Just started Effexor for anxiety any comments?

01-21-2005, 04:30 AM

Hello I am a 31 single mother of two boys , one of which is ill. The last two years has been a great stress for me and my family which i seemed to be dealing with it all fine. Until recently I became very ill. throwing up all the time , major panic attacks (me thinking a heart attack ) had been to clinic many times. It was hard for me to believe that stress could cause so many health issues in ones body. I had every kind of stomach test , pills and even a scope down my throat in which they only found a sliding hiatus hernia.

I originally started on ativan to calm my panic attacks. That was no longer working so they introduced colanzapam . After taking one twice a day after a month the puking stopped but still had panic attacks. I dont feel depressed. I feel angry. Irritable , mad at life I suppose. I explained that to the doctor and she says depression expresses itself differently in each person. I am worried about taking the anti depressants . All the side effects I have read are horrible. And is this more for anxiety or depression.? Am I depressed. ? I am not even sure.

Has anyone had experience with this type of pill effexor.? I am from canada. Any information would be appreciated..thanks.

01-21-2005, 06:14 AM

I myself have not tried effexor. Is this the first antidepressant you have been on? It's a little surprising they would start you on Effexor, from what I've read, it's pretty potent stuff, and it has a nasty withdrawal syndrome if you decide to go off of it.

{REMOVED}

Good luck with everything.

01-21-2005, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sadie30

Hello I am a 31 single mother of two boys , one of which is ill. The last two years has been a great stress for me and my family which i seemed to be dealing with it all fine. Until recently I became very ill. throwing up all the time , major panic attacks (me thinking a heart attack ) had been to clinic many times. It was hard for me to believe that stress could cause so many health issues in ones body. I had every kind of stomach test , pills and even a scope down my throat in which they only found a sliding hiatus hernia.

I originally started on ativan to calm my panic attacks. That was no longer working so they introduced colanzapam . After taking one twice a day after a month the puking stopped but still had panic attacks. I dont feel depressed. I feel angry. Irritable , mad at life I suppose. I explained that to the doctor and she says depression expresses itself differently in each person. I am worried about taking the anti depressants . All the side effects I have read are horrible. And is this more for anxiety or depression.? Am I depressed. ? I am not even sure.

Has anyone had experience with this type of pill effexor.? I am from canada. Any information would be appreciated..thanks.

Hello Sadie!

I have been on Effexor for a few years now, along with Propanalol. I have been doing great. The only side effects I recall having maybe was mild nauseau and dry mouth, but it only lasted a few weeks and went away. Good luck!!

Melly

01-21-2005, 07:55 AM

Hey Sadie--

Sorry to hear you're not doing so well.

I was prescribed Effexor by my doctor for general anxiety disorder a couple years ago. I, too, thought this was strange since Effexor is normally used as an anti-depressant. It definitely sounds like you're dealing with anxiety (panic attacks are not a normal symptom of depression).

Personally, Effexor didn't help me AT ALL. It did nothing but make me feel sedated, it dilated my pupils really big (which I didn't like because I always looked like I was ON something), made me nauseated, tired & sluggish. These symptoms did not go away for me. They were bothersome to say the least & since Effexor did NOTHING to help my anxiety I decided to go off of it.

Next I tried Paxil which seemed to work better. Also, from what my doctor told me, Effexor is very potent stuff and is easy to OD on. Paxil is much easier on the body & that eased my mind! Also, remember not to drink ANY alcohol at all (if you do drink) while taking Effexor. This can lead to seizures & death.

Good Luck & Take Care

01-21-2005, 07:56 AM

I've been on Effexor XR for almost a yr. and I love it. I take it right before bed, so I miss all the nasty side effects that might occur. But others have taken it before bed and still get the side effects. Everyone is different.

If you do start taking effexor, don't miss taking a pill because you will notice the side effects.

The only side effects I do get are:
Positional tremor in right wrist and thumb (started at 75 mg last yr and
is still with me 24/7.

Started getting eye floaters in right eye 24/7 (still with me)

Muscle twitches

01-21-2005, 11:22 AM

Effexor increased my anxiety (and I was taking it FOR anxiety - so this didn't make sense), but it's different for every person. It has made me nauceous but ravenously hungry at the same time. This is not a good combination. Withdrawal is pretty bad - I am weaning off - it's been almost four days since I took 9 mg or so (down from 75 mg every day to every other day to 35.7 every other day to half of that and half of that). These last two days have been very interesting. I was told Effexor would help me lose weight. Instead it made me hungry (or perhaps intensified my anxiety which made me want to eat for comfort or something), and rather unmotivated to exercise (Paxil had the same un-motivating effect on me.)

01-21-2005, 11:43 AM

i recently tried effexor xr, and that was bad stuff for me i had bad side effects. but don't let any of that get you down. everybody reacts different to ad's and you just have to find the right one. i am now trying lexapro, so far so good. good luck!!

Just started Effexor for anxiety any comments?

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