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Post by raerae on Feb 27, 2004 2:46:31 GMT -5
hi. im new here. glad to know im not alone with this weirdness like id thought  im starting on this today on a feeble 75mg dose (saw g.p. yesterday) officially for anxiety/depression. ive been picking since i was 12 or so, and im 26 now and its really got to stop. ive heard venlafaxine can help, and that it doesnt. prozac made no diff, but fingers crossed! ill let you all know how its going sometime. any advice on this particular med would be most welcome btw. best wishes to all. |
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Post by annamarie on Mar 26, 2004 20:06:39 GMT -5
Effexor is the drug that has helped me the most for depression, and it seemed to alleviate some OCD symptoms as well. Unlike SSRIs, which affect just serotonin, Effexor has an effect on both serotonin and some other neurotransmitter (norepinephrine I believe?) But beware of withdrawal symptoms when/if you stop taking it, especially if you don't stop gradually -- for some people, including me, it's AWFUL. Can't get out of bed, pounding headache, blurry vision, AWFUL. Same thing happens to some people when they stop taking Paxil. And after I take Effexor for a while, something weird happens where I start going through mini-withdrawals every day, before I'm due for my next dose. This isn't supposed to happen, but since doctors don't even really know how these meds work, I guess it's not surprising that they can have unexpected affects.
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Post by Renni on Mar 27, 2004 1:01:18 GMT -5
Raerae, is effexor helping? I've tried lots of meds in the 25 yrs. I've been doing this (I'm 37 now), and nothing has helped. Since most of the women in my family do this, i'm pretty sure it has a biological component too so i'm still trying to find the right drug. (But that doesn't stop me from beating myself up over not being able to quit med-free. Agh!!)
Good luck to all of you. You're all really brave, and boy, I wish you all the very best. Someday, they'll know so much more about this than they do now, and we won't have to get this info on a message board.
Renni
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Post by raerae on Mar 27, 2004 9:21:42 GMT -5
well, i wrote that post exactly one month ago and im pleased to say the efexor (shit, that reminds me! *dives for meds*) seems to be, touch wood, improving the depression/ anxiety thing.
my picking is soooo much worse when im anxious (big mirror sessions), as are my other ocd behaviours, but im definitely mirror-picking much less and im pretty sure i can attribute that to the effect of the venlafaxine on my anxiety levels.
its the casual 'by touch' picking, when im watching tv or whatever, thats more of an issue right now. but i think beating this is a matter of retraining, tho' i guess the meds might help with this too.
annamarie, thanks for the advice- im gonna cut and paste it into word and save it for future reference!
renni, if anxiety is an issue for you and affects your picking, like me, maybe give the efexor a go? (if you havent already). ive read that cos its an snri its better for anxiety conditions than ssris. and dont give yourself a hard time about meds... i figure its no big deal, they just allow you a little space so you can get to heal yourself easier, if that makes sense?
thanks again, guys, and best of luck. rae xxx
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