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Effexor, Menopause and Weaning

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Posted 4/5/2013 12:59 AM (GMT 0)
Hello all.  I am new here.  I started Effexor XR 37.5 mg last October for symtpoms caused by menopause. 

Hot flashes, night sweats and anxiety.  I will tell you this, it has been a miracle drug when it comes to relieving

hot flashes.  The hot flashes started becoming numeous and I was told to increase my dose to 75 mg. Again I

found relief.  Since I started taking Effexor XR I have noticed weight gain and water retention(cankles).  I decided to do a little reading online and both are linked to Effexor.  My doctor wanted to know how I was doing with diet

and exercise.  Funny thing is is I journal everything I eat and I was working out.  It didn't matter if I had a 500

calorie deficit every day I was still gaining weight.  I told my doctor that I wanted to get off the med because I don't want to gain anymore weight.  I was told to weigh the pros and cons.  My dose has been decreased to 37.5 mg. My head is swimming and I feel sick to my stomach.  In all honesty I feel like crap. Both physically and emotionally. I am not used to having my belly hang over my jeans.  This is very discouraging.  Had I known I would be suffering by decreasing the med I would have never taken it.  I don't believe that menopause is totally to blame for the weight gain.  Any advice/input is appreciated.

Posted 4/5/2013 4:21 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Emmy and welcome!

I am sorry to hear of your recent trouble with your Rx. We have had many posts on the subject of A/D meds and weight gain, so know that you are not alone.

Using and A/D off label for menopausal symptoms was a new one for me...so I did a little reading, and here are some ideas that I can recommend asking your prescrbing doctor about:

*Since the Effexor is causing unwanted weight gain, can you possibly try another SNRI? Pristiq is a newer Rx, that has been approved specifically for treatment of menopause symptoms

*Is is possible to try an SSRI instead? This class of drug differs from Effexor and Pristiq in it's make up, but treats similar issues...perhaps without the weight gain side effect for you?

I wish I could be of more help. Keep checking back and perhaps you will get a response from someone with more experience in this subject.  Here is a link on Pristiq that you may also find informative:

http://www.crazymeds.us/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Meds/Pristiq

Wishing you the best...and post with us anytime.;)

Scaredy Cat

Posted 4/9/2013 1:04 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much for your reply. I appreciate it.  smilewinkgrin
Posted 4/9/2013 8:34 AM (GMT 0)
I went thru the same thing... Except with Paxil. I was put on it and the pounds started piling on... Not to mention I started having RLS at night and couldn't sleep. I researched Paxil and found that it could be causing my problems. I gained almost 50 pounds in 7 months with no change in eating at all. So I started weaning myself off of it. I was taking 20 mg so I went down to 10 mgs for a week... Then down to 5 mgs for a week... Then started skipping days, was taking 5 mgs every other day for a week. Then stopped completely. The last 2 weeks before I quit I began having these feelings in my head and shoulders every time I moved that felt like electrical shocks (i read online that fish oil helped with that so I started taking it and it worked for about a week where it wasn't as bad... Then it stopped working. I was having panic attacks, and was crying over just about everything. I was so sick and felt so bad after quitting it that I almost gave in and started taking it again. Thank God I didn't tho! After a lil over a month it all went away. I finally feel normal again. My Dr gave me a different antidepressant called viibryd, but after reading up on it I decided not to take it. After my long ordeal with Paxil... I never want to take another antidepressant again
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