[OliviaC]

My pdoc has prescribed effexor XR 75mg. for me and I am afraid to start taking it. I already am on a benzo (long-term) and have tried withdrawing from that, not succeeding all the way.

Now here is another drug known for addictive qualities - effexor. I have read the thread here and know that is about the most addictive of the A/d's. I put the script on file at the pharmacy until I decide. I asked the pharmacist if lots of people take effexor and she said oh, yes, and they come back every month and refill it just like blood pressure med. So once on, never off?

I think I am too scared to try it. Looked it up on crazymeds and that scared me lots.

[okiedokie]

Effexor XR saved my life. I too was dependent on benzos and was finally able to get off of them. I do recommend medical supervision for benzo detox. I, myself, had to be inpatient for this. But Effexor XR? Best invention since sliced bread for me...

Best wishes to you!
Okie

[Zen888]

effexor is nasty stuff...there have been numerous studies done that prove that it is in fact harmful to your body.

[sujunew]

while it has been the most effective drug for me, the side effects and withdrawl process are horrible. It takes me about a week to get through the initial side effects (when i have come off it for a break) and the withdrawl is long and difficult... but the benefits are SOOO worth it all!! Good luck

i lost 38 lbs on it. ate about every third day. took months to get off of it. felt like rocks were rolling around in my skull when trying to get off of it......i'm five feet tall, so 38 lbs made me look anorexic. i guess i was. i didn't eat.

[splitimage]

Fayerody - interesting about the not eating I've been on Effexor for a couple of years but drinking alcoholically at the same time. The drinking kept me from seeing that I wasn't eating. Now that I'm sober, I have to force myself to remember to eat.

I'm on 375 mg per day with few side effects except for the food thing and I have to say it's been a lifesaver for my depression. But I've never tried to come off of it.

---splitimage

[Danialla]

Effexor XR has been a lifesaver for me also I have taken it for 7 yrs and currently take 600mg. I would love to increase it again but the Dr. is reluctant and has added some welbutrin instead

I have not had a problem with weight loss or gain on the effexor, unfortunately I can't say the same for the remeron I take at night Oh well..

Good luck and take care...

[okiedokie]

I guess I should have shared my dose with you. 75 mg. each morning.
Okie

[ouch]

REALLY HARD TO GET OFF OF!!! Took me forever - had to actually open the capsules to wean off it slowly!! wouldn't recommend it!

[Juliana]

Effexor didn't work well for me. Everyone's different, though. I only lasted about a month on it. I was taking it for agoraphobia and panic attacks. Effexor made me very drowsy and out of it, but more anxious than usual. I was extremely fidgety -- couldn't keep my feet still -- and I had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. I just felt exhausted and on edge all the time.

Celexa ended up working very well for me but with some laziness and a feeling of inertia as a side effect. It helped me get over the agoraphobia, though, and I was well enough to stop taking it about a year ago. I had no negative withdrawal effects.

I recently started taking Lexapro for depression and it has been great so far. My depression has lifted and as a surprising bonus, I haven't had even one panic attack in over 3 weeks. I'm having hardly any anxiety at all.

I hope you find something that works for you. If you're very concerned about taking Effexor, tell your doctor. You need to feel comfortable with your treatment.

[OliviaC]

I am still deeply depressed and feeling a bit desperate. I am almost ready to try the effexor xr. My pdoc thought it might help because years ago I took Elavil, which did help me a lot, but now can't take a tricyclic due to heart (supraventricular tachycardia) which is under control medically. She told me the SNRI's are closer chemically to Elavil.

I'm scared to death of addiction to effexor xr. Maybe the lexapro would help. I have also been told by a psychopharmacologist I saw once that it might work for me along with my alprazolam. I will ask about it. Thanks for your replies!

[psisci]

There is no addiction risk with effexor at all.

[OliviaC]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
psisci said:
There is no addiction risk with effexor at all.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Maybe I did not use the drug company's terminology "discontinuation symptoms". How can you answer the people above about their problems coming off effexor?

what about the lawsuits and hundreds and hundreds of people who have forums on the internet dedicated to "effexor discontinuation syndrome" I would be extremely interested to know! Are the above people lying to me? I don't think so. What do you mean, exactly?

Many people say it is pure "HELL" coming off effexor. Have you ever been on it, I respectfully ask, Doctor. What, then, are "zaps" that people talk about?

TIA,
OlivaC

[ouch]

Coming off effexor is HELL!! but then again, so is being extremely depressed. Why don't you try another med?

[OliviaC]

Thanks Ouch! Now it is a matter of finding an antidepressant that does not have a "discontinuation syndrome" as they say. I am already iatrogenically (doctor caused) addicted to a benzodiazepine, and spent a year in absolute hell from that "discontinuation", so never will I ingest another substance that could cause me to suffer horrible "discontinuation syndrome".

[(JD)]

With all my medicinal allergies, Effexor ER was the only one that actually helped me for a few YEARS! It's true you can't come off it fast (you should take a month or more to do this.) But I would certainly give it a try, since, like I said, I'm allergic to almost everything, and it did work for a long while. TC

it helped my depression but the side effect of not eating and then the hell of getting off of it would keep me miles from it.....miles and miles and miles......(i also opened the capsules and tapered by counting them.) i've never been that sick that in my life, from a med. and it was so frustrating know that it was going to take me months to get off of it.

[psisci]

All ADs have discontinuation problems, and that is the same with most drugs, it is called tolerance, not addiction; they are very different animals.

i never, ever thought i was "addicted" to effexorxr. i understand about tolerance.

searching the internet for help was how i found my first mental health forum and discovered that i wasn't alone in the problems of getting off the med. it's very helpful to hear both sides of the story.

[ouch]

I have to say I do think AD's do cause addiction. Just have to weigh the pros and cons... Addiction/tolerance whatever you want to call it - still causes a hell of problems!

[psisci]

Well you are wrong. Addiction and dependence are 2 very differnet things. Can you be addicted to insulin if you are diabetic, can you be addicted to antibiotics if you have a chronic infectious state...No, but you are certainly dependent on them. All meds cause chages in our biochemistry, and if we withdraw that med we have symptoms for a brief period of time as our body adjusts.

[(JD)]

in defense of those who have had severe problems "coming off" an AD, it's like the supposedly American Indian saying "until you've walked a mile......................."

i'd like to believe that having had a life-changing, unpleasant, scary, hellacious experience, as we are talking about, gives some "street cred" here and a lot of empathy from those who read these posts.

[(JD)]

(((fayerody))) Not sure who or what you are arguing... I think most of us here know about removing a medication such as an AD from our daily routine... and how horrible it can be. IMO most ppl want to be off medicines NOW! and they really don't do it slowly enough. In fact, we often read here at PC how someone just goes off their meds and then because of feeling horribly out of sorts, complain and share they are afraid to tell their doctor.

I also am confused about your personal experience, pat... you said you OPENED the capsules to taper off? I never heard of doing that being appropriate and measurable... tell me more?

[psisci]

Like I have said many times, there are 2 ways to know something: the anecdotal way..IE. it happened to me so it must be true, or the scientific way which says this happens to 99% of people etc. based upon well structured research. The fact is Effexor is not addictive, it has SE's if you come off it wrong as do most drugs, but it and Paxil seem to be the worst of the ADs for this. This is science, and true, and helpful for people looking to use these drugs or get off them. 99.99% percent of people who taper off Effexor and Paxil very slowly, with a replacement drug on board do fine with no brain zaps, alien abductions or multiple personalities.