Effexor It Is Ruining My Life
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I don't even remember how long I have been on Effexor, but I know the day the doctor gave me samples, he said that this is a new medication that I want you to try and see if it doesn't help you more than the others we have tried. HA! That is the joke of the century. I also take sinemet and requip for restless legs syndrome. Little did I know that you are not supposed to mix the medications. Now my body, mind and brain are addicted to all three. I want nothing more than to be off all this medication. I have an appointment tomorrow with my doctor to discuss this option, however, with all I have read, I am almost too scared to try it. I have had the shakes, the electric shocks or short circuit issues in the brain and everything I have heard talked about. It is a shame to think that if my body reacts this way from not taking the medication, what the heck is the medication doing to my body when I take it? I am a fifty eight year old woman with two grandchildren whom I adore and they feel the same toward me. I want so much to see them grow up and see their children, but if things continue as they are now, I just don't know. I have gone to bed many nights not knowing if I would wake up in the a.m. from the electric shocks. They are scary as hell. I realize that all of us have to die sometime, but the good Lord knows that I would like to hang out awhile and see Him come back. H$ELP!!!!! I NEED HELP!!!! Tue, 3/27/2007 7:42:11 PM


17 Replies

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17

I have been on 75 mg of Effexor for 2 years. I recently found myself being more depressed and requested it be increased. My doctor doubled the dose. In the 1 month that I was on the double dose I gained 10 lbs without changing my eating habits which are extremely healthy OR my activity level which is also, extremely healthy as I have 2 border collies i hike with for a minimum of 2 hours per day and a horse i train for at least an hour every day. (Plus an hour of grooming, tacking before and after). I stopped sleeping, my Restless Legs became so intolerable I wanted to die! I decided 3 days ago to STOP this medication so I halved the dose. Today, like I said is day 3. First day I slept through the night for the first time in a month. I'm going to continue on this decreased dose for a few more days and then decrease it to a quarter dose and then stop! Effexor is THE worst drug I have ever been on! I am devastated with this weight gain as it wasn't just the 10 lbs. it has been a steady 20 lbs on top of that over the course of the 2 years!!! Screw Effexor!

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16

This is the worst reply ever. The Effexor has EVERYTHING to do with it. I just got off of Effexor after being on it for about 5 years. I tried to get off it a couple of times, but had such sever headache/flu symptoms that I couldn't tolerate it (yes, even with extremely gradual tapering). But, I finally decided, I couldn't take the fatigue and dizziness I was pretty sure it was the cause of, so I forced myself to taper off permanently 2 mon ago. I can't even tell you how bad the side effects of getting off was. If they had told me how bad it would be when they put me on, I never would've gone with drugs in the first place. Talk about worsening depression! I felt so sick, all I wanted to do was crawl in a hole and die. I have been completely off for four weeks and still get the occational "withdrawl headache". But, don't let that discourage you. Let that be a sign that the sooner you get off the better. That drug is EVIL!
P.S. There's a book "Feeling Good" (cognative therapy) by Burns has been scientifically proven to be as effective in the short term and more effective in the long term than Rx drugs. Hope that helps.

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15

I am on Effexor and I wanted to try a weightloss program. Little did I know, they sold me the product and im scared I got a reaction from it. I havent used much of it and I wanted to know which natural minerals and vitamins are not good to take with Effexor?
There is natural vitamins and grean tea extracts and other vitamins in the pills that I would like to know about while taking both. Its called uweightloss.com
Let me know what is safe and what I can do.

