[Starks518]

Last week, Wednesday, I was diagnosed as bipolar. Prior to that I have had major anxiety for 6 years that is controlled with an anti-anxiety when I feel like a panic attack may be coming on or my anxiety is making me unravel. I take it as needed. I started the effexor Thursday of last week and immediately I noticed that my anxiety has gone through the roof!! I'm talking about horrible, horrible anxiety about EVERYTHING (big and small). Has anyone else has this problem with effexor? Is it aggravating my anxiety? Should I stop taking it?

[raspberrytorte]

I had the same problem with effexor (well, among other problems). It made my anxiety one million times worse. I would wake up in the morning with my heart just pounding. And it made me nauseous and weird feeling. Only lasted three days on it. I'd talk to your doctor about your symptoms. Maybe there's something else that would work better.

[Starks518]

Originally Posted by raspberrytorte

I had the same problem with effexor (well, among other problems). It made my anxiety one million times worse. I would wake up in the morning with my heart just pounding. And it made me nauseous and weird feeling. Only lasted three days on it. I'd talk to your doctor about your symptoms. Maybe there's something else that would work better.

I don't have any nausea or other symptoms but definitely throughout the entire day within an hour of taking it I am ao anxious I have to leave work to go out to my car to breathe and talk myself down or call a friend to talk me down. 4 days was enough. I know there has to be other options out there as far as combining an antidepressant along with the seroquel I am taking. I'm glad I'm not the only one who experienced this, too.

[wildflowerchild25]

It didn't give me anxiety but I will warn you that Effexor withdrawal SUCKS so don't stop it unless you're going to taper down. It might not be that bad for you since you haven't been on it long but just letting you know.

[honeybunchesofoats]

You have to ween off of Effexor. I hated it! I was a mess. It caused my mania to go through the roof.

[Hexagram]

These drugs are different for everyone, but in my experience, Effexor blows.

[Supersonic]

I was on it for several months a few years ago before it started causing major problems. Blood pressure went through the roof amongst many other issues. Glad it's long gone now.

[RisuNeko]

I took effexor for a while and my anxiety was really bad, but my anxiety is always really bad, so I didn't make a connection there. Withdrawing from it was fine.

[ingill]

Effexor didn't make much of a dent in my anxiety, but it gave me such horrible GI problems that I only lasted a few weeks. It seriously felt like my stomach was producing battery acid.

Effexor gave me horrible side effects it made me 100 times worse when I started to take it I never saw an improvement to was sucidal on it and I was paranoid out of my freaking mind it's like I was on a movie where someone was paranoid but it was me I mean everything and I was out to eat at that time and i called my parents crying constantly nothing helped me get out of it I just had to stop taking it once I got off I was better

[Starks518]

Originally Posted by Sky101

Effexor gave me horrible side effects it made me 100 times worse when I started to take it I never saw an improvement to was sucidal on it and I was paranoid out of my freaking mind it's like I was on a movie where someone was paranoid but it was me I mean everything and I was out to eat at that time and i called my parents crying constantly nothing helped me get out of it I just had to stop taking it once I got off I was better

Holy, yes!! The anxiety was really bad, like how I felt before I started taking an anti-anxiety meds but the paranoia?! In the four days I took it I was seriously paranoid every day that I was going to get fired from my full time job AND my part time job. I had nothing to indicate that I would for ANY reason but in my mind I was on the brink of being fired and afraid that my supervisor was talking to our executive director about how I was a bad employee. I stop taking effexor and that very day ALL of that paranoia went away and I felt silly for even questioning my job stability. Since I've stopped taking it I have gone back to minimal anxiety and zero paranoia. No withdrawals because I wasn't on it long enough but definitely going to get prescribed something else because that was NO WAY TO LIVE, even if only for four days.

Effexor was just added to my collection of meds by my pdoc today. I adamantly told her that any type of serotonin inhibitor seriously alters my mind. Hypomania and mixed states have always been scariest when I was on SSRI's or SNRI's. She either didn't care to hear my pleas or felt that lamictal has made me stable enough to pursue it.

I worry about anxiety as a side effect bc I am currently not taking any type of anxiety med. I asked for one today assuming she would oblige considering the insane amount of scripts she has given me in the last 3 weeks and the fact that I'm under 30 and had a heart rate of 130 when I got my vitals today, but she said she wanted to go the Effexor route. I was completely disheartened... I can't pinpoint what it is in my "cocktail" that is making my anxiety skyrocket. Mainly because I have (except for a few) never been on any of these meds before.

I know, some people may think it's the adderall, but I have been diagnosed ADHD for years upon years and have never had the anxiety issues I am currently experiencing. Even prior to my BP manifesting and not taking any type of sleepy meds, I was able to sleep without any issues while being on adderall.

I just wish she didn't force effexor on me. It makes me anxious just thinking out the downfall and past downfalls I have experienced with those types of meds.

manicbear, did she say what she hopes the Effexor will do for you? Is she thinking that the Effexor will calm you?

I honestly lost track of what she said which med she said will do what... each time I leave there, I leave with 8 scripts. It's ridiculous. Earlier, I was checking them bc I have 3 different "antiepiliptic" meds and I saw that Trokendi XR and Tropiramate are the same thing, just name brand vs generic and I have both at different dosages. Also, I also saw that I shouldnt be taking clonidine and mirtazipine in conjuction with each other. Then, my pharmacist, was very concerned that I jumped from 150 mg of trazodone in 2 weeks to 450 mg. Last night was the first night I took all my new night time meds and I don't think I have ever been more f'd up in my life. That's saying a lot... I've done a lot of drugs and been hospitalized a couple of times for alcohol poisining. I actually had to tell someone to wake me up hourly to make sure I was still alive/breathing bc I was concerned with how quickly it hit me.

I'm beginning to think she is over prescribing me just to see what sticks. I'm beginning to lose trust.

I'm going to start looking for a new pdoc and probably won't fill the Effexor due to the fact that I know my history with meds like those. In the meantime, I am going to continue to figure out a combination of the 11 different pills I currently take that seem to work out best for me.

[Simakitten]

I started taking Effexor ER just this January and noticed an improvement in the level of my anxiety -- it especially worked with these panic attacks that started up in December. But I still have some anxiety so I'm also on Klonopin 1mg. However, it seems so many of you have had serious issues with Effexor, so now I'm getting worried... especially if I have to come off of it. Fingers crossed that I'll be an exception to the trend...?

[Camellium]

Yes me too. It got even worse when I Rose the dose and then I also decreased those same thing happened really severe anxiety nothing was happening at 75mg. I don't know when this anxiety is going to end. I'm so scared about going down