Upping my Effexor dose

I have been taking Effexor for about 6-7 weeks at the 75 mg dosage. On Monday my Psychiatrist upped it to 112.5 mgs. I'm a little freaked out because I took the higher dosage last night and I had a panic attack. I'm not sure if it was because I was thinking about it too much or that I have a fear of meds or what. I was just wondering if anyone out there takes Effexor and what should I expect from upping my dose. I don't remember the side effects being that terrible in the beginning. Just the weird dreams and loss of appetite. I know that the panic attacks and stuff has been better since starting the Effexor but after last nights panic attack it freaked me out a little. Please help. Anybody know what I can expect?

Hi.

I started taking Effexor in late August. I'm very sensitive to medications and my psychiatrist understands that each body responds differently to the them. So what we did is, we've been slowly, slowly increasing the dosage and only now I'm on the dosage that she initially thought would be best - 150 mg.

She made a point that I should take both in the morning, though, as I am a natural born insomniac and apparently Effexor is supposed to work as a mild anxiety regulator as well.

It is possible that your fear of meds might have influenced your reaction, but it is also possible that your body is not ready yet for that dosage.

I strongly recommend that anyone on meds keep their docs informed about their reactions, cause the docs are the only ones who can calculate what and when and how you should take them - but they can't do that unless we keep them informed.

Hope it helps :-)

Hello I went from 37.5 mg to 75mg to 100mg with Effexor XR and to tell you the truth I did not get any side effects from upping the dose, not with anything major anyways or enough for me to worry about it. And it has been doing wonders for my generalized anxiety....

I've been senstive to medications in the past so I was really worried about it. I don't even really recall side effects going on to Effexor, I likely did expierence them but I was going through terrible withdrawal from Remeron when I got on Effexor so it likely canceled out the side effects...

Just a little update. Last night was my second night on my new dosage and I fell asleep aorund 2:00 am. I woke up at 11:00 am. I slept so good. I should also say that in addition to upping the dosage, I'm also changing the time of day I was taking the Effexor. I started out taking it in the evening, now my pdoc wants me to take it in the morining. I think this is helping. We'll see. Thanks for your replies.

I agree that morning seems best to take the effexor. I was taking a split dose and had trouble sleeping. Dr. recommended taking it all in the am and It as worked out great. I have been on it for 5 yrs and currently take 600mg. Good luck

---- COULD BE TRIGGERING -----

I'm glad you're doing better now on the Effexor. I take 150mg in the AM and 75mg in the PM. The most I've been on is 375mg/daily.

I used to get those weird dreams. They were so colourful and vivid and definitely WEIRD, I really miss them. I don't get them anymore. But I don't miss the nightmares I would also get, they were terrifying and I'd wake up screaming and I live alone. Oh, and it would get so bad, I remember on more than one occasion I'd have a nightmare where somebody was strangling me and it would wake me up, it seemed so real, but I'd find myself strangling my kitty, who sleeps with me. It scared the crap out of me. I was so afraid that I would hurt my precious kitty.

Anyway, glad it's working better for you. Unfortunately, I'm not getting as much out of mine as I used to. I also take Welbutrin. Doesn't seem to make any difference. Unfortunately, my pdoc won't increase my dosage anymore.

Angel Girl

jmo - As with any SSRI-like antidepressant, when starting or increasing the dose, one usually sees an increase in the number and frequency of anxiety and panic attacks. This is due to the medication causing an increase in serotonin to which your body must adjust. This is not so common with an dose increase as it is when starting an medication that increase the amount of serotonin available to the brain.

The increase in panic attacks and anxiety should abate within a week, two weeks at the very most. Hang in there.

I hope that this is of some help. - Cam

Thanks for all of your replies. I went to see my pdoc yesterday to discuss my ability to handle to 112.5 mg dose. I have been doing better since i started and I recently went back to work on Monday for the first time in 2 months. However, yesterday when I saw my pdoc she wants to up my meds again from 112.5 to 150 mgs. She also took my blood pressure and said it was 120 over 80 and said that was normal. She also wants me to get blood work done. This freaked me out a little and I was up most of the night imagining the worst about the blood test and what it all means. I couldn't sleep so needles to say I had to take yet another day off from work. I feel like such a loser. I don't know why I always have to assume the worst and take things to the max. Anyway, i'm to continue the 112.5 mgs of effexor through Sunday then 150 mgs starts next monday on 02/14/05. I will be ok... Won't I?

I've been on Effexor for 5 years, had my dose upped to 450 mg in Nov., and have not had any problems at all. Just to let you know it can work. But meds can be screwy. Klonopin has done wonders for my anxiety up until last night/today, when I've had a number of panic attacks. Maybe the dose needs upped, I dunno. Maybe it's just stress. Lots of things can affect meds.

Hope it all works out for you.

Candy

THANKS CANDY. I'M SURE I'M LIKE ALOT OF PEOPLE, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MEDS. I KNOW THEY ARE HELPING ME BUT EVERYTIME MY PDOC WANTS ME TO UP THEM I GET FREAKED OUT AGAIN. SHE ALSO WANTED ME TO HAVE SOME BLOODWORK DONE AS WELL. I DID THAT ON FRIDAY. I WISH I WAS NORMAL. THEN I WOULDNT HAVE TO PUT UP WITH ALL OF THIS.

Oh, Jmo, do I EVER understand. Every single week, and sometimes more than once a week, if I have to email him about something, I tell my therapist I want to be normal. Right now I'm in one of those "I want off my meds" periods I go through now and then. I get sick of paying for them, taking them, NEEDING them in the first place! The last thing I do before I go to bed at night is take 8 pills (that's on top of 5 when I wake up in the morning). There is nothing like it for making you realize you're not normal. It sucks.

I hope things work out for you.

Candy