effexor xr - Bipolar Disorder Message Board

scrags · 01-31-2004, 10:21 AM

hey my pdoc just put me on effexor xr after I quit taking my wellbutrin because I didn't know any better and had had a blast mixing it with cold meds and mania. So I was looking for some info on it basically just what people thought about it, dosages stuff like that. Thanks

pillbug · 01-31-2004, 06:19 PM

I changed from zyprexa to effexor a while back I now take 225mg and it seems to be helping, no side effects that I know of but I also take wllbutrin, seroquel, depakote, and flurazepam.

sha79 · 01-31-2004, 08:26 PM

I take 150 mg of Effexor and it works great. My nervousness and depression have really eased up. I also haven't experienced any side effects.

wobbly · 02-01-2004, 09:33 AM

I was on Effexor 300 mg for a while and it didn't do a whole lot for me. I would say it kept the very worst of my depression at bay, but I didn't feel really good--that is, I didn't have a sense of well-being or "alright-ness." It didn't really have any side effects. Now Wellbutrin on the other hand...but that's a different story. And of course everybody is different; that's why there are so many different meds out there.
Give it some time to see how it works for you. I'm wishing the best for you!

jon Faber · 02-01-2004, 05:07 PM

i am coming off effexor xr 75mg three times a day because after it stopped working after 4 years. The med was OK other than the sexual side effects. now that i have a much lower dose in me sex feels about a thousand times better.

the big problem i am having is the withdrawal. my doc tells me that the
withdrawal is something they have only recently becomes aware of.

thing is that i am an addict (as are about 40% of you if what i am told is correct). The withdrawal made me want to use real bad, and i didn't even know if was from the withdrawal. i have only been clean for 10 months so who knows if things would hav ebeen different had i had more time.

the other part of the withdrawal that i do not like is that it makes me feel like i am using. i have a hard time resolving the fact that i am trying to live my life without mind or mood alterting drugs but take psychotropics. i have been mostly cool saying that i need the meds to stay well but the withdrawal makes it more difficult to justify taking these meds.

so - in my experience, it was a good antidepressant. i started when zoloft stopped working. i had some sexual side effects but was cool with it. not too many side effects starting the med - standard stool problems for a few days.
i have been on a taper for close to a month now and the withdrawl sucks.