Effexor - 2 doses instead of one |

Hello team Effexor. After being told my cholesterol was 6.9 I started taking my weight seriously and I think I’m onto something here with a combo of things. I’ve dropped 5 kg in a month, and feeling healthier and more active. One coffee in the morning and Drink Yerba Mate through the day, take Calocurb appetite suppressant - 2 at breakfast and two at dinner (in chemists here in NZ- no side effects which and curbs appetite - made from hop oil), cut sugar as much as poss - eat fruit instead, exercise 30 mins walking every day after dinner. I’m also taking creatine daily. When I feel hungry in the evening when I get home I eat a handful of roasted almonds which helps. Anyway, hope this helps some ppl who struggle with weight gain on anti depressants. I know effexor is mostly associated with weight loss, but not in my case.

So, I’ve been with my partner for almost five years. We’ve lived together for almost 4. I brought 2 kids in the relationship and things have been going well - life has ups and downs but we’ve been really good. Or so I thought.
My partner had been on a high dose of Effexor for a while, and got bariatric surgery back in January. She’s lost a lot of weight and has gone through a lot of great changes, and I’ve been super proud of her. She’s wanted to get off Effexor for a while and is doing a slow taper.
Unfortunately, I’ve noticed the last few weeks, she’s developed a hair trigger temper and snaps at pretty much anything into a huge blow up. I’ve tried to talk to her about it calmly, give her space… but she’s fine at work and with her friends so no one else notices it. And she’s constantly pissed at me lately so she’s not listening to me say it. She told me a couple months ago that it was possible this would happen from the Effexor taper, so I guess this could be it.
She and I are both in therapy individually - I’ve inquired about couples therapy locally but it’s so hard to find someone available with our schedules. I don’t know what to do - it’s not her. I love her regardless. It’s uncharacteristic of her. And unfortunately (or maybe fortunately lol) I’m very sensitive so constant yelling at me takes a toll. I’ve talked to my therapist and my best friend about it, but it feels helpful to talk to a fellow group of lesbians for any advice in approaching this productively. Thanks in advance.

TLDR: talking abt anxiety medication/my treatment and I also want to know what y’all’s experience with Effexor for treating anxiety/OCD has been? So far mines been good
So I went to my doctor and she told me the dose I was on was actually a low dose. I’d already been feeling less anxious on the low dose (like the edge was taken off) so I talked to my psychiatrist and said I wanted to go higher and he said that would be the right move.
I really have a lot of hope for a higher dosage. I previously was on medication to treat depression, but my actual issue is severe anxiety/ocd, and the sadness/hopelessness I feel stems from my struggles with that.
I also really hope it helps me with my emotional sensitivity too. I feel like I’m very sensitive and I know medication won’t fix everything (maybe one day they’ll come up with a magic pill - I’d pay whatever they wanted!!) and at the same time I’m really hoping it will dull my hyperawareness to everything. Like the constant feeling of being on edge or too aware, and being unable to relax.
I also know if I combine my medication with continuing my DBT & therapy (and PRACTICING MY SKILLS!!) and exercising + eating healthy I feel like that would boost the meds effects and reinforce more positive thinking and outlook. I feel like also these things together will help me better master my interpersonal skills. So my feelings maybe hopefully won’t be so overwhelming and intense and I can take a second to think abt my current state instead of reacting.
Anyways I’m just posting this bc it makes me feel better to focus on the brighter, more hopeful side of the future. Like maybe I’ll get some relief from a higher dosage. I really hope so. I also need to work on methods of relaxing my body bc I get tenseeee and I think that can start or reinforce the anxious/negative thinking and hypersensitivity.

I have been trying Prozac (fluoxetine) instead of Effexor to treat panic disorder. I’ve gone up to 20 Prozac while reducing Effexor. 2-3 weeks got up to 30mg. Week 4 I am staying on 30 with plans to go up to 40, had a terrible panic attack. Worst in a decade. Can’t seem to sleep either.
Does it make sense to keep upping Prozac if it seems to be making things worse?
Has anyone felt an increase in panic while starting Prozac, or should this be working better at week 4 - and should I try another one?

TL;DR Just like the title states, Effexor side effects kicking in after over a year of use, and I'm feeling frustrated.
I am currently on a dosage of 150mg.
For some backstory, I was on 75mg of Sertraline/Zoloft for about 3 years. I got diagnosed with ADHD, started taking Vyvanse, realized that my anxiety was caused by my uncontrolled ADHD and wasn't experiencing it anymore but instead was suffering from increased depression. My family doctor switched me to Effexor, and it was game changing for me.
I had been on 75mg of Effexor for about year, with no real side effects, except for the very rare and mild night sweats, and my periods being slightly longer (days bleeding) than normal and slightly closer together. I recently got a referral to a psychiatrist after years of asking my family doctor for one, and was placed in a 10 week/6 appointment outpatient medication clinic at my local hospital. During this time, my meds were increased to 70mg for Vyvanse (was already on 50mg in the morning and got an extra 20mg for mid-morning/lunch time) and 150mg for Effexor. At first the med increase was going really well, and during my time with my psych I had no issues to report on all my check ins.
Of course, now that I am finished with the psych, I am having problems and thinking this dose isn't right for me. This is an issue because my whole reason for asking for a psych referral is because my family doctor is extremely dismissive and unhelpful.
I have always had issues with incredibly painful periods, and I knew after lurking this sub that my periods would most likely get worse, but I was willing to deal with that if it meant the medication was effective. Well.. My cycle which was always incredibly regular before starting Effexor (27/28 days, 4 days max of period) has now switched to 24-25 days, 5-7 days of period while I was on the 75mg dose. I have had 3 cycles since my dose increase, and this month would be my 4th, however my period is late? I am (for some reason) on cycle day 30, with no chance of being pregnant as I previous had both my fallopian tubes removed, and I also didn't have intercourse in my fertile window. And despite having PMS and cramping all last week and feeling like my period would start at any second... my period is still no where in sight. I haven't had a period be this late or a cycle reach 30 days since before I started this medication, in 2022.
On top of that - THE NIGHT SWEATS. They have come on so suddenly, and its making me unable to sleep at night. I wake up 1-2 times a night, at least 5-6 times a week completely drenched to the point I have to change clothes and go sleep on the couch. I have never been an overly sweaty person to begin with, and I find that I am usually in the sweat zone when I fall asleep after waking up in the middle of the night. I've also never really had trouble sleeping, so this is all strange to me and I don't even know where to start with telling my doctor.
What do I do? Do I try and switch medications AGAIN? This is so frustrating for me because up until the side effects started happening, this was the most effective medication I have taken. But unfortunately soaking the bed nightly and now the weirdly late period is making me concerned.
Nothing at all has changed in my day to day life and I'm just getting absolutely bodied from a dose increase months later. WHY.