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14

Hello, I really feel for you. I'm 63 (just thought next week). I too have grandchildren who I would lay down my life for, but hey not this way. For years have been on Prozac which was wonderful when I first went on it. But platague out of after a while, then the zoloft, and a couple I have forgetend the name of. Came off all those and went straight on to the others no problems in the world. Came off altogether for a while, but life got the better of me, divorce, death of family member, ect. Along came pristine, went from .50 - 100 like most. Now most they are doing nothing for me. So the doctor has given me a week to come off (didn't seem long enough to me but I'm no Doc. Today day three, fell in a heap. Had to take 1/2 table to stop all the usual symptoms . Now frightened to take the EllexorXR. Are they going to be the same to come off as the pristiq in time. Any help I would be grateful for. And good luck to all of us. Frances

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13

Effexor within 4 weeks ruined my life. It made me wild and reckless like never before. I got off of it fine I guess. Only thing was, it took a couple years for the confusion and shock from my unusual and unlikely behavior on effexor to clear up. I would say since everyone is different, before you go on it just have your family watch out for you and if you act differently and to agree to take control of the situation for you. You can't go it alone with a mind altering drug. That said go ahead and be careful.

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12

My husband is on Effexor and currently tapering himself off. This drug ruins peoples lives and the lives around them. Only being on the drug for six months and I don't even recognize the man that I married and my kids don't know why daddy's so different. He isn't anything like he was before. Honestly I would rather him go off this stupid drug and try to solve his depression in other ways that are not pharmaceutical related. It seems to me that every time there is something wrong with someone now a days doctors are prescribing more and more pills not natural or other forms of treatment. Driven by money not by helping people get healthy naturally. It's so sad what this world is coming too. Good luck to all out there overcoming these obstacles and to your families as well.

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11

I went from a dues paying member of mensa, to losing 37 points off my IQ thanks to effexor.

I blogged about it here: http:/­/­blog.dannomack.com/­2009/­12/­09/­pills.aspx

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10

effexor is by far the worst drug that i've ever tried. The withdrawal was as bad as any bad street drug. How this poison is legal is really unbelievable. I hope this drug is removed from everywhere and law suits filed. Someone should go to jail for a long time for this endangerment.

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9

I was on Efexor 300mg a day and felt that my life had come to an end. Everything happened in slow motion for me and it felt as if my feet were in heavy cemented blocks. Days went by and I could not recall were the day went or what I did but still kept on crying and feeling as low as anything. Decisions were hard to make eg. having to buy a tin of coffee from the same brand and same size on one shelf but not knowing which one to select although its the same coffee. A simple decision as to go and have a bath - I would not know if I should get dressed first and then change before the bath. I tried sewing with my sewing machine but could not understand what I should do with the material under the sewing foot - should I push it or pull it and the two pieces of matrial together, were confusing me. When you feel that listliss and exausted, there is no way that I would even be able to go for a walk - let alone to even put shoes on for it. I remember that I wanted to make some tea and the sugar bowl was empty - I just left my tea, as I had no energy to fill the bowl. My Psychiatrist wanted to admit me to a mental institution for treatment and I was so scared that I will never ever get out of that place ever again.
So - I CHANGED TO ANOTHER Psychiatrist and she re-evalued me and prescribed Cipralex, tapering it in, and tapering off with the Efexor. I could already feel the 'weights dropping off my feet' after two days and a big improvement took place over a period of three weeks and I was able to return back to work within 4 weeks. My mind was still 'fragile' as tears would come at any stress situation but this was 6 years ago. Today I am in my 5th year of belly dancing and at the age of 60 I can only say that if only I had this particular doctor to treat me for my depressed episodes that I had suffered from, ever since that I can remember - my life would probably have been so much different if I had the correct treatment in those years. I can truly say that I am really LIVING MY LIFE for the last six years. I can only share my experience of Efexor with you and a doctor that gave me the wrong medication for my problem. Now I class Efexor medication as SCARY STUFF! and given by a Dr that was confinced that the medication was good as it was increased from 75mg-150mg-300mg! I don't ever want to go that road again and I will always be grateful to my present Pshychiatrist for the new life that she has given me.**

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8

One note: Sinemet is a primary and initial drug used in Parkinson's patients.....Please find an addiction specialist and if your insurance or your personal funds allow you to enter a certified treatment center it might be your best option. Best of luck.

