[Broken59]

It's been 18 days since I was given Effexor and I've yet to start taking it. I've made myself scared to take it after reading the possible side effects. I'm so depressed and want to get to feeling more myself but I just can't even take the first one. I worry about it all the time, kind of obsessively. Is anyone here taking it or has taken it in the past? Any side effects? I've read that even missing one dose will make a person very sick, its hard to get off of, some kind of brain "zaps", seizures....I don't know how to quit worrying about it and just start!

I took Effexor some years ago. It was actually one of the most effective meds I was on. Unfortunately, meds poop out on me over time and I had to move to a different med.

I had no trouble with it while I was on it. The withdrawal from effexor is well-known to be difficult for many. I did have the "brain zaps" while I was withdrawing. They are strange sensations (it always felt/sounded like a race car zooming through my head -- pretty bizarre), but not really painful, at least not for me. Just really distracting (and not a seizure). It took about 2 weeks to withdraw and after that I really didn't have any further problems. What people experience varies, just like any other psychotropic med.

If you are worried about effexor, perhaps you need to call your doctor and ask to try something different because of your anxiety over this. There are many other options.

[Broken59]

I have an appointment on the 19th, will ask for a change to probably Lexapro. From all I've heard and read that's a good one to start with. I heard it tends to have less side effects and begins to work faster.

Originally Posted by Broken59

It's been 18 days since I was given Effexor and I've yet to start taking it. I've made myself scared to take it after reading the possible side effects. I'm so depressed and want to get to feeling more myself but I just can't even take the first one. I worry about it all the time, kind of obsessively. Is anyone here taking it or has taken it in the past? Any side effects? I've read that even missing one dose will make a person very sick, its hard to get off of, some kind of brain "zaps", seizures....I don't know how to quit worrying about it and just start!

I took effexor eleven years ago and I took it for 18 months.....it was prescribed to me again during my last serious hospitalisation. I refused to take it...preferring to be depressed!
Yes it did treat my major depressive symptoms, I was not deeply sad, suicidal or even heartbroken miserable.
I was, however, manic as all F#%$...had no apetite at all....chain smoked, became obsessive compulsive at work....lost my sex drive, had uncontrolled outbursts that could go either way...violent or emotional, I could not sit still...unless with a coffee or cigarette. I isolated and generally felt chemically distorted...I don't think I smiled once during that 18 months....but no I was not depressed...
I was in orbit somewhere with the pharmaceutical fairies!
I would work so hard and be so under-nourished I would get dizzy throughout the day and be on the verge of fainting often (syncope).
I sure got alot done....probably the best overachieving ever...but I was a shell of a man...distressed and dispirited in a disturbingly detached way.
(it has a nickname...side-effexsor)

and whats worse...that 18 months is so unfamiliar to me it barely registers in my meomories, like it was someone elses life and the real me was not even there.
when I stopped taking effexor I had similar head warping sensations...like I would turn my head and my eyes would take a while to lazily join up with my face...and I was almost like seeing sounds and hearing visions...my ears became eyes and my eyes became ears...trippy!! and like my brain was stretched out in a drainpipe, things tasted weirder than when on it but then I wasn't eating so who knows. I leapt for the ellicit drugs to get me through the withdrawals...but then I abused them...went nuts and ended up back in rehab...bummer!

So I wonder how I would have faired without the effexor...I won't know.
I won't take it again though...I would prefer to be depressed.
I may not be a suitable comparison because I have tried several anti-depressants and my mind/body and soul seems to reject them all.
I think I am allergic or something...
hope that helps broken59
good luck

[summeryoga]

Originally Posted by Broken59

It's been 18 days since I was given Effexor and I've yet to start taking it. I've made myself scared to take it after reading the possible side effects. I'm so depressed and want to get to feeling more myself but I just can't even take the first one. I worry about it all the time, kind of obsessively. Is anyone here taking it or has taken it in the past? Any side effects? I've read that even missing one dose will make a person very sick, its hard to get off of, some kind of brain "zaps", seizures....I don't know how to quit worrying about it and just start!