Ok so, I was on Prozac for about two years. I really liked it, (40 mg) but I was always feeling hot and sweaty, I didn’t know why , so my doctor suggested that I try Effexor - I started Effexor Feb 2024, and ended with a decently high dose but I just wasn’t feeling anything at all, not even side effects, ive only been on it for roughly 2 1/2 months. I could feel myself getting depressed again, so I went back to Fluxotene. Currently, it’s been about 1 week since I’ve been back on Fluxotene. My main concern is I don’t know if my awful side effects are from quitting Effexor or from starting Fluxotene. OK, bear with me because this is where it just gets obnoxious

When I originally started Prozac a few years ago I started with the 20 mg pill and a year after began the 40 mg pill. It was all seamless and side effects were minimal

-This time around starting Prozac, I went right to 40 mg to start , because that’s all I had on me from my prior script. ( my doctor prescribed me the 20 mg pills and told me that I could start on 20 or 40 depending on how I feel, but I did not have time to go to the pharmacy so I just took the 40s that I had on hand)

I assumed that since I’ve only been off prozac for 2 months I shouldn’t have terrible side effects starting it again at 40 mg right ?? Should I have started at 20?
- BUT i was only on effexor for like 2 1/2 months, so I can’t imagine the withdrawal from that could be terrible right????
- i bring this up because many people who have been on effexor say the withdrawals were awful

Right now a week into fluoxetine I just feel shitty. I’m depressed , moody, tired and the nights sweats are insane. I don’t have night sweats usually and never have on either one of the medication’s, which is why I assume it’s the transition itself that’s messing me
I’m not even sure what my question is here but curious about people’s experiences from one med to the other and/or if anybody has experience with any of this.
Sorry for the long post 😫😬

Hey! 29F here, background of EUPD, social anxiety, bulimia (currently in recovery), multiple ODs w ICU admissions
I’ve been unmedicated for years because I had tried sertraline then citalopram and had side effects off both - a constant tremor, insomnia, restless legs - basically they were t helping me they were making me feel worse hshah. I’ve admittedly been adverse to psychotherapy a lot and used other unsafe coping mechanisms but the past 6+ months I’ve been sober, engaging in DBT & mindfulness and have a best friend in my 7 month old Collie, Finn.
I was started on venlafaxine / Effexor 75mg MR once daily, I already take propranolol 40mg tds & promethazine 50mg at night.
So over the past week I’ve developed a sore tongue, then sore palate, etc - a burning sensation, really 8/10 pain at times relieved only by bonjela. Self care didn’t help so dentist yesterday who diagnosed me with likely burning mouth syndrome related to the venlafaxine and the only “cure” is to change meds. I’m gutted cos for 2 months there I felt it was helping other than a dry mouth and some GI issues that I could handle. I can’t handle this pain!
I didn’t take my dose last night as advised by psych ( wish me luck with the Effexor withdrawals, hopefully the low dose will give me an easier ride 😅
Now story time over, phoned my psychiatrist who kindly understood and said he’d research what next choices could be. He sent me this of options:

Fluoxetine (not keen due to previous SSRI issues)
Olanzapine
Quetiapine
Lithium
Topiramate(he did say I would need to be on birth control which I am and slso have no plans be up the duff/do more than chat to a guy😅)

So there’s the list. I have an appt with him next week. He said it could be a combo of more than one of those meds.,I just wanna hear people’s stories/ experiences etc with any of the above, like pros and cons.
Sorry for the long read but thank you anyone that replies !

