[Lemon]

Anybody have positive experiences with Effexor? There seems to be a whole stream of threads below about weight gain and bad side effects or withdrawl from this med. I just started 5 weeks ago and I'm on 150mg. (I tapered off Lexapro and Wellbutrin. I had no problems tappering off those two meds.)

Actually, effexor works really well. I think I took 300mg when I was on it. I really didn't have problems with it. I think most people complain about withdrawing from it as being the problem. Again, that varies individual to individual. I had brain zaps as I withdrew from effexor, but that was just a temporary nuisance that went away.

[Moreta]

Well, I know if I don't take my Effexor, you probably wouldn't want to be around me....so I guess that's positive. I also helps with the Fibromyalgia, not as well as Cymbalta, but good enough.

On the scale of how much it made me gain weight, it's pretty close to the bottom, followed by Cymbalta, Pristique, and Welbutrin. On the top of the scale there would be Zyprexa, Abilify, Zoloft, Rispederon, Depakote, Geodon, Paxil....

Everything's good though, since I've been exercising and eating better, I've been able to loose some weight in the past couple of weeks. So it can be done.

[sun_flower]

Originally Posted by Lemon

Anybody have positive experiences with Effexor? There seems to be a whole stream of threads below about weight gain and bad side effects or withdrawl from this med. I just started 5 weeks ago and I'm on 150mg. (I tapered off Lexapro and Wellbutrin. I had no problems tappeing of those two meds.)

I was on Wellbutrin & Lexapro at two different times. Lexapro made we so lethargic and apathetic. I hated it! And Wellbutrin didn't help my anxiety, so I didn't stay on them long.

I was 150 pounds before I went on antidepressants 10 years ago. Now I weight 250....but I need them, so what can ya do?

Good luck

[sun_flower]

Originally Posted by Lemon

Anybody have positive experiences with Effexor? There seems to be a whole stream of threads below about weight gain and bad side effects or withdrawl from this med. I just started 5 weeks ago and I'm on 150mg. (I tapered off Lexapro and Wellbutrin. I had no problems tappeing of those two meds.)

I forgot to tell you about my Effexor experience.

I've been on 150 mg. of Effexor xr for 3 years now. Today my pdoc upped it to 225mg. because I've been getting depressed a lot lately.

I sleep a lot and I want to eat a lot. I have trouble feeling full after meals. I'm guessing that's a side effect from the medicine.

[splitimage]

I've been on Effexor XR for about 7 years - currently taking 375 mg /day. I't's been really good for me. I did have some nasty side effects when I first went on it - namely migraines and excessive sweating, but now I have almost no sidefffects aside from some slight dizziness and nausea about 4 horus after taking it. They usually go away when i eat something. Didn't gain any weight on iit - actually lost weight when on it alone, then gained the weight back when Celexa and Risperidone were added to the mix.

I also don't have a problem with missed doses which is an issue for some people. I occassionally forget to take it in the morning if I'm late and rushing and I don't experience any symptoms.

Personally i love it.

--splitimage

while the withdrawal i recently went thru was hell effexor xr did help when i was on it. i could only tolerate 75 mg, any more and i was a zombie, so it wasn't that much help but it was the only AD i tried that did work at all. i must have tried about 10 other ADs. i only stayed on eff xr for so long (7 years) because i knew it was supposed to be so hard to get off. considering the relief i got while on it was minimal it really wasn't worth the hellacious withdrawal. i think pristiq is supposed to be a newer, better version of effexor so you might want to ask your doc about that instead. i think i heard someone around here say it doesn't have as bad a withdrawal or side effects or something like that.

[amante]

I've had a good experience on Effexor, I was on 300 mg but now i've tapered down to 150 per day and it's a nice combo for me, I take Abilify with it at 2 mg daily.

[idontknow13]

I am also on Effexor 225 mg and it has helped me tremendously, it has been 6 months now and I sometimes feel it saved my life.
A bit worried about getting off it because of all the withdrawal horrible stories but for now, it is not an option so why worry about it?
Good luck

[Snakebit]

I'm on 75MG going into my second month and everyone is commenting about my mood going from night to day. I am 1000 times less anxious and while I can't lose the 10 lbs I gained from ages 40 to 47, I have lost the 8 lbs that I gained on Nortripylene.

I have no appetite until around 3 PM in the afternoon. And then, I don't eat a lot. I was sleeping execessively on it, but I started taking it right before I go to sleep and the excessive sleeping has gone away. I now have to take one Benadryl to sleep because I start "thinking" when I go to sleep. One night a week, usually Thursdays, I don't get tired. I am slowly training myself to immediately take my Benadryl at 11PM.

My only side effects now , are my feet sweat (I have always had stinky feet, anyway, so, it's kind of more the same, but more) and muscle twitches, primarily in my legs but sometimes in my arms and rarely on my face.