Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[TropicalVon69]

Afternoon ladies....I have been to docs today without too much success....I was taking citalopram but not finding it too great do doc has given me venlafaxine....worried now though in case I feel even worse...anyone have any experience of effexor?
Thanks

[Chi chi]

I was on it for a few months, didn't really help me but everyone's different 
I'd also read about how bad it is to come off it, lots of people really struggle, I didn't though, well no more than usual when coming off something

Estelle 

[peegeetip]

I was wondering if your doc had warned you that coming off your old ad can cause a raise in blood pressure for a while?

Also I agree with Estelle, there does seem to be a lot of issues coming off AD's, even on the one's we are not supposed to be hooked on.

Does not really matter if your periods are stable, if your seeing other symptoms then going on HRT earlier will help balance things out.
I've said a few times recently that I wish that I'd known about and taken HRT earlier, for my own benefit and loved ones around me.

 

[TropicalVon69]

Hi Peegeetip...no doc was pretty dismissive to be honest...she had no sympathy n felt she just wanted me out of the surgery and have seen most of the docs there...the only one who was sympathetic was a locum an left...I am pretty desperate to be honest...totally fed up of symptoms and feeling rubbish...really could scream and sob for me and my kids as I am not a great parent at the moment and hating feeling like this.......So glad for you to have your hrt and great your quality of life has improved XXX

[peegeetip]

Your a great parent, your aware that things are not right and your looking for a solution, good for you

You can go back to the doc and ask for one of the low dose tablet options in the following:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/perimeno.php

I really hope that the doc listens to you this next time you go.
If you don't want AD's then Tell the doc you don't want to be on AD's.
Explain that you'd like that to be made clear on your notes also and ensure the doc states that your not taking the new ones.
Remember you might still have to taper off your use of citalopram over a few weeks.

A lot of people do not realize that some AD's could affect them driving or doing other things we need to be alert for.
If an insurance claim was made later then it might have some impact.
Has your doc warned you of that for Effexor, I'd guess they have not?

If your doc continues to deny your request for HRT instead of AD's,
then politely ask for them to make clear why they are refusing your right to ask for a particular drug to help you.
You could suggest that they do this in writing also as your finding it a bit hard to understand why in the short duration of your appointment.
As long as your firm and polite there should be no reason why the doctor can refuse.

Alternatives to help if the doc refuses again:

1) ask to be referred to a meno clinic so you take the decision out of the docs hands
2) look up on the web if you've a meno clinic near by and phone and see if they need a referral (not sure as its not the route i took myself but others have mentioned it)
3) I'm assuming your maybe not on the pill? If you were then sometimes that can flatten out the high's and low's you'll have through early peri. You can either ask the doc to put you back on a monophasic/28day contraceptive pill. Just emphasize your still worried about that and want to be sure as "your not in peri" according to doc! 
4) If doc refuses to prescribe pill even, then get yourself down to the nearest family planning clinic (if your in the uk). They should be able to prescribe the pill to see if that helps bypassing your doc.
5) Go private as others on the forum have done but obviously this could prove an expense.

Hope that helps you a bit further.

 

[TropicalVon69]

Thanks so much Peegeetip for al of the advice...the problem is that in July I had my hormone levels checked and all was normal ....I feel in myself that although I have had anxiety before that this is hormonal too and just feel like I'm losing my mind....I end up in docs forgetting all I want to say as feel dismissed and unheard.

[caz24]

Hi

I've just been reading through some posts in the New to Forum Section and there is a thread started by Briony (HRT but not yet meno apparently) and Hurdity has put some links on there that may be useful for you. Worth a look at least and could give you some info for going back to the doctors. Be persistent. It's so unfair that you seem to have a surgery full of disinterested doctors but as peegeetip has said it may be worth finding out if there is a meno clinic in your area.
Hope you're ok today, I'm having a better day thankfully, taking each day as it comes. x

[peegeetip]

I agree with Carol. Hope your having a better day and "be persistant" 

Get a post-it or a bit of card and write down what you want to cover.
If the doc interrupts or tries to move you away from list, just explain that you'd like to go over these "important" points you have.

Just tell doc that you'd prefer to try HRT first before any further AD's.

Or just take the approach I mention and say "ok if I'm normal then I don't want to get pregnant, so I'd like to go on the pill again"

A monophasic contraceptive pill will give a standard est+prog dose over 21 of the 28 days.

http://www.emedexpert.com/classes/birth-control-types.shtml

If the doc gives you a prog only then that wont help your estrogen levels.
If the doc gives a mutliphasic(bi or tri) then the levels of hormones will change thru the 21 days, so might not help you get a balance.

Hope that helps more.

 

[Galadriel]

Hi TropicalVon69,

I've had venlafaxine twice in the past for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Both times it worked a treat. It took about a month to feel significant improvements but it did work well.
When it was time to come off my doc switched me to the twice daily tablet and wrote out a plan for me to taper off the dose. I had no problems coming off them.

The anxiety I get now is very different to GAD and I'm certain it is fluctuating hormones that are the cause.

Like you, I've had 'normal' results for my hormone tests in July - but all that you can say is that at the time they were taken, the levels were within range. The day before, or after, who knows. It's usually better to go on symptoms than tests when it comes to the perimenopause.

On my last visit, I knew I'd forget stuff so I wrote down what must have looked like a shopping list of all the symptoms I had - with the most troublesome ones at the top.
It was so much easier to talk to the doc with my list - in fact she looked at it with me

As peegeetip says - tell them you're not going down the AD route if you don't want to. Sometimes you have to tell them what you want out of the visit!

Good luck.

Galadriel x

[TropicalVon69]

Thanks so much for your input ladies...the doc did mention the pill but was in such a state in the room that didnt really take it on board so will see her about monophasic pill next appt....thanks Peegeetip....found Hurditys link Carol thank you....Galadriel, did the doc give you hrt atall?.....Thanks ladies for your help knowledge and experience and hopefully at some point I will help others with the same too XXX

[CLKD]

However: if you find that Effexor works - it did for me - then it will ease your symptoms so that you can make more informed choices.

[tabbycat3838]

Hi von i tried to send you a pm re this issue but it seems not to work'did you get anything from me? x

[Galadriel]

Yes I was offered HRT or ADs, my choice. I chose hrt. I stuck with it for 9 months, then stopped cold turkey as I felt I was better off than on.

For the anxiety, I had acupuncture and saw a psychologist weekly. That was much more help to me than hrt.

I wouldn't rule hrt out for future use if my symptoms become more unmanageable but I would change route from pills to patches or gel.

Each of us is so different - go with what you feel is right for you and be prepared to change as and when.

Galadriel x

[TropicalVon69]

Thanks again ladies...I am tapering off my citalopram and will see how I feel after as far as going back to docs...Thanks for the pm Tabbycat, I have replied XXX

[Wanderer]

TropicalVon69, I wish we could report these GP's, it is disgusting the way that they treat menopausal women with bad symptoms, if you were a pubescent girl with hormone problems, they wouldn't be like that, make me so angry!!

Anyway, just wanted to tell you that I have been on Venlafaxine since August, and have noticed a marked difference, my head is much clearer, and my anxiety is under control, probably related. Effexor is known to be an aid to menopause symptoms, such as flushes etc.., not just as an AD. Don't be frightened, I don't feel desperate for my tablet every day, it is just one slow release.

WANDERER XX