Hi Ladies,

I'm new to this forum & I need any & all info on Effexor.

I have been doing alot of reading on here. I see a lot of talk about the different ADS that you use.
I have not seen much info on Effexor though. Is Effexor not a popular AD to use for meno?

I would really appreciate any info you can give on the med.

Thank you so much.

Patty

Hi Carebear & Welcome!

You will hear pro's and con's regarding Effexor. It's good that you want to educate yourself first. My husband suffers with depression and has for years. He was put on Lexapro and it did help him for awhile and then it stopped working and they put him on Effexor. The bad side of effexor is that when and if you want to stop it, it can have a nasty discontinuation effect. Some people have a hard time to get off it. My husband literally went through alot. The time release capsule makes it nearly impossible to wean off.

Another hard one to wean off is paxil. My sister has been on Paxil for years and cannot stop, she has tried many times to come off and can't.

I have tried AD's a couple times, for only a day or two and did not like it, so I am not going to be very helpful, I know others here that have good results with it.

Wishing you the best, Juliann

I myself was on Lexapro for 3 months, really liked it over all, did not any major side effects. My only problem was I just was unmotivated and lethargic. Perhaps that is my true nature to a point. If you happen to be a bit more energetic by nature that may work for you. I switched to Pristiq about 12 or so days ago. Didn't even wean off the Lexapro first, went right onto the Pristiq. Pristiq is supposed to be for peri/meno. It is an offshoot, shall I say cousin of Effexor. Since the Effexor patent is no longer in effect and you can get it in generic form (I myself prefer the AD's in its original form even though it may be more expensive.) Anyways, supposedly the Pristiq is not supposed to metabolize through the liver as much, I think it dissolves more in the intestine, or something to that effect, also less side effects than Effexor. I can only speak for myself and say, side effects were minimal, a bit of nausea, dizziness, constipation (not bad), dry mouth. All bearable to me. But, what is bearable to me may not be for others. I feel a bit more energetic and focused on the Pristiq. It is time released I believe. I still don't sleep normally though on either one of them. I had a health anxiety moment this weekend which is my achilles heel, I still went to that dark place for a bit, but, took .5 xanax and didn't go down the road too far. I managed to get through it fairly well, not perfectly, but, better than usual. Both meds helped my anxiety tremendously and my obsessive thoughts. I have a masseuse I go to who swears by Effexor as does my brother in law. So the only way to know is to try it. All of us could give you a different experience and none of them could match yours. Don't go online reading the horror stories on there. Get a little bit of feedback here and then just go for it. Don't find out every little thing because the mind is very powerful, you want to take it without too many preconceived ideas. Let your experience be organic to you. Good luck, Mich

I have started on effexor two weeks ago and feel better for the past few days. My last week-end was the best I had in a while. I have not had so far any side effect. I read that effexor is sometimes given to menopausal women to help with hot flashes. Since I don't have that many to start with, I cannot tell you if it works for that but has been so far working for my anxiety. Using AD meds though is a difficult decision as it might be hard to get off it. In my case, I was not able to be functional any longer and to enjoy my life at all.
good luck
Mrsbuff

sisters,
Has anybody tried Paxil and then switched to the generic form? I read lately about generic AD's and the difference between them. I've been on the generic form and I still have severe anxiety, no motivation and fearful of certain situations. I've been taking 20mgs for 10 months. I tried upping the dose once slightly from 30mgs for a week and did fine then 40mgs and totally freaked out. Went back down to 20. I've had times where I feel perfect and then out of the blue the anxiety rears in. Now I just can't shake it off. Anybody no of this with generics?
((((char))))

I LOVE Effexor. I tried Lexapro and had some really horrifying side effects (bad chest pains and thoughts of suicide).

Effexor is a dream come true. My panic attacks had gotten to where they were every day. Even though it takes a couple of months to get the full effect, I started feeling better in about 4 days. The only side effect I notice is that it makes me fidgety...I will shake my feet or drum my fingers a lot more. Another one is that if I take it too late at night, I'm really groggy the next day. If I take it at lunchtime, the grogginess doesn't hit until about bedtime, which is perfect.

Asn far as getting off it goes, I was forced to because I lost my insurance and couldn't afford it. I was spacing my meds out so I got off it so slowly I didn't notice a lot of problem...just this weird buzzing in my chest, as if there was a firecracker going off in my chest every so often. The panic attacks came back in full force about 3 months after I stopped. I am now back on it, and hope I never have to get off it again.

I sure hope the Pristiq works like that for me. It is an offshoot of Effexor. So far it's pretty good. If I could just stop getting weird stuff I focus on health wise (which I think the AD is helping, I'm not a total mess) I think this could really help me feel more engaged in my surroundings. I'm on day 13, so let's hope it only get's better. I'm so glad that Effexor is working for you so well. Isn't it wonderful when you find something that actually helps with your quality of life.

Take care,
Mich

Thank you ladies for your replies. I'm still searching & not sure what to do or where to go with this.
My doctor has absolutely no clue at all. She asked me what should we do! How should i know for petes sake!

Thanks again.

Patty