Monday, November 2, 2009

Insomnia

It's an unhappy by-product of the happy pills. Last night was my first bout. I woke up at 12:30am and never went back to sleep. Mama ain't happy at all, folks! So, I'm up, and I was doing some research on Venlafaxine. Here are some of the side effects we have to look forward to:

From the following website...
http://depression.emedtv.com/venlafaxine/venlafaxine-side-effects-p2.html

* Nausea -- up to 58 percent of people
* Headache -- up to 26.1 percent of people
* Drowsiness -- up to 23 percent of people
* Dry mouth -- up to 22 percent of people (see Effexor and Dry Mouth)
* Dizziness -- up to 23.9 percent of people
* Insomnia -- up to 22.5 percent of people (see Effexor and Insomnia)
* Nervousness -- up to 21.3 percent of people
* Loss of appetite -- 17 percent of people
* Body weakness -- up to 16.9 percent of people
* Sweating -- up to 19.3 percent of people
* Constipation -- up to 15 percent of people
* High blood pressure (hypertension) -- up to 13 percent of people
* Ejaculation problems -- up to 12.5 percent of people (see Effexor Sexual Side Effects)
* Anxiety -- up to 11.2 percent of people
* Shakiness (tremors) -- up to 10.2 percent of people
* Diarrhea -- up to 8 percent of people
* Yawning -- up to 8 percent of people
* Chills -- up to 6.8 percent of people
* Vomiting -- up to 6.8 percent of people
* Indigestion (dyspepsia) -- up to 6.7 percent of people
* Impotence (also known as erectile dysfunction or just ED) -- up to 6 percent of people (see Effexor and Impotence)
* Blurred vision -- up to 6 percent of people.

Oh, and if that's not enough:

Other common venlafaxine side effects (occurring in 1 percent to 6 percent of people) include but are not limited to:


* A decreased sex drive (libido)
* Infections
* Flushing (redness of the skin, especially the face)
* Gas
* Weight loss (see Effexor and Weight Loss)
* Weight gain (see Effexor and Weight Gain)
* Abnormal dreams
* High cholesterol
* Agitation
* Confusion
* Unusual thoughts
* Increased urination
* Taste changes.

So, it begins. I already deal with many of these. I know many more are on their way. But they don't last too long, and I know I'll be much happier. And so will the rest of my family.

1 comment:

  1. Ugh, that sounds horrible. I'm on Cymbalta right now. I used to be on Lexapro for maybe a year and a half. The good parts of it just started declining and I thought it wasn't working anymore. I started Cymbalta maybe 3 months ago. It is helping, but it's so hard to really tell...

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