Value of Effexor XR for depression? Can you share what you know about this prescription pill?

Question

Value? Side effects? Insights, please

Answer 1

Effexor helped me a great deal with my depression (which tends to be rather resistant to treatment.) It is an effective antidepressant and it also helped me with my social anxiety. I've known quite a few people who find it to be a tremendously helpful medication. (I co-moderate a bipolar email support group and meds are a big topic of discussion.)

I went off of it though because it completely killed my libido. As others have mentioned, there are often significant withdrawal effects...this is a medication you should definitely wean slowly off of if you want to stop taking it.

Answer 2

I've taken it... actually, I was once on twice the recommended maximum dosage for someone who is institutionalised. It didn't help me but I had hypothyroidism causing my "treatment resistant" depression :rolls eyes at dumb psychiatrist:

It really helps some people but the withdrawl can be AWFUL. I would definately explore all your options. If it doesn't work try a different pill, there are SO many antidepressants it's not even funny! Best wishes.

:edit below:

Also, if you can afford it and your insurance will cover it- invest some time (and money) in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Depression can be very responsive to CBT. You can sometimes find cognitve behavioral group therapy which may be cheaper, and some community mental health centers, etc, offer it. Other forms of talking therapy help too, as does hypnosis- but really, you need to be talking to someone in addition to the pills!

Answer 3

Ok...now that you've read the nonsense from someone who copied the official text, word for word that you could have looked up yourself, here is some words from someone who was on this for two years.

It made me feel better for a little while, but after a few months, it seemed to make me more aggressive. I had a much shorter temper than the time before and after I took Effexor.

One of the side effects I had is an increased sex drive, believe it or not, and I had a harder time climaxing, so as a result, I could perform much, much longer. I swear, I'm not joking.

As for it's effects with depression, it did help in the short term, but the longer I stayed on it, the more quick tempered I became. My depression came back within a few months.

I had much better results with Depakote.

Answer 4

A low dose of Effexor saved my life and my ability to function and maintain friendships I was at risk of trashing.

BUT

Effexor also made a friend of mine suicidal.

As with any antidepressant, what's important is the FIT between the chemical composition of that particular pill, and your particular brain chemistry.

Doctors choose the one they think might work best for you based on a bunch of factors. From there, it's trail and error to make sure the particular med, and the dosage, are right for you.

There is not one "best" antidpressant. Different ones work on different brain chemicals and different brain processes.

Answer 5

Ejaculation can be considered premature when it occurs 30 seconds to 4 minutes into sex, depending on different cultures, countries and experts. Behavioural techniques can help you delay orgasm. Learn here https://tr.im/uYa5E
These include the start-and-stop method and the squeeze technique. A combination of these techniques along with sexual counselling and medication (either using an anaesthetic cream or an oral tablet) is recommended.

Answer 6

I have been suffering from premature ejaculation for most of my life, but I found the most amazing invention to tackle this issue and since then I never looked back, and it is so simple. You can find the solution here ( http://prematurejaculation.kyma.info ) When a man is suffering from premature ejaculation, he is often climaxing before his partner and in the case of most men it is difficult if not impossible for them to continue intercourse after ejaculating. That's because chemicals are released when a man ejaculates and these are the same chemicals that make a person feel sleepy and/or not aroused. It’s not that they have suddenly lost interest, just their brain is telling them that the sex is over. This effect is more prominent after intercourse than after masturbation because intercourse actually causes four times more of these chemicals to be released. If premature ejaculation occurs frequently, it can lead to embarrassment for the man and sexual frustration for both partners.

Answer 7

I was on this med for over a year and it usually takes a month to start to feel better, you cant drink while on it or youll be drunker than u should be and your blood pressure increases dramatically in some people. i did help with my depression though, but its basically a trial and error thing, you have to try antidepressants until you find the proper one for you, hope this helps somewhat

Answer 8

it worked but then after a couple of months faded away, it's such a subjective thing though, prozac had a severly bad reaction with me, the majority of ssris did nothing and sertraline hrdrochloride/lustral/zoloft has worked for years. It is sadly trial and error, not a nice process but I see it as life or death really so bash away til you find the right way...

Answer 9

I got severe migraine type headaches from Effexor. Now that my dosage is low they've gone away.

Answer 10

i have taken 150 mcg of this stuff before - in the beginning your body feels a bit weird - but it should calm down after a couple of weeks - make sure you take it everyday - if you miss a dose you might feel weird and unusual. - i just felt numb whilst taking this - i don't like taking anti-depressants as you loose your sex drive and you feel like a machine