Has anyone been on Effexon anti-depressant? What's it like?
112719
i also took effexor. my experience was a positive one. i found that the toughts that usually made me sad were now just processed as a regular thought i did find it to be difficult to cry but who can complain right? anyway i would recommend taking this drug it helped me very much and i took it for two years through an abusive relationship. but i found that it did help numb a majority of the pain. but in your case i beleive it will help you function normally without bursting into tears at every thought. \ni'm sorry for you loss good luck this should work!
931767
I have taken antidepressants off and on for 22 years.  I have taken tricyclics, SSRIs and what they refer to as atypicals (like Effexor).  I know hundreds of people who take them through my work and they are fine.  The antidepressants allow them to function more comfortably while hopefully they work on other ways of dealing with life and the causes of the depression or other disorder.\n\nBut...as to what we know long term...I asked my doctor the same thing and he said, and I agree, we do not know.  The trycyclics have been around a while, but they are not given much anymore.  The SSRI's have not been around a "life span" so in essense we are still finding out about them.  \n\nWe do know that for some people, they reach a point where they stop working and they much either up the dose, change to a different medicine or add a medicine to what they are taking now.\n\nSome people are NOT able to take them, that we do know. And, we do know that the reaction to them is very individualized...one person may do great, the next person may not get any relief at all. Going off them should be done with your doctor and any of them should be tapered off very, very slowly to prevent relapse.\n\nIn time I think there will be better medicines for us and we will also know more about those we take now.  Medicine is advancing almost as fast as technology.  But, really, I am glad you are doing okay now.
621780
Ummm I definitely know people who have gained weight on it.  Most anti-depressants have that side effect.  It depends on who you are...it doesn't affect everyone.
937947
Honestly I was on Cymbalta about three months ago and the withdrawals are a piece of cake... there are much worse medications out there.  But, I was in the process of switching to another medication to replace the Cymbalta.  It's a good medication I think but if you're losing weight that quickly, that is not a good sign.  You should probably call your psychiatrist about that.  I never had side effects from it, so if you are...probably not the right medication for you, but I'm definitely no doctor.  I've just been on tons of different types of anti-depressants  :)  Hope that helped!
862371
I HATED being on cymbalta. I was on it for depression/anxiety. It made me a bad person. I was mad all the time. I wanted to cry but I couldn't. I couldn't sleep at night, I just stayed tired all the time but couldn't sleep. I felt like it made me crazy. I quit taking it after 6 months because I couldn't deal with how it made me feel.
865366
i was on it for over a year, it worked great and then it just stopped working for me and i changed to effexor. my sister on the other hand tried it and gave her diarrhea so it all depends on the person. you really need to discuss it with your doctor though.
782186
I dont know about the weaning off effects of antidepressants but you do need to do this gradually, not cold turkey, as you have experienced certain side effects.\n\nIt's much healthier to commit to a support group. I'm sure there are hotlines you can call for the nearest group that meets in your area.  Check those out.  \n\nYou may want to include some form of physical activity into your daily schedule, even if some days you will not carry them out.  Reward yourself when you do with something you like.\n\nThink of some of your positive qualities.  Write them down and stick them in places you can see to read back to yourself, then run them thruough your mind a few times a day, even if you dont feel like it.  You need reprogramming while depressing.\n\nBe selective about tv, stay away from news and others (eg, comedy sitcoms, talk shows, spy movies, ....), music, and be aware of other environmental noise elements so you can either avoid them or else minimise the effects.  Just as well, the Internet is not always so wholesome to be in (info overload).  Whatever it is, you need to examine your immediate environment and remove/minimise anything that bothers you a lot.  \n\nWhen you find yourself analysing stuff too much, find something else to do.  Change the way you walk home from work/school, take a dif route, even if it's longer.  You need to get out from the routine of doing things.  Modify your diet a little.  \n\nThese are just some ways you may reduce the effects of outward routine, so your mind may find dif channels to park in.  Nothing ever changes overnight.  Be patient with yourself and with others.  Laugh a little, cartoons are great for that.  \n\nBless you!   I wish you progress in bits and bites...(if you follow the plan, be sure you will fall right back to depress again, on some days, but, don't be too hard on yourself, get up again just as soon)
1133700
I have Fibromyalgia.  My "General Practitioner" (primary care physician) diagnosed it, several years ago.  She prescribed low dose doxepin, and it worked well.  I am not "normal" but I can function better on it than without.  A few times, I have forgotten to take it; miss 3 days in a week, and I am absolutely ILL.  That reminds me of how it used to be, before I had the drug.\n\nThe drug did NOT cause the FM.  It reduces FM symptoms.  Amytryptiline has a similar effect, and similar side effects, I noted.\n\nFM is said to be similar to CFS.\n\nIt is very psychosomatic; I frequently notice increased physical pain about 15 - 30 minutes after a psychological setback.  Any infection, or insufficient rest and / or sleep, and I am bad, too; I will need analgesics, as well as the usual drug.\n\nIndeed! the body and mind interact.
49483
You really should work with your doctor because from personal experience, and experience from other people I know, you should not try to do it yourself. I was weaned from effexor over a total of 8 weeks, I stepped down from my dosage every 2-3 weeks, depending on how I felt. You definitely do NOT want to stop cold turkey, you can possibly get the "rebound effect" which I compare to the actual symptoms that may have gotten you to start taking anti-depressants in the first place, intensified. It's not fun to go through, so really, the best thing to do is to consult a doctor, and if you can't, then take 4-8 weeks to slowly get off of them.
