[Stronger]

My doctor finally started me on a new medicine. My Zoloft (which had been my miracle drug for about 3 and a half years) wasn't working like it used to, so she started to slowly reduce that and started me on efexor. However, I'm still taking 100 lamictal.

I've heard that in higher doses efexor can help with anxiety. Just curious, does anyone have any experience with this drug that they would like to share?

This middle ground of trying to find a right combination is really frustrating, especially after years of my zoloft working like it was supposed to.

[nycgal448]

I am on both Effexor 150 mg and Lamictal 250 mg. They are great for me.
Hope it works the same for you.

[Pierro]

Hello Stronger, I am on 225 mgs of Efexor. I didnt find it of much benefit on a lower dose to be honest, but everyone is different. Plus the fact that you are on Lamictal whereas I am solely relying on Efexor, but I also tke Klonopin when I need, but I dont rely on it. I have to say that my anxiety is manegable on on the higher dose. I hope Efexor works for you and becomes your new "zoloft". Best wishes to you.

[sewerrats]

EFFEXOR is hit and miss, I have friends been on it 10 years at no more than 75 - 150mg . They don't seem to gain weight on it , they have there moments of off days but seem ok. ITS the coming off you have to worry about, its not pretty

[technigal]

I was on 150 mg of Effexor and it worked for some time but it made my blood pressure rise to alarming levels. I wound up on a high BP med for some time, it took a year off of Effexor to get off the BP med. Not everyone has blood pressure issues but it is something to watch out for.

[RoseInterrupted]

Been on Effexor since Nov last year, now on 75mg for GAD, SAD and mild OCD. Hasn't touched the OCD but that's never been a great problem anyway. Just annoying to me.

Effexor definitely stabilized my moods until towards the end of January, then all the crazy old re-runs began again........ anxiety (but maybe not as bad) sadness that might last two hours or a whole day, anger, despair, frustration, emptiness, loneliness......... all these things can surface in the course of a day and are sometimes interspersed with periods of relative calm. On top of this, I haven't had a decent nights sleep since I started on the stuff, yet I don't feel too bad all day even when I'm at work.

I don't blame the Effexor. I think it's more of a case of only telling the prescribing Dr a fraction of what was really going on in my head. I am still loosing weight though, but that was happening before the Effexor.

Going to do a new mental health care plan tomorrow and off to see a new pdoc as soon as I can get an appointment. Maybe he/she will shed some light on all this. I was way worse when I was younger and really thought I was getting past all this emotional turmoil, but I guess you never can tell

[onionknight]

I had a terrible time on Effexor. I had horrendous headaches, emotional and motivational blunting. It was also extreme hell to get off.

[shezbut]

So many of us seem to have different experiences with different medications, due to all sorts of reasons!

That said, I take 300 mg of Effexor XR daily. It isn't enough for me, so I've been put on Abilify twice/week to make more of an impact on my depressive state of mind. It was once a week until last Thursday, so I'm unsure if this increase in Abilify is working for me yet. For my anxiety, I take Buspar twice/day. I think that helps me a lot.

Very best wishes to you!

[Moreta]

I took 300 mg of Effexor for about a year. I stopped taking my mood stabilizer though, and it made me literally crazy. It took me 4 months to come off Effexor and the month after I was off of it was hell. Now I'm not on any antidepressants, and I'm quite fine. I'll just stick to the combo I'm on now. Never touching an antidepressant again.

[live2ski66]

I was on and off on Zoloft for a few years but it wasn't working. My Doc gave me Effexor, I started at 75mg over 10 years ago. He also gave me Lithobid. He increased the Effexor to 150mg. I was at that dosage for years. Then I spiraled into a bad depression so he increased it to 225mg. I went back and forth depending on my depression. I've settled at 225mg. I notice immediately when I don't take the Effexor for more than one day. I get anxious, I cry at the drop of a hat, I feel stressed. When I take it again, within a half a day I'm feeling better. I also take Wellbutrin XL 300 mg. I don't notice much when I don't take it. However after a week or so I start feeling depressed, lethargic. So what I'm trying to say, if I had to give up my meds I would with the exception of Effexor. For me it's the miracle drug. I just wish it were not as expensive.