Lexapro and Effexor together?

[Deb46]

My pcp added Effexor 75mg to my Lexapro 20mg to help with my depression. I know that you are not suppose to mix some antidepressants. Does anyone here know anything about this? I would really like to get some of your knowledge about this before I mix these. I really like my pcp he is a wonderful doc but I am a little afraid to mix the two. Anybody here ever heard of it?

Thanks
Deb46

[0357]

I know someone who took Wellbutrin and Effexer and now takes Wellbutrin and Cymbalta. Hope your depression is soon under control. Take care.

[smhiles]

I am on Wellbutrin SR, Lexapro (replaced Cymbalta), Lyrica, Amitriptyline, Clonazepam, Lunesta, and some other meds, when I ran out of Lunesta, my Rheumy finally realized that the Amit. and Clonaz. they were prescribed to be taken at bedtime, but they should not be used together they are counteracting each other and they are definitely wreaking havoc on my sleep. I hope I am not getting addicted to sleep aides. I have not had any thorough sleep since being off the Lunesta, he told me to try to get really tired and not to nap through the day, believe me, I have tried that so many times and I am still waking many times through the night, staring at the clock, thinking of what I need to get done the next day, etc. So, I will be seeing a sleep doctor next week to see what is best for me. This is enough to make me crazy!! Just venting!!

I hope you get the right meds that will be helpful to you, also.

Smhiles

[BBS1951]

Are you also seeing a psychologist? Research shows that talking therapy (CBT, also called cognitive behavior therapy) can be as effective as medication. If you are not getting relief from AD, maybe its time to see a psychologist. A couple of visits with a psychologist worked well for me, for example, and better than the med.

[DebT]

Deb,
Before you start Effexor, please, do thorough research. We are still in a caught in a nightmare that started early in the Summer. This drug was given to my husband and though he was only on 75 mg per day for four months, his life is in shambles. By default, our entire family is a wreck.

The worst part is that he did not even need an anti-depressant at all and has not for at least four years. If he ever needed it at all, it was for approximately six months following his retirement from the police department after a job related accident. It is usually difficult on officers when they are injured and forced into premature retirement, so he was immediately placed on an AD against my better judgment. Unfortunately, because it was a family doctor prescribing, no follow up was ever made. I asked him every few months to please re-think still taking them, but he felt that if the doctor continued to re-fill them, he must still need to take them.

The ironic part was that he grieved the loss of the job and started a new career doing something that is perfect for him and that he is successful in. He was enjoying his life, had work, friends, our children were doing well, my body was stable. He had never been depressed in his life before he was retired and he did not even show depression with the retirement other than being sad that he was losing his career, but he did not go into depression over it. Either way, there was no reason to still be on the AD five years later, more less what happened next.

For some bizarre reason, in February, the RX was changed from Wellbutrin to Effexor and he blindly took the pills. He noticed that he became clumsy, confused, irritable and depressed. Then he had two serious accidents back to back in the same week with power tools, one involving a table saw, and it set off a series of events that we are still trying to recover from. He began weaning off of the Effexor three weeks later, slowly. He was not told anything at all about the Effexor when he started taking it. In all fairness, he doesn't ask any questions either.

What we did not know at the time he began to taper off of the AD, is that there is no such thing as slowly stopping the Effexor. He began experiencing nausea, stomach problems, extreme brain fog, brain zaps, and he seriously thought he was loosing his mind. The really unsettling part is that we had no idea what was happening. When we asked the doctors what it could be, they did not even know that Effexor could be responsible. They wanted to run lab tests of all kinds because they thought he was sick or that he had a virus. They then thought he needed mental health care. He never needed it before he took any of the little pills.

It was such a mess and doctors were saying, well, maybe it is Bi-Polar, or maybe it is OCD, or maybe it is........ I could not believe it. As it turns out, it was all from Effexor withdrawal. Before that, we found out that Effexor can actually cause accidents. We also cannot get Life Insuance reasonably, not because of my medical history, but because he was taking AD's. Isn't that great. When I asked why that is, I found out it is because the drugs cause people to commit Suicide. I was shocked. I thought that is why people take them. But no, they cause Suicide, at least Effexor encourages it, according to the manufacturer and the life insurance companies.

After much research, and confronting many other doctors, we found that Wyeth-Ayerst has been in the middle of the controversary for many years but that they get out total lawsuits because they have really good lawyers. This drug can stay in your system for up to one year and it really does horrible things to your body. The side effects while on it are terrible, that is why he wanted to get off of it, but many people cannot get off of it because the side effects from trying to get off of it are so bad they feel like they will never be able to get off.

If you want to read about it, just do searchs about Effexor and withdrawal symptoms and you will be shocked. One sight is http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?effexor&101 what you read will break you heart and living it still, I can only hope that you take the advice offered by others, which includes seeing a therapist, and add to that exercise in whatever form that you can, along with a decent diet. My husband always thought that the answer was in a pill, whether it was an aspirin or cough medicine.

He will not be taking another pill of any kind for anything, probably for a very long, long time. Financially this has been devastating and emotionally it has been exhausting. He is better now than he was and he is beginning to see light at the end of this tunnel. He is working out with his one good hand and the rest of his body that the department did not ruin, although it still takes him three hours just to shower and get dressed. He cannot think his way through simple problems and gets frustrated so very easily. The job that he is currently working on is now four months behind and we are very grateful that the contractor he is working with is very patient.

It was just so disturbing to go back to our doctor and see the shock on his face when we told him what was going on with the withdrawal. The only thing worse was to have him offer to write another script. It was politely declined. We are currently searching for a new family practice. We need to find a doctors who at least have a clue about medicines that they prescribe.

I apologize for the length of my reply, but the just the mention of this drug makes my blood run cold. For every one or two people it might help, there are so very many that it harms and unfortunately, family doctors and psychiatrists alike do not educate their patients.

Good Luck on your decision, and please take care.

For those who use Effexor and have not had a reason to stop using it. Please take care and I did not mean to insult or cause any ill feelings. This has just been a horrible experience and if I can spare anyone else from living this, I will do my best. My husband, who is normally very quiet, (even though he is a retired police officer) would lead a campaign to see this drug removed from the market. Good luck to all.
Debbie

[Jakaloke]

Hi Deb46

It's not uncommon to take more than one AD, because they sometimes don't work on their own. I think it's more common to switch though, and try different ones until you get one that works for you.

Some antidepressants, including Effexor, can be very difficult to stop, as has been pointed out to you. I'm on Effexor XR, and I notice it when I'm late taking it, even if only two or three hours. I recommend you ask your doctor lots of questions, and make sure you know what you're getting into. Effexor has helped me a lot, but I'm sure it's not for everyone. Good luck.

Scott