Celexa vs Effexor

Has anyone tried either? I am on Celexa and I cannot kick the groggy, no emotion feeling. I keep hearing of friends on Effexor and all seem to have good things to say about it. Although the first 4-6 weeks of side effects seem worse than Celexa (mine lasted 4 weeks). I haven't heard of one person that is taking Effexor that is not happy they are on it. I take Celexa for severe anxiety/depression and it has really only taken the edge off. Overall, I'd rather live with the anxiety/depression than not to have much feeling at all and feel foggy headed every single day. Any comments?? I am confused and new to SSRIs. Thanks!

Weel I was on Celexa and came off as of yesterday. Went to the doctors today and she prescribed me effexor that I will start tomorrow. I am nervous about it but celexa did nothing for me and 30 mg i had a reaction. Fingers crossed that this one works cause I am sick of trying to figure it out. i will try and find this site again once I have taken it for a week and let you know how I am.

Thanks Tiff. I am slowly finishing my celexa....look forward to hearing from you.

i have taken both celexa and effexor and neither worked for me. all celexa accomplished was to make me really lightheaded each time i took it. when i stopped the celexa i began with effexor only to find a few severe side effects. first of all i would sweat profusely all of the time, even when just lying down watching tv, second of all i got severe muscle cramps when doing any type of strenuous activity, and third of all i could not orgasm during sex (i had plenty of stamina but even after an hour and a half couldnt finish the deal). I am taking wellbutrin now with great results. I have noticed no side effects at all in the 6 weeks i have been taking it and the depression/anxiety have been suppressed immensely.

Good to know jrp, I have been looking into both Wellbutrin and Paxil.....staying away from the Paxil!!
Funny, Celexa gave me the same sexual side effects. And I couldn't cry? I was never really happy or really sad...just in the middle like a zombie.

Hi
My doctor put me on citalopram instead of effexor not sure why. I have been having these anxiety attacks for a while now and crying at a drop of hat over nothing. I am bit nervous of taking it, I hear that you get light headed all the time. I feel that way now so I am kinda of skeptical of trying this but on the other hand I can't keep going everyday crying and having this anxiety feeling everyday. Any suggestions when to take it? I heard at nighttime?

I took tried it in the morning only to find myself tired and foggy headed all day. It was not as bad taking it at night. After supper or about an hour before bed. Its a good sleep and the next day is easier to make it through. It all depends on the way it affects you. Some people get very tired while taking it, some are wide awake. Just remember, the side effects can be harsh, but stick with it for at least 3-6 weeks and you will notice an improvement. The side effects are the number one reason people stop taking ADs.....so good luck to you...hope this one works for you!! I am starting effexor tomorrow and my fingers are crossed!!

I am here to tell you dont go on effexor, coming off if going thru hell, detox. for weeks... just came off a month ago and literally thought I was going to die, I today started the celexa So I will let you know what happens.

Effexor is harder than heck to get off of. I know two people who have had severe side effects comming off this drug. This drug needs to be taken off the market!

I was on Effexor for 5 mths and stopped without telling my psychiatrist. The stuff made me tired all the time and made me nauseous to the point that i would almost black out when riding my bike. I stopped 6 months ago and finally gave the 6 bottles of Effexor back to my counsellor and she got quite upset that I was not taking it for last 6 months. They now have prescribed Celexa which is supposed to be milder than Effexor.
Well i dont plan on taking that either as I have stashed up about 100 pills of Seroquill and im gonna take all that amd find the tallest building to jump off of. goodbye to my sad life

