I have Mild Depression with Anxiety.

Does anyone have any good or bad comments about Effexor?
Good or bad side effects?

I am only taking 37.5 grams a day for 5 weeks then my doc might up the dose.

Took it for about 5 years. Worked pretty well but DON'T stop taking it suddenly and don't run out!

Welcome to the forums. This is a great place to post your questions and get great support and responses.

Not to scare you, but I have seen a lot of information on Effexor. Some of it pretty freaky. Everyone reacts differently, but a lot of people have reported a side effect called "brain zaps", head aches and upset stomachs.

I am surprised Lexapro was not looked at. It is used for depression and anxiety as well. It has been known for being a clean and smooth medication with little or no side effects. A lot of people in the forums have had great success with a combination of Lexapro/Celexa and a stimulant.

You'll get a lot of responses on the forums, but please follow your doctor's orders. Most of us are not medical professionals. We can only offer suggestions.

Keep us updated on your progress. Good luck.

a lot of people have reported a side effect called "brain zaps", head aches and upset stomachs.

I had all of these, and really they wer'nt that bad. And they went away after the first two weeks.

It is a relatively old drug though so there may be more sophistocated replacements available, but go with what your Doc suggests at least for starters.

I did take it and it worked well for me while I was on it. Unfortunetly I had some side effects (weight gain being the worst) and I hated the fact that if I forgot to take it one morning, by afternoon I had zaps.

It was HELL for me to wean off of. Like 3 weeks of hell. I wished that I had known that. Even now my Dr minimizes the withdrawals, but I think you will hear this is a problem for a lot of people.

It does work but wouldn't be my first choice, especially for mild depression.

I'll second Debs experience. I was in a great mood on it, but I was just too impulsive and not staying on top of things. Also put on weight.

Having tried both Lexipro and Effexor, I can say effexor was definitely (for me) the better for anxiety.

I'd be hesitant to start just because if you switch, as Deb said, it's torture. I weaned off slowly. I don't know if by "brain zaps" you mean the sensation kind of like when you're extremely tired at work or school and catch yourself nodding off, but I had it in spades.

I've become of the opinion that often depression and anxiety are situational, at least most of mine is. While the anxiety & depression aren't fun to experience, they to motivate me to make the necessary changes in my life instead of just being "fat dumb & happy" as I was on effexor.

I sure hope no one takes that as a slap, if you need it and it helps, by all means, take it.

While I haven't turned everything around that's causing my depression, I've at least awakened and slammed on the brakes.

Hi all,

I take 75mgs of effexor a day. I sever from reaccuring major depression as well as anxiety. I have found this to be the best one for me at this time in my life. Having tried Zoloft and another similar with my DR's word they were fine for me they turned out not to be. They made all my problems worse, but effexor has done wonders for me.

But on that note as said above by Tim I do get bad headaches when I have forgotten to take my pill on time, the upset stomach I have never got, have put on weight but the 'brain zaps' not sure what you mean but if it is as OIdadd thinks it might be like nodding off that i do suffer from. Scarily enough twice behind the wheel of my car. I am concerned about weaning myself off them cause i don't want the severe headaches I get when I forget to take my pill. But in the positive light it has been the only one to work for me at the moment.

Everybody's body is different and reacts to different medication differently. You unforunantly can only try and see what works for you.

Hope this helps.

Tan.

I was on Effexxor and I hated it. I also have to add that it was the first medication I was ever on though so I don't know how it compares to others. The "brain zaps" were horrendous. For me, it was like standing there and suddenly not knowing which way was up or down (vertigo?). I got off it after a few months.

I found it didn't help with what was really wrong in my life and causing the depression in the first place -- things that I now realize are probably caused by ADD.

This medication should be taken off the market, may help for people who are suicidal, but if your not, get off asap, I've been on it for over a year, it was a waste taking it, & when not taking it, all hell breaks loose, Not worth it, I would rather be depressed then to take this med.

it's my second week back down to 37.5, few months more & I'll be off this crap.

