general anxiety-confused - Anxiety Message Board

earthdayapril22 · 07-03-2007, 08:56 AM

Okay, anxiety have been building up in the last months because of my future plans of moving 5000 miles away and getting my first real job, getting married etc etc and now I can't control the anxiety, I feel confused all the time, i can't concentrate and last week I had a bad depression for a couple of days and now it's gone but the anxiety is there, I'm also having trouble sleeping at night on the last days , I went to the family doc and he prescribe Effexor XR 37.5 MG and clonazepan for me to sleep at night. Today is my first day , clonazepan didin't help me sleep at night ( i only took half a tablet .5mg) and today is my first day on Effexor.

Is my type of anxiety normal ?? If I do control my anxiety with Effexor, will I have to continue taking this med for years? or how can I avoid it from coming back ?

bonzer · 07-03-2007, 03:20 PM

only you know if you had anxiety before all this started happening. effexor will help but if you have general anxiety disorder you won't want to stop taking it in the near future. it's just a relief from worrying about nothing. if your anxiety is new then you won't want to continue after the dust has settled. good luck.

earthdayapril22 · 07-04-2007, 11:46 AM

Hello Bonzer, thank you for answering my question.

The only side effect i've been having these 2 days on effexor is severe insomnia even after taking .5 clonazepan before sleeping. Will this insomnia last or when it will go away ?

minutexminute · 07-05-2007, 06:17 AM

Hi Earthday--
I suffered from severe depression & took Effexor for about 6 yrs. As far as I know, it's not really for anxiety, but perhaps it does help with that also. It did interfere with my sleep, not by causing classic insomnia, but because it caused night sweats and bad dreams. I've heard this is common. The night sweats lasted a few months, the bad dreams lasted the entire time.
But if that doesn't happen to you, I don't think it should really have the effect of causing insomnia.
There are also other side effects of Effexor (and Eff. XR) which you may experience. for this reason, dont' stop taking it to avoid the insomnia. You may feel dizzy or disoriented. Also, don't stop taking it anyway for any reason until you speak with your doc, because you must be weaned off due to the side effects of withdrawing from it. good luck, the effexor can be very effective in relieving depression, and some people feel the side effects are worth not suffering with depression.
I no longer take effexor, but I do take clonozapam & I don't find that to cause insomnia at all. Again, best of luck--talk to your Dr.!

marian100 · 07-05-2007, 08:05 AM

There are antianxiety drugs that you can take. One is buspar. As far as antidepressants, celexa and lexapro are 2 that are good for anxiety. Check with your dr. Godbless