Effexor

Can anyone share their experiences with Effexor? Good, bad, how you felt when you started, etc.? Thanks.

You'd have more luck if you posted this in the drug forum.

When you get there, do a search -- there are a gazillion posts on Effexor in all its glories and drawbacks.

Candy

Hi OnEdge!!!

I currently take Effexor XR, I have for over a year now and I have had pretty good results. In the begining, I had light headedness, and trouble remembering things (that lasted a long while). I also had trouble thinking clearly which is a known side effect. I cant remember all of the side effects right now but I know that this has been a heavily talked about medication in the Medication Forum.

Please take into consideration that not ALL meds work for EVERYONE. I know some people here have had a terrible time with Effexor but other meds have worked well for them. I can tell you that whenever you increase or decrease this medication there is an adjustment period. I decreased 37.5 mgs and it took me about a week to even out and YES, I did have some unpleasant side effects such as irritability, sleepyness and terrible headaches. All meds take time, usually 4-8 weeks for full effect.

I hope this has helped you at least a little bit.

Hang in there.

Thanks so much for your post. I did a search on the site for Effexot and there certainly are a lot of different comments on the drug. My biggest worry is having the same effect that Celexa had on me two weeks ago. It gave me out and out panic attacks which I've never experienced in my life. It was awful so now I'm afraid of taking ANYTHING. Thanks again for your comments.

I just started taking it last week. Going off my other meds and changed to Efexor. Oh my gosh, I have been so sick. The other meds must have been doing more good than we thought, but still not effective enough. As we lowered the dose I was going back to my old self and I have been to hell and back this last week. Actually. I'm not back from hell yet but hopefully I will feel better soon. Effexor is supposed to work really well so I hope it's the right one for me because changing and swapping meds is very hard. One word for my life this last week or two...torture. I've been in the pits. I hope this was not too negative a reply. I am feeling so bad. I really feel like I wanna die. I wanna do bad things. At least that is what my brain is screaming out at me constantly. But I know it's lying like crazy. I don't wanna die. I know there are good things ahead even if life right now is more than I can handle. Somehow I will get to the other side of this.

OnEdge

Sometimes people have to go through several medications until they find the right one for them. I actually was started out on Paxil first but it made me worse. Sometimes when beginning a new med increased anxiety can occur. I can tell you that Effexor is used to treat depression, anxiety and OCD. It has worked wonders for me but as I said above, there are drawbacks. I wish you luck with this and please let us know how it works out for you.

Estee,

Please let us know how the new med works for you too, OK? Take care.

Thanks a lot, Jen. Will let you know what the doc and I decide. Take care.