Antidepressant medications: Feeling alright

It's three days post Effexor.My earaches and sore throat are totally gone now.I feel like my "old self" again.I don't know what my blood pressure is,but I'm not worried about it. By the way, Cerulean, your blood pressure and cholesterol should be monitored while taking Effexor. You are so lucky to go so long without problems on this drug. I just don't think it's realistic to believe some other parts of our bodies don't pay a price for the chemicals we introduce to our systems. They are not as innocuous as psychiatrists would have us believe. Even weight gain means more stress on the heart,joints etc.

You just have to really listen to your body and know when it is trying to tell you something. Sometimes I think I am expecting too much,that is-no depression and no side effects.Last night I saw a program talking about antidepressants.It was saying that when
most of these drugs were initially tested it was for a period of usually no more than two years.Even the drug manufacturers don't know what long term use means for the user. Most of them are only intended for periods of six months.Some people they spoke to have been on Prozac for ten years!

Any comments?

A: Thank you... I think I'll talk with the dr. on Monday. So far, I've not had any problems with the drug. I've not had any significant weight gain and I don't believe my blood pressure is up. I have abnormally low blood pressure and when it elevates for any reason I
usually get dizzy. I agree that the drugs certainly have side effects. When I was placed on anti-depressants the dr. did say that the long term side effects were unknown, but that chances were I would probably be on an anti-depressant the rest of my life. Guess we're the guinea pig generation who determines what the long term side effects are. Scary, huh?

A: Hi, Catherine, I'm glad to hear that you are feeling so much better than you were. I just saw my prescribing doctor today, and I asked him about some of the points you raised; pretty much, he blew it off (but I don't particularly like him anyway, for a few easons;
but, HMO's being what they are, unless I can convince my regular doctor to supervise my treatment, I'm stuck with 'Dr. Personality') and said that blood pressure elevation is really only a problem at higher doses than I was taking (150mg/day, and, as I recall, you were at 37.5!). Anyway, in the final analysis, I'm responsible for my body's maintenance, so I'll monitor my own blood pressure, and ask my doctor about periodic cholesterol checks. Oh, 'Dr Personality' also tried to tell me that my fatigue is coincidental with Effexor, and that the reason I noted a difference between the samples of the extended release capsules and the immediate release tablets was that the capsules just happened to kick in at the time I started on the tablets [sure they did...].

What you say about testing of new drugs (also, for existing drugs used for new diseases) is generally right on the money; the system tries to get sufficient data to assess short-term safety and efficacy, and relies on the manufacturer and 'adverse reaction' reports to assess longer term safety and efficacy. So in many ways, we are indeed part of a test population; the upside, though, is that usually the system works pretty well, and new meds are brought to market much faster than they would if there was more long-term testing done prior to gov't approval. I should confess that I work for a drug manufacturer, but I will say that I don't just buy in to so many corporate stances of 'what's good for the bottom line is good for the consumer'.

Well, I'll sign-off for the guinea pig generation for now.

Rick

A: Hi,Rick.I'm not surprised your doctor ignored your concerns.After all he only wants to treat the depression,because that's why you're seeing him in the first place.He thinks if you're not depressed then his job is done.They don't want us to have "concerns". Dr.Personality sounds like every doctor I've ever met!!

Gotta go finish packing-8am flight to Florida!