MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

This won't be of interest to all, but may be of interest to some.  Back when we were talking about hot flashes for only the 100th time, a couple of prescription drugs were mentioned, one being Effexor.  Now having tried it, this is my story.

Started on 37.5 mg. in the morning, time released, , and it really had a stimulant effect on me.  Like I was talking twice as much.  Given how much I talk to begin with, even I noticed the excess.  So that was BAD.

Like a stimulant, it dulled my appetite.  I lost a few lbs. of belly fat.  So that was GOOD.

It gave me dry mouth.  BAD  I drank more water.  GOOD.

Around the third day, I started to sweat excessively.  Yuk, that is BAD.

The kind of sweat where beads form on your face and cleavage, then start to drip.  But, it seemed to clear up about 2-3 days later on it's own.  O.K., GOOD.

Got constipation, BAD.  I take magnesium anyway, so one more tab. as needed corrected that.  GOOD enough.

The first three days, my FM pain (neuropathy in hands and feet) became a nerve vibration feeling.  Neither good nor bad, just WEIRD.  Then, after I got to the therapeutic level in my bloodstream, it definitely helped with the FM pain.  So, GOOD.

Effexor has a short 10-12 hour half-life, so by night when my pain is worse, the pain was breaking thru'.  Back to BAD.

I had reduced my Tamox. down to one 10 mg. tab. because the hot flashes were over the top, and although I still had about 30 or more a day, they were a little bit milder.  The Effexor seemed to help, to the point of me feeling only about a dozen warm flashes a day.  Very GOOD!

I felt guilty not taking the two tabs (20 mg.) a day like I was supposed to.  I'm BAD.

After one week, my doc said take two Effexor tabs, at which point I figured I should take the two Tamox. again also.  The flashes did come back stronger, but not all the way to the pre-Effexor levels, and I am getting "only" about two dozen a day, which is still a reduction.  So, I'll say GOOD.

After the first week, and even tho' I was taking more Effexor, I got sleepy in the afternoons.  Not groggy, like I shouldn't opereate a motor vehicle or heavy machinery, but like I should just lay on the couch, see if Law & Order was on and nap.  Kinda BAD.

Still, I had no trouble falling asleep at night, and was sleeping thru' the night with improved quality and less waking.  Excellent GOOD!

The doctor told me to take both Effexor tabs. in the morning, but found that if I take one with breakfast and one with lunch, I have more coverage for the nightime FM pain, so that worked out o.k.  I think that brings me to one GOOD to the plus column.

Overall, I think I can deal with the side effects well enough and it is helping with my FM pain.  I have heard it is hard to wean off this drug, so that is a hurdle I'll have to face at some point.  I don't know if I would recommend this JUST for relief from hot flashes.  I'm not really in favor of using one drug to take away the side effects of another drug, but if the flashes from Tamox. are so bad you feel like quitting the Tamox., what are you gonna do?  I don't know about the natural remedies, but as far as prescription drugs, I would check out gabapentin (Neurontin) first before Effexor, because it seems to have less side effects and less interactions.  It did not work for me, but everyone is different and it has helped some women to reduce the hot flashes.

I had a real compulsion to write about all the details.  Guess it still gets me a little hyper. 

Barbe, that IS a future experiment.  I haven't been on it that long yet, and was sorting out those S/E's first, but want to try that 12 hr. interval next.

The Effexor causes weight gain in some too, but I seem to be going the other way.  Only tried Neurontin for 4 weeks, but no gain for me in just that month.  For me, insomnia, excessive weight gain, and excessive constipation are deal breakers.