Does anyone have any experience with Effexor? My new internist, who is a huge believer in mind/body, started me on it. I just took my first one last night and so far, I can't stop yawning and I slept well until what would be the halfway point of the 24 hour capsule. Then I woke up kind of shaky and anxious. So I'm not sure if that will wear off once I get the med in my system well? The pharmacist said there should be no bad effects from taking it and 20 mg of Elavil at bedtime. They said take the Effexor at about 6 or 7 PM.

Any experiences?

Thanks,
L.

I took effexor for 2 years for situational depression. I took it at night because it made me nauseous. All I can say is when I decided to stop taking it, it it was very bad. It took me 3 mos to gradually withdraw, and I suffered through dizziness ,nausea ,brain zaps and just plain fuzzyheadedness. Other people I know have also had a terrible time getting off of it. It's been 6mos and I still don't feel right. Someone on the depression board told me it took her a year to feel like the effexor was out of her system. It's pretty nasty stuff. I would never get on it again. There is actually a pending class action lawsiut against the manufacturers right now because they do not tell you about the awfull withdrawal symptoms. If you really want to know more about it go on the depression site.

I did want to add that while I was on it I actually didn't have a lot of terrible side effects. I had nightmares and weight gain. A lot of people gain weight on effexor. I myself put on 20lbs. But it did what it was supposed to, and did help with the depression. The reason i got off was because I was tired of feeling SO even all the time. I wasn't happy or sad ..I just didn't feel. Also the weight thing was getting to me. Another thing is I started out on the lowest dosage which was 37.5 and gradually worked up to 75. Maybe your dosage needs to be adjusted down untill your body gets used to it.
anyway....good luck...I hope I didn't scare you too much.

I have been on a multitude of anti depressants for depression and even pain control. Effexor actually is the best one for me. I feel best on it than any of the many others. It does take a while to adjust to any new med, and yes withdrawal from it can be hideous. However, you should give it several weeks for your body to adjust, and if you are still having problems talk with your doctor.
Mim Gregg

I had Effexor and didn't do well with it. Almost all of the antidepressants are a problem for me. They start out ok, and then within a day or 2 give me severe brain fog where I feel zoned out with no abilitie or interest in anything....then as things worsened I began to have suicidal thoughts.....that;s when I flushed the pills....I am sure it works great for many but just wasn't right for my lil chemistry.