effexor

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.

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.

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.

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...

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:

I am on 225 of effexor xr. Have been on it for almost 6 yrs now. It is a weight friendly medicine. I had no weight or appetite changes. I feel normal. It helps me sleep better. Each person is different. The only bad thing I can say is if you forget to take it you feel like crap and if you forget the second night you will be sick as a dog. When you go off of it you have to slowly go off of it. After that you are back to normal. Takes a couple of weeks to come off it.

My aunt is on it and its ok, but if she does not fill her scipt in time and it runs out, she is so sick. She can't even get out of the bathroom before she's running back to the toilet to throw up again. She says time and time again that she wishes she never would've started it.

But, everyone is different.

I took Effexor for a few years, 225mg. It definitely helped control my mood swings. I think that's because my mood was too tired to swing. I had ZERO energy while on it. I decided I had to quit because I was having withdrawal symptoms if I missed a day, that freaked me out. It was, without a doubt, the worst medication I've ever quit. I did okay going from three pills to two, two to one was a little more difficult, and one to none was horrid and took forever because I always felt so bad I would cave and just take it. Finally I mentally prepared myself to feel like crap for a couple days and just did it. For me, it worked but wasn't worth the trade off.

For those who keep saying, "Oh, take Lexapro, it's better" or "Take Wellbutrin, Effexor doesn't work as well" etc. etc. - please keep in mind these are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DRUGS. That's the equivalent of saying, "I had heart disease so I took this antibiotic and it did nothing for me." Different people react better to different types of drugs and that's because their depression/anxiety is caused by specific chemical interactions in their body. Since doctors don't currently have a way to specifically diagnose which chemical is being absorbed improperly, they often have to try several to find the one that works for you. That's why one person will react wonderfully to Effexor but horribly to Wellbutrin, while another will be happy as a clam on Wellbutrin but moody on Effexor.

Effexor is an SSNRI - it affects your serotonin and norepinephrine uptake
Lexapro and Prozac are SSRIs - they affect just your serotonin uptake
Wellbutrin is an NRI/DRI - it affects your serotonin and dopamine uptake

By the way, as far as withdrawals go, never ever ever try to go off them by skipping pills. If you are taking tablets, cut them in half and start taking half at a time, then after a week or two, start taking a quarter at a time, then after a week or two, start just taking one a day, etc. Your doctor should be monitoring this process. If you're taking the XR extended release (which I highly recommend) you will also likely have much easier withdrawal symptoms.

It's not possible to cut in half... well, I guess you could but it would be quite a mess haha. I didn't mean to cut the XR in half, sorry. You would just go down to one a day instead of two, then eventually one every 36 hours, then one every two days, etc.

Well yes, that's why I was saying a tablet can be cut in half. In general the XR is a capsule though, so cutting it in half would dump all the contents lol

First of all dont stop taking it abruptly, try it for 4 weeks if your still depressed , ask for an increase. I liked it except for swelling in my hands overnight, it made my pupils dilate too. I cant remember any "withdrawal" symptoms, with any anti-depressant you wean yourself off , like cut the dose in half for a week , then less, etc. I didnt have any withdrawals from it.
Im on Wellbutrin 300 mg. now, its OK but I think there is something that would make a little nicer:happy: Its very expensive to buy what I wanted to try "Pristiq" so I have to stick with wellbutrin. I usually go off after 6 months or when Im ready, but slowly. Hope it works out for you!

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 agree. I wouldn't go on effexor if you can help it. I would find another one if you can!!!!

Can someone explain to me what you mean by the half life of a drug?

Half life is the time it takes your body to process half the amount of medication in the pill.

Hiya anyone here on effexor? What do you think of it...the good and bad please! Thanks

I've been on Effexor for almost 12 years and i canniot imagine ever being off of it. I have depression and anxiety and have had it for years. For over 20 years after being diagnosed I refused all medication but a very stressful life situation caused me to have to start medication. I started with Prozac which helped with the depression and anxiety, but I also had no emotions, no ups or downs, just flatness...I went off of it after two years.

Unfortunately, within 6 monhts my anger and anxiety (my symptoms of depression) started again and my doctor put me on Effexor, he said it was a very "clean" drug (don't know what he meant by that but it sounded good) and would help...within one week I felt like myself for the first time in years and years! I have had to have the dosage increased during very stressful periods (unfortunately in one right now) so am on 225mg and possibly will have to go to 300mg for a time being.

I understand what a one person said about forgetting words--unfortunately I do have that while I'm speaking sometimes but my friends know that it's because of the medication and we play a game where I describe what the word I'm looking for (Like the game Taboo) untill we get it. ;o) Other than that my symptoms seem to be almost nil (some tiredness within a couple of hours of taking it but I changed the dosage time and that helps.

I also completely understand about the withdrawl symptoms as I have had periods of forgetting to take the medication and within a few hours noticing a slight headache or by the next day dizzsiness and small brain zaps--I take the medication and within an hour it goes away. I have a reminder on my cel phone now and carry the meds with me all the time so I don't have to go through that any longer.

About two years ago, my doctor tried me on Cymbalta (I think thats the name) as it's supposed to be a similar drug (for depression and anxiety--SSRI) and I took months to go off of Effexor (knowing that's the only way to do it properly) but found the Cymbalta did not work for me so went back to Effexor.

I've probably told you more than you'd like to know but you asked for info...

The most important thing I can say about any medication is...work with your doctor...it's important to do the research that you are doing, but each drug works with the chemicals in our bodies and as we are all individuals each person will have a different outcome.

Good luck!!

I took this for about 2 years. I need to switch drugs periodically because my body seems to adjust and they dont work anymore. I had no problems coming off of this and no side effects on it. I wish it had lasted longer. I now take Cymbalta, which is a lot more expensive but is working great.