T-Bass

Don't just stop taking it cold turkey because of what you read on the forum. I do know someone who takes it and has no complaints, so apparently it does work for some people.

That being said..... It was horrible for me! Headaches, brain zaps, upset stomach, weight gain, change in personality.

Then when I tried to get off it I thought I was dying! It was excruciating. I would lay on the couch and try not to move me head or my eyes too quickly, for fear of the "brain zaps"... which I think you have to experience to understand. They're like shocks of electricity jolting through your head from one direction to another. I couldn't see or stand upright without holding on to something when they happened.

I felt like I had the worst case of flu in my life. Every muscle in my body ached. I felt stupefied with fatigue and was generally debilitated. My doctor said he had never heard of that kind of severe withdrawal so it couldn't be the Effexor. Even Effexor has now changed their patient labeling to reccommend weaning off slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

Medications affect different people differently though. Some people have had a good response to it. I just wasn't one of them.

i used to take effexor and got off it about a year ago...it does help with adhd and also it really helped to bring me out of a bad black hole. i was bordering on anorexia/bulimia, but the ED behavior was a situational behavior...it was how i dealt with adversity...which, apparently, i didnt deal with very well. dont dose up to high on it tho....it causes sexual dysfunction, weight gain, lose of human emotion, etc. it is good to used for a 4 to 6 month period of time, but it do damage if used more than 6 months. if u are adhd, id reccomend good old adderal, riddlin, or dexadrine...the regular stuff. it causes some weight loss, and loss of appetite as well as dry mouth, but it slowly subsides. im no psychiatrist...just someone whose been on lots of pills and is now pill free.

I was on it for a few months and because my doc didn't supervise the titration (dosage management) I experienced all sorts of problems. The worst one was...constipation. Unfortunatly, I don't think much about things like that, and it caused a bigger problem...eventually I was diagnosed with crohns disease*. While crohns disease is supposed to be something you never recover from, I found it ironic that I have never had another 'bout' with it since I stopped effexor 8 years ago.

My advice is pay careful attention to any side effects, even ones that seem innocuous. And don't change the dosage without your doctor's knowledge. The withdrawals will make you want to die.





*chrohns disease involves numerous bleeding lesions in your intestines. You would experience excruciating cramps not long after eating, and have diarhhea that is scary looking and is barely controlable.

Effexor withdrawal is easy if you switch to a longer half-life SSRI first, then taper off. Personally, I've taken Effexor XR up to 225 mg/day, and weaned off it with no problems. To me the withdrawals are no different than any other SSRI out there. Effexor is definately better for anxiety in some people, and has a noradrenergic effect at or > 150mg/day, which be beneficial for ADHD, especially in combination with a stimulant.

Don't freak out about taking Effexor, as it can be an awesome drug for many people. Side effects will occur, but serious problems are EXTREMELY rare. Keep in mind that thousands die every year from taking normal doses of over-the-counter medications like aspirin.

Good luck with your therapy,
-Brian

I have been on Effexor since last Oct. and must say that I haven't really had any problems with it. Initially a bit of upset stomach, but that would go away an hour or so after taking it. I am also on a generic form or Ritalin and find that the combination is what works.

I see my p-doc regularly and discuss with her any symptoms or concerns I have. I think working closely with her has helped to relieve my anxiety about taking these medications. She has always taken the time to explain, in detail, how they work and why they are the best for me.

Keep an open mind and work with your doctor! Keep us posted, too!

Kim

I took EffexorXR 75 mg for a couple years with mostly good results, I think.

It has a nice effort on ejac control as someone may have mentioned which is a fun little novelty (it eventually goes away) At any rate as mentioned missed doses or cold turkey can be very 'unpleasant.'

BUT i would like to note that I just err... dropped 75mg dose with NO withdrawel symtoms taking a 10mg of prozac to help the process - highly recommend it. Now i'm off; however, I wonder if I ever really gave it a chance as I never increased the dosage as I was never supervised on the drug unfortunately.