I am in the midst of quitting 150mg effexor cold turkey, about 6 days in now. Days 1 through 3, felt fine, had my energy and will to live back (wasn't suicidal, I just never wanted to do anything. I was content sitting in silence in my home with no human interaction or care in the world. Not in a bad way either. Just perfectly grey to life. Thought this would go away after a few months and it didn't. I didn't even 'want' to pull myself off, I was just seeing photos of myself having fun and didn't want to do future me a disservice by living as an NPC. It was a logic decision and not an emotional one in the slightest. My dr wanted to up my dose and I refused) the only real side effect beginning on day 1 was intense layered dreams, I am having anywhere from 3-5 full blown different dreams in one 8hr sleep, Im already an active dreamer so this isn't very bothersome to me. But my god, day 4 I had to make a 5 min walk to the store, heart was pounding and I was exhausted, walking back I felt like my heart was going to give out, it was beating very fast then slowed itself down in a matter of seconds, felt like it was going to stop any second, hardly made it into my home. Laid down and felt better after a bit and was fine after that. Woke up day 5 with the inability to have a thought, use the voice in my head, or picture anything in my head, every time I tried it was like looking into an empty dark room, then the anxiety set in, felt like I was on the verge of one of the most intense anxiety attacks of my life, but just that, on the verge, not progressing or regressing at all. Those 2 days coupled with persistent nausea, the intensity fluctuates through the day that is reluctant to any medication, almost a "phantom" pain in a way. So yeah, stopping sucks when I absolutely could have eased myself down, but now I know it's not a med I would touch again, not bc it doesn't work, but something about taking a med thats capable of making my body feel like this that I dont like.
Medical context - I've been on 150mg Wellbutrin for yrs and put this in the mix for anxiety and have stayed on the wellbutrin while stopping the effexor. I tried ample alternatives prior to effexor that were ineffective to my anxiety and didn't have really any come-down side effects from those.
Edit***
Oh! Also noteworthy, day 3 and 4, had a manic episode, I guess is what I'd call it. I didn't notice on day 3 bc it wasn't very intense but day 4 was. A few hour stint of extreme 'happiness' and energy, and these have been absolute shit days at work with alot of pressure and stuff to do, instead of being logical and making a list to tackle I did everything at once day 3 (thought I had too much coffee) but day 4 it was so heightened I couldn't be effective at anything. I had to put myself in calls to not have the responsibility of doing actual work. Everything at work was going to hell in a handbasket and I started laughing, not an evil laugh, but like a giggle kind of for a long time and was slightly crying the entire duration. Only lasted a few hours thankfully.
I'll update and the end of the 2 week mark and see where I'm at

Before I say anything else, I want to apologize if this post comes off disjointed. My number one withdrawl symptom from Effexor has been brain fog, and even though it’s gotten better, it’s still there and … yeah, I’m gonna do my best to break this down, but feel free to ask any questions if anything doesn’t make sense.
I started taking Effexor at the beginning of 2020. I was dealing with a traumatic breakup and borderline (?) alcoholism and I was just in a really dark, awful place. Besides that, I’ve also struggled with some horrific anxiety attacks on and off since I was a teen (I’m 33 now, for context). I was also prescribed 150mg Wellbutrin at the same time as the Effexor, and I’ve taken that consistently since then, too.
I started at 75mg Effexor and went up to 150mg seven months ago after the birth of my second child. My doctor was being proactive because she was concerned about PPD.
Side note: I took Effexor through both my pregnancies. Both of my sons were born with withdrawal symptoms, the first more severe than the second. The first had extreme trembling which was most likely related to the Effexor as well as transient apnea (he was resuscitated at birth, born not breathing, had several episodes of not breathing in his first few days - he’s totally fine now, fwiw) which may or may not have been related. My second only had some minor trembling and I’m not even sure if it was withdrawal or just babies being weird.
I don’t want to spend too much time on the “why” of why I chose to quit Effexor, because 1) it would be a book and 2) I don’t want to debate with anyone on whether or not it’s a good enough reason, so I’ll just say I have experienced such profound numbness. For a while, I thought it was preferable to the crushing darkness I had felt before, but it has become unbearable. Add that to the fact that I no longer have access to insurance and I can’t afford the med without insurance and yeah, that’s how I’ve come to the conclusion that I wanted to try to quit.
So I took my last 150mg dose Wednesday morning, exactly one week ago. (Technically I guess that means I’m 6 days off Effexor, not one week… but whatever) I have continued to take Wellbutrin regularly. Since then, I have had two instances of such intense brain zaps and weird twitching episodes that I have broken open a capsule and ate a few beads, maybe just to provide myself with some psychosomatic comfort.
Other than the brain zaps, which I cannot even begin to explain how horrific those have been, it hasn’t been as bad as I expected. I had some intense feelings of anger on my third and fourth days, but those have dissipated. I also have been having moderate but consistent brain fog. Trouble remembering basic things, trouble putting things into words, etc.
One weird thing I wasn’t expecting is that I have had several instances daily since quitting of euphoria. I don’t have bipolar disorder and it doesn’t feel like anyone’s description of mania, just a profound happiness.
I haven’t had a ton of physical symptoms. My whole family was hit with a stomach bug around the time I quit, so I’ve been having some minor GI stuff, but I can’t tell if it’s related or not.
I’m still pretty nervous that I’ll have some delayed emotional effects. I’m scared I’ll get depressed again. I’m scared the anxiety will come back. I do have a doctors appointment next week to talk about whether I should stay on the Wellbutrin or not and discuss some other things, as I didn’t inform her I was quitting the Effexor before doing so.
Not sure of the point of this post anymore, honestly, lol. I suppose I just wanted to share because I read a lot of “quitting Effexor” success and failure stories before quitting, so I wanted to add mine.
ETA: random question here, have you guys ever felt your brain zaps get worse in moments of angeanxiety? Does anyone know… like… what the fuck is up with that, lol? I got upset a couple days ago and the zaps got so bad that it was almost as if I couldn’t see. Very hard to describe. I also had a moment of anxiety yesterday and immediately felt one huge zap to my brain that caused me to almost collapse, as dramatic as that sounds.
ETA, big update, please read this: I know this was a post with no interactions whatsoever but as someone who uses Reddit to research a lot, I just want to provide this update for posterity in case someone comes across it at some point…
This was (obviously to everyone except me) a really fucking stupid idea. I was in a bad place a couple weeks ago. I stopped taking my meds about 2 weeks ago, give or take a day. I had some roller coaster days, feeling great and like I’d done a good thing in “beating” my “addiction” to Effexor. But the last two days have been pure mental hell. I have reached out to people from my past and present in the most unhinged ways, begging for forgiveness and love and it was all so cringey and sad. I’ve sobbed almost nonstop. My partner was begging me to go to the hospital and admit myself. Just the worst depression I’ve ever felt, and not even the kind where you hide away and be sad in private, I’ve been acting fucking insane on top of being depressed. Oh my god. So I took half a capsule of Effexor this morning (afraid I’ll die if I take the full thing) and I finally feel like I’m coming back to earth.
I really really don’t recommend doing this. I know ymmv, and I can’t stop people from doing what they want to do, and hell - maybe you CAN do it! But I could not and I almost destroyed my life trying to be like “oh, my depression isn’t that bad and I don’t need meds and I can just cut them off cold turkey and I’ll be fine because I’m strong.” I was so, so wrong.

