How long can it take to work

[Kev707]

Hi folks yet another post from me sorry but just not feeling good and I'm really scared, iv been on Effexor now for 3 and half weeks with a week and half on my new dose 75mg once daily the thing is I'm feeling really down a lot more depressed and loads of negative thoughts flying through my head and it's hard to see an end to all this at the moment, I was just wondering if it is possible to feel like this at the start of taking this med and if things were likely to improve? As I just feel so lost at the moment nothing to look forward to really scared what the future holds and it is getting me really down and don't know what to do

[pinkdove]

hi kev i am the same as you hve been taking 75mg day for just over 3 weeks, i felt good first week, then felt really down and had heightened anxiety, ny doc thinks it is withdrawal from citalopram which i was on before starting the ven.

i think it takes around 4-6 weeks to kick in, but i am beggining to feel a bit better today, hang on in there, it has a lot of positive responses on this site, we will get there . good luck and hope you feel better soon xx

[petram]

hi kev hi pink xx

my doc said yesterday when u up ya dose it can take a good 3 weeks to take effect xx

kev il chat to u online later if u like , u will get better hun , keep ya chin up i know its hard

[Pipkin]

Hi Kev,

Pink and Petra are right - these can take quite a while to kick in fully. I'm still improving and I'm heading towards the 2 month mark. I think the negative thoughts can also be worse at first if you're younger (particularly under 25). I don't know if you are though.

Stick with it my friend - there are people here in exactly the same boat and we can all support each other.

Pip x

[Lizziesaurus]

Personally, 75mg took about 2 weeks to kick in for me. In fact I felt fantastic.
I did go downhill quite rapidly after that though, ended up in the end on 225mg (self medicated) and zombie like and not very happy.

Personally the general rule is after about 4-6 weeks if you don't feel better, get it changed.