Is there any effexor sucess stories????????

I have been on effexor XR 75mg for two weeks now and have not had any side effects other than sweating. Has anyone had great sucess on this medication? I would love to hear some good comments.

Angel

Angel wrote:

I have been on effexor XR 75mg for two weeks now and have not had any side effects other than sweating. Has anyone had great sucess on this medication? I would love to hear some good comments.
Angel

Nobody has any good comments about effexor??????????

I just started yesterday. Nothing significant so far (as i would expect). It's good to hear you haven't experienced anything too negative.

I don't notice anything negative really. I don't notice anything positive but I just took my last 37.5 and will take my first 75 tommarrow night. My aunt said it worked great for a couple years then she started haveing headaches.

My wife felt good for a couple of months after starting on effexor.

Is that good news?

The flip-side is that it's pushing past a bit MORE than a few months now and she's onto the shakes, sweats, paranoia, sex-drive-loss, motivationless, fatigue etc that everyon'e talking about here...

brent -

Yowser, that's somewhat alarming. I'm seeing my doctor in a few weeks and I may back out of this. The more I read it seems like the benefits may come at too high a price.

I starting taking it exactly 3 days ago. I feel horrible...like a drunk sailor...no energy...stoned out of my mind...heart palpitation..and dizziness when I stand up...how can anyone function...I am scared to continue it and scared to stop...from what I have read it could take a couple of weeks for these symptoms to go away...not worth it...If anyone has had these symptoms for the first week only pls reply!!

To Everyone,
After reading what you all wrote so far I feel like I should share somethings with you.
I took effexor for over 4 years. The first 2 made me think I found my wonder drug. I had never felt any side effects and I was not as depressed. I saw a little weight gain and some insomnia but that was about it, I figured that the rewards outweighed the consequences. I told evreybody about the medication and the positive effects I was having with it. I soon found myself jumping on the other side of the fence. Here is why.....
I began to realise that not only was I becoming immune to depressing situations, I was also becoming immune to happy ones as well. Effexor made it so that ulimately I had no real personal emotions toward anyone or anything. This affected my personal life with my family, my girlfriend, my friends, and anyone else who came into contact with me. I had no feeling, none that I could call my own anyways, and it was burning the bridges with all of those around me. I tried to quit about a year ago and immediately started feeling withdrawal symptoms. I fell into a deep, horrible depression and attemted suicide. I tried consulting with my family doctor who actually prescribed me a higher dose to help with the depression. I felt hopeless and alone. I did as I was told with taking the higher dose. All it did was make what I was feeling worse. I was watching a TV special on one of those documentary channels when they began talking about how in some prisons they medicate the inmates to a point where the inmates don't even know they are in jail. It struck a cord in me that I had never realised before. It was like that "Creed" song where he is talking about creating his own prison. I decided right then and there that I was finished with this medicine and needed to really come off. What happened next, the last 4 months of my life, has by far been the most difficult I have ever had to deal with.
It started out just fine, I would cut back a little on the amount and would feel "Weird" for just a few days. Symptoms would subside and would level off giving me some relief untill it was time to drop again. 4 months it took me to get to a point where I was going to take the last pill. I thought it would be just like the other times, be "weird" for a little bit, and go away. Not what happens, and what continues to happen as I write this. All of the symptoms are magnified and horrendous. I have yet to get any relief or get them to stop for just a few minutes. I have uncontrolled twitching, muscle spasms in my chest(kinda like when you get real nervous), insomnia, extrememly short fuse, very angry. And the worst is the "Brain Shivers", feels like an electric shock that starts in your brain and travels throughout your entire body. Almost like an entire body spasm. I have found no real way to explain these "brain shivers" but the closest I can come up with is you know when you are half asleep and not aware of all your surroundings? Then some idiot friend of yours comes up and screams at you or hits you and you about fly out of your skin? Ok, remember that feeling, now stick your toungue to a 9 volt battery. combine the two feelings and that comes close to what I feel about every 10 seconds, or whenever I turn my head. Like I have told you before, I still have yet to get any relief and am beginning to think I won't ever. I have been asked, Why not just go back on the medicine? My answer is this, I would rather experience a terrible life than none at all.
I am not saying that effexor will do this to everyone, I am just saying that I will do everything I can to not let it have a chance to do this to someone close to me. I wish I would have never started this drug in the first place. I have begun to look for some petition or something against the drug company behind Effexor. I don't want money or anything, but I would like my name on something could possibly change the way medications are researched and distributed.

jdm wrote:

I starting taking it exactly 3 days ago. I feel horrible...like a drunk sailor...no energy...stoned out of my mind...heart palpitation..and dizziness when I stand up...how can anyone function...I am scared to continue it and scared to stop...from what I have read it could take a couple of weeks for these symptoms to go away...not worth it...If anyone has had these symptoms for the first week only pls reply!!

