Effexor (Venlofaxine)

[wendy]

Have anyone tired this med please and if so any comments??

[manders]

Hi Wendy

I have been on Effexor for about 4 months now. I started on a lower dose then slowly worked up to 150mgs a day, I also take Mirtazapine at night.

I have had no problems with this medication, except for the one time a few weeks ago when I ran out and couldn't find my new prescription. I was without my Effexor for 4 days and experienced withdrawal symptoms which were pretty unpleasant. I should have phoned my doc for a new prescription right away but I wasn't sure if she would believe me that I had lost my script as I had not long gone back onto monthly scripts after being on weekly dispense due to suicidal thoughts.

However when I have taken the medication properly it has been fine. I haven't suffered any side-effects from it at all.

I am due for another ECG in a couple of months as they can't continue the medication without patients having a clear ECG at the moment, however my psychiatrist did say that they are hoping this will stop being the case very soon if someone has no history of heart problems.

Mandy

[weepinky]

Hi Wendy

I have used Effexor before and started on 75mgs then up to 150mgs, I found it very effective and had no side effects using it properly but as Manders says if you do stop suddenly then you will get the side effects - although I came off them completely by reducing the dose slowly and was fine hun.

Hope it goes well


Love :DPinky:D

[tjaustralia]

I have been on 75mg Effexor for 3 months now to treat generalised anxiety, at first i was energised, wide eyed and very happy - slight nausia, then i settled into it and became calm, clear headed and content, now that im at month 3 im quite sleepy now but still content and calmer.

My anxiety has definitly subsided, i feel like ive taken off foggy glasses and i can see the world and issues for what they are, im not clouded by thoughts battling against eachother or suspision and paranoia taking control of me. i can finaly make decisions for myself. when i take a deep breath it fixes everything but in the past nothing would calm me. there is some definitive truth in the syaing "stop and smell the roses"

recently i missed a dose in the am and the consequenses were more extreme than i could have imagined, i felt so down by lunchtime, and the next day i couldnt pick myself up, this has prompted me to go to my gp and re address my current dosage. its a frequent thought - how will i cope when i eventually have to go off the med? but to be honest at 23 i am trying to develop becoming a good wife, someday a mother and just accepting being me, so if there ever was a period in my life to be treated by medication i believe now is a crutial time. to anyone who may say to me "your just covering up issues that you need to deal with" well yeah ok i am but.. there is no way i could deal with my anxiety when i am deep in it, thats almost impossible. now when i have therapy i can understand and learn the tools i need.

im definitly not worried about the side effects, because for me, i truly believe that the pain and intensity of stress and anxiety would kill me before any medication would. i feel without Effexor i would be my own worst enemy and i would never change, now i finaly have the chance ......to let the real me come through.

[Livvy]

Hi i took venlofaxine after trying two other ssri's which had no effect on me. I believe that it can help you and is worth trying but only if you have supportive people around you.. especially when you have to come off it. It did help me for a while but in the end the side effects were too bad and i had to come off it. I had incredibly bad nausia and headaches, which got worse over time. I have to say that coming off the medication was 'hell on earth'.. i had all the symptoms, which you see with a drug addict trying to stop! I also have a friend who came off the same medication a while after me and he was just as bad. But in saying that, I did manage to eventually come off them and don't regret being on the medication as it gave me hope that one day I will find something which will help me. Unfortunately being in NZ Effexor is the only SNRI option available, so my options are pretty limited.

The most important thing to know if you are going to take any anti depressants is that you need to have support and a counsilor who is right for you.

[Richie]

sorry but awful stuff for me personally, made the panic attacks worse and had terrific migraines.
coming off a month ago was pretty bad even though it was sensible and gradual,even now it's in my system and causes havoc

[neelhm]

Effexor plus Mirtazapine really worked for me. Apparently dubbed Californian Rocket Fuel when combined,it was like a storm settling and made me so calm. Almost off both meds now and actually found Effexor easier to come off than Mirtazapine (but that wasn't too hard either), but I think it is a very individual thing how much the withdrawal affects you.
If you have decided to go on Effexor then please try not to spend the time worrying about it cause that kinda defeats the object and once you are ready to come off you will be in a completely different place.