Effexor again

---MIKE---

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May 10, 2012, 1:55:21 PM5/10/12

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I tried a 37.5 mg Effexor yesterday. The hot flashes stopped within a
few hours. I still developed a "bad taste" in my mouth. I slept
fitfully that night. My urine output was greatly reduced and this
morning I had diarrhea. The hot flashes resumed today. I think I would
rather have the hot flashes!

---MIKE---

In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44ï¿½ 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Alan Meyer

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May 10, 2012, 2:27:22 PM5/10/12

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On 5/10/2012 1:55 PM, ---MIKE--- wrote:
> I tried a 37.5 mg Effexor yesterday. The hot flashes stopped within a
> few hours. I still developed a "bad taste" in my mouth. I slept
> fitfully that night. My urine output was greatly reduced and this
> morning I had diarrhea. The hot flashes resumed today. I think I would
> rather have the hot flashes!

Since the drug was still effective after cutting the dose in half, I'd
try cutting it in half again. Maybe you can find the minimum dose that
works.

Alan

---MIKE---

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May 11, 2012, 7:45:27 AM5/11/12

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Alan wrote:

>Since the drug was still effective after
> cutting the dose in half, I'd try cutting it
> in half again. Maybe you can find the
> minimum dose that works.

The drug is in a capsule and consists of tiny pellets. It is a time
release medication so I was told that splitting the contents could give
unpredictable results.

Steve Kramer

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May 11, 2012, 8:40:23 AM5/11/12

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It's hard to believe right now, Mike, but one does eventually get used to
hot flashes. I don't think anyone gets used to bad tastes and diarrhea.

PSA OCT 2000 @ 46
Biopsy NOV 2000 3+4=7, T2c
RRP DEC 2000 3+4=7), T3cN0M0, SVI, Neg margins
PSA <.1 <.1 <.1 .27 .37 .75 PSAD 0.19 years
EBRT MAY - JULY 2002 @ 47
PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 PSAD 0.56 years
Lupron started JULY 2003 @ 48
PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 .145 PSAD 1.40 years
Casodex added JUL 2006 @ 51
Last PSA <0.05 Next draw AUG 2012 @ 57
Illegitimati non carborundum

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(44� 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Tom Cular

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May 11, 2012, 3:23:41 PM5/11/12

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When I was on Lupron a lady I worked with (going through menopause) used to
call me FLASH and advised me to sit near her by an open window. There's a
bit of humor in almost everything. I even went out on the back porch at
night in my skivvies. My wife said that someone would see me, my response
was "Who an opossum?"

"Steve Kramer" <skr...@cinci.rr.com> wrote in message
news:joj1bp$uqk$1...@dont-email.me...

Tom Cular

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May 11, 2012, 9:48:52 PM5/11/12

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My unprofessional opinion says that if you don't need a drug, don't take it!
My wife is on at least 10, we have an Easter basket full of meds.

Tom Cular" <tcul...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:jojovt$l9u$1...@dont-email.me...

Alan Meyer

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May 13, 2012, 1:31:21 PM5/13/12

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On 05/11/2012 07:45 AM, ---MIKE--- wrote:
> Alan wrote:
>
>> Since the drug was still effective after
>> cutting the dose in half, I'd try cutting it
>> in half again. Maybe you can find the
>> minimum dose that works.
>
> The drug is in a capsule and consists of tiny pellets. It is a time
> release medication so I was told that splitting the contents could give
> unpredictable results.

I looked up "timed release technology" in the Wikipedia. I'm guessing
from what I read there, and this is only a guess, that the timed release
technology is in the pellets, not in the capsule. However it looks like
it's possible that it could be in the capsule.

I then decided to look at the drug label, so I went to

http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov

and entered "effexor" in the search box.

The labels mentioned "extended release" but I didn't see anything at all
about how the timing was done. I was surprised however to find that the
drug is sold as an anti-depressant. Searching for "hot flushes" (or
flashes), the main thing I found was that the drug can be prescribed for
panic attacks, and that one of the side effects of panic attacks can be
chills or hot flushes. Hot flushes were also observed at a very
slightly increased rate (3% of effexor patients vs. 2% of placebo patients.)

I wonder if this is being prescribed for you "off label".

So I then searched Google for (effexor "androgen deprivation therapy").

I came up with this interesting web page:

http://www.prostate-cancer.org/pcricms/node/197

There I found this:

"6. The antidepressant venlafaxine (Effexor-XR®) at a dose of 12.5 to
37.5 mg can be very effective at reducing hot flushes.13 If men also
have symptoms of depression while on a TIP, venlafaxine should be
considered as the first choice of medication for severe hot flushes."

According to that, your 37.5 mg dose is the maximum that should be
prescribed and your 75 mg dose was double the maximum. Note the "6" at
the beginning of the paragraph. This was only one of seven different
prevention and treatment strategies mentioned for hot flushes.

I suggest calling the doctor and asking for a 12 mg dose.

Alan

---MIKE---

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May 13, 2012, 4:49:38 PM5/13/12

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Alan wrote:

>I suggest calling the doctor and asking
> for a 12 mg dose.

Thanks for all your research. The pharmacist didn't say anything about
a 12mg dose. I'll have to check with him.

---MIKE---

In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

(44ï¿½ 15' N - Elevation 1580')

I.P. Freely

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May 13, 2012, 5:27:05 PM5/13/12

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Did you guys read about the drug on websites such as Medline?
See http://tinyurl.com/cm43ha6

This is not a drug to be taken or treated casually, nor is it one on
which I'd accept any doctor's -- let alone layman's -- advice before
doing my own research first. We have a tightrope to walk between
overeager pill-pushers and Big Pharma on one side and the
litigation-inhibiting list of *possible* side effects on the other. I
wouldn't let any of those three ... sure as HELL not some government
bean-counter ... decide for me.

I.P.