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7

After failing to having any success with panic attacks , anxiety, or insomnia using the newer drugs effexor, zoloft, prozac, wellbutrin, I went back to the old anti-depressant Pamelor..it worked great, however I have been taking ativan for many years for anxiety caused by PTS (post traumatic stress) Good luck

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6

JUDY; Fire your doctor, find a more competent one and ask for a referral to a GOOD psychiatrist (their expertise is in antidepressants) Do this ASAP it is your health and your life!

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5

The same thing exactly, only different because I found the answer. I went off of effexor (that verb in medical terms is titrate FYI) over a period of 6 weeks. It was strange but do-able. Now I am totally without it. Ask your doctor for the meds to titrate off of it. The dosages will get smaller every 2 weeks or so. IT WORKED. I am not depressed and quite pleased not to be its slave. Requip is a bad, bad, drug. It made me nauseous for 2 years. I went over to requip without any effect at all. The next day my nausea went away. Sinemet is all I needed and now I feel great and can sleep some. I have just about the worst case of Restless Leg Syndrome you could imagine. Key here is to titrate off of effexor and to just stop doing requip but do the requip first. Then the titration. It's not easy to come off of effexor, but it's much easier than quitting coffee or cigarettes.

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4

I was taking 150 mg of Effexor XR. I had every symptom of quitting the med without tapering off. Excessive sweats, falling asleep without realizing it, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, electric shocks, etc. It was a nightmare. My doctor reduced my dosage to 75 mg and all of a sudden, I feel great. I have energy that I have not had in forever, my hot flashes which is what I started taking it for to begin with, subsided and I hardly have them anymore. The most interesting thing is that the change was immediate. So, if you are having a lot of bad reactions, you may ask to reduce the dosage.

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3

Hi Judy,
I just read your posting and here is what i think. Synethetic medecine does not have to rule your life. Neither do doctors, nurses, hospitals or pharmacies. You're having trouble sleeping? Do you excercise daily? If not, start slowly with 5-10 minutes of easy walking preferably no later than 7pm at night . How is your diet? Are you eating many processed or packaged foods with preservatives? If the answer is yes, add a few servings of fresh fruit and vegetables to your diet. Are you taking a multi-vitamin? Please consult your doctor before doing this and if she approves, it should give you a boost of energy as well as help your immune system. You say you have two beautiful grandchildren who are a big part of your life. Spend as much time as you can with them, Judy. They are a source of revitalizing and healing energy- all children are. Speaking of healing energy, animals and nature also have healing power. Take a walk in the woods or on the beach. Close your eyes. Breath deeply. Pick up some lavander oil at the health store. Rub it on your inner wrists and neck just before bedtime. Read instead of watching TV just before bedtime. If you are able, drink a glass of warm milk which contains tryptophan- a hormone that causes sleepiness (turkeys have it as well.) And lastly, believe that you can get through this Judy. You may feel overwhelmed, but I swear, I have been there myself and there is light and love and happiness and health on this planet. I wish you the best. Please email me if you have any questions.

Warm regards, Vanessa

p.s. I forgot a biggie! Surround yourself with loving family and friends. If you don't like or don't trust your doctor- get a new one. You deserve the best care. Trust your heart. :)

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2

TAPERING is the key, for example : try to go from every eight hours to every 10 or 12 hours, then spread the hours out in between as much as you can stand it. Eventually you will be free. I've been there too.

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1

Unless you have been abusing the meds and taking more than you are supposed to then you are not addicted you are dependent and there is a big difference.

Even if you had not added the Effexor your body would have become dependent on your other medications. Dependence is a normal ocurrence anything you put anything into your body regularly for a long period of time, whether it be your morning coffee or your daily muti-vitamin.

So anything you took for a long period of time would cause some withdrawal symptoms if you tried to stop taking them abruptly. So I am afraid you cannot blame the Effexor here.

If there were severe dangers with taking it with the other meds you were on your pharmacist would have told you and would have talked to your doctor about an alternative.

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