[Mickey4333]

I have been progressively getting more depressed over the last 8 wks. I am very tired with very low energy and all I want to do is sleep, of which I do 12-16 hours a day. I have episodes of sadness and feel like I could cry all day. I hate myself and feel very worthless. I saw my doc 6wks ago and told him. He increased my lithium, which hasn't helped! 4 wks ago, I saw a residency doc because my doc is on vacation. He would not make any changes (without my doc). I take Prozac 60mg a day, but have increased it myself to 80 mg dly (also not helping). I am thinking I need to change my antidepressant to something else. I am thinking about Effexor. My brother has been on it for a long time and it has worked well. I would like to know what you all think about Effexor.

Bipolar 2, GAD, social anxiety
Lithium 300 mg TID
Prozac 60 mg dly
Risperdal 2 mg dly
Trazodone 100 mg dly
Klonopin 0.5 mg BID PRN

[wildflowerchild25]

When I was a teenager I took Effexor for probably two years. I also stayed out of the hospital for those two years, a real feat for me. I had episodes of depression during that time but they were short lived, less than a week, and not terribly severe. I was dealing with a lot of other issues at that point so I can't say for certain that it was super effective but like I said I stayed out of crisis for two years so it must have done something.

On another note I have a habit of ditching medication and that one I couldn't ditch because I got physically sick if I missed a dose so don't mess around with it. Follow your prescribed dose.

I should add that when I did manage to quit it without my doctor's permission I fell into a very dark depression and it kicked off a terrible worsening of bipolar symptoms for me for the next 18 months so...definitely follow doctor's orders.

[r010159]

Originally Posted by Mickey4333

I have been progressively getting more depressed over the last 8 wks. I am very tired with very low energy and all I want to do is sleep, of which I do 12-16 hours a day. I have episodes of sadness and feel like I could cry all day. I hate myself and feel very worthless. I saw my doc 6wks ago and told him. He increased my lithium, which hasn't helped! 4 wks ago, I saw a residency doc because my doc is on vacation. He would not make any changes (without my doc). I take Prozac 60mg a day, but have increased it myself to 80 mg dly (also not helping). I am thinking I need to change my antidepressant to something else. I am thinking about Effexor. My brother has been on it for a long time and it has worked well. I would like to know what you all think about Effexor.

Bipolar 2, GAD, social anxiety
Lithium 300 mg TID
Prozac 60 mg dly
Risperdal 2 mg dly
Trazodone 100 mg dly
Klonopin 0.5 mg BID PRN

Increasing Prozac to over 60 mg will usually not make a difference. Effexor is unique. The higher dosages effect more parts of the brain unlike SSRIs. IMO it it worth a try. But Effexor had no effect on me.

[Curiosity77]

It's a good med for some people, but all it did to me was make me sleep all the time and gain weight. I was still depressed. That was before my bipolar diagnosis, so i wasn't taking any mood stabilizer or anything with it. The discontinuation syndrome was bad. It took me 6 months of gradual weaning to come off it. Personally i would not take it again, but everyone is different. There is some evidence for meds that work for one family member working well for another, so it might be good for you since it helped your brother. Everyone reacts to meds differently, but i had a bad experience with this one.

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[doyoutrustme]

I was on it for a year, but it stopped working and I switched. Initially though, it knocked my depression/anxiety off its feet. Good stuff.

[empath301]

I can't say what Effexor is like for depression as it would be an unfair assessment. I take it for anxiety which I have lowered to a more reasonable level. I find the Effexor good for MY anxiety. Where antidepressants go it is an excercise of try one, than another , etcetra until the right one is found. Though Effexor has helped me with my Anxiety and somebody else's depression and so on, that does not mean it will be good for you. I have no real recommendations to make about Effexor as an antidepressant however. But my doctor said it is good as an antidepressant. That does not mean it will be good for you however. I would recommend you call your pharmacy and ask them for advice as they know about the meds more than the doctors sometimes in regards to how it functions etcetra,where as Doctors know what counters your symptoms. So I'd call your pharmacist and talk about your lethargic state to them as related to your depression and say that your Doctor is on holiday and ask what they suggest. It may be very likely that whatever you are taking for depression needs to be changed. If by chance you start thinking of suicide get to a hospital immediately if you can. Something will have to be done. You are not a bad person. And that is all the more the reason for seeking help, if stuff like that happens while your Dr is on holidays.