Effexor Xr

[Veronica]

I was researching the ingredients of the anti deppressant my dr has had me on for years. I was curious if it might have gluten in it.

I found this very disturbing article on it's side effects...very simalir to some celiac reactions. I'm adding in the section I read and the link of the site on the bottom. I haven't found out if it is actually gluten free, but I'm wondering if I'm not feeling any better due to these possible side effects.

Am I way off?

THINGS TO BE AWARE OF WHILE TAKING YOUR MEDICINE:

Efexor may cause unwanted effects in some people. If you do have unwanted effects, they will usually not be serious and not last for long. However you should tell your doctor without delay if you have :

an allergic reaction such as skin rash, swollen face or tongue, or shortness of breath of difficulty breathing.

a high temperature with rigid muscles, confusion and sweating or if you experience jerky muscle movements which you can’t control.

mania or hypomania (feeling “high” or very over excited).

If any of the following symptoms are severe or become troublesome you should tell your doctor :

unusual bruising or bleeding

rapid or irregular heart beat, flushing

change in appetite or bowel habits, constipation , diarrhea, indigestion, feeling or being sick

unusual tiredness or weakness, headache, abdominal discomfort chills, fever

weight loss or gain

sore muscles or joints muscle spasm

stiff muscles, rarely clumsiness or loss of balance, tremor, strange feeling on the skin such as “pins and needles” or burning

dizziness, dry mouth, difficulty sleeping or abnormal dreams, drowsiness, nervousness, agitation, confusion, hallucinations

difficult in urinating, or feeling the need to go to the toilet more often than usual

abnormal ejaculation / orgasm, reduced sex drive, impotence, menstrual disturbances in women, rarely abnormal breast milk production

sweating, rash

blurred vision, tinnitus (ringing in the ears).

You should also tell your doctor if you have any other unwanted effect not mentioned above.

Some patients have occasionally felt dizzy or unsteady on standing due to fall in blood pressure.

Efexor sometimes causes unwanted effects which you may not be aware of, such as increases in blood pressure or abnormal heart beat; slight chances in blood levels of liver enzymes, sodium or rarely cholesterol. More rarely Efexor may reduce the number of platelets in your blood.

Tell you doctor or pharmacist you are taking Efexor before taking any other drug, if you become pregnant, or you enter hospital for treatment.

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[penguin]

Find out the number of the company that makes it and ask them if it has gluten in it.

What I never understood about antidepressants is that the side effects are so bad, how are you supposed to come out of depression? I willfully got my anxiety under control after not wanting to be on those drugs anymore, though now that I think about it, the anxiety was probably celiac related.

Not to be insensitive or uncouth, but what do they mean by "abnormal ejaculation/orgasm"?

Does it come out of a guy's nose? Does your foot fall off during climax?

They need to be more specific

[tiredofdoctors]

Effexor XR, according to the gluten-free drug list website someone posted on another thread IS gluten-free. Also, my MD phoned the company and confirmed that. I know that they have to list every possible adverse reaction that has ever been reported (even if it is cold/flu symptoms -- from someone who caught the flu while on it) as mandated by the FDA. The abnormal orgasm response is "BARELY" or "NONE". Trust me on this one. The reason for the increased heart rate, etc. is that not only is it a Serotonin re-uptake inhibitor, it is also a norepinephrine and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, as well. Therefore, you have some extra norepinephrein and noradrenaline in your system. The worst thing to do on this particular medication, though, is stop it cold turkey -- it will give you a headache and the pukes like you can't imagine. Taper down when you doc says you're ready.

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

Veronica -- How are you doing on this? What do you think of it?

Does anyone take this medication now? What do you think of it?

My daddyO takes it for the neropithy (sp) in his feet. It works well for him. He said it causes him bad dreams sometimes. Also -- I will say this I had a girlfriend (a banker VP) take it (don't know why) she was far from depressed and super smart brain and sharp as a whip. She took it 3 weeks and she became dumb as a rock kept repeating herself and couldn't almost remember her name.

I am thinking or trying some sort of anti depressent but don't know what. I want to educated before I speak to the doc about it this week. I think this has CORN as a binder. I have a problem w/corn. Any suggestion? It says don't take it if you have thyroid problems and I do. Why would my thyroid doc give me samples of this?

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