Hi all...
i want to make sure i'm posting ok before i go into my lenghty intro. can someone let me know
thanks.

Welcome Kitty Cat
Hi Lady Bug

Chip

Hi,
I have been suffering from severe anxiety,depression and panic attacks. Had a bout with depression in the mid to late 80's but had been off all meds.
Started a new job in June, was getting sick every day at work from July until I finally took off work in March, It took me quite awhile to realize I needed help..
anyhow doctor had me started on zoloft- then switched to effexor- I have been on 300 mg per day since Apr. 22,
I started taking .5mg tablets of clonazepam 4 times a day and as of May 1 have also been prescribed 25 mg of trazadone to take before bed.
Anyone else here taking such taking this combination and or would you consider it a large dose?
I am still having panic attacks,depression, anxiety and not much of an appetite and difficulty sleeping trying to avoid people as much as I can?

I also find I am somewhat irratable, perhaps cause I don't want to get engaged in conversation?
Oh and I am also finding that I am clummsy- un-co-ordinated at times,lose my balance, dragging my feet at times, can't rember what day it is? and sometime can't remember things that I have said earlier in the day, or why situations occurrred- for instance, on Thursday I remembered I had taken my sweatshirt off at the doctor's and it was only a couple hours later I remembered it was so that he could listen to my heart?
I see the counsellor on Wedndesday and psychiatrist on thursday.

sorry for the babble, any ideas?

Sher

This post has been edited by sloboxer: May 3 2008, 09:46 AM

im realy confused with something. i take effexor and i also take seroquel for sleep. but iv been reading up on seroquel and it supposedly inhibits dopamine...now correct me if im wrong but when your on effexor which is supposed to do the opposite is this bad? should i stop taking the seroquel?

I have just started effexor, in fact, I never had heard of the drug before my doc prescribed it. I do feel tired during the day right now, and yes, i am sleeping at night because of the trazadone. My questions are, is it normal to feel nauseated and even get sick off of the effexor xr at first and is 150 mg a normal starting dose?

I guess I should also say that for a few months, up until sunday i was on Zoloft, 100 mg pill a day, which was doing nothing, on monday, I went to the doc and he prescribed 150mg of Effexor XR, .25 mg of Xanax as needed twice a day, and 50 mg of Trazodone once at night... from what i have researched online and in this site though, is that people usually have to start out on a low dose of Effexor and work their way up to higher doses and I just started at 150 mgs. It doesnt seem to be harming me, aside from maybe feeling groggy during the day and sick to my stomach at random times but is it safe to start at 150mgs?

Hi Camilia and to DF

I'm sure it's quite safe. Doctors usually start lower and work their way up, but if they feel it's more urgent, they can start straight in at a higher dose. It tends to cause more side-effects in the beginning, if done that way, and what you're feeling is usual for Efexor. When I was put on WellbutrinSR I was also started straight onto 300mg/day, whereas most people seem to work up to that.

It can get a bit hectic and if the side-effects get too strong, or too awful, you can ask to go down a step and slowly raise it up again. But I think it just reflects variations in different doctors methods of operating.

Thanks for the quick reply... and the side effects arent to bothersome... I was more curious than anything. The effexor xr seems to be making a huge difference already!! And, My doctor usually is very slow to prescribe anything so I am sure he did what he thought was best. He told me to come back in three weeks and if things weren't any better that we would disscuss psychiatry (I can never spell that word)

There is a website CanadaDrugsOnline.com where you can order effexor xr in generic form for $115 for 90 150 mg. capsules.

Hope this helps!

Hi, new to this forum, but it looks like a great tool. I recently was switched to Venlafaxine from Effexor and suffered through torrential side effects. I realize that Venlafaxine is the generic for Effexor. Has anyone ever been through this before? If so, how long did the side effect symptoms last?

Glad to be here!

Hi, Been on 450mg of Effexor now for a bit over 12 months, Only complaint i have about it is it makes me very tired. My Doctor is considering adding Ritalin to the Effexor, Has anyone here tried this combination?

hello..
i am new to the site and have some questions about effexor.

I have been on effexor for nearly 3 years after being diagnosed with severe chronic depression. I have been on 150mg for nearly a year. since january of this year (or thereabout), I have noticed that my ability to function and focus have been deminished and have been experiancing a very noticable jump in my weight (I am 43) especially in the last few months...but have been steadily gaining weight since the increase in dosage.

recently...for the last month...I have been trying to get into see my regular physician to get my perscription filled...she is booked for the next two weeks....without much success...AND she refuses to call my script in without an appointment. I have been off my med for nearly a week now and dealing with withdrawal symptoms.

