trying to get off xanex

[sporty16]

i am looking for some info. i have been on 2 mg xanex 3 times a day for over 12 years. i have recently been trying to taper off and went 30 days on just 2 pills a day. i recently got a new doctor and he is still going to give me my xanex but wants me to try effexor xr. i have been taking that along with the xanex for about 5 days now. not sure if the effexor is doing anything yet but since i started taking them i feel like my nerves are more on edge then before.he said to take one effexor a day and the xanex when i feel i need to. does anyone know anything about effexor xr and how it may effect me ? just looking for some different opinions , maybe someone here has been through this and can tell me what to expect.

[bettie1976]

I tried effexor once, I believe that falls under the catagory of anti-depressants which docs LOVE to hand out like candy when we tell em were stressed. Maybe try a lower dosage? I know if I take the dose recommended for me for zoloft I get restless and zombie eyed and cant hold still.

[wickedwanderer]

i would be careful before accepting a script for effexor.  but, like all antidepressants, effexor is going to work differently for everyone.  when i was on it, i had really horrible side effects, but that's just me.  i've read a ton of forums about effexor and it seems a lot of people have had bad experiences.  but, again, i did read some that said effexor worked great for them.  all you can do is try i suppose.  not sure what other meds you've been on though.

[wait2long]

i was on effexor for over a year for post partum depression after my 2nd son was born...it always made me feel edgy... but at that time in my life i was just so fatigued all the time it was ok.....for a while, then i decided i didnt want to take it anymore and i swear i had withdrawals with it, not like with opiods, ALOT less mild...but i felt like **** for just abou 5 weeks, headaches, shakiness and frequent trips to the toilet...it did help my depression but for some reason of all the antidepressants i have  been on (and beleive me when i say i have tried them all except 2) this one was the worst getting off...i found that quite strange....but remember everyone is different, this pertains to my experience ONLY.....peace&love

[wait2long]

i forgot to mention it can take up to 4 weeks for the effexor to work, and also wanted to tell you i take xanax ONLY when needed...it is very addictive...be VERY careful suddenly stopping xanax..you should wean off slowly...it can be dangerous to just stop taking it....peace&love

[wickedwanderer]

wait2long, i had withdrawal symptoms from effexor too!  good point w/ the xanax.  it was one of my addictions.  ask your doctor about something less-addictive.  

[wickedwanderer]

oops, the xanax part was for sporty :D

[wait2long]

thats quite ok hun...yeah that effexor is some bad ****....but i also know of people who never had problems with it,,,,its a wierd drug

[sporty16]

thanks for the replies, i have read a little about effexor and from what i understand it is addicting also. my doc put me on this and started with a low dose for 1 week and then the doeses get larger. i am trying to do this slowly but i really want to get off the xanex ,but i also do not want to go from one addiction to another and thats what i am understanding with this effexor. should i keep taking the effexor till i see my doc again in 3 weeks and see what happens or does anyone think that may do more harm then good

[wait2long]

it may be addicting to a point (effexor)  but its not a narcotic...i would give it an honest try and see if it helps you first...4-6 weeks,,if your not better ask to be switched to something else.  did your doc. tell you to just STOP taking your xanax?  you should ask him about that, i mean you have been on it for12 years!!  thats a very long time with an addictive drug...i dont think you are supposed to just stop  it....i have heard of people who were on klonipin or valium and they suddenly stopped taking it and had seizures and ended up in the hosp,   you shoild wean yourself off it very slowly i think...

[wickedwanderer]

yeah, do not go cold turkey on xanax!!  

i agree w/ wait2long, you should give the effexor a good try before deciding against it.  it may help you!!  it does take some time.  i was on it for 2 months and my doc decided to switch me to something else.  he started me slowly on effexor, i think w/ 37.5, then up to the next dose...the most i took was 150mg i think (forgive me if my mg's aren't right, i've been on so much stuff, i'm trying to remember!).  i switched to cymbalta and he didn't even wean me off effexor.  i guess they are similar medications, so he said there was no need to wean.  cymbalta didn't help either, i guess they were too "extreme" for me.  

[retiredrn]

why are you on Zanax ?(panic attacks,anxiety?)   Does your dr want you to be on Effexor in order to withdraw from the zanax or for depression?  All anti-depressants and benzos are addicting and have to be weaned off.  

[sporty16]

i was put on xanex for anxiety,depression, and bad mood swings (anger) i have not stoped the xanex and my doc says he will not quite giving them to me because i have been on them so long. it is me that wants off them. i am tiered of being dependent on them. i told my doc that and thats when he gave me the effexor to try, i think he just wants to see how i do with it and if all goes okay he is willing to help wean me off the xanex i beleive with the effexor , but i do not want to be addicted to effexor ,xanex is bad enough, i have tried to stop cold turkey and that definetly will not work, i think i have done ok as far as cutting back on them the xanex) but i know very little about effexor and i do not want to go from one addiction to another.

[wait2long]

they arent addictive in the sense like percocets, vicoden or xanax, effexor is nothing like that, i know that much,,,,but with any antidepressant if you are going to stop them it has to be done right, tapering so you dont get that "funky" feeling...i stopped immdeiately because i was preg., and efexor was pretty new then so doctor told me to stop...dont worry, the feeling of depression is by far 10 times worse then the "funky,****** feeling of stopping the effexor...do the benefits outweigh the risks??