HI - I am new to this depression thread. I have Post Concussion Syndrome (following head injury) and a side effect of that can be depression.

I think that I am actually mentally exhuasted, like had my accident, divorce, best friend died, mother died, brother diagnosed with the nasty c and never more than a few days off work etc etc all in the last 6 years. Probably more of the same for a lot of you.

Anyway my GP has prescribed me Efexor- xr - think in the US it is spelt effexor. I have read up on it and the side effects are horrendous and I am now too scared to take it.

In the past I have had very low doses of fluoxetine and just lately dothiepin. My problem at the moment is that a client fired me at work and that just triggered this over the top tearful reaction. I am now kind of ok if I don't see anybody I know or think about or go near work!

Has anybody taken this drug and how was it - can you respond urgently please as I have to get my self together soon. I don't think that I am that bad - mainly tearful, overyly worrying and can be forgetful. Of course the head injury does not help that but at the moment I know that I am depressed and it does exagerate the head injury.

Thank you, I look forward to hearing any comments regarding the efexor.

Lucy

Hi Lucy:

I was diagnosed 10 years ago with major depressive disorder and have taken a number of different antidepressants. Right now I'm taking mirtazipine (Remeron) (30 MG) and Effexor XR (225 mg). I've been taking mirtazipine since July 2003 and my doctor added Effexor (150 mg) in spring 2005 during a relapse. It was increased to 225 mg in December as I'm going through another recurrence.

I really haven't had any bad side effects from the Effexor - just dry mouth, yawning and excessive sweating which I find the hardest to deal with. I had much worse side effects on some of the other meds I tried - migraines and anxiety were the worst.

You have to remember that we all react differently to medications and what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. If you decide to give medication a try and you have any bad side effects your doctor has many other options available. Medication isn't the only answer but it can help. I see a counsellor regularly (right now once a week, but when I'm feeling better I can usually go to once a month visits) and find that the talk therapy helps a lot. This time, I've been able to continue working - so far! And I don't think I'd have been able to do that without his help.

Hope this helps.
Deborah

Lucy,

I am on this antidepressant and actually now a few other people on the same one....none of us have had any side effects.....

When I read the inserts on the meds....I always have to remind myself that they say EVERYTHING possible that can go wrong...

Talk to your pharmacist about the med and to your doctor sharing your concerns....

It has done me a lot of good, but that doesn't mean it will be your best drug....ask your doc (he/she probably thought it was or wouldn't have prescribed it!)

Good luck.

Peace.

I did go back to my GP and talk to him about the efexor and then went off to the chemist - and guess what !

The chemist told me his wife had been taking it - and at 3 times the dose I was given and for the past 2 years. She was OK with it etc - so after talking to him for quite some time went home and took my first tablet.

Within about a half hour I had a horrible foggy kind of head ache at the back of my head - very like a post concussion syndrome head ache and the next day was nauseous and couldn't eat.

It is now 5 days later and the headache part is a lot better - still slightly foggy and very tired, but the nausea has gone (didn't mind having that as then didn't eat!). My tears have stopped.

So I think within a week or so most of this will have improved and I am looking forward to feeling better. My biggest hurdle will be seeing if I can go back to work - ugh - not looking forward to that at all - but given time who knows?

Forgot to say - yes a dry mouth - I walk around with a water bottle and the excessive sweating = I have been forcing myself to go for a walk each morning and I come back absolutely soaked. Since my head injury my temperature regulation is not great and I burn when I am tired so this is aggravating the over heating! I think I can put up with it though.

Thank you both so much for your help.

Lucy

Hi Lucy. I too suffer from a severe TBI and major depression. In the past, I took both effexor and effexor-xr. Psychiatrically it worked tremendously but one side effect, where it dried me out like a prune, I had to stop taking the drug. I was mad that it dried me out so bad because it worked so well.