anyone know about depression meds?

Question

I was taking Zoloft and my doctor switched me to Effexor and I don't know the good or bad about it. Anyone taking it know?

I read stuff on the internet, I'm looking for someones personal opinion on it and how it effected them. Also not a religion lecture.

Answer 1

Effexor's pros and cons:

Pros: There are two last resorts among the modern meds to cure the deepest, blackest depression when your doctor is just switching you from one horsie to another on the med-go-round: Effexor (venlafaxine hydrochloride) and Remeron (mirtazapine). Either in combination with an antipsychotic would really get you out of that hole of despair, but first you should throw away every mirror and scale in your house and buy expandable clothing. But for deep, despairing clinical depression that needs to respond to the standard tweaking of the three most popular neurotransmitters, Effexor (venlafaxine hydrochloride) often pulls people out of the abyss.

Cons: For many people Effexor has the absolute worst discontinuation syndrome of an antidepressant. Effexor (venlafaxine hydrochloride) is a medication people utterly loathe to have taken. It is not uncommon for someone to fire doctors during or immediately after they quit taking Effexor (venlafaxine hydrochloride).

Effexor's Typical Side Effects: The usual for SSRIs and SNRIs - headache, nausea, dry mouth, sweating, sleepiness or insomnia, and diarrhea or constipation, weight gain, loss of libido and a host of other sexual dysfunctions. Most everything but the weight gain and sexual dysfunctions usually goes away within a couple of weeks. Although some women will notice that the sexual side effects will diminish above 200-225mg a day when the norepinephrine kicks in. Maybe.

For tips on how to cope with these side effects, please see our side effects page.

Effexor's Not So Common Side Effects: Increased or lowered blood pressure, sweating, farting, anorexia, twitching, shock-like sensations.
Also alcohol intolerance and/or alcohol abuse. So Effexor (venlafaxine hydrochloride) is going to be just the thing to talk about at AA meetings.
I used to have these last two listed as rare side effects, but I've received way too many e-mails and have read far too many similar reports on various other sites after putting up this page about both of them. As is often the case here, the anecdotal evidence will often trump what is in the US PI Sheet. Best guess to date as to why both of these side effects can happen - Paul of Leeds (in the U.K.) posits that Effexor's broad spectrum use of liver enzymes probably interferes with alcohol clearance and tolerance, thus leading to the type of alcoholism that affects people without the proper enzymes to effectively metabolize alcohol. Between that and the way Effexor works your liver, you're probably better off giving up booze entirely if you're taking this med.
These may or may not happen to you don't, so don't be surprised one way or the other.

Effexor's Freaky Rare Side Effects: Someone's reflexes increased and someone else's breasts got bigger, proving that there is no pleasing some people. Someone else's hair changed color and, really, no Revlon was involved. But the most disturbing freaky rare side effect with Effexor (venlafaxine hydrochloride) is what Wyeth disingenuously calls "withdrawal syndrome," that once you acclimate to Effexor (venlafaxine hydrochloride) you are basically hooked for life. The discontinuation syndrome never goes away if you try to stop. For someone with unipolar depression that's a pain in the ***, but something you might be able to work around barring any really adverse side effects, but for someone who is bipolar you can be royally screwed because Effexor (venlafaxine hydrochloride) can really aggravate mania and especially rapid cycling.

Answer 2

I've been on both and both helped with my depression. Effexor also helped my social anxiety. The downside is you MUST take it on schedule and if you go off of it, you want to do so very gradually to avoid unpleasant withdrawal effects. It is definitely the worst in that category, the withdrawal is the most intense of the antidepressants. But Zoloft (and other SSRI's) too should be slowly tapered to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

For me they both had sexual side effects, Effexor worse than Zoloft, but both were enough of a reason that I switched to different meds trying to find one that didn't have that. (The only antidepressant that did not was Wellbutrin.)

Overall though I think Effexor is a very helpful medication. Yes, it needs to be taken on schedule, but all psych meds should be taken on a regular schedule anyway. A lot of people on here say it's the "last line of defense", but for me it was the very first psych medication I was ever on (and I have been on 19 in various combinations.)

Answer 3

Zoloft is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) which puts it in the same class of drugs as Prozac. It is the least likely of the SSRIs to give you stomach problems and many of the other side effects.

Effexor is a Multiple Reuptake Inhibitor, and is a much more heavy duty anti-depressant and is used in cases of very deep depression. It works, but it can make you gain weight and it can be a bad one to try to get off later.

Answer 4

I've never taken Effexor but a friend of mine did and he found it very helpful. I've tried Prozac and Zoloft but couldn't handle the side effects. Paxil worked very well for me and I didn't experience side effects. Everyone reacts differently to different meds. Sometimes you have to experiment with different ones until you find the one that works best for you.

Answer 5

I used to take Prozac and I recognise precisely the way you consider. I was once comfortable...nevertheless it was once false. I was once content material with gaining weight, sound asleep always, and I was once continuously worn out. I began taking Effexor a couple of years in the past as a substitute. I discover that I am now not as worn out, I nonetheless have usual human feelings, I misplaced the various weight, and I have a discount in my nervousness signs with out the lack of truth. Good success! And discover a brand new document if you do not like yours. It's intended to be any person you believe and revel in discussing those matters with. If you can not manage to pay for a brand new document, speak to any person on the town's wellbeing division. There are neighborhood psychiatrists to be had at low priced in so much places.

Answer 6

God Almighty is the best Healer.

In the Beginning God created heavens and earth.
God gives you air to breathe and sunshine to enjoy.
God gives you water to drink and food to eat.
God gives you a wonderful body and sound mind, to live.
God loves you, and you are precious to Him.
Son of God died on the Cross to save us from condemnation.
Jesus’ love is boundless and everlasting.
We have the hope of Heaven through Jesus.
Life therefore has fantastic and glorious future!
(Please must visit: www.spiritlessons.com)