I had those symotoms when I took Lexapro I also felt pissed all the time. I took them for 3 days befor I said fuck this. It only took a day befor I felt better after I quit. Have your doc change your meds. I was freaked out after the lexapro deal and said fuck takeing pills. Then I talked to my aunt who takes meds and is a nurse. She told me to keep trying different meds until one works. She said she tried about 5 different befor one worked. So I changed to effexor and have been on them for 2 weeks now and I don't have any problems. My anxiety is alot better man and I hope it gets even better with time.

The effexor activist has more then 500 useful and informative articles.

http://theeffexoractivist.org

see the activist art at

http://community.webshots.com/user/effexoract...

I guess there must be something wrong with me because I have taken this since my husband died in 2000 and have none of the problems mentioned here. I am not as angry as I use to be and am more tolerable of other people. It has been good for me. I have not tried to get off this medication due to a family history of anxiety and depression. I have missed a dose for 1 to 2 days and feel a little dizziness but nothing more.

Cindy wrote:

I guess there must be something wrong with me because I have taken this since my husband died in 2000 and have none of the problems mentioned here. I am not as angry as I use to be and am more tolerable of other people. It has been good for me. I have not tried to get off this medication due to a family history of anxiety and depression. I have missed a dose for 1 to 2 days and feel a little dizziness but nothing more.

I agree with you Cindy. I have taken Effexor @300 per day for 2 years, with nothing but benefits, apart from vivid dreams. Weight stayed same. For me it has been liberating! I am Bi-Polar, but suffer terribly from General Anxiety and Claustrophobia. I feel almost normal now, and can manage to enter lifts by myself (a big achievement), don't get constantly upset and teary, and am enjoying life. My GP thinks I should cut back on amount I take daily, so am reducing gradually, with no side effects except head-aches (which is another problem I have always lived with). I also suffer from migraines and if my body chemistry is changed in any way, it causes more headaches, but I have learnt to live with that.

Sorry to hear of so many bad experiences.

I've used in twice over the last 3 years or so for periods of time under 3 months . . . when I started feeling better, I'd get off it . . . my dose was around 20mg a day of the XR . . .

hello everyone, Effexor has just been precribed to me. reading this site, it seems a big mistake to even start this stuff. because you cant get off it. What are alternatives? I have been taking prozac and effexor is said to "add a second treatment--for noraephenphrine (sp)". The stories on this site scare me a bunch. WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND? Sounds like NO. What else? Thank you all in advance for your advice.

I've been on Effexor for almost 3 years and it has done wonders for me. I was extremely anxious and claustrophobic. The only side effect was that I have gained 20 pounds. I would like to wean off of it but I am concerned about the side effects that I read about. Has anyone weaned off without side effects? Has anyone weaned off and lost the weight?

I have been on effexor for 2 or 3 months now and it works great for social and general anxiety.

effexor has definatly improved the quality of my life. I was very depressed because I moved a year ago from my home town and it was my junior year of high school. In result of this depression i somehow developed social anxiety. I have been on effexor for 3 weeks and i feel a lot better and i no longer have much anxiety. my life is now much better

Please, please do not start taking this drug. It may seem like the answer at first (it seemed magical to me at first, too) but it is a nightmare if you ever want to get off. It simply is not worth it! Please do not go on it. I would give almost ANYTHING to have not started.

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Hello everyone,
I have been on Effexor now for almost 3 weeks. The 1st week 37.5, the 2nd 75 and I just increased to 150 3 days ago. I definately don't like reading about the withdrawals symtoms...scares me. So far I feel pretty good...calmer I suppose. Still too early to tell, I will see my Doc again after my 6th week on the drug. My Doc also recommended that I see a Pychologist...I have an appt next week...perhaps taking effexor coupled with cognative therapy will help me even more. I grew up feeling like I was in a fishbowl...always judged, feelings of never really fitting in...felt different from everyone else. I can cry easy too...take things too personally, hard on my relationships my whole life both work and play. I just want to feel normal...reading the bible helps alot too.