Title says it all but my doctor doesn't think effexor is safe for pregnancy and wants me to be off of it before I do get pregnant. She wants me to taper down off the 225mg dose I'm on and after 2 weeks of tapering, begin to add in Wellbutrin. I've heard horror stories about coming off effexor but I am nervous about how it will affect my body as I'm currently in the TWW with fertility intervention scheduled for the next cycle. Would love to hear anyone's thoughts on being on one or both of these medications and if it had any affect on you TTC.

Hi! As per what the Doctor ordered, I have been steadily increasing my dose from 5 to 7.5 and now to 10mg per day. I've been on it for 4 months. But with each increase, I have experienced more fatigue and brain fog, even though it works for anxiety. Also, the reason I increased it was because it stopped working for my anxiety at 5, then 7.5 mg. I was going to try 10mg for a while, but the doctor has changed me over to Venlafaxine (Effexor). I suggested to the doctor that we try Bupropion (Wellbutrin) instead, but he said it doesn't work well with ADD issues. I take this for severe anxiety, mood swings, and ADD. I saw in this forum that one person had added Wellbutrin to escitalopram to fix the problem of fatigue. I was just wondering if there were a lot of other people had changed to Wellbutrin or added it to their medical cocktail for anxiety and what their experiences were. Also anyone who changed to Venlafaxine (which I'm really scared of, but I took my first dose today).

UPDATE: I went to both the family doctor who prescribed Lexapro, and the gynecologist, with my blood test, which showed I had low vitamin D. Neither of them brought up the fact that Lexapro and other SSRIs reduce vitamin D and calcium in the body. They did however, prescribe a different kind of vitamin D. I started taking it and I'm feeling much better now. I'm assuming that my vitamin D levels have gone back up, because I'm not super tired anymore. Just a little tired 😂...

Hello!
I suffer from depression and anxiety and I've been taking antidepressants on and off since I was 20 (now 40+), with the only one that seems to work being effexor. Despite having reached a fairly stable and good place there are still some oddities that I've never quite been able to figure out. Psychiatrists either haven't been much help either due to obliviousness or my inability to articulate what I'm trying to get across. So, I figured I would ask here to see if anyone can provide any guidance or insight.

About two years ago I was going through a rough patch and asked to be switched to paxil (which worked very well for me in my 20s but made me so sleepy I had to change medications). Not only did paxil not help it also made me rather 'cognitively lazy' - not wanting to engage deeply in complex topics, learn new things, etc. (Very out of character for me, as reading a lot and thinking hard is probably one of my defining attributes.) I switched back to effexor and the depressive episode was alleviated but this cognitive laziness has largely remained. Does anyone have advice on ways to 'shock their mental system' back into an earlier state if they've experienced some kind of adverse effect from changing medications? Maybe tapering down on effexor and ramping back up again? Trying yet another medication?
My most consistent problem has been social anxiety. Although I do fine in social situations, ultimately I feel vaguely uncomfortable in them (always feeling hyper-aware, almost like I'm 'being watched'), which reduces my ability to form friendships and romantic relationships. Despite asking many different psychiatrists for alternative options, all they ever want to prescribe for me is gabapentin. This helps the problem a bit, but even at high doses that underlying anxiety remains. Are there other medications (anxiolytics or antidepressants) people recommend that I try? And/or, 'strategies' I could use when talking to my psychiatrist that might get them to consider other medications?
Over the years I've gotten progressively more prone to fatigue and being tired all the time. I was eventually diagnosed with sleep apnea and having a CPAP helps, but I was also recently prescribed a low dose of armodafinil and that has helped a lot not only with alleviating fatigue but also lifting my mood and making me generally more positive. Based on people's experiences here could this have any implications for exploring additional/alternative depression treatments?
Related to #3, also over the years I've gotten progressively less motivated and active, oftentimes simply wanting to essentially lie around the house on the weekends or sleep. Sometimes doing simple things like changing clothes or showering feels like a huge hassle; even going out to meet friends can feel like it's not worth the effort. The armodafinil seems to alleviate these feelings a fair amount as well. I'm curious if this general apathy I've developed could be due to the fatigue I've developed over the past decade or could itself be linked to some 'untreated aspect' of depression. I realize 'lack of interest' is a symptom of depression, but even at the peak of my depression and anxiety (before any treatment) I don't recall this being an issue. Essentially, I'm wondering if because my 'stereotype' of the experience of depression is emptiness/hopelessness/emotional agony/borderline suicidal ideation that I'm missing the fact I could still be suffering from it in some way.
During the years when I was cycling through different antidepressants to find one that worked I would often have an extremely positive experience for a few weeks after starting a new one. I was more confident, outgoing, focused, my social anxiety all but disappeared, etc. Then, slowly, those feelings would recede and I would come back down to earth. I am curious if others experienced anything similar and if it just be a placebo effect or could be something deeper (e.g., should I still be searching for a medication that will make that experience 'permanent' or is likely just a passing phase that it would be unrealistic to try and maintain).

Thanks for reading and any insight you can share.

