Anyone taking Effexor for "Hot Flashes"?

Pegs

I started with 37.5 and after a while I had to increase it to 75, i take one in the am and one at dinner, and since i have been doing that for about a year, it is not working on the hot flashes, getting them every half hour so i have decided to wean myself off, and from what I have read, its not easy to do.  i started a week ago, take about 10 beads out of capsules, I see no reason to stay on this awful drug if its not working any more and i certainly don't want to up my dose, i wish i never started with this.  i will get off this drug as slow as possible, but i will stop taking it.  i will deal with the hot flashes naturally. 

Becki1219

I was on Effexor prior to my cancer dx. After starting tamoxifen I had extreme hot flashes and night sweats. About three months after starting tamoxifen my oncologist put me on Donnatel for night sweats. It has dramatically reduced my sweats and hot flashes. Hope that helps.

Genesisx

I love my venaflaxine I was on 37.5 but when I started taking aromatise inhibitors I started having monsoons during my personal summers lol so under doctors direction upped it to 75 worked great but first week on higher dose had a headache then for hot summer here in southern California under doctor direction doubled it again I take at night and almost no hot flashes unless I indulge in my glass of wine I am back down to 75 now for winter and still warm after wine but no monsoons.

On another note I take one chewable mint flavor melatonin at night before bed and sleep like a baby it is natural and you can take more but one works for me no more ambien yea!!

I am 2 years out still working on which estrogen inhibitor start tamoxifen next week

thankful4life

I have been on Effexor for 2 years. I also take Femara, which has caused me to develop quite a bit of bone and joint pain. So my primary care doc suggested I go off Effexor and start on Cymbalta, which has been shown to reduce pain. My last dose of Effexor as last Saturday.



I have never been diagnosed with any sort of depression, although I'm sure these meds have helped with my moods, also.



Will report back on the Effexor/Cymbalta switch.

Mardibra

I started Effexor 75mg after I started getting bad hot flashes from Tamoxifen.  Within two days I noticed a big difference!  Been on it since October and I average a "warm" flash maybe once every ten days.  Very manageable.  I take it in the morning with coffee.  I know i should be taking it with food but im not normally a breakfast eater.  No problems at all.

Kay-in-NH

Actually, I never had suffered from depression (or I don't believe I had !), but after 3 months of Tamoxifen and increasingly severe hot flashes, sleepless nights, and irritability, I'm becomming very depressed !   I just called my Med.Oncologist, who will be prescribing Effexor.   Based on what I've heard, it's quite effective at minimizing the frequency & severity of hot flashes.  Perhaps this is life after breast cancer !

marjie

Kay-in-H I was exactly the same, finally broke down and took the help offered and it's great.....I have no regrets!  My only concern is that I seem to be having break thru hot flashes with increasing frequency and it's my understanding that I may have to up my dosage from 37.5mg to 75mg.  I guess time will tell - I don't really want to have to increase it.

Sue2010

Denise-G, you are right on.  I was on effexor for about a year, when my primary care physician wanted me to go off effexor and on Viibryd.  I went cold turkey off effexor and it was a weekend of absolute torture going through the withdrawl.  No one told me that would happen.

Happily, I'm off all anti-depressants now but the memories of effexor will be with me for a long time.

yarnhoarder

I'm using 75mg of effexor along with tamoxifen to combat hot flashes. I've had the dose upped from 35 (or something like that) and quite frankly, it isn't working. I'm trying to give it some more time, but if I don't see some improvement by the end of the December, I'm dropping the effexor. My hot flashes are horrible, to the point that I'm dripping wet most of the time I'm at work. Right now, the house temperature is 65 and I can barely stand to keep my clothes on.

Another poster recommended acupuncture. I'm looking into it.

ziggypop

cj - you have hot flashes at 69 because you are on an AI; our bodies continue to produce estrogen even after menopause - AIs essentially block that production. Most of the things given for hot flashes have estrogen or estrogen like substances, which means that you can't take them since you have er+ receptor status. Effexor was developed as an anti-depressant, but has a SE of minimizing hot flashes.



Denise G - Effexor does have withdrawal symptoms - there is a separate drug that can be given that will take care of those symptoms when getting off effexor - then you stop taking that drug after the effects of the effexor have left your body.

AN IMPORTANT THING: Don't miss doses of effexor - even one missed dose can give you withdrawal symptoms - so make sure that if you go on vacation that you have enough to last the whole trip.