653116
it's suppose to help you feel better but it takes time. chemical imbalance is a hard thing to fix and people are miserable because of it. suicidal thoughts and depression are just a way for your brain to try to figure out the best possible solution to get out of the feeling. instead of taking Prozac, try instead St. John's Wort.  it's more natural because it's a weed so you have less man-made crap in your system. and St. John's works faster because it is natural your body can "soak" it up better.  I was on Prozac 15 years ago and found that I only felt "blah" so I didn't take them for long.  the St. John's you feel better and don't get the "blah" existence going.
1156094
Go to a doctor and ask for wellburine it is  a anti depresson.It works great I quit 3 years ago and i havent wanted one .TRY IT
739420
I took it for a short time....for depression. I had headaches, and gained weight.  Also, when I stopped taking it...my hearing kept going in and out.  I kept hearing this zzip..zzzip...I could actually feel a strange vibration going thru my head...and that's when I figured out it was my hearing....fading in and out.  Really weird.  And they say it is not habit forming....but, then they say "well, you can't just stop taking it..you have to be weaned off of it."  If that's not an addiction....then explain that one to me!! I ended up just going to a counselor and now I am doing great....I just had to have someone not involved with my life to help me figure things out.
901156
These are questions only your Dr. can answer properly, however, if I were in your shoes, I would do some research on the different meds available for what you're experiencing.\n\nThere are mainly 3 neurotransmitters involved in treating depression, where one of the three needs to be regulated about 80% of the time to fix you.  They are neuropinephrine, dopamine and serotonin.  Effexor is a multiple reuptake inhibitor, which effects the reuptake of two neurotransmitters, namely dopamine and neuropinephrine.  At this point, if it's not making you feel better after 10 months 1) You're not targeting the right neurotransmitter (you may need to switch to a serotonin reuptake inhibitor like lexepro) or 2) The reuptake in Effexor is not working for you, which is not uncommon and you may need to switch to another MRI like Cymbalta or Wellbutrin.  \n\nThe constant fatigue is a normal side effect for Effexor, however, you should get past it in 2 weeks to a month.  If it's come back 10 months into taking it, chances are it stopped working.  Again, this is common for reuptake inhibitors.\n\nFrom what I've researched, Effexor is the hardest antidpressant to get off of.  75mg is a very small dosage, where you can take up to 375mg/day.  It may be a good idea to quit now and try something else.  The discontinuation dosage is 35mg per week; so if you increase the dosage and it still doesn't work, it will take you longer to get off of it.  However, you may need a stronger dose, based on what you discussed, but that is for you and your Dr. to decide.\n\nThese are just all theories, based on some research I've done on antidepressants - I always research drugs before I take them, based on my diagnosis.  At this point,  you haven't described your diagnosis, aside from depression and anxiety.  In most cases a simple SSRI combined with a theraputic does of a benzodiazepine (Ativan, Xanax, Klonopin) usually do the trick.  If you have Unipolar/Bipolar, schitzoafective, BPD, it's a whole nother ball game.\n\nI hope this helps and good luck.
1083038
I heard that Cymbalta affects your sex life less than others, but I tried it and it did not work that well for my depression, but it did wonders for my pain in my back and legs and also helped me sleep.  I didn't notice any change in sex drive.  Which wasn't that great to start with.  Now I am taking Wellbutrin XL and I absolutely love it.  It is doing great for my depression.  Depression will make you not want to do anything to start with.  So when you find a antidepressant that will help with your depression, you will feel better in all aspects of your life.  I started working out and that helped too.  When I say help, I mean in everything, my attitude, my will to live, my sex drive, and etc...
456125
I was on this for 3 months (couldn't make it the 6 months) and had numerous problems.  Some people have little to no issues while others experience a lot.  Below is what happened to me.\n\n1. Continous migraine-like headaches.\n2. Dry heaves after eating anything.  It was very diffult to keep food down.  I lost 16 lbs in 3 months.\n3. This one's obvious - hot flashes and night sweats.\n4. Anxiety.  I felt like I needed to crawl out of my skin sometimes.\n5. Heart palpitations.\n6. I would get a fluttering that started near my heart and then expanded out just a few seconds before a hot flash.  It was really weird.\n7. Memory loss and difficulty concentrating.\n\nThese were the main issues I had.\n\nI was on this for endometriosis.  It stopped my periods but there was still some pain.  The side effects were so bad though that my doctor put me on hormones which caused the period to start back up!!!  Anyway, based on my experience I wouldn't recommend this as a first drug of choice.  There may be better options.\n\nThe other GnRH agonists similar to Lupron are Zolodex and Synarel.  Synarel is a nasal spray and Zolodex is a subcutaneous implant.  My doctor said that Zolodex is painful and he didn't recommend it.  Synarel may be a good option because if there are lots of problems you can stop taking it.  You can't squeeze out the injection if you have problems.\n\nGood luck.
87491
I was on it for a while, but it never seemed to help me at all. I am now on Effexor, and it is working for me. But different things work for different people. Just make sure you talk to your doctor about it and keep him/her up to date so he/she knows to make adjustments or not.
991311
I can't tell you why you are immune to all anti-depressants, but you do develop a tolerance for them after awhile and need to change the dosage or the medication itself.  I used to use prozac and it worked great, then I tried it again a few years later and it didn't work for long, I tried something else for a year or so and then it stopped being effective and so on.  I have to change to different types of medications.  At one point after a year on one type, I felt suicidal for whatever reason.  Everything seemed to overwhelm me and I was put of effexor.  That has been working for about 18 months now.  Hopefully it will last for awhile longer.  Sorry about your problems, I hope you find something that will help.