Anyone know if effexor (Venlafaxine) is worth the trouble?

soo anyone tried it? its a anti-depressant.. (got a prescription for it, or whatever) but did read some awfull things about it.. especially concering the extreme withdrawl effects. don't even know if i need it, i guess maybe its not such a bad idea..after the stuff that happened lately..

 

Effexor works well, but it's not worth it. The withdrawal effects are absolutely terrible. I felt so sick coming off it, and I'd feel electric shocks inside my head every few seconds. It took a year of reducing the dose until I could stop entirely after I decided I didn't want to take it anymore. Also, it causes really bad sexual dysfunction.
There's a lot of better anti-depressants that work just as well (or better) than Effexor, and they don't have the side effects and withdrawal effects that Effexor does.

 

I started yesterday with it, 37.5mg i think, seeing the pysch in a few weeks again, but untill then this is all i have, might try to get back on cerlain. but this effexor reminds me too much of amphetamines, even feeling depressed in some way, like doing some damn opiate. He said that effexor would be better for me then cerlain, because i was diagnosed for ADD, so effexor would be better for concentration etc.. but can't stand these amphetamine effect-like meds. i feel god damn terrible right now, even if its a very small dose.

 

I don't know anymore man, i have always refused to go on anti-depressant, and always try to have some control over my depressions, but lately everything went out of hand, a two weeks ago i have quit my education, the stress was litteraly breaking me down, i'm 19, i don't have any diploma, not even a highschool diploma, and now i'm drugging myself with amphetamines to give me some euphoric rush, thats what they call 'anti-depressants', god, this is driving me crazy. the worst of all is that i don't have any future perspective, i'm just sitting here all day apathic in my room, blasting my worries away with this crap, while far away resonates some terrible worrying feeling.

 

The problem with all these types of meds is that they effect each person differently, and the only way to know is by taking it and seeing.

Effexor was the last prescription drug I ever took, like 6 or 7 years ago. I was warned that sexual dysfunction could occur, but that wasnt clarified in the beginning. In most guys who suffer sexual dysfunction with it, it makes them unable to get it up. In a small percentage it causes the opposite problem. I had an erection for almost 2 weeks.

Contrary to what some people may think, this is not a good thing in any way shape or form. After day three of a hardon, it starts becoming painful, by the end of the first week, bruising is started to show up all over it, at two weeks, it was nothing but one huge bruise when I threw them out (against medical advice, the doctor wanted me to cut down gradually).

It was at that point in my life that I realized that seems I have a natural product that does what I need it to, without side-effects that might cause my dick to fall off, it was silly taking the risks of being a test subject for the medical profession (which is what everyone is to them). I gave up on seeing doctors, gave up on prescriptions and synthetic chemicals, went back to smoking pot 24/7.

I haven't seen a doctor since then, and don't plan on doing so anytime soon.

But, you have to remember, each person is affected differently. I have a buddy that has been taking effexor for years, and it has been doing what it was meant to with him, with no ill side effects.

 

That shit screwed me up royally !! now i have glasses

 

Hey buddy,
I took effexor, affected me strangely, like not at all. I took cymbalta but the withdrawl made me mad u know? Anyway, not trying to open a can of worms but.. Is there one thing you still care about, preferably something living, like a dog, cat, tree, plant, stuffed animal. Anyways they all have aurus. Take that thing that you think will listen and ask it for its bright light and energy. While you close your eyes. Breath deeply and calmingly. Ask for the white light. See a door in the corner of a dark dark room. The door is bulging with white light. As you hold the handle you feel its presence. Now open the door and let the explosion of light take over your body! It usually pushes me back some. Anyways that is what works for me, and if your bored give it a shot, their is always light, but i know too, sometimes its hard to find, just start with one thing you still care about.:cheers2:

 

hi, i was on efexor 124mg for acouple of years, speedy nonesence, sexual nightmare. big time HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. completley emoitional rollacoaster. in my opinion it will be banned(good thing) tried mirtazapine quite content on that. get out of bedroom if poss, exercise,diet all that shit realy does help. givde it a go. good luck

 

your future lies where your fears hide

 

yay, free medical amphetamines.. i'm going damn insane, and i like it at the same time. (taking 75mg now, next week i will take 150mg)

 

I'm on 150mg and I think it works pretty well. I need to get exercise

I stopped taking it last year around june/july and started again in october maybe

 

Lmao

 

Oh man, I do not recommend this. My good friend was on it for a long time, and the side effects and nightmare when you want to get off it is NOT worth it at all! If she even missed a day she'd get sick, and when she finally stopped it and got off it, she was violently ill for a week. I recommend celexa, side effects are REALLY uncommon and it is not a problem to get off of when you want too.

 

Good luck to you Pellinore and know that people care....
Work hard with your therapist to get through whatever you are needing to get through.
I have never been on anti-depressants, but maybe you should look for something with a few less side effects.
Your depression won't last forever. I promise.
You WILL make it through.
Blessings to you

 

man,
pellinore, lostminty and the_morroccan_raccoon (thomas, ben and ryan) all in one thread. my three little msn buddies. niiice.

is venlafaxine worth it?
yeah go for it. my grandads been on it for 12 years and he hasnt had another suicide attempt in all that time, but he had about 10 before he was on it.

try it.

 

I found a low dose (37.5mg) helped me a lot with some pretty severe general anxiety and depression - I've been on it for about 6 months now. I've still had a few problems emotionally, but I find them much easier to handle. At first I found the pills would make me feel sort of weird, jumpy, about an hour after I took them; after a couple of weeks, this went away on its own.

I occasionally miss days, even two in a row, and I do find myself moodier, but I haven't noticed any other serious effects there.