Been on effexor about seven months now, and all and all it definately "works". In the past took prozac, zoloft, wellbutrin, and paxil. Prozac and zoloft stabilized moods relatively well, but didn't do much for my social anxiety. freaked out on wellbutrin, and paxil just felt lightheaded, no real effects. However, effexor is by far the best for my anxiety. At first, I felt no real side effects, but after a couple months they became apparent. I sweat more than usual, no big deal, but my stomach is intermittently upset (not just acid reflux, but really bad nausea, uncomfortable feeling). Honestly, I've come to accept this, and have tried to focus on the "good", but sometimes it gets really bad, and my stomach even affects my mood. Wondering if celexa would be better for stomach, if anyone has experienced this side effect with effexor. there's also definately a "flat" feeling sometimes, and I find myself less connected to the strong emotions that I used to identify with. Honestly, this is the biggest adjustment of being on an antidepressant: having to live a less emotionally rich life. Does anyone else feel this way? it really isn't something that I hear a lot from other people on ssri's. But hey, in the end I think it's about accepting the give and the take. This emotional dampening is no side effect: it IS THE EFFECT. I hope more than anything that I can find something in life that'll make me realize how much I do care, deep down. And I hope that the rest of you do as well, because there's more to life than chemicals. Anyway, I'm rambling.
IMPORTANT: regarding effexor withdrawal: I think it's extremely difficult, and a bad idea, to go cold turkey on the effexor. It has a very short half-life, and the withdrawal can be terrible. One thing that will work better is SWITCHING TO AN ANTIPRESSANT WITH A LONG HALF LIFE, LIKE PROZAC, AND THEN TAPERING OFF. During the switch, maybe take a small amount of effexor for the withdrawal, and once the prozac is in your system, should be MUCH easier to stop altogether. Then, if you wish, taper off the prozac, which has virtually no withdrawal symptoms, and you are off the medication. My mom tried this, and it worked great for her. I DO NOT suggest doing this without the consent and supervision of your doctor, but it may be worth a shot. Good luck to you all, and I wish only the best
-Dan

I was on effexor about 9 months ago and it worked really well for me and the withdrawal was ok with only head zaps and a few head aches as side effects for 2-3 weeks. I was off ADs for the past 8 months but anxiety issues and depression came back so have now gone on celexa which my GP told me is milder and less potent than effexor. Im 2 1/2 weeks in and starting to feel better, im smiling some of the day now but still get lows in the afternoon but not to the point of panic.

Im lucky in that these drugs seem to be ok in my system and i would endorse both, however if you are at the bottom and feel like theres no way out then effexor for me is a short term solution to pick you up quickly. i did 4 months before coming off as i was told that this drug should only be used short term. For me i know i have trouble relaxing and i get run down with stress and anxiety so celexa seems better as it can be taken long term until i discover how to get my body to relax.

Whatever you take give it time the first few weeks are never good and usually make you feel worse but 2-4 weeks in you will start to make progress. My first day on Celexa and Effexor were really bad i was manic and hyper but on second day this calmed down. You have to trust your GP that these are good for you and if you dont find a GP that you do trust and who will support you.

jody wrote:

I am here to tell you dont go on effexor, coming off if going thru hell, detox. for weeks... just came off a month ago and literally thought I was going to die, I today started the celexa So I will let you know what happens.

I strongly agree - no one told me about the withdraw effects of effexor and trust me it was horrible - I had brain tremors, i was sick as in flu sick for weeks ugh- dont do it!!!!

fyi - ask your doctor for prozac to help as you come down off of effexor - it was the only thing that worked

I have been on Effexor and Celexa for the past 9 months. I have found the 2 to be effective as long as I take both of them. On their own, they don't seem to have any effect.

Don't go on Effexor!! I was on it and then switched to Citalopram. Effexor is VERY addictive and getting off of them caused me to be violently ill for 2 months, until my doctor put me on Citalopram. He assured me that Citalopram was not as addictive. Now I'm trying to ween off of it, and I'm extremely dizzy, light headed, and feel like I'm floating and nauseated.

AUGH Effexor XR does have really bad with drawl!! I only took 75mg and believe me it's hard coming off!!

-Vivid (night terror) dreams @ night!

-Headaches (flu symptoms)

-Brain sloshing feeling!

etc..

I have been on Effexor 75 mg for 5 years!!! I can miss one day and be violently ill. Last year I had the flu, couldn't keep anything down and missed two days. I ended up in the hospital for 3 days due to the missed pills! It works great, but missing a dose will make you violently ill (flu like symptoms). My doctor wants me to try Celexa. I might take both until I can wean myself off the Effexor.

all of you should check out the web drugawareness.com and if you can't find that check out Dr. Ann Blake Tracy. IT may seem good (effexor) while you are on it but believe me this stuff will cause you great harm or cause you to hurt someone else. I was on effexor xr 350 mg. daily along with celexa 90 mg. daily for almost two years. The nightmares were terrible, so were feelings of anger. I tried to stop cold turkey and that is a big mistake, I tried slower next time but not slow enough and am really worried about the withdrals I am now having. Belive me take it from someone who knows and that is Dr. Ann Blake Tracy phd. She wrote a book on this suff after 4 years of research and has investagated several school shootings etc. where people were on these drugs. You won't believe what you will see. It will make you all want to get off this stuff. Please for Gods sake and yours and all the innocent people out there check out what Dr. Tracy has to say. Linda

Please note in my comment above I mentioned a web sight for Dr. Ann Tracy. Mistake made. It is drugawareness.org not.com Sorry