I'm on Effexor but I'm unsure about it.

[Kitkat1962]

I have been on Effexor for over a year now and I started with 37.5mgs and then my doctor told me to increase it to 75mgs which I did but the drowsiness, fuzziness in the head, tipsy feeling and my anxiety seemed to increase when I increased the medication and I didn't like the feeling of it. So I went back to 37.5 mgs.

Last month I went to a new doctor and he said that I wasn't even on a dosage at 37.5mgs and that to get the effect of the Effexor to work for my depression I should be taking 75mgs twice a day. I took 75mgs for the month of January up until last Tuesday when I am slowly increasing it so I'm taking a 37.5mg in the morning and a 75mg at night. I am getting those awful feelings/side effects again like I'm edgy , nervous, drowsiness and yawning all the time which is not good for my TMJ (Jaw disorder), tired eyes, anxious tipsy as I feel like I have no energy and I feel tipsy on my feet. I don't feel like I'm not with anything around me like I'm a zombie.

I have done this dosage now for 5 days and I am going to do it for the 4 to 6 weeks but only my family doctor is giving me the medications but I have no psychiatrist yet as I'm waiting for my new one to give me an appointment when they get a cancellation. So I'm on my own by what this psychiatrist I saw in January just the one time as he was retiring after I saw him.

Its very hard for me as I want to sleep all the time and I have no energy to do anything. I really don't like these side effects but I don't know what the main dosage for Effexor is for the average person if there is any.

If anyone has any information on this medication I would really appreciate it.

Anne

[Kitkat1962]

I just want to say that I'm not taking my Effexor until I get some advise from here and from others who have had experiences with this medication as I don't know what to do right now. I don't like the way the 112 mgs is making me feel right now or should I stick with it for the month of March or go back to 75mgs.

I'm at a lost end.

[Kitkat1962]

It seems that I'm alone with this so I'm going to decide for myself as I have no psychiatrist to tell me what to do yet as I'm on my own with the medications , Effexor and Clonazepam that I'm taking.


I'm not getting the help that I need here so I'll log off and not come back.


Goodbye all :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[juliana]

Hi Kitkat. I'm sorry you didn't get a response right away. Sometimes it takes a while. The members on this forum are in many different countries and different time zones so sometimes it takes a while for your post to be seen and answered. There are lots of helpful people here; they're just not here all the time. I hope you come back.

Anyway, I don't if I can be of much help, but I'm willing to try.

What are you taking the Clonazepam for? Is it for anxiety? I've been off and on Clonazepam for a few years now. I took it in combination with other meds to help with agoraphobia and anxiety.

The agoraphobia has been gone for a while, but about 8 months ago depression became a big problem for me. I've read that Clonazepam actually has depression as one of its side effects.

So, I decided to find something that would help with my anxiety and my depression and get off the Clonazepam (just in case it was contributing to my depression). I have been on Lexapro (20 mg per day) for about 6 weeks now and my depression has lifted and my anxiety is under control. Drugs affect everyone so differently, though.

I had a brief experience with Effexor years ago. I only managed to stay on it for about a month because I couldn't handle the side effects. I was taking it for anxiety and agoraphobia, but it made me more anxious. I was drowsy all the time, but had trouble sleeping, felt on edge, and couldn't keep my feet and legs still. I just fidgeted constantly.

You should talk to your doctor about your concerns about your medication. He or she may not be a psychiatrist, but both of you should be monitoring your progress with the increased dose. Whenever I start a new medication or increase a dose, my doctor has me go in for a weekly appointment to make sure everything is going okay.

The thing that seems to be the same with all of the SSRIs is that it takes a while for our bodies to adjust -- sometimes many weeks. Since you recently increased your dose, maybe the side effects will go away. I had side effects for the first 10 days on Lexapro, but they went away.

I'm in Canada too, so I know it can take a long time to get referred to a psychiatrist. The waiting lists are frustrating. Have you told your doctor you want to be referred to a new psychiatrist ASAP? In addition to getting a regular psychiatrist for me, my doctor also managed to get me into a program where PhD students were offering therapy at the hospital as part of their studies. It was all covered -- no charge. There was a much shorter waiting period to set up regular appointments with one of those student therapists. Mine was extremely helpful. Maybe you could ask your doctor if there are any similar programs in your area.

Anyway, if you do come back and read this, keep us posted. Good luck to you.

[Kitkat1962]

Thanks for the advise Juliana and I'll definitely use it. I have decided to go back to the 75 mgs a day with the Effexor as the increase to 112 mgs is just too much and my anxiety does get worse like you experienced with it. I do get edgy and I have trouble falling asleep at night with the increase of the medication.


I do have a new psychiatrist that my family doctor found me but I'm on a cancellation list and everytime they call me to say they have an appointment they never mention the date and time even on the answering machine I have as usually I miss their calls. I phone back to tell them to phone me back and give me the appointment date but they never call me back. I'm getting very discouraged about this new psychiatrist and I do have an appointment with him but its not until June.


