celeste

hi,
i don't post here often, mostly just read. I noticed somebody here was
talking about switching
meds to effexor, but my newsreader has lost most of the posts in the thread
so i'm not sure who
started asking, so i've started a new thread.
Effexor was the first of many many meds that i actually got any benefit
from. However, I'd
recommend you look into it on the net, talk to your dr etc anything before
you start on it.
If ever I missed a dose, because of its short half life (there are two
variations, one has a longer half life
n wouldnt have so much of the same problem i guess) i became very ill in a
matter of hours,
and crashed very low in mood. Also, when after a year I ceased to get any
further benefits
from it, even though the dose was decreased to the lowest possible dose it
was hell coming
off it, the withdrawal symptoms were a nightmare, i was almost completely
incapacitated.
And although weight gain isn't often a major side efect of this med, i
gained 2 stone in a year
which was very odd for me.
However, like I said, I did get some benefit from it, and at the time, I
didnt know or care to know
what any other consequences might be, I just needed something to help, and
it did. So,
really just wanted to give you the chance to do some research to make an
informed decision
first, as I had no idea at all, and when withdrawing from it found a mass of
information on and offline
on just how awful it is coming off this med.
All the best,
frankie.

joanna.lacey

I'm the one coming off of zoloft switching to Effexor. What kinds of
withdrawl symptoms did you have?
Joanna

celeste

hi Joanna


oh my gosh what didnt i have
migraines,
sickness n upset stomach
bizarre dreams and little sleep
feeling unable to balance
this awful thing that happened in my head, which felt like something
clicking in my brain, and
made a buzzing sound (which afterwards i looked up and gets described
something like brain shivers)
that took a long time to go away, i came off effexor 6 months ago and only
in the last month has
that stopped happening.
shaking
sudden change in temperature

and thats all just the physical.

there was the tiredness that came in waves, huge depression, felt v
s*ic*d*l,
and even tho i have separate meds for anxiety i was getting very anxious.

again, this is just my experience, but what i worryingly found out as i was
going
through all this, was that there were so many people and so much information
saying that this was not uncommon. plus i was on the one with the shorter
half life,
which probably added to that. I was upset that this was pretty much general
knowledge
and i had no idea about it when i started it. And yes i did get some
benefit from it
which was worth its weight in gold, but there is no way i would go through
that
withdrawal again for anybody.

i don't know if this is helpful at all, i certainly don't want to scare you,
your doctor
knows you, and if it can help you in a significant way, that is great. it
was just
that i wished i had known in advance, i may still have tried it, but at
least i would
have known :/

take care,
frankie.

no kidding!

I think Effexor is very similar to Paxil in this respect.
(Short half life).
Weaning off of it is tough, but it can be done if you know what to expect.
If you ever decide to come off of it, you need to wean off very, very slowly
(or else, take a different AD while weaning off).
NK

joanna.lacey

I'm glad you all are sharing with me.
What does 'half life' mean?
I went shopping today and some of my old phobias returned. Not really bad
but enough to make me uncomfortable. I started at 150mg a few days ago. I
hate the idea of all those sickening feelings returning. I was back to
feeling I would be better off just staying home.
I'm reading the Anxiety and Phobia workbook for extra CBT backup until this
new med starts to work.
Thanks for being here.

Joanna

no kidding!

This is from dictionary.com:
The time required for half the quantity of a drug or other substance
deposited in a living organism to be metabolized or eliminated by normal
biological processes
-----------------------

Basically, it is cleared out of your system faster than most
antidepressants. If you stop taking drugs like these too quickly (or simply
miss a dose), you might experience unwanted side-effects. Other drugs stay
in your system longer and you will not notice a missed dose a quickly.
I'm explaining this poorly....sorry.
NK
NK