Adventures with Adderall . . . and Effexor

Had my p-doc follow-up this morning. Initially, he suggested I increase my dosage of Adderall to 25mg/day, but after more discussion, we decided not to. When I asked him what his long-term thoughts were with regard to Adderall, that I didn’t want to be on an amphetamine for an extended time–and what about Provigil?–he said that he was hoping to wait until Provigil got added to my HMO’s approved list before switching me over. That made sense to me, so I’m content to stay with the Adderall for another month or two (or three even) until the HMO Powers That Be grind their gears. I’ll continue on 20mg/day, taking periodic day-or-two breaks once a week to keep my tolerance from ratcheting up.

He also suggested I try an NRI, Wellbutrin, in conjunction with the Prozac for an added pick-me-up. But the idea of adding more pills to my daily cocktail did not please me, so we’re compromising. I’m going to wean off the Prozac this week, and then switch to Effexor XR, which is both an NRI and an SSRI. Starting the Effexor at 37.5mg/day next week, and then the plan is to increase that weekly until I hit 150mg/day.

Fun with psychotropics. So not whee.

   


Writing Stuff

Received:
– Contract and final edits from Aberrant Dreams for “The Son that Pain Made.” Everything looks great and the contract’s signed and in the mail.
– 41-day “regret that we cannot use it” from Pedestal with invite to submit again.
– 14-day “Dear Author” (ouch) from LCRW.

I think I’ve noticed an odd trend with my writing. Genre markets with literary penchants don’t seem to like me. But literary publications that are receptive to genre do. I’m so confused.

New Words:
1000 words on the funny little story, and it’s at zero draft. That was gratifyingly fast. Nice muse, nice word flow. Maybe it’s all the NaNoWriMo energy radiating off my flist rubbing off.

Club 100 For Writers
      34

500/day
      88

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15 Responses to Adventures with Adderall . . . and Effexor

  1. dream_wind says:

    Fiction vs. Literature

    I’m working up a rant at the moment on the subject of “Fiction” vs “Literature.” It always seems to me that “literary” authors are allowed to get away with all sorts of rubbish that “normal fiction” authors can’t (like a coherent plot, believable characters, focussed POVs).

    Here in Australia, the “literature” is always stocked in bookshelves away from all of the other fiction, as though it doesn’t want to be contaminated, and most of it should be pulped for being so unreadable.

    But then, what would I know? I’m an unrepentant reader of fantasy and science fiction, and list Bernard Cornwell as one of my favourite authors.

  2. mouseferatu says:

    I’ve been taking Effexor for… Hmm, coming up on three months or more now. It’s done a pretty good job for me, though of course that doesn’t mean anything.

    As far as side-effects go, I’ve noticed that it gives me some trouble sleeping (usually for a few weeks after I started it/changed doses), and makes me particularly susceptible to caffeine. Haven’t noticed anything more severe than that, or at least not anything I’m yet comfortable attributing to the medication.

  3. gardenwaltz says:

    switching meds sounds like a better overall strategy for you, but what is an NRI?

    also, i agree on the oddness of what sells. it seems that although i mostly write ‘serious’ poems, it’s the goofy stuff that sells.

    • Eugie Foster says:

      NRI stands for norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. It’s another drug in the family of new generation antidepressants. It works differently than SSRIs (selective seratonin reuptake inhibitor) which Prozac is as well as other common antidepressants such as Paxil, Celexa, and Zoloft. Effexor seems to affect seratonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine levels.

  4. bheansidhe says:

    I take a combo of Wellbutrin (150 mg) and Adderall (7-15 mg). I hated Effexor. I took it for two years, after which it occured to me that my sex drive had gone to hell and I felt a little.. flat most of the time. So I took a month to taper off, and then stopped. The result was a solid week of dizzies and nerve twinges and being unable to drive. If you *do* decide to try Effexor and then want to get off later, I cannot emphasize enough: taper, taper, taper.

  5. I was on Effexor for a while. It made tremendous inroads with my social anxiety and stress, but then I started noticing icky neurological side effects. Imagine a lightning storm in your brain. Brr. Gives me chills just to think about it.

  6. tstauffer says:

    I would avoid Effexor if at all possible. I was on it and it made my blood pressure go from 120/80 to over 150/90. It also have me heart defibs. I had to wear a heart monitor for 24 hours and get an echocardiogram. My heart rate climbed up to 156 while I was just lying there. It took all that for them to figure out that it was the Effexor. Also, it was a nightmare to get off of. Very bad side effects. Might want to do a web search on it. I’ve read a lot of similar complaints.

    I’m totally off my pain meds. I can’t write while on them. Still not very motivated though. We are switching to Blue/Cross Dec 1 and I should be able to afford the Provigil then. Good luck!

  7. britzkrieg says:

    I am currently on Effexor XR… and I can’t get off of it.

    Don’t get me wrong — I’ve found it to be a good mood balancer, and it probably saved my job. But I don’t dare ever miss a dose — the neurological withdrawal symptoms are very uncomfortable, to say the least.

    Here is an example of what can happen!

  8. mroctober says:

    If you want to talk to me about the story, we can do so on the phone. Or perhaps we can strategize – I may have been in the wrong giving you too wide a field to play in and now I see a narrower, more channeled path might be best.

  9. mtfay says:

    Effexor

    Of all the SSRIs that I took, Effexor seemed to have the best effect. And, as a beneficial effect, it pretty much rid me of all desire to smoke. Not that you have that issue, but…

  10. What I know about drugs can be put in a sparrow’s thimble, if there is such a thing. Any chance of detoxing at any time in your life? A few herbs, a positive outlook, an enjoyable life, reasonably fulfilling work and a fairly healthy diet seem to work for me, but I may well be one of the lucky ones. Besides, who wants to be fat and happy these days?

    On the story issue front, I’m not at all surprised with the trend you are seeing. Your work may often be too insightful and soulfully written for the genre markets, but the literary markets see its value. Enough said.

  11. keesa_renee says:

    Maybe it’s all the NaNoWriMo energy radiating off my flist rubbing off.

    Maybe so! :rubs Eugie: I know I, for one, am glad to be writing-productive again!

    So sorry about all the medicine hassles; that must be an awful drag. :huggles: Here’s hoping it works itself out soon!

  12. elvesforeyes says:

    Congrats on the sell to AD!
    I’ve still got one sitting in the slush there. 🙂

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