TLDR; starting Effexor again after going off 5 months ago, worked wonders before but am very anxious to start again. Please leave encouragement.
For a bit of back story, I was on effexor xr (generic) from 2019 (or maybe 2020? That time period is a blur because of covid) until November of 2023. I initially went on it after developing panic disorder and subsequent dpdr. I have GAD and depression as well, and have been on so many other antidepressants throughout my life (SSRIs). I saw a psychiatrist and we started trying SNRIs instead because of this. Anyway, I’d be lying if I said Effexor didn’t give me my life back. Panic stopped, anxiety was minimal and depression basically nonexistent. I was able to complete my highschool education (at 20 yrs old), which is something I wasn’t sure I would ever do. I found the love of my life. I was working, and I started and d inished college in this time too. I was so happy. For the first time in my life, just consistently grateful and happy to be alive. So of course I got way too confident and thought I should try and get off of this medication and try life on my own! I tapered down, starting in August, and ending in November (I was on 150mg). Withdrawal went as expected, was definitely nasty for a little but nothing unmanageable. I felt fine for 4 whole months(ish)! Until some big life things happened involving a septic backup into my apartment along with my landlord deciding to sell the house, and moving back to my parents because of this. The septic backup sent me into rumination hell, fear of contamination and of course the fear of it happening again.
This then started to evolve into anxiety about everything - house fires (needing to unplug everything before bed or leaving the apartment), break ins etc. I was so stressed. Then one night I was laying in bed and had what I would like to say is the worst panic attack of my life. Since then I have been a mess. Constant anxiety, panic, dpdr, intrusive thoughts, and feeling hopeless and depressed because of it all. I just want my life back. It’s been torture. The past month and a bit I’ve been trying to navigate this on my own but have become so hopeless. I didn’t want to jump back on effexor after going through withdrawals and my family being proud of me for getting off…but I have decided that I need it again. I want the way I felt on Effexor back so bad.
So I will be taking my first dose tonight (37.5 and working back up to 150mg over 4 weeks). I am so anxious as I don’t think my anxiety has ever been this bad before but I want my life back so bad…please if you have any encouragement, experience restarting Effexor, or just any positive thoughts, leave them here❤️ sorry for the long post.