I have been wondering, when I finally do get into see my DR, since I have been off my medication...should I start all over with the smallest possible dosage, or jump right back on 150mg???

seems like it would be a huge jolt if i do...what to do???

also...I am worried about the weight gain if i do get back on effexor...and should I surpass 150 mg to a higher dose...as I am not so sure that it was relieving my depression symptoms...

is it possible to try another serentonin reuptake inhibitor such as cymbalta????

thank you for you attention to these questions.....

to the effexor room
if you are not finding the effexor to help your depression and will have been off it for a while I would suggest you talk to your doc about a change, And alot of AD's cause weight gain. I too gained alot of weight on it. You may also want to see a p-doc as they tend to know more about AD's and what one will work best for you.

Best of luck (and try not to let your script run that low again....withdrawl without a doc's supervision can be uncompfortable to say the least)

Hi, I am new to this forum, hoping it will help me to understand that there is no faliure in admitting I need help with my depression. That has always been the hardest thing to accept; the fact I may need medication for the rest of my life. I have fought against it for years, going on tablets, feeling well, then thinking I am "cured", coming off it and, 6 months later: BANG - back to square one (without me even noticing it's getting bad again). A vicious circle.

So today I finally went to my doctor and told her I was having anxious thoughts and feelings of hatred towards myself. I can no longer look in the mirror because I think I look "odd" and I told her I don't feel I fit in society. This stops me socialising and wanting to go to work (because I start thinking I am rubbish at my work). I just want to lie on the sofa, close the blinds, eat and sleep. But I can't do that, even though I feel safe when I do. It's isolating myself and pushing loved ones away.

The visual thoughts are of me dying, and although I would never attempt suicide again, it frightens me that I have no control over these flashes of thought. I think everyone around me can see that I must be a fake, see through me, and think I am a joke. I think everyone humours me to keep me happy and that they don't mean it when they are being nice and complimentary. Anything said to me that is good somehow, by the time it reaches my brain, becomes distorted and twisted and ends up being the opposite of what's said. It's so ****** annoying. I want to believe people are genuine, but I am too paranoid and lack trust in others. Makes me feel so bad.

Anyway, I have had my first Alventa XL 75mg (Venlafaxine) 2 hours ago. I normally have Effexor XL 75mg, but I assume they are the same, just different brand names (?). Already, (and my doctor doesn't get this) I feel different: nausea, blurred vision, facial hotness, numbness and shaking inside (a bit like a rush of mild adrenaline). This always happens when I start the tablets and goes after about two weeks. We'll see. I look forward to speaking to long-term users of Venlafaxine because I have been on/off it for about 8 years. The longer I was on it, the more I had to increase my dose. That sort of put me of it. It also had a massive effect on my sexual function. Although I had all the feelings, there was no end result for me. I am too low at the moment to care about that now. My mind is more important than my sex life!

I wonder if anyone knows why this group of tablets works for me, and the Prozac group seem to make me worse (and want to end it all).

By the way, my 10yr old son was offered Prozac for the OCD in his Autism Spectrum Disorder. You can imaging what I told them to do with it !!!

I look forward to chatting to you. xx xx

To Df Klimt,
Hopefully the side effects will go away again. Effexor and Prosac are from diferent families of drugs. Effexor is an SNIR and prozac is a SSRI. Effexor kinda deals with 2 differnt chemicals in your brain. you can look it up on the front page of this site under meds A-Z. Feel free to post in the effexor room and any of the other rooms.

Hi I'm Tammy Lynn. I had anxiety until I was prescribed Effexor.
I will be trying to find answers about Effexor.

Thanks everybody,

Tammy Lynn

I have heard irritability is a sign of depression, too.

I seem to be the opposite. I have an increased appetite.

Tammy Lynn

Hi TammyLynn

It's good the Effexor is working for you. I'm sure you'll find lots of answers here.

PRT xx

Hi guys, from next week I will be starting my switch from Citalopram to Effexor so this will be my new home
I'm really hoping this will finaly be the med for me so I'm off to read up on it!

Oh yay Spence, I hope it works out for you! Do let us know how you're getting on :)