Efexor - Anxiety Medication

LegacyUser

Hi, I started taking Efexor last Monday so I'm on it nearly a week now. I've suffered from depression for 2 years now and was originally prescribed Cipramil. However, I'm now suffering from mild anxiety, constant jaw clenching-leading to extreme headaches and teeth grinding in my sleep. Returning to my doctor, she prescribed me the lowest possible dose of 37.5mg of Efexor once a day (I realise that this isn't even a dose, it is so low!) After reading this thread, I am extremely worried about taking it. My headaches have increased this week, I am nauseous in the morning after taking my medication and my boyf has described my moods as bi-polar. What's more is I'm going on holidays next week and can almost feel it ruining my holiday already. I'm only young and can't help but feel sorry for myself for putting myself through this illness and the medication.

Are there any other young people who have come out the other side of this illness through taking Efexor?

starn

Im 26 and my mood has improved but Im also chewing the jaws of myself but given the other side efects have thought very little of it. I have good days and bad but it does get better

old boy

i have just realised that i have taken a months dosage in two weeks, i was taking three 75ml tabs each morning, two weeks ago my cared collected my scripts, but them into the usual containers, neither she or i realised that one box contained 75ml tabs the other contained 150ml tabs, no wonder i was feeling fecked up at times, that on top of the other ****e that i am on.

Esel

Old_boy, you should see your doctor immediately and explain what has happened. You will probably have to taper down from that high dosage to avoid experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Are you completely out of the medication now?

old boy

no i am on 225ml each morning, plus my other meds, plus the occasionals

Esel

old boy wrote: »

no i am on 225ml each morning, plus my other meds, plus the occasionals

If you have been taking 450mg per day for the last two weeks, and go straight back to 225mg per day, you will probably experience severe withdrawal symptoms. If you have used up your monthly supply in two weeks, and therefore have none left for the next two weeks, you will definitely experience severe withdrawal symptoms! Are you clear on what I'm saying here?

Go to your doctor immediately - that's the best advice I can give you.

old boy

i have a new supply, 225mg daily

old boy

i will hang on for a few days, take it as it comes, i am disabled and unable to work, as the weather is bad i do not go out, i usually ramble around boards and adverts a few times daily for exercise

starn

You need go to your gp mate and gradually get your dosage lowered otherwise your going to be a complete mess. Thats a scarey dosage to be coming down from. See your docter please

littlefriend

I think I've been on reduced dosage for two weeks now and I have full on panic today. I don't feel like I can leave the house. I know rationally I'll probably feel better if I get out there but I cant face it

condra

Littlefriend. I hope things improved for you in the end.

starn

Littlefriend hope things are improving for you.

Buddinplant

technically i can see the need for me to keep taking it, but i've been on this stuff for over 4 1/2 years. was on 75 mg of efexor xl for the full four years then in the heat of the summer demanded a change or reduction in dosage. so got down to 37.5 mg of efexor . havent decided what the outcome of this is, but as i'm unemployed i've way too much time to be thinking about this.

is there anything nice and natural or herbal that i acan take to improve my energy or moods. the efexor just keeps me stable. i'm a person that will rebel against medical advise once every few months and stop taking it for a week or so. just wondering is this crap addictive, seeing as my family views these times as Red ALert times.

Caoimhín

Buddinplant wrote: »

is there anything nice and natural or herbal that i acan take to improve my energy or moods. the efexor just keeps me stable. i'm a person that will rebel against medical advise once every few months and stop taking it for a week or so. just wondering is this crap addictive, seeing as my family views these times as Red ALert times.

Ok, first of all Effexor is not supposed to be addictive but i have read reports of people having a hard time coming off them, be that real or imaginary.
You really shouldn't try to come off any medication unless under medical supervision. I understand that you feel like rebelling against medical advice but look at it this way, if you were diabetic, would you decide to just stop taking your insulin just to rebel?
Messing around with this sort of medication is not a great idea, it is strong stuff at the end of the day.

I dont know much about any herbal remedies but if you feel like trying some, maybe its better to run it by your doctor first?
How about getting some exercise? I have found myself that exercise definitely lifts my mood. You dont have to run a marathon tomorrow, just go for a gentle walk today.

I hope you work things out, but it takes patience. Please dont stop taking medication without talking to your doctor first.

nimble75

Buddinplant wrote: »

technically i can see the need for me to keep taking it, but i've been on this stuff for over 4 1/2 years. was on 75 mg of efexor xl for the full four years then in the heat of the summer demanded a change or reduction in dosage. so got down to 37.5 mg of efexor . havent decided what the outcome of this is, but as i'm unemployed i've way too much time to be thinking about this.

is there anything nice and natural or herbal that i acan take to improve my energy or moods. the efexor just keeps me stable. i'm a person that will rebel against medical advise once every few months and stop taking it for a week or so. just wondering is this crap addictive, seeing as my family views these times as Red ALert times.

