Positive Experiences with Effexor

First of all, if you are having a bad reaction to Effexor, tel your doctor right away. That being said, I was on it for the best part of twenty years. It kept me very stable and happy. Lowered libido but that was the only negative effect. I went through a stage in my life shortly after my dad died and I thought I’d try to ween off of it. I had gone through “the change” and thought to myself that if I was fine before puberty, maybe I’ll be fine after puberty. (No such luck). So, after 6 months of crying several times a day and losing about 18 pounds from the anxiety, I’m back on Zoloft and Seroquel. (Not sure why the doc didn’t put me back on Effexor.). It’s working well for me and for that I am VERY grateful. And my family is grateful.

Turns out I could quite possibly be bipolar. Being on these two meds is keeping me stable. And, looking back, without Effexor, I definitely wouldn’t have had such a long career. (I just quit, but that’s another story. Not a bad story, just long. All is well and I’m happily in another job.)

Anyway, Effexor is not horrible - just not sure if I agree with prescribing it for hot flashes if al things! But it does a great job quelling anxiety and depression!

Hope this helped!

Yes it has. Many thanks......

Sorry! I didn’t see this. Please tell your doctor. Mine put me on lexapro and my anxiety got worse! That’s where the Seroquel comes in. I take a small dose of that at night as a mood stabilizer and then Zoloft as a mood lifter. Small doses. With your doctors approval, perhaps lower your Effexor dose? Please let the doc know. You should have to suffer with anxiety. It’s the worst! Perhaps it’s not right for you or perhaps you need to ween more slowly on. I was on a pediatric dose that worked for me! Everyone is different so don’t be shy about calling your doctor about your anxiety.

75 sounds kind of high to start with. Folks eventually take a lot more, but it's definitely something that should been weened on. I had a psychiatrist prescribe it to me. During that same time period, I had a GP prescribe me depakote. Not sure what that is, but I mentioned it to my psychiatrist and she exclaimed “did you take it???!!! Don’t!” Merely because it wasn’t the appropriate drug for me.

Not trying to scare you because Effexor worked wonders for me! Just be sure it’s the right med for you.

Btw, do you have anxiety and depression or mostly one or the other? I mostly had depression in my thirties and Effexor helped me. Not I’m a ball of anxiety! Seroquel and Zoloft work.

There are lots of anti anxiety and anti depression meds. Don’t get discourage. When they work it’s life changing. And they will.

I tried Seroquel. It did nothing for me. I was on Zoloft for 6 weeks, and it made me feel worse. The Dr. said that was enough time to know if it would work. He put me on Effexor because I’m also on Mirtazapine. He says it’s “California rocket fuel.” Google it. I hope it works. I guess I’m just sensitive to meds.

Mostly anxiety

I react to pharmacology and to therapy as only I can based upon my biology and my mental makeup. It's hard when we have to try different doses and are managed by others with powerful drugs. We switch medications. Take it upon yourself to be known to your provider how you feel and when you think you are either improving or not.

EDIT: There is a block of something in us that wants us to move forward. I am frequently surprised that we have that in us. I am slightly sad now, but I know that sadness is okay. I am anxious to share my thoughts, but I know that I am not faulty.

I am a 69 year old man. I have been on Effexor XR for about two weeks for anxiety and depression. Started at 37.5 then doubled then tripled to 112.5.

This is the first new antidepressant I have been able to tolerate since starting Zoloft over 20 years ago which I think had stopped being effective. Initially the Effexor caused calmness along with physical jitteriness which decreased after a couple days and then increased as I increase the dose. I am excited that this drug may be a new beginning for me as I become accustomed to it, as it greatly reduces my social anxiety, general anxiety and depression. It also is very helpful with my ADHD and slows down my mind and enables me to think more clearly.
Having just started taking this drug I do not know what the medium and long-term benefit or difficulty may be. But so far, not without a little jitteriness and discomfort it has been more than tolerable and before raising the dose each time it felt almost euphoric to shed my extreme anxiety and near panic. We shall see, but so far, at least for me it has me hopeful and excited.

I am just starting on Effexor 37.5 then two 75mg. I have been taking anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds for years, I am 66 years old and male. I have tried them all and am hoping that this one works, I believe that I have a false mental attitude about how we should really feel, because I used to think that everyone else that appeared happy was different, and now I know that many and I mean many of those same people were on some medication also, I am a chronic worrier and have some OCD, ADHD as well as GAD. For me I just want to feel happy and be able to do the things that I love without quitting, I seem to just stop things and can wlak around in a zombie state and procrastinate, about everything