Hey! Does anyone here take effexor. I take it for anxiety and depression. I hear a bit about it here and there. Does anyone have any personal views on it? I would appreciate it!

Hi Drrie,
I have beenthinking of you and knderstand the panic and anxiety. I did take Effexor a few years ago, but did not feel I ahd any real results, that i did better at that time with biofeedback and my psych that dealt with chronic pain patients.

But, during a a recent loss and heart ache I was so lost I was given Lexapro. I started on 10 mg was too high the cut them in half for a few days or week, then to 10 mg and now on 20mgs....
I do from the first two days feel focused, not crying and hyperventalating, heart bronken ion half feeling.

It did take the edge off, and I can be focised during my day instead of ovewhelming myself with the issues that replayed.

I'm trying to get OFF Effexor and finding hundreds of websites full of people suffering terrible side effects like mine. The drug information sheet doesn't tell you anything about it, and doctors don't seem to be much help. I've titrated downward to the lowest dose, then did that every other day for a month, and two weeks ago went off it and I'm a zombie. It's all physical symptoms--acute sleepiness, dizziness, weird sensations in my brain they call brain zaps or brain shivers, which are like mild seizures that last a split second, diarrhea, flu symptoms, nausea, blurred vision. It's worse than I felt when I was depressed, and it's enough to make you feel depressed. So, do not let any doctor prescribe Effexor or Effexor XR to you for any reason in any dose. If I'd known what I know now two years ago, I would have walked out of my psychiatrist's office when she prescribed it. Do not take it. It should be banned. Just Google "Effexor Withdrawal" and you'll see what I mean.

I agree! I forgot mine again the other day and was a mess the next day. I do know EXACTLY what you mean by the brain zaps! I told my hubby that I was hearing noises in my head.i was disoriented and it took the full day to feel better. i T FRIGHTENS ME TO THINK OF FORGETTING ANOTHER DOSE. i HAVE GOT DOWN TO 2/3 RDS OF THE DOSE AND WIL STAY AT THAT FOR A WILE i agreethat it should be banned!! I went thru alcohol withdrawl 7 years ago...it was h-ll. The withdrawl effects of effexor give alcohol witthdrawl a run for their money. Horrible!

I began taking 75mg of Effexor daily just over a year ago after another antidepressant was exacerbating the condition. Effexor has been a godsend to me. I did not realize how seriously depressed I was until the Effexor began working. For the first time in my life, I feel "normal" and function normally. It's almost as if I have awakened from a bad dream. Anxiety played a big role in my life, and it is now under control, practically non-existent. I have seen many of the comments about side effects, and frankly I have not experienced anything that would cause me to want to get off Effexor--the benefits are too great for me to consider not taking it. On two occasions I have missed my dose, and I became a little light-headed, but this went away within an hour of my taking the medicine again. It is unquestionably a powerful medication, and it might not be for everyone, but I would want to continue taking it even if I knew that it would shorten my life by ten years--that's how much the quality of my life has improved since I began using it!

I took Effexor for a couple of years. I had no positive results taking it and no ill effects when I stopped.

I was also just prescribed effexor for neuropathic pain and mood, looking for info. I appreciate everything posted.

if anyone else has input- I am still listening

I took Citalopram (Celexa?) for 2 months (prescribed by neuro) and felt no different and was sleeping WAY too much and planned to quit. Internist prescribed Fluoxetine (Prozac?) and I did one day switch with no ill effects about 6 weeks ago. I don't think it's doing one bit of good either.
Oh, how I wish there were a magic pill somewhere ~sigh~

I am currently taking Effexor. It's one of the few meds that has worked for me. I do not take the extended release (I have had bariatric bypass surgery, so I absorb meds differently), but I have found that I have to take the meds three times a day to not have any withdrawal effects. (Although for me, the side effects serve as a reminder to take the meds if I have forgotten - I always keep some extra in the car just in case I forget).

The withdrawal symptoms I experience are similar to what other people here have described. My head will shake, I will get flashes of light, I will become dizzy, and generally feel blah. The first symptom I feel is a strange one though. I always feel a buzzing in my lower lip and my bottom front 4 teeth ache. As long as I take my meds while I am feeling that, I don't get the other symptoms. For me, the side effects are just part of the meds. As long as they are working for me, I Am OK with it (And yes, I totally had to go off them a little over a year ago. I kept cutting my dose down by a 1/4 every 5 days or so (since I don't take the extended release, I can do that). That really seems to help calm those symptoms.