THANK YOU HENSLEY!!!

recently you told me to take effexor because it would help my depression and headaches and it has been working great... i almost feel normal and part of the world again.. i guess i will have to wait to find out about the withdrawls but for now im happy.. did you have a hard time coming off of effexor?? also i am making changed in my life so hopefully it should be easy and happy  coming off of this medication

[birdie0907]

I was told I had been under anxiety/depression attack long enough that I couldn't remember what being happy felt like. I disagreed at the time thinking that was not the problem but it must have been, since once I got anti-depressed I stayed that way.

It sounds like you are kind of feeling the way I was on meds, which is good to hear. My doc said to go off after I had been happy long enough that I was ready, so when you say you almost feel normal, maybe you need a bit longer. I waited for 8 months of peace before moving off them last month. Here is my reason for holding off:
You have a 50% chance of depression relapse just because you had one bout. Then it is like 90% for a third if you have a second. So it is important to make sure you are as fresh as possible in case another one comes, because each one is like a dent that stays on your skin, making another one easier to latch on to you. (I read all this.)

[suzanna1]

no i didnt plan on coming off.. i havnt even been on it for a month... i just wanted to know what the withdrawls were...  i plan on staying on it till i know i am happy.. i have been depressed for 8 years... and just now found a medicine that would work... they wouldnt put me on effexor at 16... so i struggled with meds because i was so young.. my depression was severe even at 16...

[Hensley258]

Glad to here it worked for you. Effexor XR is a damn good antidepressant if your symptoms include a lot of exhaustion and agitation.

For some of us the SSRI's just don't cut it because they don't address the Norephinepherine depletion that some people like us have with our depression.

I got 4 good years out of Effexor, but like most antidepressants (at least for me) it eventually lost it's effectiveness and I had to make a change.

I'm now taking Effexor's sister drug "Pristiq" and I am starting to respond to it well.

Many people don't know this, but Effexor XR is the number one largest selling antidepressant of all time. It generates 3.6 Billion dollars a year for Weith Pharmacuticles (it's developer)

There is a reason Effexor XR is such a huge seller.....Because it works.
Weith's 7 year patent on Effexor XR runs out in 2009 at which point it will be avalibe in generic form. This will be good news for people that are tight on cash.

The Withdrawl (withdrawal) from Effexor (should you stop) can be a bit more rough than with an SSRI.
When I tapered off Effexor, I was simultainiously ramping up a new antidepressant, which I'm sure is why I did not feel the full fury of the Effexor withdrawl (withdrawal).

I would imagine if one was to taper off Effexor XR with no replacement antidepressant that the withdrawl (withdrawal) would be very rough.

The worst part of the withdrawl (withdrawal) is the nausia, and light head you get, along with a kind of flashing in the head that I can't explain.

I must say that I will take 4 years of remission from my depression for the 2 months of withdrawl (withdrawal) I got from it. A very fair trade IMO.

[suzanna1]

i am getting headaches from the effexor.. will that go away??

[therese83]

Hello


In my experience the headaches went away. I was on it for 2 and half years and i gave it up by slowly tapering down and i did not have withdrawals, did not replace it with another med at that time (have since relapsed, but hey). I took 225mg.  

Like everything make sure you drink enough water.

[Sue357]

Hi.  I know this is an older thread but I have a question.  I am on Effexor xr ( generic). I started at 37.5 with the doctor saying he was going to 75 mg if I tolerated well.  Well, little by littte we have had to keep ramping up and now I am 181.5 mg.  That was 7 days ago. I know he said he doesn't want to go to the next higher dose which is 225.  It seems like I get one good week and then start to relapse.  Makes me wonder if this the drug for me.  I have been on a roller coaster of meds for the last 3 years.  I am diagnosed Bipolar2 comorbid anxiety/ mood disorder.