Only my family doctor is controlling my medications which are clonazepam which I take to help me sleep at night. The only problem is that my family doctor won't change my medication and give me another one to try as she isn't qualified to do that at least that's what she says to me. I need a psychiatrist to do that for me. Well, the last one I saw on January 30 who retired on the 31st told me to increase the Effexor to 75 mgs twice a day. Well I can't even get used to 112 mgs which is a 37.5 mg in the morning and a 75 mg at night and I did that for five days so far. Not today though as I couldn't handle the increased dose so I've decided to go back down to the 75 mgs which I was originally at.

Thanks for all the advise though on the programs and I saved them so I will look into them. I do suffer from Major Depressive Disorder, social anxiety disorder and panic attacks. Just to let you know what I have and what I'm going through. Thanks for information though and I do understand now that people in here are from other time zones and I'll be patient from now on when I'm waiting for others to reply to my threads and messages.

:D :D :D

[mirandao]

I know it's been a little will since this was posted but, I was on effexor (venlafaxine) for some time and did find it to be quite a powerful antidepressent. I was taking 300mgs daily, after I reached that dose I actually became quite angry, aggressive and strange. I'm bipolar and I don't think that dose of venlafaxine was appropriate, at the time my only other medication was topiramate (topamax), at a fairly low dose. By the way a normal dose of effexor is usally between 75-225mgs, with some deviation.

Has anyone else had experiences with effexor(venlafaxine)?

I take Celexa - similare to Lexapro. I'm not a professional. I have a close friend on effexor and the effect was simply "too medicating." He was not functioning or able to function normally of effectively and has seriously lowered his dosage. He is hoping to eventually get off it all together. The other side effect that is quite troubling is its effect on the sexual life of men who take it. There are many nightmare stories posted about on the Internet related to this, so I'll spare the details. I'm on Celexa and felt immediate results with no side effects at all. However, my prescribed dose is clearly for depression and not anxiety.

My own experience with my psychiatrist and therapist in relation to any anxiety I experience is: "Do you want to medicate it or work through it?" I found that it is worth sitting with the anxiety for a while to work through it and see the trigger erode.

[mirandao]

Hey Brooklyn, I'm glad you didn't get the side effects you mentioned. I've taken a number of ssri's and related drugs, and I got sexual side effects each time. I did not know and it really contributed to my depression. A lot of people are not aware and it's a shame, I think it needs to be made MUCH more clear, that both men and women can suffer from this.

Hi Kitkat,

Juliana is right, there are many people here in these forum that would really help you, its just that not all the time that they are online, for they to have there job and works every day...But don't worry, we are here to help you.

So hows it going with the medicine that you take?...Or how are you today?You take care ok...God Bless!!!

[Robbed]

Hey Brooklyn, I'm glad you didn't get the side effects you mentioned. I've taken a number of ssri's and related drugs, and I got sexual side effects each time. I did not know and it really contributed to my depression. A lot of people are not aware and it's a shame, I think it needs to be made MUCH more clear, that both men and women can suffer from this.

Perhaps the WORST thing about side effects is that doctors/psychiatrists ofen don't want to believe their patients when it comes to side effects. They often blame these side effects on the original depression/anxiety problem rather than side effects, and then proceed to increase the dose further. And this only cases even MORE misery. This sadism on the part of so-called professionals is just one more reason why SSRIs are a merry-go-round that I don't want to ride.

[Anxieteer]

I took Effexor for three and a half years. Not because it helped but because when I tried to get off it I had these awful withdrawal symptoms: shock sensations in the head and terrible nausea. I had to keep taking it just to prevent these symptoms. Finally I got off of it by tapering off extremely gradually, but the whole Effexor experience was one of disappointment and difficulty. Even so, maybe it works for some people. It just didn't work for me. (Neither did Prozac, Paxil, or Wellbutrin.)

[kathy1]

Hi KitKat

I took Efexor five years ago (75mg per day). i took weeks to stabilise from the terrible side effects but did eventually and i weaned off it about 2 years later without any trouble.

i was put on it again 5 months ago after a breakdown but i only lasted 5 days the sxs were shocking and i am still struggling now although i don't think it's from the Efexor.

do not whatever you do drop the lot in one go, that is not the way to do it. you need to wean off it very slowly to give yourself the easiest ride possible.

kathyx

[benbrh17]

I've taken effexor for the past month and its at 150 mg. now each day. So far my deppression has decreased alot now.

[ebonyrae]

Hi KitKat,
I hope by now you are feeling better and on some sort of anti-depressant. I am on effexor xr. I take 75mg morning. and since taking the first tablet I have felt better than I have felt in years. I have tried lots of other anti-depressants. I am also on 1.25mg olanzapine. I feel really good on these.
Ebonyrae