I rairly hear of anyone being given Effexer for ADD,,,, I was on Ritalin then the Dr. added Wellbutrin but I quit going for a few years so then my new Dr. put me on adderal and now my Dr. is trying to give me Effexer but the insurance company doesn't want to pay for it. I asked him about straterra but he wants to use effexer. He calls it a shot gun meaning that it works for many differant things but I am wondering if he really knows what he is doing. Anyone else taking Effexer and if so,,, is it helping?

Hi,

I read in "Healing ADD" that Dr Amen uses Effexor to treat one of his subtypes of ADHD (overfoused type). Since it works on norepinephrin and dopamine as well as serotonin, the theory is that it may help ADHD, like Wellbutrin and Strattera.

I was just put on Cymbalta (after years on Prozac) for major depression. It supposedly works on the same areas as Effexor. My doctor had me stop my Adderall while I started Cymbalta to see if it helped my inattentive type ADD, but after two weeks I have seen no improvement at all in my attention. I'm going to ask my pdoc today if I need to give it more time, but truth be told, I'm already taking some Adderall again, just to get through the day.

-- Abby

***dude dont take cymbalta with adderall that is very very bad for your blood pressure!!!!*** anyways, effexor xr 75mg was what i got put on after strattera, prozac, celexa, lexapro, elavil, paxil...i have been on them all. wellbutrin xl worked wonders for me until i became allergic. EFFEXOR along with everything else (except wellbutrin) MADE ME SOOO TIRED I COULDNT STAY AWAKE DURING THE DAY. one of the side effects of effexor which i found funny was excessive yawning. cymbalta 60mg i had taken for a while. i liked it a first, made me happy, but tired after a while. i took my concerta along with cymbalta to prevent tirdness and i was shaking uncontrollably. they defenitly cause contraindications with eachother. SSRIs and ADD meds shouldnt be taken together for many reasons which i cant remember.
ashley-
pharmacy tech

I have ADD and Dysthymia and have just started taking Effexor after trying Stratera and Wellbutrin. I saw very little benefit from the Stratera but the Wellbutrin did help some but it made me very irritable. I have only been on the Effexor for 3 days and haven't noticed any benefits yet but the first day I couldn't sleep and yesterday i couldn't stay awake. I hope that evens out after a while.

My doctor wants to put my on Effexor as a backup plan for me taking Lexapro, which didn't work. I'm not sure if I'll take the Effexor though...It is an SSRI, is it not?

Effexor is an SSRI; It's an anti-depressant. I was on it off and on for several years for depression and it worked great for me. I can definitely say it didn't help my ADD, but I'm not overfocused, I'm inattentive.

My psychiatrist, a specialist in ADD and depression, put me on Adderall and Effexor. He said they were a great combo and they worked wonders for me.
I don't think he would have put me on the combo if they were a bad mix. Especially since he specialized in ADD and depression.

I took Effexor for depression. For me personally, Effexor was hard to get off of. I have read other stories of people who also became sick. It took me awhile to get off it because I would get sick to my stomach and "crave" it. It also made me tired. I know medication affects people differently.

it is difficult to stop effexor, because of withdrawl.

The key is weaning off of it s l o w l y.

I have been on Effexor 75mg slow release for more than 6 years for Depression and had never felt extreme tiredness as a side effect until i started taking adhd meds over the last three months. I have been puzzled about this and it is the very reason i have gone online tonight to ask if anyone else gets really tired eyes after taking dexamphetamine. I hadn't even thought about the possible interactions between the two drugs until now and i feel better that someone else has the same experience as me. I find that i also get so wide awake a few hours after the meds have worn off too.

Starra-
You must wean extremely slowly-it is a real emotional killer if you don't. If I even missed a dose I had major problems. I will never take it again.

Go online and research drug interactions
You will have to register for medscape-it is free! and you can list all your scrips at one time for interactions. This is an excellent site-for patients, MD's and other medical professionals. I use it frequently. You can print articles too.

http://www.medscape.com/druginfo/druginterchecker?cid=med (http://www.medscape.com/druginfo/druginterchecker?cid=med)

I discovered a very serious interaction using this tool. No doctor had even considered it since it is so rare.

Draven-and for other members' future ref-
Effexor is not the only SSRI. It must not be on your ins co's formulary list. It is a list of all the drugs they cover. Tell him this, he knows this is a common thing, like duhhhh.

Get your ins co's formulary list-it is probably online at their website. I have Blue Cross-you can access all your ins info online after signing up. I am sure other ins. co's do this too. Take it in to your dr and show him which drugs will be covered on your ins. If he won't budge-ask him if he gets any incentives from the drug manufacturer and watch for his reaction.

Hope all the other good info other members shared helps you out.

RAD

I thought effexor was an snri.