Jacinta Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Hi Guys, Just wanted to share my good news with you - (you hear enough bad). I went to the psychiatrist on Monday. I told her I wasn't sleeping on 375mg of Efexor. She told me to go up to 450mg. I told her that I was happy to do that, but I wanted to flag the tiny possibility with her that I was over medicated. She was very apologetic, saying the possibility hadn't occurred to her as her train of thoughts were with the events of my life over the past 18 months - and there being no let up from the constant pounding of events out of my control. BUT 75mg had held me for 61/2 years. And I have gone from that dose to 375mg in the past six months. I have gone down to 262.5 and am getting 7.5 hours sleep a day whereas previously I was only getting 1 or 2. I am SO tired - and it feels great to just have that natural sleep response back!!!! Yipee, Yahoo, Jacinta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flippy Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 that's great news, hope the sleep continues flippy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunset Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Well done for pointing it out to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostsoul Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Zzzzzzzz. good stuff. get horizontal! love n stuff, claire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 why to go babe... take control! bets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacinta Posted November 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Oops! Spoke to soon! My good news has had a bit of a hiccup. I was on 375mg of Efexor and was showing signs of over-medication. So in consultation with my psyche, I have very very slowly, step by step, reduced my dose. I am currently on 225 mg. Although I have got my natural desire to sleep back. I get to sleep easily now but I am early waking which would indicate too low a dose... I supplement my dose with 37.5 to get back to sleep - but taking it beforehand doesn't stop me waking (sometimes even a hour after falling to sleep). Efexor is the only a.d. that has worked for me. The 5 previous a.d.'s I trialled exaccerbated my depression terribily. Medications often have the reverse effect on me. (Experimenting with illicit drugs in my youth, also brought the opposite of the intended reaction). Even now, I can't sleep if I have had any alcohol to drink and coffee puts me to sleep. So I'm a bit different like that. Efexor doesn't make me drowsy or keep me awake per se - but when I am on the right dose, it restores my natural sleep cycle. Early waking is a common symptom of depression. So if I am waking I take it to mean that it is depression, and I may be on too low a dose. I have been on Efexor since 1998 and am starting to wonder whether it is no longer an effective medication for me. I have discussed this with my psyche and we decided for me to go through this experimentation with higher - and now lower - doses to see if we can establish a correct dose of Efexor before giving up on it completely. The thought of trialling other medications fills me with fear, which she can understand. We both remember the two year's trying to find something that worked me as a place we would prefer not to go again. The other thing we discuss is that depression for me was triggered by pregnancy and childbirth (and a bad marriage). I am now 8 years post-partum and free of the bad marriage. There is the possibility that my body (and my psyche) may have healed enough to warrant me going below 225mg and see how that goes. Oh - and something else - my symptoms are physical only - there is no depression just loss of appetite and interrupted sleeping patterns. Physical symptoms alone on a high dose, can indicate over-medication. When I didn't respond to a higher dose, that is when I started thinking that maybe it could be that I was over medicated - and the drop in my medication so far, has not brought any psychiatric symptoms. I hope I have provided enough information to go on. Any thoughts about what could be happening? As I have said, both my psyche and I are stumped on this one. We are both doing our best to solve this riddle, so any ideas would be gratefully received! Look forward to some really creative brainstorming!!! And also - after re-reading my post, I thought I should mention - please no one tell me to just drink lots of coffee! - (I'd prefer to get the original medication prob sorted than to mask it with caffeine) Jacinta :wub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostsoul Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Caffeine makes my fingers tingle, makes me short of breath and makes me sleepy. I feel wretched on it. And everywhere I go, coffee houses and people gluggling it back. I never understood that. Glad to hear it makes someone else zzzz. That's all really. I have absolutely no useful advice about your meds, but am, of course, sorry to hear that there was a downside to what seemed was the right solution. Hope you get some better advice and not just a string of stupid coffee comments! :wub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacinta Posted November 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Hi Claire, If caffeine has the same effect on you, and you are a lost soul, couldn't it follow that I may be a lost soul too, and that might be what the problem is??? (Yeah, I know - I am actually starting the stupid coffee comments) Seriously, it is nice to know there is someone out there like me where caffeine is concerned... Jacinta XXX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostsoul Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 :P Jacinta... you're fun! glad you don't feel alone with it so much now... but I won't make too much of it cos it's only coffee! Claire xx ps I had a strange reaction to valium the other day - I only had a half tab and it gave me a panic attack..HUH? It's supposed to reduce anxiety, right? :mellow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacinta Posted November 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 Yeah - we'd be able to spot each other without even knowing what each other looks like. We would be the only ones at the coffee houses with glasses of water (popping Valium) to stay awake! ...Or asleep under the table, because we "did coffee" with our friends... Jacinta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostsoul Posted November 26, 2004 Report Share Posted November 26, 2004 :P Things are often opposite to what you'd expect... for instance I often think I should be really popular but just look at the lack of friends! I can't understand it! hee hee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacinta Posted November 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2004 for instance I often think I should be really popular but just look at the lack of friends! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Aww, Claire... I love your sense of humour - pm me anytime.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princess_poet Posted December 7, 2004 Report Share Posted December 7, 2004 congrats' sleep is good, though i find i sleep too much! so we could swap! lol. i am not a coffee person but i live for diet coke! Princess poet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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