I could have written what smanonb wrote. I, too, had horrific, frequent hot flashes and was put on the same drug. I'm a therapist with over 30 years in the field, and have watched clients gain weight while on this drug for depression. When it was initially prescribed for me to deal with hot flashes, I weighed a healthy 130 pounds, and had already been a runner for over half my life, and have always been very conscious of what I eat. I noticed the weight slowly coming on, and after a few months on the drug, its effectiveness began to wane. My MD increased the dose, and again I achieved a measure of relief, but noted more weight gain. Again, at the higher dose, after a few months, began to lose effectiveness. Another dose adjustment and still more weight gain followed. I became very concerned,as I'd piled on 20 pounds, while still running. I researched, and remembered seeing my clients get heavy on this antidepressant drug called venlafaxine, also known as EFFEXOR. I spent 3 months slowly weaning myself off of it, and had to take a week off from work at the very end, as I was so sensitive to the drug and its withdrawal effects. Why they continue to prescribe and tout this drug as a method for controlling flashes is a mystery, as it clearly has side effects that are, in many ways, worse than the relief that it may provide for some women. The short spans of relief I got were NOT WORTH IT. In fact, as it wore off, it made me sweat even more, and I've heard from clients that one of the side effects of the drug, ironically, is SWEATING.
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GET OFF THE MED!!!!
I could have written what smanonb wrote. I, too, had horrific, frequent hot flashes and was put on the same drug. I'm a therapist with over 30 years in the field, and have watched clients gain weight while on this drug for depression. When it was initially prescribed for me to deal with hot flashes, I weighed a healthy 130 pounds, and had already been a runner for over half my life, and have always been very conscious of what I eat. I noticed the weight slowly coming on, and after a few months on the drug, its effectiveness began to wane. My MD increased the dose, and again I achieved a measure of relief, but noted more weight gain. Again, at the higher dose, after a few months, began to lose effectiveness. Another dose adjustment and still more weight gain followed. I became very concerned,as I'd piled on 20 pounds, while still running. I researched, and remembered seeing my clients get heavy on this antidepressant drug called venlafaxine, also known as EFFEXOR. I spent 3 months slowly weaning myself off of it, and had to take a week off from work at the very end, as I was so sensitive to the drug and its withdrawal effects. Why they continue to prescribe and tout this drug as a method for controlling flashes is a mystery, as it clearly has side effects that are, in many ways, worse than the relief that it may provide for some women. The short spans of relief I got were NOT WORTH IT. In fact, as it wore off, it made me sweat even more, and I've heard from clients that one of the side effects of the drug, ironically, is SWEATING.
June 25, 2011 - 4:52amThis Comment
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