Has anyone ever taken Effexor XR? I am having extreme side effects.?

Question

Hi,
I took one pill of Effexor XR last night, and I am having extreme side effects. My heart has been racing since last night (I prob got 2 hours of sleep total, yet I could prob run a marathon right now), I have a dry mouth, my hands are shaking, my legs are sort of shakey as well, when I stood up this morning I was so dizzy I felt like I was drunk, and I'm still a little dizzy now, it feels like I have extreme anxiety and can't sit still, it feels like electricity is going through my body (if you know what I mean), and I can't concentrate or sit still. If anyone else has taken this med, can you please give me advice? Did you stop taking it? Does this go away? Should I discontinue using it since I've only taken one pill? I can't handle feeling like this..Thank you for any help you can provide!

Answer 1

As with most antidepressants, lack of sexual desire can be a very disturbing side-effect for some persons. Venlafaxine can raise blood pressure at high doses, so it is usually not the drug of choice for persons with high blood pressure. Venlafaxine should not be used in children. Caution should also be used in those with a seizure disorder.

The energizing effect of the drug may come unwanted to some, possibly leading to an increased anxiety / depressed mind state. While the specific modality of effect is not well understood, a Black Box Warning has been issued with Effexor and with other SSRI and SSRN anti-depressants advising of risk of suicidality. Some studies have questioned the effectiveness of the drug in helping depression. The black box warnings advise physicians to carefully monitor patients for suicide risk at start of usage and whenever the dosage is changed. Family members should be advised of this potentially fatal side effect so they may bring the patient to a hospital emergency for surveillance and protection. This drug is particularly risky for patients whose mental condition includes poor impulse control such as Borderline Personality Disorder, and if there is comorbid substance abuse.

Venlafaxine is sometimes used for the treatment of depressive phases of bipolar disorder. However, this has some potential danger, as venlafaxine can induce mania, mixed states, rapid cycling and/or psychosis in some bipolar patients, particularly if they are not also being treated with a mood stabilizer.

Another risk is *Serotonin syndrome. This is a serious effect that can be caused by interactions with other drugs and is potentially fatal.

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Common side effects include:
Nausea
Dizziness
Sleepiness
Insomnia
Vertigo
Dry mouth
Sexual dysfunction
Sweating
Vivid dreams
Increased blood pressure
Electric shock like sensations
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Less Common to rare side-effects include:
Cardiac arrhythmia
Increased serum cholesterol
Gas or stomach pain
Abnormal vision
Nervousness, agitation or increased anxiety akathisia
Panic Attacks
Depressed feelings
Suicidal thoughts suicidal ideation
Confusion
Neuroleptic malignant syndrome
Loss of appetite
Constipation
Tremor
Drowsiness
Allergic skin reactions
External bleeding
Serious bone marrow damage (thrombocytopenia, agranulocytosis)
Hepatitis
Pancreatitis
Seizure
Tardive dyskinesia
Difficulty swallowing
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Interactions
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Cannabis Report of a man prescribed venlafaxine who experienced tachycardia, arrhythmia, and seizures when he smoked cannabis and then took his normal dose of venlafaxine. Others have reported no such dangerous interaction. tachycardia, arrhythmia, seizure Erowid

Salvia divinorum Report of a man prescribed venlafaxine who experienced two seizure-like episodes on the two occasions that they tried to smoke Salvia divinorum. seizure-like Submitted via interaction form, Nov 2005, by PR

Amphetamine Case Report Dangerous Single case report of a 32 year old man prescribed both amphetamine (5mg x 3 per day) and venlafaxine (150mg x 1 per day) who presented with "marked agitation, anxiety, shivering and tremor." anxiety, shivering, tremor, serotonin syndrome Prior FH 2002

Lithium Case Report Dangerous Single case report of 50 year old woman prescribed both lithium and venlafaxine who was reported to have experienced serotonin syndrome. serotonin syndrome Mekler G 1997

Metoclopramide Case Report Dangerous Case report of 32 year old woman prescribed venlafaxine and administered metoclopramide in a hospital after an injury. She "developed movement disorder and a period of unresponsiveness. After a second dose of metoclopramide, these symptoms recurred and were associated with confusion, agitation, fever, diaphoresis, tachypnea, tachycardia, and hypertension." tachycardia, confusion, hypertension, serotonin syndrome Fisher AA 2002

Phenelzine (MAOI) Case Report Life-Threatening Several case reports of potentially dangerous interactions. One case report of 44 year-old woman who accidentally ingested phenelzine with venlafaxine and was admitted to an emergency department with lower extremity tremors and rapid respiration where she was diagnosed with serotonin syndrome. Other case reports involve patients who experienced serotonin syndrome while transitioning from phenelzine to venlafaxine. anxiety, tremors, rapid respiration, serotonin syndrome Weiner LA Diamond S 1998

Propafenone Case Report Dangerous Single case report of patient treated for bipolar affective disorder in which venlafaxine given with propafenone caused "markedly increased serum levels of venlafaxine correlating with unexpected psychopathological changes." psychosis Pfeffer F 2001

Tranylcypromine Case Report Life-Threatening One case report of 60 year-old woman who accidentally ingested venlafaxine while on a chronic prescription of tranylcypromine and experienced "altered mental status that progressed to hyperthermia and coma. She recovered quickly and without complications." hyperthermia, coma Hodgman MJ 1997

Trimipramine Case Report Life-Threatening Single case report of 25 year-old woman on 150mg per day of venlaxine and 100mg per day of trimipramine hospitalized when seizures occurred. Both drugs were discontinued and seizures stopped and did not recur. seizures Schlienger RG 2000

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Severe discontinuation syndrome
Venlafaxine may cause potentially severe withdrawal symptoms upon sudden discontinuation (the recommended discontinuation is a drop of 37.5 mg per week; sudden stops are usually advised only in emergencies). These have a tendency to be significantly stronger than the withdrawal effects of other antidepressants including the tricyclic antidepressants, but are similar in nature to those of SSRIs such as Paroxetine (Paxil® or Seroxat®).

