Does anyone know anybody who has taken effexor? Im just starting and wondering if it really helps with anxiety

Answer 1

One of my best friends does and swears it's the best thing in the world, I can tell a huge difference too.
Another friend of mine took it also and stopped it b/c she claimed it was the cause of her weight gain.

Answer 2

There are two last resorts among the modern meds to cure the deepest, blackest depression: Effexor and Remeron.

If you're not suffering from deepest, blackest depression, you might want to rethink this drug- it's much much too powerful for anxiety! It's supposed to be for extreme cases of treatment-resistant clinical depression- it's a "last resort" drug, not a first response drug.

For many people Effexor has the absolute worst discontinuation syndrome of an antidepressant. Effexor 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.

Effexor's Typical Side Effects: 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.

Answer 3

I actually have, although not for anxiety...for depression. It didn't work all that well for me, so I chose a different one. However, I know some other people who have taken it and said it was great, and they had more anxiety symptoms than I did.

Just be sure to get plenty of fiber and drink plenty of water with it, or you will be constipated. (I know, I know, that's gross, but seriously, it was bad....)

That said, give it at least a month or so to work. It takes a while for these types of drugs to kick in. If after a month or so there's no improvement, talk to your doctor about other options...many different types of these drugs are available, and if one doesn't work, another one often does. (I started on Paxil, which was ok, and switched to Prozac, which is great for me, switched to Effexor for a while because I'd heard it worked even better, and went back to Prozac.)

Good luck....hopefully this will make a difference for you.

Answer 4

I was taking Effexor XR for depression. I felt SO GOOD while I was awake, but had horrible nightmares while sleeping. It got to the point where I was dying in all of my dreams so I had my doctor switch me over to a different medication. The new med doesn't give me that "crunk" or "hyped up" feeling that the Effexor did. Good luck!

* Everyone reacts differently to drugs. If your doc has prescribed Effexor for you then obviously he feels that you will have positive results. Just follow his directions carefully! If he gave you the Effexor XR (extended release) dont take it before bedtime, you'll never get a good nights sleep. Its designed to give you extra bursts of energy through out the day.

Answer 5

Yes, yes and yes. I've been on it since 2001. You have to get used to it though. When I first started taking it I was woozy and sleepy. Then my body got used to it and everything was fine. Is your doctor making you start with a small dosage and working your way up? Mine did. But I will advise you, never, ever go off of it without your doctor's supervision! The affects of going off it cold turkey can be worse then before you were on it! And, make sure you take it the same time every day. I take mine at night about an hour before bed. I don't want to live without it now. All of my generalized anxiety is gone and I'm much more calm, cool and collected. But still hyper.

Answer 6

I used efexor for eight years, and for me it was a life saver in every sense of the word, having tried numerous other prescribed anti depressants that did little or nothing to help.
At one stage I participated in clinical trials and was on an extremely high dose of it, but I think by then I was so 'used to it' that the increased dose made no difference.
This past year I have gradually weaned myself off the efexor and it wasn't nice as some of your other posters have explained. I did it slowly and with the help of my medical team, but it was still quite traumatic.
Having said that the time to worry about coming off the drug is when you feel well enough, in the meantime if it's going to help with those awful anxiety feelings then just go with it. You might find this site helpful http://counsellingresource.com/medications/drug-pages/venlafaxine.html

Answer 7

I don't remember about anxiety but it did help me with depression but it made me gain 15 pounds which I couldn't shed even after discontinuing the medicine. I did finally lose it but only LONG after I stopped taking it. I do need something for my anxiety now, though. I'm going to take Lexapro once I finish breastfeeding. I had good results with Celexa but Lexapro is a newer drug with less drowsiness.

Answer 8

My father was taking it and it really helped, for a while. It's not something your suppose to stay on forever. Unless you are directed to.

But it did help him.