Hello I’m wondering if anyone that has had a similar experience while taking this medication may answer this question
I’ve been on pristiq generic version “ Desvenlafaxine succinate “
for a little over a year
From March of 2023 - present day
For 10 months everything was perfect I thought I had finally found the right medication for me after 23 failed attempts in search of the right med/ med combo in the past 3 years
I stumbled across pristiq It was amazing at first for 10 months I was really starting to feel like myself again significantly helping with OCD, anxiety & panic, as well as lifting my depression I finally felt I was myself again. After years I was able to work , drive and basically be a normal human again after 23 medication’s I felt like Pristiq really made me feel like my true self. It was the perfect match for me. I had regained my humanity.
I was on 125 mg for those ten months
However in early January I started to get these horrible headaches followed by confusion this severe disorientation panic attacks cramping in my muscles weakness in my legs, and overall just a sense of unwellness & not being able to function. These episodes tend to affect my cognitive abilities when these episodes happen it’s really hard to focus function and even hard to think clearly I feel genuinely out of it and it’s scary. I also feel dumber when this happens it’s really hard to process thought & think, in short terms my cognitive abilities significantly decline
In January I ended up in the emergency room the emergency room at first thought it was my mood stabilizer lamotrigine generic
So they advised me to completely get off of it and stop it cold turkey and I ended up in an IOP program however, during my treatment there, it’s started to happen again the doctor didn’t really take notice even after I heated it multiple times so I decided to drop it down myself to 100 mg everything was going OK I will still be able to function and drive a bit. However, it started to happen again, then again, addressed my problem with the provider again he ignored it and he added another mood stabilizer called Trileptal my mood or stabilized, but I still kept feeling the same way every week or every two weeks. This occurs I again address this with my provider again did not listen. And I ended up dropping it down to 75 mg. Everything was OK until again it happened. I had informed him again about the situation and he added Norpramin( Desipramine ) at 25 mg The headaches went away a bit, but they were still there dispramine kind of helped counteract the headaches, but I still felt foggy and still felt a little out of it, however my mood stabilizer was at the lowest dose, and then I started to experience, hypomania and aggression with the Desipramine I also started to become more emotional and cry over the most insignificant things movies with tear me up words songs I again went to my provider to report this. He ignored it and told me to continue taking the medication. I did so for three weeks so now I had two problems. The first was being that Pristiq was giving me headaches and making me feel confused and disoriented, and the second was that the super mean was making me emotional and irritated
I decided to drop my Pristiq down 25 mg so now I was on 50 mg of Pristiq, 25 mg of despiramine again, I had told my provider he had not listen and said to continue taking the medication I took new medication for two weeks (despiramine ) It started to make me even more aggressive. I was wondering if he would be able to bump up my mood stabilizer, but I did not want to do that because I was still experiencing the side effects from both medication’s and thought it could make it worse I informed him again he again did not listen, he got to the point where the superman was making me very agitated and very hostile and aggressive. I stop the medication by myself cold turkey I again informed him that I was still experiencing the headaches he did not listen big surprise and now. I’m being discharged from the program. I don’t even have a refill on my meds. I’ve called different providers they provided but they’re all booked the closest appointment is nine months out
So I was only taking 50 mg of Pristiq and the lowest dosing of Trileptal twice a day. The headaches came back the disorientation and the confusion it was very severe this time it was lasting five days I was suspecting it was low sodium levels, and the Trileptal just made it worse. I started to stock up on Gatorade and liquid IV solutions. It really helped, but the headaches were still there, and the disorientation was still there just not as severe, however, after five days of dealing with the side effects, I could not take it anymore and last night I ended up in the emergency r to the emergency room.
However, due to all the liquid IVs I’ve taken I’ve taken two yesterday and two Gatorade’s. My sodium levels came back normal, so I don’t know if it is the sodium levels or not however, at the emergency room, they did put sodium chloride through an IV in my vein I have no idea no clue why I get these headaches and all the symptoms I experience I really don’t want to stop Pristiq because it’s been the only one that has worked for me, but I cannot continue to take this either because it is really distressing and I don’t want to end up having a seizure. These headaches are severe the confusion is severe. I do not feel OK anymore however, it is controlling my OCD symptoms as well as anxiety, depression and panic. I don’t know what to do. I found out I do better with that SNRIS but I’ve already tried
Effexor Cymbalta.
And now Pristiq, I did good on Effexor, but it has too many side effects, including headaches, a little bit of disorientation and erectile dysfunction
I did amazing on Cymbalta however, it did not fully control my OCD symptoms, and I had headaches as well, although not as severe as I have them on Pristiq
I want to give Fetzima (2013 ) a chance however, I am afraid of the hair loss that comes with it. I do terrible on SSRIs. All they do is make me gain weight and put me in a state of constant hypomania, as well as stomach problems and diarrhea that doesn’t go away as well as nausea
I’m thinking of going back to Cymbalta however the headaches are horrible and I don’t know why I get them either although on Cymbalta, I was never on a mood stabilizer since they didn’t know I was bipolar type two until the 19th medication that I had tried which was Zoloft and Zoloft sent me Into a spiraling constant hypo manic state and did nothing for my intrusive thoughts as well as constantly give me diarrhea and stomach problems and lots of hyper sexuality
And I’ve already tried Anafranil also known as Clomipramine I am not willing to go on that garbage again all it did was make me gain weight, depressed, and sleep all day, and it didn’t do nothing for OCD
Buspar was terrible All it did was give me headaches and then it made me feel as if my nervous system was on fire it was burning I will never go on that garbage again it was the worst mad I’ve had ever tried. I literally jumped in the shower during the winter time to shower myself with cold water, because my body felt as if it was burning. It was a constant burning sensation in my brain. Horrible med should be really taken off the market.
Prozac made me violent. Luvox made me paranoid
Trintellix made me paranoid and felt like I was losing my mind.
Paxil made me eat everything in the pantry as well as fast food
Gabapentin made me go into crying spells. Amazing for anxiety though , my emotions would fluctuate significantly, and I was very emotional on this
Seroquel que would knock me out for two days straight I plopped my head at a restaurant on my food, and I was unconscious as they were drawing blood for me not because of the blood draw but because of the medication it just tends to knock me out
Abilify messed up my cognitive abilities. I was pressing on the gas pedal instead of the break. Very confused all the time dazed didn’t know what was going on like a zombie again terrible medication.
Lexapro just gives me Thirst and does nothing for me
Atarax I had to pop sixth of those bad boys just even feel anything. My anxiety was terrible. Even after after six.
Wellbutrin makes me hypo manic amazing for sex, though I could keep an erection on for hours Social phobia also goes away again not recommend it unless you’re on a mood stabilizer if you’re bipolar 2
Lamotrigine made me sleepy, however, was great for mood, and it also numbed out my emotions. I was not reacting to things as much sometimes at all I was very emotionally blunt but for bipolar to maybe that’s a good thing I’m not sure there’s still stuff to
Question there
I do better on SNRI or anything that has similar properties such as despiramine However, I would like to avoid it for now leave it as a last option. I want something similar to these things. If you have any recommendations, I’m still thinking about the Fetzima
Or maybe actually try brand-name Pristiq or khedelza I don’t know. I really don’t know what to do I feel lost. I don’t want to stop taking this but I have to because of all the side effects unless it’s the generic version causing all these side effects. I’m still not sure my provider is honestly not the best and not providing the best quality of care I just want to be OK.
In short summary, this is everything I’ve tried that I can remember Prozac Effexor, Wellbutrin, BuSpar, Paxil, Cymbalta, gabapentin twice ,Zoloft, Seroquel, Abilify, Trintellix, three different generic versions of Cymbalta, Luvox, lamotrigine Anafranil, Norpramin, Ativan ,Atarax ,Trileptal, Pristiq Lexapro, I’m sure I’m missing some but I can’t think on the top of my head if somebody can please help thank you sorry for the trauma dump lol

It’s a long one - Changes in medication. Is it mania?
I’ve been on about 10 medications over the years for major depression and anxiety. Over the last few years I realise I developed a bad habit of med switching.
I have a bad habit over the years of messing with my meds.

Stopped all my meds against the advice of my Psychiatrist and ended up crashing HARD. Won’t do that again that’s for sure!
Start a med and after a while decide it’s not working and either: Decide to adjust my dose either up or down: Decide it’s not working at all and get the Psych to change to something else

Recent swap:
Last year I said nothing was working and I want to try Effexor again because that was ok the first time I used it (2012). This is the third time on Effexor. I started in November and I’m on 225mg.
First thing I noticed was when I wake up in the morning after having Largactil at night to sleep, I would be so drowsy all morning and sometimes a headache. Prior to the Effexor, Largactil was the 1st medication that I had been prescribed for my insomnia that didn’t cause daytime fatigue.
Also after starting Effexor I began playing with my eyelashes. This is something I have done since childhood as a comfort. It had actually stopped with the other medication but didn’t realise till I started doing it again.
It is compulsive. I was doing it so much, constantly all the time, it has got to the point I get conjunctivitis like symptoms of gross yellow stuff sticking in my eyes and all around my eyeline is red, swollen and painful. It requires drops and some cream on the skin.
Since starting again I also ended up in a severe depressive state which would leave me motionless in bed not moving, staring at nothing with racing thoughts in my head the felt like they were so loud. After months of this I finally went to the Psychiatrist and I was diagnosed with Bipolar II.
Problem:
I want to come off the Effexor and go back on something else. I’m feeling like a Prozac is better. I have start with a new Psych as mine retired. I haven’t done this with him. While he has discussed with me and my original Psych about my history of symptoms and medications in order to confirm Bipolar II, he has only recently started me on Lamotrigine.
I don’t know how to tell him I don’t want the Effexor. I need some outside input to sort through what I’m thinking and what/how to say it. 🙏