I'd say the biggest benefits I've gained from taking them are having gotten a better understanding of my own emotions, and the knowledge that I can in fact control them if I try. This alone has given me some confidence. Basically, they've given me some stability, which gave me the time I needed to figure some things out.

I'm not sure how much longer I'll be on them; if I remember, I'll come back and post again with any new information. Since I've had few problems missing a day or two, I imagine this dose is low enough that withdrawal won't be too bad. (Famous last words, or something, right? )

 

Correct me if I am wrong When a person comes off of anti-depressants don't they still have their problems to deal with? If so...then why take them in the first place. Or is a person to stay on them for their lifetime.

 

Dude. Get. Off. It. Now!!!!!

I have been on it for like.. a year and a half?? For PTSD. I have horrid anxiety from a car accident I was in..

Anyway.. I had a bit of depression when I was younger. I will admit that. But never did I think about killing myself.. (before Effexor!!)

You know, I would get down.. but I would get better..

On Effexor.. if I skip a dose.. or if I am sick and throwing up and I miss the doses from that... dude... it's horrible!!

I actually tried to kill myself once when I missed a dose. I don't know how to describe how crazy it is for someone as happy and upbeat as me to be as low as I was. I was the most unhappy and depressed you can possibly imagine. I would never wish that LOW on anyone. Gosh. Anyone man..

The thought of going off this medication scares me to death. To the point that my family thinks I will need rehab.. Rehab for an anxiety medicine? I never would have though.. I'd never had started it...

If my doctor knew how much trouble I was having Im sure he'd take me off but I'm too scared to tell him the truth because I just try really hard to never ever miss a dose. (I have epilepsy so missing medications is horrible for me anyway.)

I realize that MOST people do not have as extreme as a reaction as I did but look hun, it's possible.. so be careful. I think I made a post on here about "random deep depression." I realized later that it was BECAUSE of the medicine I was on.. I don't just get down like that. If you see that post.. you'll get an example of how you could feel.

Good luck!!!

 

Antidepressants are a giant scam - ESPECIALLY the SSRIs. For one thing they are intended to treat what is called "clinical" depression, depression that is not caused by any problems in your life or anything external for that matter. They would call the cause a "chemical imbalance." I'm not saying some kind of chemical imbalance doesn't ever cause any depression whatsoever, but I'm guessing that 19 out of 20 people who are depressed have something they need to deal with in their lives, if not more.

They're also dangerous. Something like 1 out of 7 people lack the enzymes necessary to properly metabolize SSRIs. That means they just keep building up in your system and slowly (or quickly depending on how you look at it) raise your seratonin to dangerous and possibly fatal levels, what is known as seratonin syndrome.

I'm pretty sure I was one of those people who can't metabolize correctly - I tried two SSRI antidepressants a few years ago when I was hitting rock bottom. The first, Citalopram (generic celexa), fucked me up real bad. I had severe chest pains, severe anxiety, mood swings, nausea, vomitting, unpleasant delerious hallucinations when waking in the morning and going to bed at night, almost passed out in the middle of the road while trying to walk to the gas station to get some cola to calm my stomach, and so on and so forth.

The second, a generic for Zoloft, wasn't as bad but something was still clearly wrong. On my fourth day or so my family came to visit me at college and we were eating at panera when I started feeling like I was disconecting and thought I heard like this crazy siren going off somewhere - if you've ever played silent hill you'll know what I'm talking about. Then the next day in class I had this very, very strange and unpleasant feeling and for about 20 minutes I thought I was just going to pass out or even die or something. The final straw was when my friend showed me a clip from the movie "irreversible" where a guy's head gets bashed in by a fire extinguisher. it was disturbing, sure, but when I saw that on Zoloft something weird happened in my head and I suddenly felt really awful, felt like I needed to get out of my skin because beingi n it was the worst feeling ever and I felt compelled to just toss or crush everything I could get my hands on.

After that the doctor switched me to bupropion which is NOT an SSRI. it works similarly but instead of blocking the reuptake of seratonin if blocks dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake instead. There were a few problems - I had some of the most horrible awful dreams I've ever had and while I was first taking it I would occasionally feel a little weird or out of it, but overall it wasn't too bad and made me feel much happier. Of course, anything that increases the amount of dopamine in your system is going to make you feel happier. . .

I stopped taking bupropion in the end because it was raising my blood pressure way too much. I remember while I was on it going into the doctor's office for something that had happened and having my blood pressure taken. The top number (systolic? diastolic? I dont' remember) was almost 170, which is very, very bad at 21 years old. Since i stopped taking the bupropion that number hasn't gone above 130.

Perhaps my experience isn't representative of most doctors, but I would like to say something about the psychiatrist that prescribed all these drugs for me. When I called him after having problems with the citalopram, particularly the chest pains, he told me that they "must be in your head, purely psychological" because citalopram is not known to cause any heart or circulatory system problems. I did some research and found that "heart block" and other hear-related problems were associated with citalopram.

when I noticed my blood pressure was way too high on bupropion (and I didn't just know because of the BP readings at the doctors - I could FEEL the pressure ins ide of me, which was how I got concerned and fount it it was in fact HBP in the first place. When I called the doctor and told him the feeling of pressure ( this was before I went tot he doctor to get that checked out) he told me bupropion was absolutely not known to cause hypertension or heart problems and that if I got hurt or died from taking bupropion that I would be the first.

Sure enough I got online, did some research, and not only is hyptension one of the more common side effects of taking bupropion, but there have also been a handful of deaths attributed to the drug.

So, just my two cents - antidepressants, their manufacturers, and the doctors that carelessly toss them at patients should be locked in a vault and shipped off in a rocket to pluto or some such place where we won't have to deal with them.