If you're able to survive on 37.5 mg then you could more than likely do without it and be on something natural like St John's Wort which is actually good for you. 37.5 mg is a tapering off dose of Efexor, as the lowest therapeutic dosage is 75mg, so that dose isn't doing you any good therapeutically anyway. But yes, speak to a doctor before you do anything.

Esel

Nimble75, are you a medical doctor?

The_Conductor

nimble75 wrote: »

If you're able to survive on 37.5 mg then you could more than likely do without it and be on something natural like St John's Wort which is actually good for you. 37.5 mg is a tapering off dose of Efexor, as the lowest therapeutic dosage is 75mg, so that dose isn't doing you any good therapeutically anyway. But yes, speak to a doctor before you do anything.

You're threading a dangerous line here.
We do not, and cannot, give medical advice on this forum.
The raison d'etre of the forum is to provide an opportunity for people to talk about and compare their experiences of their different illnesses/conditions *not* to give medical advice.

Consider yourself on a warning nimble75- any more comments which might be construed as medical advice and you will have your rights to post in this forum revoked.

Regards,

SMcCarrick

nimble75

smccarrick wrote: »

You're threading a dangerous line here.
We do not, and cannot, give medical advice on this forum.
The raison d'etre of the forum is to provide an opportunity for people to talk about and compare their experiences of their different illnesses/conditions *not* to give medical advice.

Consider yourself on a warning nimble75- any more comments which might be construed as medical advice and you will have your rights to post in this forum revoked.

Regards,

SMcCarrick

Didn't realise I was giving medical advice, I did say to the person to consult with a doctor after all, apologies.

Go see your doctor and quiz them about it. Ask your doctor if the dosage that your on is considered therapeutically effective. To my knowledge 37.5 mg is a tapering on or a titration (tapering off) dosage. Also, the 37.5 dosage was only available until recently as the harsher standard Efexor tablet (non XL), but the pharmacies now have it (since mid summer) in Efexor XL capsules which is a great help to people who are looking to slowly increase or decrease their dosage. My doctor didn't even realise that this was the case.

I've been on Efexor XL for 5 years now and I read EVERYTHING I could find about the drug, online and also by asking my doctor, and to my knowledge 75mg is the lowest therapeutic dosage of the drug.

We are one of the only countries in Europe where you require a prescription to buy St John's Wort. They made it prescription only to "control it" but that directive has virtually eliminated its usage for depression in Ireland as statistics show that virtually no doctor ever writes a prescription for SJW in this country. My sister is a pharmacist and she tells me that there is a box of SJW in her pharmacy gathering dust for the past 4 years, not one single prescription for it has ever come in the door.

My friend who had a mild dose of the blues a while ago was advised by his doctor to go on Lexapro. Now this fellow was definately not depressed, a very mild case if even. It seems just common practice for doctors to reach for the prescription pad when anyone shows up complaining of feeling down.

The sad fact is that they seem to always prescribe a hardcore antidepressant like Efexor or the favourite these days which is Lexapro, both of which can be a tough to get off.

In any case, whatever you do consult with a doctor who knows about depression. I've had doctors who were poor at understanding and treating depression, and I changed until I found a good one.

Something outside of the medication field which has helped me enormously with depression and anxiety is the Alpha Stim SCS. After a week of using it it had totally changed the way I felt, much brighter and alive and much more energy, and the fogginess of the medication disappeared.

I have had it since February last and it has totally changed my life. I was in a bad way last January with depression, in bed all day, and I was Googling for "depression cure" and came across the depression testimonials on the manufacturer's site (http://www.alpha-stim.com/testimonials/depression_testimonials.html) and was in such a desperate state that I bought one a day or two later. The great thing for me is that it can be used with no problem whether or not you are on medication, the irish distributor website is http://oliverbrady.com/alpha-stim/

Esel

nimble75 wrote: »

We are one of the only countries in Europe where you require a prescription to buy St John's Wort. They made it prescription only to "control it"

Is it not the case that hypericum (the active ingredient in St John's Wort) can be contra-indicated when used with SSRI medication?

nimble75

esel wrote: »

Is it not the case that hypericum (the active ingredient in St John's Wort) can be contra-indicated when used with SSRI medication?

