[fishin fool]

I hope this is the right place to ask this question.
The Doc. has started me on Effexor.
Has anyone had any experience with this drug good or bad.
I have read everything I can find on it and as usual its all
confusing and scary and I am full of anxiety over taking it.
Any input would be much appreciated.
I even read that it is no good for bipolar.
I am lost and confused. Help.

[regretful]

Originally Posted by fishin fool

I hope this is the right place to ask this question.
The Doc. has started me on Effexor.
Has anyone had any experience with this drug good or bad.
I have read everything I can find on it and as usual its all
confusing and scary and I am full of anxiety over taking it.
Any input would be much appreciated.
I even read that it is no good for bipolar.
I am lost and confused. Help.

Effexor worked fairly well for me, though I didn't stay on it for very long. The side-effects, to my recollection, were tolerable. But I stopped because I was feeling "better". Now, I'm not on any medication, and I'm doing okay. Effexor was my regimen for about 4 months. It did work as advertised.

As for reading about medications, I found that the more I read about any medication, the less effective it became. Anxiety,for me, drove me to read more and more about any medication that was prescribed. The more I read, the more anxious I got; consequently, I found no relief and tended to absorb every and any side-effect. If you're reluctant to take the medication, then try alternatives like talk therapy, support groups, exercise, volunteer work, etc.

I was on Effexor for a long time and it didn't help my severe depression at all - - ended up resorting to ECT. I never experienced any side effects from it. Good luck with it!

[fishin fool]

Thanks for the replies guys much appreciated.

Hi Fishin. Are you on the extended release version?

[ozm8ey]

I'm on EFEXOR-XR 150ml and it was a life saver for me. I was having constant panic attacks and depression, they first put me on Zoloft and that made me feel angry and crap all the time so so put me on EFEXOR-XR and after a few days I didn't just feel normal i felt awesome.

[fishin fool]

Thanks guys I am on the extended release version.
Its only been a couple of days but so far I seem
to be tolerating it ok. Just cant sleep much but every
med I have tried has done that to me.

[Webgoji]

Emotionally, Effexor was awesome for me. BUT ... it gave me CRAZY anorgasmia. I mean like I could literally go all night long anorgasmia. Any dose that helped me emotionally meant no fun for Webgoji

Also, the discontinuation syndrome is brutal. I mean seriously brutal. When I finally changed to Viibryd, I was sick for 2 weeks while I fought off the discontinuation syndrome.

Are you taking it in the morning or evening, Fishin? What kind of sleep problems do you have? Do you tend to fall asleep then wake up and can't go back to sleep or do you have a problem ever getting to sleep in the first place?

I seem to end up taking some type of med for sleep with every antidepressant I take.

My depression never lifted while I was on this drug and when I was finally taken off of it, the discontinuation (withdrawal) symptoms were exceptionally evil, wicked, mean and nasty!

My advice is to proceed with caution and discuss any concerns that you may have with your
prescribing physician!

[kiwi33]

I have been on Effexor XR (150 mg/day) for about seven years and have found helpful.

Two things which my psychiatrist told me were: (1) It is important to take it at the same time each day and (2) If you decide to discontinue, this should be done under close medical supervision - unsupervised discontinuation can have very unpleasant side-effects, as others have mentioned.

[Hexagram]

I was prescribed Effexor 13 years ago when I really needed it, and it didn't help me at all. I remember being unable to drive. Psychotropics work differently for different people, so my experience really can't tell you whether you will benefit from Effexor, but for me it was a tough row to hoe.

[fishin fool]

Originally Posted by jo_thorne

Are you taking it in the morning or evening, Fishin? What kind of sleep problems do you have? Do you tend to fall asleep then wake up and can't go back to sleep or do you have a problem ever getting to sleep in the first place?

I seem to end up taking some type of med for sleep with every antidepressant I take.

I always have the sleep problems with every med I have tried.
Same with Effexor so far. I have been taking it in the morning
and I still can only seem to get around three or four hours of
sleep and then I am wide awake.

[fishin fool]

One of the side effects I keep reading about is weight gain.
Did any of you guys have this issue with Effexor?
Seems to me when a person has depression weight gain
just makes it worse. Round and round we go as usual.

[Bird Feeder]

I have been on Effexor for 15 yrs. It initially helped a lot, but lately I wonder if I stay on it because the withdrawal is so bad. I am on 600 mg. an pretty hefty dose.

[LonesomeTonight]

I feel like I shouldn't share my bad experience with it because I don't want to concern you. Just remember that psych meds affect everyone differently! I was recently on Effexor XR for a few months, starting at 37.5 mg and going up to 75 mg. I went on it for both anxiety and depression symptoms. However, it made my depression worse, to the point of making me think about

Possible trigger:

self-harm and even briefly suicide

, which I hadn't really considered/thought about in like 15 years.

P-doc took me off it immediately once I told her and started me right on Cymbalta (60 mg). Since they're both SNRIs, she said it was fine to stop Effexor without tapering, and I did not have any withdrawal symptoms (except a little increased anxiety for two days). Cymbalta is working better for me so far.

Just monitor your mood as well as physical symptoms, and report things to your p-doc if they concern you. I waited way too long because I thought it was due to outside stressors, which I'm sure contributed, but I still had the feelings after the stressors went away.

[Patsfan]

I take 300mg Effexor xr with Brintellix and serequel. I have been on for over 10 years. It has such a short half life that missing one day and I notice a drop in my mood. Feeling pretty good these days

[splitimage]

I've been on Effexor XR since 1999, currently at 375 mg. Never gained any weight on it, and it didn't mess up my sleep. What it did mess up was my body temp. Kind of like hot flashes with menopause, I'd just suddenly get really hot and stop dripping sweat - and that was well before menopause, so I know it wasn't that. I can miss a dose for about 4 days before I have any withdrawal symptoms, but I know other people who have to take it at exactly the same time every day or they get withdrawal.

Good luck with it.

splitimage

[LonesomeTonight]

Originally Posted by splitimage

I've been on Effexor XR since 1999, currently at 375 mg. Never gained any weight on it, and it didn't mess up my sleep. What it did mess up was my body temp. Kind of like hot flashes with menopause, I'd just suddenly get really hot and stop dripping sweat - and that was well before menopause, so I know it wasn't that. I can miss a dose for about 4 days before I have any withdrawal symptoms, but I know other people who have to take it at exactly the same time every day or they get withdrawal.

Good luck with it.

splitimage

That's interesting that you mention body temp. I never had a very good tolerance for heat, but mine seemed worse while I was on Effexor. Didn't occur to me that it could be a side effect. Huh.

[fishin fool]

Thanks again guys for all the replies.
It has been 1 week since I started on Effexor.
I am having the issues with regulating body temp.
I started to feel that right away.
Dark thoughts as well but I also have outside stressors that are
very heavy right now.
I will give it some more time and see how it goes.

[StrongerMan]

I am weening off effexor due to the side effects I encountered... mainly difficult urination, messed up, anorgasmia, ejaculation and ED. I also experienced increased sweating and slightly raised blood pressure. I think AD's with a norepinephrine effect are not my bag as wellbutrin had some of the same effects.