Afraid of taking Effexor XR-need advice

Laura V · Post by **Laura V** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:15 am

I've been really overwhelmed for a while now and my stress level has gone up instead of down over the last few months. I retired in Sept and can't seem to find a job, I have three kids still at home; two with Aspergers (my step-sons) and my daughter has ADHD and also was sexually abused. Our mortgage is going up in March and we've been having to take one of the boys to all these specialist to get help with the Aspergers but it's costing money. I also have IBS and anxiety. I take Klonopin but nothing works for the IBS so the doctors are so worried that I'm going to kill myself since now I'm very depressed (did I mention I'm having marital problems TOO and have no friends or family close by because we are military?) the doctor wants me to start Effexor XR and I'm very hesitant because I'm very sensitive to meds and Celexa made me very sick, so did Paxil. I was supposed to start the meds today but since we had a bad storm and my husband has a very busy schedule I didn't want to take it incase I had a bad reaction. Can someone PLEASE help me and tell me if they have tried Effexor XR? I had a good friend on Celexa and he did great on it but like I said it made me really sick. Thanks for any help anyone can offer. I'm soooo scared!
Laura

Anne G · Post by **Anne G** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:38 am

Laura: I took effexor XR as well. I was suffering with debilitating peri-menopause. I had side effects for about 2 weeks but they went away as my doctor told me they should. If you experience continuing, dangerous or rare side effects tell your doctor that day and don't take anymore until you talk to him. Those were my instructions. After removing myself from all meds before my hysterectomy, I noticed that the Effexor XR was helping with irritability-which was what it was prescribed for. As it wore off I got more irritable. It took less than 2 months to get it out of my system and I had no problems with withdrawals. After my hysterectomy I was on no anti-depressants or the effexor and the irritability went away and has not returned. I even know a guy that's taking it as he has anger problems and he and his wife say it's working for him. He had temporary, but no ill side-effects. Always ask your doctor. They do not give us medications that they know are going to hurt us. Side effects are a chance we take when taking any medication we've never taken before-learned that the hard way on more than one occasion! And also my pharmacist has been a great help with keeping me well informed about meds. (I think they know more than Doctor's myself

)
Anne

Laura V · Post by **Laura V** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:49 am

Anne-
What kind of side effects did you have? I can live with some but see, I have IBS(Irritable Bowel Sydrome) and I certainly don't need side effects that are going to make my IBS worse. My doctor told me it won't aggravate my IBS and it might give me more energy so to take it in the morning however, the bottle says "may cause drowziness" and the sheet that came along with it said to take with food, he didn't mention either of those. I have a military doctor; they don't always know what they are doing! I've been given meds before that really made me sick. I also believe my whole anxiety and IBS was brought on by being over medicated by my doctor for a sinus infection and ever since then (8 yrs ago) I've had anxiety and IBS.
Laura

Kris10 · Post by **Kris10** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:07 am

Laura, I have never taken Effexor but am weaning off Paxil. Which, for me has been hell. I have become very depressed this last week and have started Prozac yesterday to help with some of this withdrawal or "discontinuation syndrome" as they call it. The only think I CAN tell you is what I've been told. Whenever I speak to a doc or pharmacist about my paxil withdrawal they say....oh paxil is notorious for that, almost as bad as effexor! So i know if you take it for a long time it is extremely hard to come off of. I don't want to scare you, just inform you. Please ask your doctor and pharmacist about effexor withdrawal and or discontinuation syndrome...or even google effexor withdrawl. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Ronda E · Post by **Ronda E** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:14 am

Hi Laura and all! I'm on Effexor - a low dose at 37.5 mg every second day. I had about 10 days of side effects (nausia being the worst with some 'fuzzyness', tiredness and a few other things) and they gradually went away.

This is the second time I've been on Effexor and I can say it has been extremely helpful for me. I haven't had any problems reducing my dose, though I did try to go to one every 3 days and that was too much, so I'm just riding it out at one every 2 days for now.

I don't think it would aggrivate your IBS given what I've experienced, but I don't have IBS, so it's hard to say.