Huge wall of text in 3.... 2.... 1....
I was diagnosed with ADHD in May of 2023. My doctor prescribed Strattera (a non-stimulant ADHD med) which helped enough that I realized my depression and anxiety were symptoms of ADHD. This led me to asking my psychiatrist to help me wean off the Effexor (antidepressant) I was on.
Weaning off Effexor was rough. Horrible withdrawals that incapacitated me for nearly a week, and then for months afterwards I continued to have withdrawals of lessening intensity until finally they stopped. It was awful and I truly worried that I would never feel 100% better.
One of the main withdrawals I experienced was nausea. I went from eating fast food 3x a day (think 2 double cheeseburgers from mcdonalds every day for lunch,) to not being able to hold down more than 1 meal a day. I had to miss a few days off work because I would throw up every time I tried to eat.
In less than a month, I had dropped from 240 down to 220lbs. At that point I was eating 2-3 meals a day again, but I was eating less than half the volume of food that I once had. I could not stomach more. Instead of 2 double cheeseburgers and a whole large fry, I would eat half a single burger and nibble a few fries. I continued to lose weight.
My doctor recommended we try Vyvanse after we reached the max dose of Strattera and I still wasn't getting the full benefit of the medicine. She started me on 30mg, and for the first 2 weeks, the appetite I had managed to work back up was gone. I still ate, but most days I skipped at least 1 meal, and when I did eat I was eating a few bites at a time before stopping.
By the time my appetite began improving again, I was down to 195lbs. Under 200 for the first time since middle school. I was elated. My appetite was coming back but I began tracking my calories religiously.
Now, I've been on adderall XR for a few months and it does nothing to my appetite at all. I'm back to being hungry, hungry. But I am still losing weight at a deficit, eating 1600-1900 calories most days. I have 2 weekly cheat days where I will eat up to 2500 calories. The days that I eat only 1600 calories, I may feel some more hunger but something about having those cheat days to look forward to makes the hunger easy to deal with.
My weight loss is slower now, but I am still losing at least 1lb per week. My goal weight is 145lbs, but my body is already starting to look and feel drastically different. I marvel at it nearly every day. I feel like the same obese mess that I was sometimes, but then I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror and I do a double-take. Is that me? That doesn't look like me. I don't recall ever having seen myself this small.
My tummy is still very much there, round and sticking out way farther than I'd like. But there's also noticeably less stomach than there ever has been. The skin of my stomach feels looser, when before it used to be stretched tight. My belly still touches the tops of my thighs when I am seated, but only barely. I can look down while seated and see most of my thighs and it's bizarre.
I have been obese for the vast majority of my life. To the point that, I have no memories of a time that my body was this size. It's like getting adjusted to a new body, but every 10lbs lost I have to readjust. I love it and it makes me so very proud of myself, but it is really bizarre too.
I never, ever imagined I would get this far. But now that I am here, I cannot imagine stopping short of my goal. I love my new body. I love feeling like I finally have power to control my body, when every diet I ever went on in the past left me feeling like it's impossible to lose weight - so why even try? Turns out, weight loss is actually possible. And fun. Who knew it would be fun??
I'm actually going clothes shopping this weekend. And looking forward to it. For the first time in my life I am excited to go clothes shopping. All my clothes are baggy and smock-like on me. It makes me feel frumpy and strange, and I can't wait to get into some clothes that fit this new frame of mine.
Anyway. Posting this to celebrate my achievement of reaching 170lbs. I really never thought I'd be here. It really feels like I'm dreaming sometimes.
Sorry this is so long, but thank you for reading my story.

This may be long… thank you if you make it to the end.
TL;DR Primary care is withholding any other treatment options until I take Effexor. Losing faith in the medical community.
I’ve had a difficult 6 months medically. I had gallbladder issues and was dismissed by so many providers, including my primary at the time. My primary told me that it was perfectly fine to sit at home in 10/10 pain and I was going to have to learn to breathe through it. Six ER visits and 3 hospitals later, my gallbladder was found to be nonfunctional, severely inflamed, and attached to my liver. I was given no pain management after surgery and was in severe pain. After another 3 weeks and two more hospital admissions, pain was under control. I was still not functional enough to work, and missed months of work. It was a 2 months wait for an appointment with a new primary care.
My GYN that I had for over 20 years lied about the fibroids in my MRI and told me that a hysterectomy wasn’t going to solve any of my problems. Suffered for over 20 years with massive bleeding and pain during periods, which evolved to constant pain. Had to get a second opinion on a hysterectomy. Second surgeon said it needed to come out. My hysterectomy took place 7 weeks after the gallbladder surgery. Was found to have Adenomyosis, one of the fibroids was connected to the broad ligament, and a cyst on one of my tubes. Better pain management after this surgery.
I’m 10.5 WPO from the hysto and my hot flashes and night sweats are out of control. I have insomnia, tachycardia (130+ bpm), loss of appetite, nausea, and since I don’t sleep - I’m exhausted.
Since my gallbladder flared up in October, I haven’t had an appetite for the last 6 months. I’ve lost 40lbs and continue to lose.
I got to see my a new primary in Feb and I’ve brought up multiple times the possibility of malnutrition or vitamin deficiency. I’m still not able to eat enough in a day due to loss of appetite and nausea.
I had a video appointment with my primary last week to discuss the possible perimenopausal symptoms and wanted relief from the insomnia as I hadn’t slept in days. I asked about magnesium because another friend of mine takes it and she noted a difference. Primary looked at my magnesium levels from December which was when I was in the ER. My liver labs were high, my pancreatic lipase low, yet no check has been made since. Primary told me not to take magnesium. Maybe vitamin e. Wrote me a script for Effexor. My previous GYN had me on Prozac for 15 years. It almost ruined my marriage. I didn’t care about anything. Not to mention the warning from the pharmacist if I miss a dose or am late with a dose I’ll feel sick.
I wrote my primary asking about an alternative because I didn’t feel comfortable taking antidepressants. I was told that it was such a low dose I shouldn’t feel any side effects and my primary feels this is the best course and take the meds for a week and message back. I emphasized my concerns and was told the same thing again. Basically no other treatments will be offered unless I take the Effexor.
After not being able to eat right for 6 months, I can’t help but feel there is a deficiency in my body causing issues. Whether it is hormonal or metabolic, something is wrong.
I’ve gone through so many emotions. Again, feeling like I’m left out to rot.
Thank you if you made it this far. I appreciate you.

