Cipralex (lexapro) VS effexor

[lexiii]

I'm on cipralex which is lexapro and was wondering which drug is better from people's experiences ?

[Ritch]

Hey Lexi,

I have used both. For me personally Effexor (venlafaxine) was better at reducing my levels of anxiety, I went as high as 300mg but preferred 225mg. The effexor however made me feel more sedated and I was described by a neurologist as someone with the phenotype of someone who experiences excessive daytime sleepiness. I also found that If I forgot to take my medication for just one day I would begin to experience quite severe withdrawal effects the following day

The lexapro helped lower my anxiety but it still had an edge to it, but in combination with a beta blocker (nebivolol) it reduced it to a tolerable level. Sex drive was lowered a little but apart from that I don't recall having any adverse side effects.

But my experiences with these drugs may not be the same as yours, having spent my time across quite a few forums I have seen a lot of people who have said lexapro has yielded good results and the general consensus is that lexapro is better tolerated than effexor, but again this is not a formality. If you are sensitive to medication I would personally say lexapro, but this is only my opinion and something you would need to discuss with your physician/psychiatrist. Hopefully others here will be able to weigh in with their experiences.

Please let us know how you get on with whatever option you choose.

[superchick22684]

I've never used Lexapro but I was on Effexor for awhile. I don't remember my exact dosage I think my doctor prescribed something close to like 100 mg or so? Sorry I'm not too clear on that its been about 8 years since I was on it. When I was on it helped a lot with reducing the amount of anxiety that I experienced. I do believe that I did still experience panic attacks on occasion. One pleasant side effect of being on it is that I remember that when I got headaches they weren't as painful as before I started taking it.
Something you have to remember is different medications affect people differently. I ended up having to switch to Cymbalta (duloxetine) after about six months because it just wasn't treating my symptoms anymore. Sometimes you have to try a few different medications before you find what works for you.