Everybody's body is different. Case in point: I am now on Celexa, and it's working fine. However, when my husband tried Celexa, he went stark mad/manic, even had violent urges, which is NOT like him. He switched to Effexor, and that did him wonders; he was calm and it addressed his anxiety well.

Withdrawal from any mood altering meds will have effects. I made the mistake of withdrawing from Lexapro cold turkey, and I experienced brain shakes, brain zaps, headaches, irritability, depression ... It just depends on your body.

Lexapro was *great* for me when I was on it, though. Again, though, everyone's body reacts differently to different drugs.

It might also be important to ask yourself if it's taking meds in general that is giving you anxiety, or if it's the Effexor, specifically. If it's the Effexor specifically, maybe your intuition is telling you something, and Lexapro or Celexa might be a better med for you to start with.

[Anneinside]

Try to remember that every drug for every condition has possible side effects. Example - Look up any drug on www.rxlist.com and you'll see that NO drug is side effect free. Also they have to list every possible side effect even when only 1 person in a study had it.

[tutitaylor]

I am currently on effexor and it works great for me. I am functioning very well and I have been on it for about 3-4 years now. I haven't had any side effects at all. It works so well for me that I would say at least consider trying it. I wish you the best!

[sookie3]

I took Effexor for years with good results. Tried it again after about 10 years, and it didn't help. Don't recall any side effects.

I think it's a good question about your anxiety about taking it. Is it the specific drug, or any pill?

[pgrundy]

Effexor is the only med that really helps my depression & anxiety. I take 300 mg daily with no side effects. It is hard to get off of it, but I won't try to get off of it again. Both times I tried something cheaper I had a bad relapse.

One thing about Effexor that isn't as true for the other meds is, you can't go on and off it willy nilly. Every time you go off it you decrease the chances it will work if you try it later. I was lucky this last time that it still worked for me when I started back up, even though I'd been off it for a couple of years.

My depression can get pretty bad pretty fast without meds. I stopped trying to explain that to people. My family knows and that's all the matters. There is so much medication-phobia and judgment out there. People act like if you need a med you are weak or bad or something. That's just not true.

[greylove]

I went on Effexor years ago when I was caretaking my mother with Alzheimer's. It was very effective for my depression, and an extra benefit was that it helped significantly with my tendency toward social anxiety. I had planned to stay on it for the rest of my life. My plans were derailed when I swung into a mania that lasted for months. I was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 and the depression that followed was industrial strength. Goodby Effexor.......

[sewerrats]

When in really bad depression, you would eat broken glass if they said it helped you. So if your depression is not that bad that your worrying about the med more than the illness, dont take any

[Broken59]

Thanks Chris. I did ask for the Lexapro and will start it as soon as I get over this bug I have. Nothing will stay down so what's the point. Hopefully in a couple days and this one for some reason I'm not anxious about starting. I want to start quickly so I can begin to feel better. Wish me luck! And thank you!

[Broken59]

Hi Sookie3, it's with any new drug really. I get anxious and blow things out of proportion!

[Broken59]

Hm, well, I do happen to have one hell of a case of depression and anxiety and my therapist told me that alot of depressed people are anxious over starting a med. So I think I'll trust her on that

Originally Posted by Broken59

It's been 18 days since I was given Effexor and I've yet to start taking it. I've made myself scared to take it after reading the possible side effects. I'm so depressed and want to get to feeling more myself but I just can't even take the first one. I worry about it all the time, kind of obsessively. Is anyone here taking it or has taken it in the past? Any side effects? I've read that even missing one dose will make a person very sick, its hard to get off of, some kind of brain "zaps", seizures....I don't know how to quit worrying about it and just start!

There's nothing to worry about, most times you won't have any side effects to worry about imo.

Efexor almost invariably causes loss of libido though. And those brain zaps only occur when you stop taking them too suddenly.