[qkthnkr]

Hi, Ive been on effexor xr for many years, and am now really scared to go off them, as over the yrs, Ive missed a few doses and what an awful, scarey, horrible feeling in my head and eyes. Does any one else have this feeling when they miss a dose? I may have to change this medication to another for anxiety disorder but not sure what my Dr is going to say yet. Just a bit worried about it. If any one has any other suggestions about medications for anxiety that work for you I would really appreciate it.

[ECHOES]

Well, first see what your doctor has to say.

I made the mistake of going off Effexor cold turkey. I had only been on it a few weeks but had been on Prozac for many years before that.
You do get withdrawal effects if you stop taking it suddenly. Evidentally for you that happens even if you miss a dose.
If your doctor suggests changing meds or going off Effexor, he/she will advise you how to do it so you don't have the discomfort of withdrawal symptoms. A person can slowly taper off Effexor. Or, if changing to a different med a person can taper off one med at the same time as beginning a new med.

Trust that your doctor will help you. And do mention to your doctor what happens for you when dose is missed so he/she has all the information possible about how you and Effexor 'get along'.

Good luck to you!

[splitimage]

Effexor is well known for having nasty withdrawl side effects, so any attempt to go off of it should be done with a Dr's supervision and tapered very slowly. I'm usually ok if I miss a dose for a day or two, but any longer than that and i feel really crappy.

Other med options. I also take Celexa and it seems to help a bit with anxiety, Effexor for me works great on controlling my depression but does nothing for my anxiety.

For anxiety, I take a benzo - clonazapam. I know there a kind of controversial class of drugs because they are highly addictive, but I find it works wonders for me. And I take it regularly throughout the day as prescribed by my dr.

Splitimage

I was on Effexor XR for over a year and during that time I missed a few doses...those days were the worst. I remember I felt so sick one day and was thinking of not going anywhere, I had such a bad headache and had aches and pains and felt really depressed. I had no idea what caused this, a little while later I remembered that I had forgotten to take my medication, I took it and I felt fine again.

If you are going to quit Effexor make sure you get weaned off of it. I made the mistake of going cold turkey when I was taking 150 mg daily I think, and it was pretty bad. The bad withdrawal lasted about 2-3 weeks then I was fine for the most part after that.

[dibs33427]

if you want to read my posts you will see what hell i am going through coming off this drug
i know it affects everybody differently but its not nice feeling this way