Effexor..

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

I came on here because I am currently trying to get off of Effexor and while I try not to look up side effects, because of how I felt not long ago I did look a few up. Effexor has been called a last resort one by some online, but it isn't necessarily that. It is called a "dirty" version of Pristiq which I was taking but was too expensive so I asked my pdoc for something less expensive and there you go, voila Efffexor. I have hated being on it but then, no pill has ever worked for me so I am trying -- and it is not going well -- to get off a very high dosage I was on of this, and will then probably give up or go in for electroshock. I say don't expect to be afflicted by the worst things you read, go by what you know of YOURSELF, and try to be healthy as possible while on anything. I simply do not trust most docs or meds anymore so we should all take care of ourselves. Docs haven't a clue.

I was under the impression that Effexor was a "first line" med. I was on it for about a year or so, and it worked great. caused weight gain tho.

I was on Effexor for a while. No side effects. Didn't do much for me. I'm on Paxil and Abilify now.

I am on effexor xr 150 mg and I have not noticed a change in my depression. It hasn't helped.

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Didn't work for me and the withdrawal was terrible. I'm on the EMSAM patch now.

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I have been on this for 10 weeks and it's working for me. The 6mg patch has no dietary restrictions. I am on the 9mg patch. I never ate most of the foods on the "no go" list anyway but the biggest ones for me are soy products and cheddar cheese. The only other downside is that the patches only seem to stay put on my upper thigh, so the skin there is getting irritated. (They crease and peel too much on my arm, chest, and back.)

I love that I don't have to take a gazillion pills every morning. All of the drugs I was on over the years wreaked havoc with my digestive system at some point or another (Paxil, Effexor, Wellbutrin, Abilify, Fetzima, BuSpar - not all at the same time.) The most recent cocktail I was on (Fetzima + Wellbutrin + BuSpar) destroyed my appetite and I lost weight. I went over a year without feeling really hungry. Transdermal patches bypass all of that. The only drugs I take now are the patch and a very low dose of Xanax ER (as needed).


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Like many have already said, it isn't a last resort - I was on it nine meds ago and it failed although it had initially been helpful with energy, focus, motivation, etc...if it doesn't work for you, there are many other options available ...I'm slowly working my way through them all it would seem

I keep hearing about the withdrawals with effexor and I am shitting myself... oh well, what has to happen, has to happen.

I am on it at 450mg for 8 months (slowly augmented to that dosage) and it doesn't seem to work, my shrink tells me to wait it up and that my depression needs time, I am also on 60mg of citalopram a night.

When did you make your last increase? I give everything a chance for 2 months. I agree - it's better to bite the bullet and deal with the withdrawal if it's not working for you. btw - my withdrawal symptoms were mostly brain zaps and suddenly feeling like my blood sugar had dropped. These "episodes" continued for months after I had stopped taking it completely.

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Oh, it was at least 3 months ago. The shrink suggested we continue with it... Those were my withdrawal symptoms too on citalopram about 15 years ago, but I was on a low dosage and they stopped in a month or so. Sorry to hear they continued for months after you 'd stopped Effexor, it's expected though isn't it? It's stronger than citalopram and a higher dosage. I am so effing tired with all this rubbish, my days seem like one constant repeating day, I 've no clue how I manage to get along... my shrink on the other hand is very optimistic and positive of a full recovery with no undesired remnants, I on the other hand :roll eyes: and and occasionally though I am too worn down to get mad at anyone anymore, even the people who caused this to me.

Do you think I should push on about a change in meds? Thanks for the concern btw.

You're welcome. Just trying to help. Sometimes it's easier to hear advice from a peer rather than a professional.

I don't want to tell anyone what to do in terms of their self care. I can only speak for myself. I made a radical but necessary change 3 months ago in terms of medication. I was not doing well at all. I was doing ridiculous things like sleeping on my bare mattress with no sheets because I had no energy to make my bed. I let plastic bags from the store just sit on my kitchen floor because I didn't see the point of just recycling them or putting them under the sink. I wasn't eating. One particular day my total food intake consisted of a few bottles of Coke and one microwave dinner, and that day's one accomplishment was playing SimCity on my phone for 10 hours. I had a box that had to be taken to the UPS Store that sat by my door for over a month. Bills went unpaid because I would forget about them. That's no way to live. It was so sad. I was just at the end of my rope. So I decided to go on a MAO-I Inhibitor. Unfortunately I had to be totally clear of all my meds except for the Xanax for a week before starting the MAOI. It was very, very difficult. My moods were horrible and every single thing (especially noise) irked the hell out of me. I began to notice a marked change in the fourth week of taking the med. I have dietary restrictions and I have to watch my blood pressure but it has been worth it, I am feeling better and THAT is what is making me feel more receptive to improving myself even more. I just needed to find a med to give me a kick in the ***.

Good luck and post back here once you decide what to do.

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