Discontinuation effects may include irritability, hostility, headache, nausea, fatigue, dysphoria and the fairly-unique "brain shivers". Rarer withdrawal symptoms include shaking legs, tremor, vertigo, dizziness and paresthesia. Other non-specific mental symptoms may include impaired concentration, bizarre dreams, agitation and suicidal thoughts.

Antidepressant withdrawal effects do not indicate addiction, but are rather the results of the brain attempting to reach neurochemical stability after an abrupt change. These can be minimized or avoided by tapering off of the medication over a period of weeks.

The distinction between "withdrawal" effects and addiction may be nothing less than semantics to make a distinction between a prescribed anti-depressant and illict drugs, as addicts also suffer withdrawal effects when trying to stop taking an illicit drug. This is in the vein of the use of the term "self-medicating" to feel good as a euphemism for addiction. People reading about a drug like Effexor should be aware of these choices of words to minimize the actual reality of withdrawal "effects".

Studies by Wyeth-Ayerst and others have reported occasional cases of withdrawal symptoms severe enough to require permanent use. In some of these cases, successful discontinuation was eventually achieved by the addition of fluoxetine, which was later discontinued itself without difficulty.

It is important for patients to be aware of these risks so their choice to take this drug is balanced against the severity of potential side effects. A petition to Wyeth, signed by more than 11,000 patients as of June 2006, argues that disclosure regarding the side effects and efficacy is neither full nor accurate and asks Wyeth to improve the Effexor documentation for patients and medical professionals.[4]

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Lawsuit
"Patel Carolina & Associates PLLC" filed a lawsuit in 2004 due to the discontinuation side effects of the drug. The lawfirm created an 'Effexor Class Action' website at http://www.pcalawfirm.com/ (also available via http://www.effexorwar.com/).

Answer 2

How should I take Effexor?

Take Effexor exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow all directions on your prescription label. Do not take this medicine in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended.
Effexor should be taken with food. Try to take this medicine at the same time each day.
Swallow the controlled-release capsule (Effexor XR) whole, without crushing or chewing. To make the medication easier to swallow, you may open the capsule and sprinkle the medicine into a small amount of applesauce. Swallow all of the mixture without chewing, and do not save any for later use.
Your blood pressure will need to be checked often.
It may take 4 weeks before your symptoms improve. Keep using the medication as directed and tell your doctor if your symptoms do not improve.
You should not stop using Effexor suddenly. Follow your doctor's instructions about tapering your dose.
This medicine can cause you to have a false positive drug screening test. If you provide a urine sample for drug screening, tell the laboratory staff that you are taking Effexor.
Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat.


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Answer 3

My doctor prescribed Effexor XR to me and it did not take long before I realized that crap was not for me. I read up on it and when you take it a while and then go off of it you will have extreme withdrawals, but not only that, the stuff made me feel just like you described you are feeling. I was shaky, dizzy, had rapid heartbeat and just felt overall weird. I only took it a couple weeks and I said to heck with it. I am also on Lexapro and that works wonders for me. It is an antidepressant and it is also for generalized anxiety disorder. I have been on it for a couple years now and I am doing great. Throw the effexor away, after you talk to you doc, of course. He may want to dose you down to keep you from going off cold turkey. I just stopped taking it myself, but, like I said, I had only been on it a couple weeks. The symptoms went away after a few days and the stuff got out of my system. Never again will I take that stuff. Good luck.

Answer 4

These side effects could last up to a couple of weeks. You have to let the medicine take effect in your body system for it to start working. I know when I started my medicine similar to effexor I had side effects for a least a week. Then when the medicine was in my system the side effects went away and I was feeling much better all around. You can still call your doctor to confirm but I'm guessing they will tell you the same thing. Good luck!!

Answer 5

I've not taken Effexor, but the side effects could cause permanent damage to your heart muscle, in addition to a variety of other problems - not getting any sleep is worrisome enough. Even if your body does get "used to" these side effects, this drug doesn't sound too healthy. I would recommend calling your doctor and talking to him/her about it.

Answer 6

No but I'm on it now & have heard it's hard to get off of after the 4yrs I've been on it. I was put on Librium in my Jr yr of High School for suicide attempts. I'm now 52 yr & have tried 3 times to Detox off of it but the side effects are so awful, the Drs always put me right back on it. Have you ever been put on Zoloft? People get use to it so quickly & it takes away all sexual desires. When you're this depressed, the last thing you need is no desire to be cuddled, loved & feel wanted. Good Luck = Mental illness is nothing to laugh at. People who have never had it can't imagine the frustration we go through. Goodluck

Answer 7

I take it The doctor told me to start taking it in the morning I would shake all nignt,and sweat would pour,my blood presure would go up my be the doctor should you at a lower doze I hope I spell that right.It help a lot but it took weeks before I start feelong ot god bless

Answer 8

I take it everyday without any problems like you describe, with a bunch of others. Sounds like you are having a reaction to it, or it with a combo with others. Do you take any other meds it could be reacting with in a negative way?? Get off it & see if all returns to norm, if so, then it was probably the cause.

Answer 9

I used to take it but when i lost 25 pounds in 3 months i stopped the side effects dont go away so i just stopped taking it.

Answer 10

I'm feeling the EXACT same thing, but I took 600mg. I'm thinking I'm just going to wait it out.

Answer 11

Call your doctor...today