm not working anymore because I would not do well on this medication. 
I do sleep well but I always have. My brain does not want to calculate basic math or think and my husband says I'm very quiet on it.
I'm just so glad I'm not feeling fevered and irritated with those hot flashes. Don't know how long I'll be on this medication but hopefully long enough for the hot flash problem to pass.
Thank GOD for pharacuteticals !


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## dobo (Jun 30, 2009)

You could try Pristiq which is a very similar chemical to Effexor but is generally delivered at a lower dose...

You just have to work with your doctor. All of this stuff is so different for everyone.


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## preso (May 1, 2009)

yes I will have to just take it day to day and I don't want to stay on this efflexor but WOW it works for anyone who is going through major hard time with hot flashes....

I read getting off this is hard... but so was hot flashing 20-30 times a day..............
I'm sure I can handle it.
I don't particularly like how the effexor makes me feel... kinda hollow
but its better than hot flashing all day long and being irritated.
****
I have a question for anyone who takes this medication.
If your depressed, how does this make it beter? It makes me not think or want to.
???
Is that how its supposed to work? how does that make depression better if you can't think?


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## Heidiw (Jul 2, 2009)

I've taken it in the past & it did help. My DH also took it & did very well on it until he stopped a yr later. Now he is on something else & seems more like a confused puppy with a slight jerk side.


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## preso (May 1, 2009)

Heidiw said:


> I've taken it in the past & it did help. My DH also took it & did very well on it until he stopped a yr later. Now he is on something else & seems more like a confused puppy with a slight jerk side.


I'm taking it for hot flashes, not depression. Makes my head feel kinda hollow, is that what it does when people take it for depression?
I've never taken anti-depressants before, as I'm not depressed.


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## shawn3497 (Jul 3, 2009)

I am currently on it for panic attacks and anxiety, I have been on it for four years now and am doing well with it


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## Veronica Jackson (Jul 2, 2008)

I was on effexor, don't run out of them because the withdrawals are horrible.


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## preso (May 1, 2009)

I can't take this stuff everyday..... gives me such a stomachache !!!
in addition to swimmy head.
I wonder if I should ask the doctor to switch to Paxil
to see if I like it better.

Not sure if the Paxil will work on the hot flashes as well tho
?

right now my dose of effexor is 1/2 a 75 mg dose
once every day or two and it works to keep the hot flashes at bay.
When I miss a day I don't have any problems with hot flashes or any withdrawls. I'm thinking of going to 1/4 of 75 mg everyday.

Today I'm going to go on 1/4 of 75 mg
every morning and see how that goes.


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## RobertD (Jul 24, 2009)

I was prescribed Effexor XR 75 mg as an Anti-Depressant. It made me so dizzy after a few days I was wobbling constantly. I do not know if it was blood pressure related or not but I ceased taking it after just a few short weeks.


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## preso (May 1, 2009)

Update:
I have a 6 months suply now and since I only take half the dose... it'll last me a year. NO HOT FLASHES
although I found out I am not in menapause ( extensive hormone panels were done... seems I have something else going on with hormones, maybe PCOS, thyroid problems or some pititary problem)
Doctor running more tests... in the meantime, doing well with the 
effexor.

My test came back my estrogens in normal range...
but I am in hormone overload with the other hormones.


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