Celexa vs Effexor

mikeymike wrote:

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

I hope that was not serious. Are you okay? My heart gos out to 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.

Im coming off effexor as of today and starting celexa. Feeling as if im going to die with the withdraws from effexor!! Cant even drive a car.

Been on several ad's and celexa has proven to be the best for me with only a few side effects in the beginning which were very mild like a small headache which only lasted about 3 days and I started on 10 mg for 8 days then I'm at 20mg I'm starting to feel happier and have no side effects, celexa wins hands down.

Dan W wrote:

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

Good advise Dan. Thanks!

Please tell me someone else besides me finds this post alarming? Mikeymike will you please tell us you are ok? I know this was from 2009 ut I am freaked out and worried...

mikeymike wrote:

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

The effects of anti-depressants can vary hugely from person to person, but Effexor has been AMAZING for me.
I'm only 22 but I have been on various anti-depressants (including Celexa) over the last 10 years.

I am currently taking 300mg of Effexor XR daily, plus 300mg of Bupropion (Zyban) temporarily while I am quitting smoking.
My mood and energy levels began to improve quite dramatically within weeks of starting Effexor, even with the lower doses I started on.
I've been taking it for almost a year now, and I truly feel like I've got my life back - I experience passion, joy, excitement, love, hope, ambition, motivation and positivity... emotions that I could not even fathom after so many years without them.
Of course, I still have down days sometimes, but I feel that I'm able to cope with stress and sadness just as any other person does... perhaps even better, because I have such appreciation for this life after coming from the pits of hell.

The only noticeable side-effect for me is difficulty/inability to orgasm during sex, but I'm happy to make that sacrifice for all the good it does in other ways.

The one thing I have to be careful with is making sure I don't miss a dose, because the effects decrease quite quickly and the physical withdrawals are not pleasant.
Anti-depressants are designed to be discontinued gradually, so it's a bit of a shock for the body when they're suddenly removed.
The most common side-effect I experience is something described as "brain zaps", which feels like electric shocks, with bursts of pins and needles rushing from my hands to my head. Other sudden withdrawal symptoms have been dizziness, nausea and insomnia.

Previous medications I have tried include:

Celexa - This was one of the least effective anti-depressants for me. My mood was flat and I felt constantly drowsy.

Zoloft - No side effects, but I didn't notice any mood improvement, either.

Prozac - My mood was slightly better, but I was still feeling down more often than not. I also had no libido as a side-effect.

Cymbalta - Improved my mood somewhat, and definitely lifted my energy levels, but the side effects were AWFUL. My eyes were literally bulging out of my head when I first started, I felt irritable and on-edge all the time, I often had anger bursts, I had absolutely zero sex drive, I had trouble sleeping, I would wake up with horrible thick drool on my pillow every morning, and my boyfriend (who was also taking Cymbalta) experienced gluey penile discharge as well as other sexual dysfunction.
I stayed on it regardless for about a year, and then chose to stop taking it suddenly without consulting or involving my doctor.
That was definitely a bad decision and I won't ever do it again.

It was suggested at one point that I try taking Pristiq, which is supposed to be the "cleaner version" of Effexor, but I read a LOT of terrible reviews about it, so I chose not to try it.
I'd be interested to hear a comparison if anyone has an experience with the two.

On a side note, I have also had to take mood stabilizers and anti-psychotics at various times, and I'd be happy to answer questions anyone might have about taking those in conjunction with anti-depressants.
In general though, I dislike both of the above, so I'm extremely happy that I no longer need them.

Anyway, sorry for the essay!
Hope I've helped in some way.:)

Celexa and Effexor are both antidepressant drugs increasing levels of brain serotonin. Both have its risks, complications and side effects with different degree of severity. It is best to consult your doctor about this matter. For other antidepressants such as Paxil, a useful and information-packed website, http://www.paxilbirthdefectlaw.com/paxil-side... , has the significant details you need to know about the drug.

i have been on effexor for a number of years(SINCE 1990). i just recently switch to celexa, because the effexor was not effective. i really did not have any big problems changing.i did get a few head tingles(not bad at all).i also had some very vivid instense dreams---again not bad. i am having some light headed feelings for several hours after taking celexa. i may try taking it at night. i am sleeping better with the celexa. the over effect seems to be better. these are my experience with these two drugs. the thing to keep in mind is different people will react differely to these drugs. what will work for one person may not work for another. you need to find what is effective for your situation.

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.

WOW!!! I agree 190% with the above!! Coming off Effexor is WORSE than hell! Brain zaps (not the cool kind -just the TOTAL opposite)! MUCH worse than the "jones'n" feeling could ever deliver!!! It's a real bitch getting off, just got a script for citalopram only to find out it's just as bad concerning withdraw, done with that as of tonight -don't know where to te=urn at this point???...

I'm taking Celexa. I have severe anxiety and depression. But I'm also taking Lorazapam for the anxiety. The Celexa makes me extremely tired and groggy and my doctor wants me to take such a high dose of the Celexa so that I can stop taking the Lorazapam. But the Lorazapam really helps my anxiety attacks. I need a recommendation of something different to talk to my doctor about. I know people react to medicine differently, but I'm tired of feeling like a zombie.

Going off Effexor is HORRIBLE. I swear I could hear my brain swooshing around and it was like I would turn my head but my sight took forever to catch up. Had no balance. Could barely walk. While on Effexor I had night sweats every night- thought I was starting menopause early! I would wake up soaking wet and have to change clothes and put a blanket down where I was laying because soaking wet. I have not found anything that works perfect. Have been on Wellbutrin, Paxil, Zoloft, and even Buspar. I will say Effexor worked the best out of those. If you can deal with sweating and whatever you do, don't miss a dose!

Marie wrote:

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 would say Bedtime. Only because the effects of feeling tired will be less by the time you have to rise for the day.