Good luck!

Ronda

Laura V · Post by **Laura V** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:29 am

My doctor wants me to take 37.5mg every DAY! They are really worried about my depression. If some of you are saying you had nausea, fogginess, and drowziness for 10 when you didn't even take it every day I am now really worried about what MY side effects will be and 10 days is a long time.

Kris10 · Post by **Kris10** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:44 am

If you're really depressed, no side effect like fuzzyness or a little nausea is worth not getting treatment.
I'm started the Prozac and am worried about the side effects too but I'm trying to think positive and hope i won't have any or that they be mild. Also I feel I'll do anything to feel better at this point.

LeeAnn Sanzo · Post by **LeeAnn Sanzo** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:47 am

I personally have tried Zoloft, Xanax , Lexapro and have had very bad side effects for all of them.. I didn't feel like myself..I was tired all the time and I still got the panic attacks, and everything looked distorted, I didn't feel at all like myself..I have decided to go natural and just try to get my body healthy by exercising, keeping off caffeine, sugar and chamomile tea helps me when I'm having a panic attack or can't sleep. I notice my panic attacks are worse when I don't get good sleep. Warm milk is also supposed to be good because it has tryptophan in it and helps relax you naturally..so does turkey..did you ever realize you feel like taking a nap after a good turkey dinner. Spinach is also good for anxiety. I just need to work on my sleep and I think my anxiety attacks won't be so severe. I'm afraid to try any new medicines because my side effects were so severe, I'd rather have my mind in tact and not feel dopey or spacey from the medicine and then I can't fight off an anxiety attack when it comes on..I'm going the natural way and healthy way. When I was on those medicines I felt like I was losing my mind. Now that I'm off, Yeah I still have anxiety attacks but My mind feels clear and I can concentrate on my breathing and working through the attack. The medications were definitely not for me.

Laura V · Post by **Laura V** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 11:08 am

LeeAnn-
You are fortunate that you can go without the meds and believe me I've been fighting this battle for 8 yrs now but, it's just getting worse (see my first post) I already cut out caffeine, sugar, and I drink lots of water and chamomile tea but they don't help, neither does drinking milk at bedtime. With my IBS my stomach is very sensitive and just acts up over stress, anxiety, and foods. There is no cure for IBS and I've had every test imaginable with no answers. I just think right now I need meds for the depression because I'm getting really close to saying the hell with life and committing suicide. But, before anyone starts worrying I've already alerted my doctor and my counselor and even had to sign a promissory letter saying what steps I'd take to prevent suicide. My only real reason for living is my daughter, she's 17 and has a lot of her own issues so she really looks up to me and if I was to kill myself I'm afraid she'd kill herself too. So, the anti-depressant seems like the way to go FOR NOW! But, I was also told it might help my IBS. Just not excited about possible side effects.
Laura
P.S. I was living in Mt.Holly, NJ- you've heard of it? We almost bought a house in Burlington and I have two good friends that still live there. One's single if your aren't. hint hint. Not to pry. We are military so we moved here to Florida in July 06. I am originally from NJ but more Northeast.

Loverofdogs · Post by **Loverofdogs** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:24 pm

Hey Laura, You definitely are having a difficult time in your life. I have taken Effexor ER. My doctor had me on 75mg a day for my anxiety and depression. I hadn't had a good nights sleep in over a year and was lookin it. Anyway, the Effexor did help me sleep, but it made me very complacent about everything. I quit doing all of the things that I loved like gardening, reading, writing, etc. I didn't care about my diet or my house, I didn't really care about anything. So last year I weaned myself off of it and have decided to handle my anxiety through diet, exercise and this program. I DID consult my physician before going off of my meds and I think that is very important. The thing about taking medication is that it helps with the symptoms, but it doesn't solve the problem. Perhaps seeing a family counselor will help you to overcome some of your obstacles. There are often resources in the community that we don't know about that can be a great help. Anyway, I hope this helps you and doesn't hinder you. You will be in my thoughts and prayers, D-