effexor

agentscully514

Effexor saved my life. I tried other meds and they did not work as well. The withdrawal is awful, but for me it is worth it.

htimpaired

I was put on it while I was inthe hospital. I didn't notice any change on it. It was horrid to come off of though. Apparently it's the worst one because of it's half life.

I have been on and off it for years. I gotta second what this person said about the half life-coming off of Effexor is the worst part. The medication itself was fine-it helped with my depression and anxiety. I did not have any side effects. But when I wanted to come off of it, I felt really sick, body aches, racing heartbeat, brain "zaps". Even trying to wean myself slowly didn't make the discontinuation effects stop. I finally got off of it by taking Prozac at the same time, which has a long half life, and then stopping the Effexor with the prozac in my system.

BTW, to the poster who asked-half life refers to how long it takes for the medication to be metabolized and break down by one half. The longer the half life, the longer the dose stays in your system and gradually drops off. With Effexor, it has one of the shortest half lives, which is why discontinuation effects like mentioned above happen, usually within a day of missing a dose. Paxil is another one notorious for short half-life. Longer half-lives, like Prozac and I believe Lexapro, have less discontinuation effects.

nnapieralski

I'm bi-polar and have been on meds for 13 years now. I did Effexor a few times and didn't have too many problems with it. It totally killed my sex drive though, which is problem enough!!

lizard053

I used it for a while, but it just didn't control my symptoms. Had no trouble getting off it either. Just moved on to the next drug! (In this case Welbutrin, and that was miserable!) It's good for those that have the right set of symptoms, but it just did nothing for me at all.

thelassiemickyjames

What is it?

fj211

I was on it for a year and a half after my son was born ( postpartum depression) . The folks stating that the withdrawal symptoms are bad are spot on. Even coming off of it under a doctor's care is awful--misery even.
Those years are a fog to me now and I regret taking it.

Fit4_Life

I was taking Effexor 7 years ago. Personally, I wouldn't recommend taking it. I literally had to wean myself off of it. Side effects were making me really dizzy and stomach aches. It didn't help me at all.

Fit4_Life

What is it?

anti-depressant pills.

wickedcricket

Effexor works for some ppl and not others. My dr tried effexor on me- it helped my depression but with one side effect I could not live with - I had NO moods. no ups, no downs I was just flat and that's not who I am. Paxil worked better for me- I still have moods, just not dramatic swings

egiakatt

I took it for four years. If I was even an hour late taking it I had brain shocks and my vision was bad. Getting off of it was HORRIBLE. I was less depressed but the side effects were bad. If you can get something else I suggest that you do. I take Zoloft and it has helped me and no side effects. All of our brains are different and recieve drugs differently. I wish you the best.

jrodx2

I've been on it for about three years now. I tried Lexapro first and had horrible side effects so I was put on Effexor to try instead. It was used to treat GAD for me and the anxiety attacks are practically non existant while on it. I did get to a point last year when I wanted to get off of it and after the first month, I had a really bad anxiety attack. From then on, I just stayed on it because I felt obviously needed it. The only bad thing is if you forget a pill, the withdraw is awful. I keep a few extra in my purse just in case I leave the house without it one day (I take it in the morning). As for weight gain, it has never been an issue in that way for me. The weight I had gained before was due to lack of self control and eating the wrong foods.

Everyone does have different reactions to it though so I would make sure you talk everything out with your doctor.

invisibubble

Venlafaxine is the proper drug name, correct? Been on it for over a year, maybe two. Weight gain thing never really hit me, have lost consistently since then and before it. Most side-effects wear off after 8 weeks use anyway. Experienced a little dizziness and nausea near the start. I get on well with mine, they're extended release. Better than the other sets of meds I've been on (and I've been on quite a few).
Really it all depends on what it's specifically for and who's using it. Body chemistry widly differs even for two people with very similar lives, so it's all just trial and error anyway.
Ain't magic but nothing is. *shrug*
By the way, I take a regular nightly dosage for anxiety/depression symptoms. Helps a bit with both sometimes, doesn't others. Like I said, we're all different. Have diazepam for panic attacks as and when. Drugs are really a very small help compared to hard work with therapies and stuff but helpful nonetheless.
On and ditto on the dead sex drive thing.

