Effexor..

Is this pretty much a "last resort" med?
Some of the side effects in the enclosed "leaflet" are beyond scary
I don't care in the slightest if I "die young" but I do not want to be permanently "disabled" ... Who the **** does
Sorry if this triggers, that is not my purpose. And frankly, what would I gain from it I'm just at the end of my ****ing rope

Hi Fuzzy. I don't think Effexor is considered a "last resort" med. I took it for about 5-6 years and now I take Cymbalta, which is in the same drug class (SNRI).

What I don't like about the SNRI class of antidepressants is that they cause physical dependence and are very difficult to taper off of if you want to stop them and you have to be very careful not to let your prescription run out. (I think it usually takes a few months before this dependence occurs.)

On the other hand, they often help people who don't get help from SSRIs.

If you have tried all the SSRIs, Wellbutrin, & Remeron and haven't been helped by those, then taking Effexor is very reasonable.

Pristiq is another SNRI medication. It's basically the newer, "cleaner" version of Effexor, but it's not available in a generic yet, so it's not as widely used.

I haven't looked at the side effects list for Cymbalta lately. I don't think I take any meds that don't have terrifying possible side effects.

The one that I take for my autoimmune arthritis says that it "may cause your heart to stop".

I'm not sure if that means skip a few beats or what exactly. That side effect got added to the list after I had been taking the med for a couple of years.

I think effexor was the second med I tried..so not a last resort! It helped for a while, but events in my life at the time also helped lift my mood I think. I'm not that great at sticking to my meds though and started messing around with the dose as I felt I didn't need them anymore. After that it never seemed to have the same effect

When I was on it I don't really remember any side effects. But you certainly know about it if you are late taking it or miss a dose. Coming off of it is not easy! I probably wouldn't try it again purely because I don't want to go through stopping it again..

But when it worked it was a good med..hopefully it works well for you

Fuzzy I understand your fears, I've tried Effexor and was freaked out by the list of side effects but I found Effexor helpful and it did brighten my mood. The trick with it is to increase the dose slowly and reduce the dose even more slowly. In the end I found one side effect unmanageable and came off cold turkey, not an experience to repeat in a hurry, but it didn't cause permanent damage either.

All meds have their pros and cons, basically it comes down to a choice of depressed or side effects, we all have to choose which we can manage the best. I couldn't manage side effects so I compromised on meds and now I feel I can't cope with depressed so I'm going to have to compromise on side effects. It is a horrible, scary place to be, especially as medics don't get how overwhelming the fear and reality of side effects can be.

Take it slowly, don't let your doctor push you on to a higher dose if you don't like the way the drug makes you feel. Remember we only tend to hear the bad things about meds, when did you last read a post that said "It's working"? We only want answers when something doesn't work so that's why we hear more about the problems.

Effexor was among the early meds prescribed me for depression. It was not the first nor the last. I don't remember the trial, but it didn't do much of anything for me or to me.

Drug information handouts are genuinely scary, particularly in those sections where they detail every effect observed during clinical trials.

((((((( Fuzzybear )))))))

I am currently taking Effexor . no side effects really. seems to be working well. but as others have said don't run out. mad dizziness nausea. and I mean pretty quick 2 days tops.

I was on Effexor for a while but I would have anxiety and headaches if I didn't take my pill at the exact right time every day. I then switched to Pristiqu (very expensiv ) but it works and the side effects are non existent.

To get off of effexor can be VERY DIFFICULT and I'm currently lowering my dose of prisique by 25 mg from 100 mg. My Psych is monitoring me and I"m to go back on the regular full dose if I have any problems with the reduction.

Wish I could give you more info. Have you tried Lithium? Hope you are feeling better soon!

As someone else said what's the lesser of two evils? side effects or depression?

I was considering taking Mirapex a few months back and mentioned on a forum (not PC) that is strictly meds-oriented my concerns about a few of the side effects that I'd heard about.

Another member posted "You want to be really scared? Read the PI sheets for ibuprofen (or acetaminophen -can't remember exactly) and aspirin."

That brought me up short. Obviously, millions of people take those every single day.

There's no side-effect free med unfortunately. You have to weigh the risk vs. benefit with each med. And you have to be willing to try a med because everybody's mileage varies: you may not get the same side effects that other people have.

I think it does boil down to side effects vs. benefits. I took Effexor for a short while a couple of years back. I had to switch to something else because it made me too sleepy to function.

First (and only) med I was prescribed so not a last resort. Granted, I was prescribed that one because my mum was already on it and they figured if it worked for her, it might work for me, but it wasn't a last resort for her either.

I started with too high of a dosage and I did have terrible side effects, but I realize I'm the exception.

I took Effexor for a couple of years. It did work but in the end I couldn't take the sexual side effects anymore. That was the only side effect I had. I had several immensely embarrassing incidents which still haunt me. Anti depressants have generally wrecked existing relationships and ruined chances to develop relationships. No other side effect has bothered me and no side effect gets anywhere near as bad as severe depression.