Marjie - my onc upped my dose to 75 mgs - was having at least one break through hot flash per night - now I still feel them occassionally 'emerging' but no night sweats & they rarely wake me up.

rgiuff

For those of you on Effexor, I'm wondering two things: 1. Does it help with insomnia? Besides hot flashes occasionally waking me up, I also frequently just wake up too early and then, am unable to get back to sleep.  2. How does it affect sexual response? I took Prozac years ago and stopped it because I just couldn't get to orgasm.  It was as if something in my brain had been disconnected.  Don't ever want to experience that again!

auntienance

Unlike with letrozole, I haven't had any sexual issues with venlafaxene.

aviva5675

STarted effexor but didnt like the side effects. Switched to sertraline, generic Zoloft, and that has been ok. Took about 10 weeks but my hot flashes are now almost completely gone- I have maybe 2 at night, none during the day. But it causes vivid, and sometimes bad, dreams. I see my MO today for first follow up visit, am going to talk to him about the situation.

Katszr

I was just given the generic at 25mg. She said let her know if I need higher. Maybe this will help enough. My mother has been on it for years she takes 75mg and might need to up hers soon. Her's was for depression though. All I want is some calmer nerves and no hot flashes

auntienance

Katszr, please think twice about taking this drug. I've been on it five years and am trying to get off. It's quite difficult. Had I known how difficult, I would have thought twice about it even though it is very effective for hot flashes.

Trvler

I am wondering about the side effects, too. My hot flashes are worsening and my sleep is awful.

gailpet

My oncologist just prescribed Effexor for me today for my horrible hot flashes -- hoping it does the trick for me! She told me the biggest side effect is fatigue so I will take the pill at night. We'll see how it goes!

Trvler

I just got an RX for it but I am going to wait to take it for a few weeks. I am having Stage 2b next week.

Mimi2kleh

I was on 150mg Effexor before my BC for depression, and after dx upped to 225mg. I took Tamoxifen for 1 1/2 years, followed by Arimidex for 3 1/2. Even on that high dose, for 5 years my hot flashes were horrendous, even debilitating at times. My Dr said she'd never seen anyone with flashes as bad as mine. I even passed out from one. And I never slept well. I had heard about others, like most of you, that got such help with their flashes from the Effexor. I kept thinking, my lord, if mine were so bad with it, how bad would mine have been without it?! Just finished my five years, couldn't wait to stop the Arimidex! As soon as I did, the flashes were finally better. Now, instead of continual debilitating ones, they are just occasional small ones. Although it appears now the Arimidex didn't work, because I was just dx with metastatic recurrence. UGH. I do know, that when you stop Effexor, you must do it with your doctors help, reducing very slowly. You can get withdrawal symptoms from even missing a couple of doses. So be careful of that.

dtad

Mimi...so sorry you are dealing with a recurrence. As I read your post the first thing I thought of is how brave you are to have stayed on the Arimidex while experiencing debilitating SEs. Also your story proves there are no guarantees even if you do everything you are suppose to. Here is hoping they come up with better treatment options that have fewer SEs and better recurrence reduction rates. Good luck and keep us posted.

Trvler

My doctor wanted to give me Effexor and I asked her if it, like OTHER antidepressants, would hurt my ability to climax. She said not. I then saw an OB for the first time since I finished treatment and she said it WILL affect your sex life. My MO tends to minimize SE's.

Mimi2kleh

Thank you Dtad.

dtad

Trvler...seems like most MOs minimize SEs. Just not right. I wonder if their attitudes would be different if they had to take these powerful drugs. The very least we deserve is to get our feelings validated and taken seriously! Good luck to all navigating this complicated disease.

dtad

Trvler...seems like most MOs minimize SEs. Just not right. I wonder if their attitudes would be different if they had to take these powerful drugs. The very least we deserve is to get our feelings validated and taken seriously! Good luck to all navigating this complicated disease.

Deda6266

Was given a prescription for 37.5 mg.

and saw no change in hot flashes.

Now taking 75 mg. Morning and night.

Has only been a few days with little effect

If any with the hot flashes. Giving it a couple of weeks to see if it will help.

The flashes are horrible!

Moderators

Hi Deda, and welcome to Breastcancer.org,

We're sure you'll find some other members soon who can share their experiences with Effexor for hot flashes. In the meantime, you may be interested in checking out the main Breastcancer.org site's pages on Hot Flashes, as well as Menopausal Symptoms: Hot Flashes, for some great tips to help manage this uncomfortable side effect.

We hope this helps and look forward to hearing more from you soon!

--The Mods

Deda6266

I too was given Effexor for hot flashes! Took it for about 3 months with little or no change in the hot flashes. Then told to double up by taking one in the morning and one at night. I've been doing so for about a week now. I'll give it a lil more time. Praying it kicks in. Hope it works for you.