Hi all,
I have never posted in here but I wanted to post my personal experience of what this medication can do to people. It absolutely can provide benefits but the problems it can cause imo are dangerous and I don't believe they are entirely understood for the most part, by the people prescribing them.
I had moderate to severe social anxiety most of my life, but it never really ventured into any other category. Anyways I ended up getting into drugs around 20 ywars old, and over the next 10 years, with it peaking with me injecting cocaine and opiates for 2 years. I ended up going to rehab 7 times (lol) and engaging with the local mental health hospital. The psychiatrist and doctors at the mental health hospital put me on a, bunch of medications: 1. Suboxone to get off the opiates 2. Effexor for anxiety abd depression 3. Olanzapine to "give my brain a rest" from drug induced psychosis that had become more and more frequent with less and less, required to trigger it.
It took a couple more years to quit illicit drugs but I eventually did and it's been nearly 5 years going back to them.
Now to the point, I made the mistake of not re-evaluating Effexor in the first year. Looking back on that time, I didn't notice if it was even doing anything and should have gotten off of it then. Instead I waited until roughly 15 months ago to start tapering off from 150. The taper was initiated because my blood pressure and heart rate were almost always way too high. I was getting blood pressure readings of 150/110 consistently and heart rates over over 110-140 almost all the time, except for sleep. My doctor suggested I start trying to get off of Effexor first since that would be the easiest (🤡). I tapered, from 150 mg to 37.5 no problem and despite being kind of depressed and with nagging pain for that year, it was relatively easy. 6 mknths ago I tried stopping from 37.5 and it was awful. For anyone with experience with opiate withdrawal,, it was fairly similar minus the restless leg syndrome. Needless to say I went back on the 37.5 and then start taking it ever 2nd day, 3rd day,, 4th day unt finally stopping in January this year. A month and a half after that, I hadn't felt a thing and started thinking I was in the clear. Big mistake. Over the last 6 weeks I ended up in the hospital overnight and hooked up to ecgs twice and nearly calling 911 for an ambulance another dozen times. The first time,, I had gone to my family doctors after hours, clinic for a nagging fever that lasted a month and she called an ambulance because my heart rate just took off out of nowhere, peaking at 172 despite me lying down and calm. In the ambulance my arms both went purple and numb. I spent the next 6 weeks thinking my heart was failing because both feet were numb most of the time,, chest tightness, sharp stabbing pains in my chest and constant panic attacks where I wasn't sure if I needed to call 911. I was terrified I was legitimately dying because my heart was failing. Prior to this,, I never had a, panic attack in my life or anything like this.
I ended up going on sertraline which my doctor says is easier to come off, and literally a, couple of hours after taking one, the panic was gone and has improved over the last 5 days every day. Needless to say, that is an experiment I will likely never attempt again. This stuff rewires your brain completely,, even if you don't feel like it is doing anything - it definitely is.
In hindsight, I should have reevaluated after a few months of being on it, and gotten off when I didn't find it doing anything. I waited way too long and this was the result.
Anyways just, thought I'd share this nightmare and I hope it can help someone possibly avoid the mistakes I made.
Cheers.

I don't drink anymore, I don't use benzos anymore, I don't smoke cigarettes anymore, I don't use adderal anymore, I don't use cocaine anymore. I got off zoloft after 10 years last April, because it stopped working. Since then I've tried prozac, effexor, paxil, abilify - all with side effects I couldn't handle. Currently, I am only on 150mg of trazodone at night and I can get about 6 straight hours of sleep on that.
I do still use cannabis though, 4-5 days per week I take a 10mg edible in the morning (9am), and most afternoons 20-40 mg (4pm). It slows down my racing thoughts, reduces anger and irritability, givesme an appetite, brings me some feelings of contentment, and significantly reduces back pain. However, at about 4am every day I wake up with the dread and anxiety of the day ahead of me - and even after yoga, meditation, a long dog walk, a hot shower (EVERY MORNING)...the anxiety persists and doesn't really subside until I take my evening dose.
My therapist keeps telling me that it could be triggering and adding to my anxiety and depression. I have been using it for about 20 years now and it's the only substance that is reliable and doesn't incapacitate me or come with horrible side effects that I am aware of.
I don't know what I am rambling about other than I still feel like an addict even though I am using the least I ever have. Can it be OK that I use weed everyday - Instead of being on 1 or 2 more psychotropic meds? or am I just trying to rationalize? I want to believe that I am ok and not still a loser addict.

Effexor - 2 doses instead of one

EffexorSuccess