Thanks for understanding

Definitely not a last resort. Most people don't have side effects, and of the ones that do most are mild and go away within a few weeks. For me it was night sweats and sexual dysfunciton. The sweats went away in 2 weeks, the other took some months. My pdoc said nausea was the most common.

Keep in mind that with ALL antidepressants, a "high" incidence of side-effects is 10%. It seems higher if you're reading people's personal stories because no one goes on line to write about how they didn't have side-effects.

Need to chime a little bell there to my shrink who I consider top class, for not telling me about pristiq and putting me on effexor instead...

I get sleepy too but Effexor is definitively a stimulant and not a sedative (as citalopram is), strange...

Sex side effect got to me too after the dosage was upped to 300mg (currently at 450mg and counting...) but subsided about three weeks or so, not sure if my sexual response is as it's supposed to be, but it's there, quite a lot of libido, pleasure wise I am not really sure. Do told me that was really good cause it shows nature overcame efexor, which is not an easy fit.

Here is an article about Pristiq talking about how since it's a metabolite of Effexor, that it has sort of gotten overlooked, especially if cost is a factor.

The person who told me that she thought it was very good was a nurse practitioner that I used to see for meds management. I haven't discussed it with any other meds providers.

My impression from what she said about it is that it's a bit "gentler" than Effexor. If Effexor works for a person, it can be a really "big gun" for dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts.

Of course, that usually also comes with some pretty big side effects and a withdrawal syndrome.

It will be interesting to see if Pristiq gets used more widely when a generic version becomes available.

Ok, my doc is off the hook, because as per wiki pristiq:"In 2008, Wyeth withdrew its application for Ellefore, the product under review for treatment of major depressive disorder in the European Union. In 2012, Pfizer received authorization in Spain to market Pristiq for the disorder in 50mg and 100mg tablets."

Boy, when I start reading the side effect profile for discontinuing effexor (which has been completely ineffective for me) it gets me worried. Although nothing comes close to what I am going through at the moment in terms of suffering, so I probably shouldn't worry. Except of course when/if I switch AD I 'll have to deal with my current suffering and the discontinuation effects. Oh God, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done.

Chris,

The really bad Effexor discontinuation syndrome happens if you completely stop taking Effexor too quickly and don't start another antidepressant.

I switched from 375 mg Effexor XR to 60 mg Cymbalta and hardly noticed a blip (both SNRI drugs).

Even if you switch to an SSRI, you will not have full-blown discontinuation syndrome.

I had a few times when I was taking Effexor when I ran out of the medication due to communication glitches in getting prescriptions. After about 48-60 hours, things were getting bad. It was a lot like benzo withdrawal.

So yes, if you switch meds, you'll probably notice some unpleasant effects, but it shouldn't be like cold-turkey withdrawal hell.

Hey there Jo, thanks for the response.

The planned transition will be to a tricyclic, but thanks for the heads up on your experiences. In any case I am pretty much a living side effect, I don't really know what the effects are supposed to be that should (or should have) alleviate(d) this living hell.

If I get to purgatory I will definitely have to ask the main man for an exemption on a been there, done that basis.

I've taken a couple of tricyclics but never transitioned from Effexor to one. They do affect multiple neurotransmitters, so maybe the switchover won't aggravate your current problems.

I know there are some forum members who take tricyclics now, so if you create a thread about the one you're going to take, you'll probably get responses. I took nortriptyline with pretty good results once, but it was a long time ago.

That rings a bell Jo, that might be my next station too.

I have taken Effexor xr for the past 15 yrs. It was increased over the first year and I have ended up on a dose of 600 mg. in the morning. I have had no side effects. It has definitely helped my mood and anxiety.

I've been on Effexor twice & both times it went badly for me... That's all I can say about it...

Effexor is not a last-chance drug...In fact, it's usually prescribed in the 2nd or 3rd tier of the various "Treatment Resistant Depression" algorithms in the US

I've spent the last couple months looking for a last-chance drug because after 30-years of psychotropic medications and "off label" medications for depression absolutely NOTHING works for me.

Before going to the "Heavy Hitters" below, psychiatrists should have tried adding Lithium to a combo and consider ECT and Ketamine.

Here are a few options for severe drug resistant, unipolar depression after everything else has failed:

Emsam/ Selegiline- a weak MAOI
(personally, I'm not going to waste my money on this one)
Mirapex- Pramepexiole
T3- Triiodothyronine
Parnate-MAOI
Nardil-MAOI

Anyone know of any other drugs available in the US? I'm out of ideas at this point?

I've been on Effexor twice now, the most recent being the past 5 years. I have mixed feelings about it.. On the one hand it has improved my overall mood.. On the other it has made me very tired most of the time and my body has become so physically dependent on it that I can't get off. I tried very unsuccessfully last year and eventually had to go back on them. So if you ever need to get off of this drug please do it as slowly as possible!

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I am on effexor now and for me it does nothing