I'm returning back to Effexor after trintellix. Safe to start?

Posted by irolynn @irolynn, Oct 5, 2021

Been on trintellix for about 2 months while titrating off effexor xr 150mg. Total time on just trint is a bit over 1 month on 10mgs. Started out great then got itching and horrible morning anxiety. Cannot take it anymore. I took a 5mg pill yesterday with 1/2 of 37.5 effexor hr.
Im thinking today to just stop the trintellix and start the 37.5 effexor and then titrate back up to 150mg. I am forced to go to a state clinic, Ive been to many and this one is not good. Called all day and got no help except that I have to wait until my next prescriber appt which is a week away. I cannot wait. Safe to start the effexor ?

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@irolynn

The trintellix did not work, and one month was such a short time, so I figured it was ok to just stop it, and restart the Effexor. I did not want to get serotonin syndrome is why I did not combine and I needed relief! I know some people dont like effexor and it is very hard to get off of, but it worked ok for me

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I am on Trintellix AND Effexor, along with Lexapro, Trileptal, wellbutrin and Trazadone. Have appointment to see about TMS treatment. They've decided that I am medication resistant, but don't have anyway to know which meds may be working or not.

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I have been taking Effexor, 150 mg for many years and only a few days ago read about the side effects. I have been having a great deal of eye pain, which happens to be one of the more serious side effects. My doctor is now tapering me off of the medication. Overall, I think it works well, and other than the recent eye pain have had no issues.
Best of luck

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I went from EFFEXOR To TRINELLIX - I am only one month into it at 10 mg (supplemented by 1 mg of Lorazepam AS NEEDED only). I felt it work in 2 weeks and 1 month in, so far so good. I have not needed the Lorazepam as I did in the initial 2 wks. (I was also prescribed Bupropion XL 150 to take along with the Trintellix, but have decided NOT to take it for now and see how Trintellix works on its own - so fas so good 1 month in)

My story is reverse - I was on EFFEXOR for over 9 years at 225 then 150 (although I would occasionally increase the dosage as needed). It worked great for me and seemed to help with my anxiety and depression, (and as a side benefit, also received the unintended benefit alleviating hot flashes during menopause!). Realizing that the EFFEXOR greatly affected my athletic performance among other unpleasant side effects (heart rate increased very quickly and stayed high, and I would also heat up/sweat quickly - very hard for an athlete), I decided to start weaning off the medication after reading the different techniques posted here. Although, it should be done with a Dr. (I had not insurance coverage at the time). It was very slow and gradual weaning process not without many side effects. I was fine for a while, but when I was 100% free of EFFEXOR, I went into a major depression and anxiety. There were situational events (holidays, a falling out, work strains, etc) that happened around November/December that exacerbated the depression. Had I done this with a doctor, I would have had a backup medication, but I had to wait until January when my new insurance kicked in. I endured November and December in this highly depressed state until I was prescribed Trintellix. What a relief! It has been working so far but it's still in the early innings. I have felt a cognitive boost as well w/c may or may not be due to the meds, but I do feel like new. Clearly, I need to be medicated, but I'm glad to have possibly found an alternative to Effexor. I am also noticing that my heart rate and physiological experience when doing cardio/running has greatly improved. Again, It's only been a month on Trintellix as so far so good.

**I would like to add that the constant in my life in the last 20 years has been meditation, exercise, and CBT. That is a crucial part of managing my depression.

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