KWake1

I was on it as a teen and I found it helped a lot. Defintiely not one you can pick and choose to use. You have to regulate it or you'll start to get the dizzyness. Take it like a birth control pill. Same time everyday and you're fine. You also need to talk to your doctor about switching your doses, missing doses, and wanting to come off. You can't just stop cold turkey it does take some weaning. My husband is currently on it though and it works really well for him, but he's found the same things I did. If he misses a day he can really feel it within 12 hours.
Also, talk to your doc about the side effect involving weight gain/loss. Since you're on this site I'm going to assume that you need help in that area. Effexor can inhibit weight loss so if you need to lose some weight you could find it more difficult.

Shweedog

I took it years ago. Gained 22 lbs in 6 months. Got off it and it all came right off. Messed with my hormones too much.

greekygirl

I was on it about 10 years ago but only for a few weeks I think, tops. I couldn't handle the side effects - it made me a zombie and the brain zaps were the worst! I also think if I would've stayed on it I would've gained weight but I guess I don't know that for sure.

I also had a friend that was on it for a very short period of time and she couldn't tolerate it either. But everyone is different - some people have great success with meds that others don't.

If it were me, I'd try to find an alternative (there are TONS of meds out there now) and if nothing else works, then I'd try it. For ME, this is the worst med I've ever tried (I've tried quite a few). And yes the withdrawals are terrible - I'm glad I wasn't on it that long.

Good luck in your decision - I hope you find something that works for you.

ashielovesdashie88

oh dear god i hated Effexor with a passion. It made me vomit and dizzy and my doctor decided that i need something like 250mg of it to stabilize me and let me tell you. i totally didn't need that much. As far as weight loss with effexor i lost weight only because i was vomitting every day of my life. i went off of it a month later and it stayed in my system for another 30 days. Welbutrin was good but made me sick as well. apparently i'm just not good with medications. But i found my miracle pill (which i'm no longer on because i'm finally happy and stable in that happiness, yay!) in Zoloft. Zoloft helped me get over my addiction to food in a big way. I was such an emotional eater and was diagnosed with Compulsive Overeating and Zoloft, after being in my system for 2 weeks, did more for me than i ever could've hoped for. it literally saved me from hitting 250lbs and i lost 30lbs with it. Now i'm working off sheer will power. Good luck in your weight loss journey! :flowerforyou:

auntied

I've taken it for years and it is my Life Saver. I've had no bad said effects what so ever. I know have cancer and going thur Chemo they told me I can stay on it for now but I might have to switch later when my treatmeant is complete because of the med's I will have to take at that time. BUT they said they would find something for me. Best of luck...

littlelily613

I was on effexor when i was around the age of 19. I HATED it. I did NOT work for me, at all. I was still miserable, and the side effects coming off of it were definitely just as bad as people make them seem. I had so many brain zaps, it was HORRIBLE. I am on a low dosage of cipralex right now, and that is what I recommend. I am no longer miserable at all (a bit irritable, but i think that might be due to the pill, not the depression i had a few months ago). I don't even have any negative thoughts any more. You will read lots of horror stories on weight gain with this, but the pharmacist said it is actually really rare. For me, I have lost close to 70 pounds since I've started cipralex, so it certainly hasn't caused me to gain any weight.

AReasor

A loved one is on it, and it is magic. We were very lucky. It was the first med we tried and it had very little side affects, For some reason for him it was very mild.:flowerforyou:

MassiveDelta

I was put on it several years ago for some pretty severe depression I was experiencing and I HATED it. I didnt feel like it helped me at all and in fact it screwed me up. I had severe episodes of vertigo and actually blacked out a few times and fell. I quit taking it without my doctors permission. I was careful to ween myself off of it as with any medication of this type stopping immediately is bad news.

I never took anything after that. I dont like them at all.