I finally had my much awaited appointment with my internal medicine doctor today. He has asked me to try Effexor XR. Anyone out there have any experience with this? I am also taking Ultram and Vioxx which some of you know.

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~Luv, Scoobs~

Hi Scoobs, I've never heard of this one but, if you go to Ask Jeeves and type in the med you get a lot. Also On Health with WebMD. Has a lot. Take good care and good luck in getting to see a specialist. Kim

Hey Kim are you ready for the kicker the internal medicine doctor IS my PCP.....AKA Dr. Stupid......SJ is not the place to live if you are sick. I told him I was looking into other docs that specialize in this sort of thing.

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~Luv, Scoobs~

Good for you Scoobs http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/cool.gif, What I hate right now is this waiting for test results. Won't have all back till Christmas time. So he made our apt. for 1-15th I think can't remember. Oh, well. I hope he doesn't call. Well, take care and good hunting, Kim

Hey guys be careful of the Ultram. That is the medicine that gave me some great hallucinations. I would dream that there were HUGE spiders all around my room. At the beginning it wasn't too bad, but when they got to be as big as my computer screen, I stopped taking them. The room would just be covered with them. Even a couple of nights I would wake my husband up and ask him to help me get them off my pillow. He'd ever so patiently let me know that there weren't any there. Then I would go back to sleep. I know that we all react differently, but I just wanted to let you know my bad results with it. Gentle hugs to all

Hi Kim I took your advice and looked it up online. Another anti-depressant from a different category than the ones I have tried.
I cant believe how long you have to wait for your test results. I know what thats like.


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~Luv, Scoobs~

Thanx guys for all your replies.
So far so good on the Ultram and Vioxx....I think the Effexor is too soon to tell. I do wake up very thirsty though.

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~Luv, Scoobs~

Scooby, I have the thirsty mouth too. I asked my doctor and he said that it is one of the side effects of some of the meds that we HAVE to take in order to survive. I stopped taking Ultram and then was on percocet for a while and now am on Neurontin. It has helped somewhat, but the nights were and still are my worst parts of this mess. And lately it seems like I have been having more trouble with walking even short distances. I fell in the LR the other day and landed on both my knees. My husband and granddaughter had to help me get up.

The Effexor XR is now history. I thought the side effects would improve as I got used to it but they only got worse. I could not stand another minute of it. I do want to help myself but that was not for me.

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~Luv, Scoobs~

Scoobs, I never take a new med. w/o researching it. I also ask my husband to watch for any mind or outward body reactions. A reaction can be so slight at first then build that you don't notice it, but others will. I will also start with a smaller dose then the doctor says, because I have had reactions, even allergic, to many things. I also talk to my friend and pharmasist. Good for you in doing what you feel is right. Take good care, Kim

You sound a lot like me http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif
I have had some strange allergic reactions too. If I had such side effects from 1/4 dose capsules I hate to see what would have happened if I started out on full stregnth.

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~Luv, Scoobs~

I went to my Orthopaedic surgeon Thurs. for my follow up on my knee surgery. He accepted the referral that my GP gave for him to assess my left hand and wrist. He has started me on some new anti-inflams and said that because of my HMO he had to start me out on the general ones first, there are four different kinds, and if they don't work then the HMO might cover the good meds. That just seems so stupid to have to try things that might and might not work before you can get to the ones that do work. It is just like when I had my knee surgery, I had to go through 2 weeks of physical therapy when my doctor knew it would not help, and I had to suffer through with the pain and swelling for 3 more weeks. Something needs to be done with insurance companies. They should let the doctor's do what they know is right. I could have had my surgery 3 weeks earlier and not had to suffer. This subject has made me so mad that I strayed from what the subject was. Sorry.

Yes doctors do base too many treatment options on the insurances preference rather than on what is best for the patient. They allow theirselves to be bullied because they are rewarded $$ .

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~Luv, Scoobs~