Yes, you should never take St John's Wort with any SSRI/SNRI as it will make you majorly sick, you'll get Serotonin Syndrome which is an awful sickness and is also quite dangerous. When I mentioned SJW I didn't mean for anyone to take it at the same time as an SSRI/SNRI

Buddinplant

thanks very much for reading my post. cheers for the advise. and dont worry, my paranoia is high enough that i always pass stuff by the doctor, whether i follow through or not is another story!

starn

On Effexor since May. Finding it very difficult to do anything lately. Apart from lying in bed. Just about going to college. But forget about getting any study dune. Just into bed. I dont know what to do am I getting worse. Should I look at a higher dosage. Just dont know

nimble75

starn wrote: »

On Effexor since May. Finding it very difficult to do anything lately. Apart from lying in bed. Just about going to college. But forget about getting any study dune. Just into bed. I dont know what to do am I getting worse. Should I look at a higher dosage. Just dont know

Talk to your doctor. It will take at least 2-3 weeks before any increase in your dosage takes effect so you need to be patient. If you haven't been increased in dosage lately you need to see your doctor to examine a solution.

I'm on 150mg and this works for me, but at the start I was on a whopping 450 mg, and also on 1000mg of Lithium and 5mg Zyprexa, all for unipolar depression. I'm not on Lithium anymore and only on 2.5 mg of Zyprexa.

Consider also getting an Alpha Stim SCS as it kicks serious ass at lessening your depression and anxiety and boosting your energy, and has really helped my recovery, and the recovery of a friend who also bought one. I have found this to be a really good long-term non-drug solution to my problem with depression. I posted the link to an irish distributor's website that I bought off on this thread in a previous post.

Hope this helps.
Nimble75

queen of hearts

ok do you really GAIN WEIGHT from these.

Weight is an issue with me, and with my life and work i cannot afford to gain weight. I've seen so many threads, and other sites with people giving out about weight gain. 20lbs is alot!

But none of them put it into context with what they ate, did they overeat, did they indulge as an excuse, did they exercise like they normally would....

i know this is irrelevant in the bigger scheme of things but it would put my mind to rest a bit.

Aard

I was on Effexor, and didn't gain weight. But the anti-psychotics made me gain 20kg (45lbs).

LegacyUser

First off the meds don't "make" you put on weight, they can however increase your appetite and your hunger sensations. It is a choice to eat healthily and exercise appropriately, in order to not put on weight, though it can be a lot harder.

37.5mg of venlafaxine may be an appropriate dose for some people, and might have nothing whatsoever to do with tapering, each person is individual. The doctor who is prescribing knows best. The practice nurse and or psychiatric nurse can also be a useful source of information or may be able to discuss concerns with medications, signs or symptoms of illness and/or medication effects/side effects. They really are a wealth of knowledge and often overlooked by patients seeking information.

sam34

nimble75 wrote: »

be on something natural like St John's Wort which is actually good for you

just saw this post now.

a huge mistake people make is assuming that "natural" products are harmless and entirely good for you.

one fo the big problems with SJW is that it interacts with many different medications (not just psych ones) that people may be on, and may render them ineffective.

before taking any "natural/herbal" remedies, you should always always discuss it with a doctor or pharmacist who knows exactly what other medications you are on.

queen of hearts

queen of hearts wrote: »

ok do you really GAIN WEIGHT from these.

Weight is an issue with me, and with my life and work i cannot afford to gain weight. I've seen so many threads, and other sites with people giving out about weight gain. 20lbs is alot!

But none of them put it into context with what they ate, did they overeat, did they indulge as an excuse, did they exercise like they normally would....

i know this is irrelevant in the bigger scheme of things but it would put my mind to rest a bit.

Anorexia or Loss of appetite is a common side effect of Effexor.

Esel

Moonbaby wrote: »

Anorexia or Loss of appetite is a common side effect of Effexor.

Afair, weight changes (either way) are listed as rare side-effects. Can you give a cite for your statement that anorexia is a common side-effect?

Smart Guy

Firstly I am so glad I found this thread and have read all the listings and it feels very comforting believe it or not to ready other peoples experiences.

Personally I am not suffering from anything but a serious amount of anxiety came out in my wife after we had been married several years with two children. She had blocked out her childhood experiences of experiencing and witnessing both emotional and physical abuse.

Witnessing the happy lives of her own children opened the emotion channel she had closed for so many years. She had never spoken of the pain of her past and it seemed that she was brainwashed into thinking that this was normal.

She has taken everything from lexapro to lustra over the last few years getting a few months of reprieve here and there. From my experience we found her own doctor useless as his attitude was just accept what had happened and get over it

However what seems to be working for us is a combination of her own doctor, conselling and a psycharist. Believe or not our own doctor had no faith in councilling.

To cut a long story short the psycharist who was brilliant explained exactly what was happening to her which really helped and showed her how a combination of medicine and councilling could work together to get a result. She is taking efexor in the morning and lexotan during the day with an occassional sleeping tablet at night as needed. Things seem to be falling in to place now, as being less anxious is helping her understand the councilling sessions.

This is just my experience, but my advice from living with a sufferer is a combination of medication with councilling and knowing you have someone you can ring that you totally trust and understands you when you get a bad day.