Effexor hell?

Question

It has helped my depression, but a year into fluctuating dosages( on my own I lower it thinking it will help the weight gain) I am at least 15 pounds overweight. I have been thin my whole life, a speedy metabolism, now at 29 i have huge thighs and a butt, and bad cellulite I never had. I am so disgusted. I have been staying away from junk, not eating too much, exercising, cardio, drinking water! I read someplace that effexor cripples the metabolism, and is bad on the liver in the long run. How is depression going to be helped with the secondary complication of being fat, overnight? My doctor denies it's the drug, but I know it is. I CANNOT lose one single pound. it is glued onto me. I also take klonopin, but I heard klonopin( i am on a low dose) for insomnia and anxiet can help you lose weight. I am at my wits end. As I write this, I am busting out of my pants. I want to quit cold turkey, but I know the withdrawal is no joke... any other antidepressants that don't make you get fat?

Answer 1

Effexor put almost 30 lbs on me in 2 months, my doc switched me but he had me first take a effexor every other day then every two days and so on for about a week. I went on Wellbutrin and I like It much better. Talk to you Dr. A side effect of all of these is weight gain. I lost ten lbs and the rest won;t move I know how ya feel

Answer 2

I guess I'm the only one who had a great experience with it. I only took it for about a year, but by the end of the year, I was good to go. I didn't need depression medication anymore at all. I've been good to go for 6 or 7 years now after taking Effexor for 1 year. Bad: -Dizzyness was horrible. If you forget to take it even once, you get really dizzy and sick. It's almost like you're walking in water. -Sex. After you stop taking it, your ability to have sex is affected for awhile. I'm not sure if this is true for girls, but for a guy, it caused wierd side effects. Sometimes you couldn't get it up, and other times you couldn't get it down. It goes back to normal after about 6 months though. -Taste. For some reason, I always tasted metal, and the flavor of foods changed. Good: -Sex. While you're on it, you can last for what seems like forever. I'm talking crazy time like 12 hours! -Moods. Depression is the farthest thing from your mind. For some reason you can control your emotions much better. I became a "normal" person. I didn't have issues with everything anymore, and life didn't seem so hard. The bad stuff was definitely bad, but it was definitely worth it. I can function now, and handle life. That is worth more to me than anything.

Answer 3

What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking venlafaxine?

You should not take this medicine if you are allergic to venlafaxine or desvenlafaxine (Pristiq), or:
- if you have uncontrolled narrow-angle glaucoma; or
- if you are being treated with methylene blue injection.
Do not use venlafaxine if you have taken an MAO inhibitor in the past 14 days. A dangerous drug interaction could occur. MAO inhibitors include isocarboxazid, linezolid, phenelzine, rasagiline, selegiline, and tranylcypromine. After you stop taking venlafaxine, you must wait at least 7 days before you start taking an MAOI.
To make sure venlafaxine is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have:
- bipolar disorder (manic depression);
- cirrhosis or other liver disease;
- kidney disease;
- heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol;
- diabetes;
- narrow-angle glaucoma;
- a thyroid disorder;
- a history of seizures;
- a bleeding or blood clotting disorder;
- low levels of sodium in your blood; or
- if you are switching to venlafaxine from another antidepressant.
Some young people have thoughts about suicide when first taking an antidepressant. Your doctor will need to check your progress at regular visits while you are using venlafaxine. Your family or other caregivers should also be alert to changes in your mood or symptoms.
Taking an SSRI antidepressant during pregnancy may cause serious lung problems or other complications in the baby. However, you may have a relapse of depression if you stop taking your antidepressant. Tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant while taking venlafaxine. Do not start or stop taking this medicine during pregnancy without your doctor's advice.
Venlafaxine can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while using this medicine.
Do not give this medicine to anyone younger than 18 years old without the advice of a doctor. Venlafaxine is not approved for use in children.


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Answer 4

I took effexor for 6 months and gained 55 pounds. now i can not seem to lose weight and i went off of the medicine against dr advice. The weight gain made me more depressed. I hope you find something that helps.

Answer 5

Does not sound like your doctor wishes to be helpful.
Check out the 'blogs' on line about effexor and klonopin. Print some out and go back to your doctor. Explain to him what you are going through and request his help. If he does not satisfy your needs go to another doctor.
DO NOT STOP THE EFFEXOR COLD TURKEY !!!! PLZ
It's ugly -- really ugly.
All these meds have adverse side effects.
I found that by educating myself about them and using a vitamin and herbal regimen I do just fine without chemicals. Your local library can help find great reading material.
Good Luck.

Answer 6

Your doc is right. It's not the effexor that is causing the failure to lose weight. It could be a number of factors, but it isn't the effexor. It could be age (metabolism naturally slows with age). It could be a thyroid issue (interestingly, thryoid issues can cause both depression AND weight fluctuation).

Many people slowly reduce their effexor with no problems at all. Others, however, experience some difficulty. I wouldn't give up on the effexor, though, if weight gain is your only concern.

If you're dead set on ditching effexor, just reduce it by 37.5mg/week until you're down to zip. In addition, see if your doc will put you on wellbutrin (also, ask him to run a thryoid test to see if that's a factor). Wellbutrin is an excellent antidepressant. In addition, it often leads to appetite suppression and subsequent weight loss.

Hang in there,
~M~

Answer 7

im 21 and have been on effexor for 6 years now.if u ask the majority of effexor users rather than the doctors claims, you'll find there is alot of users who suffer from weight gain due to a slower metabalism,me being one of them. it helped my depression vastly but coming off them is so difficult and not being able to lose weight is another depressing effect.sorry this isnt exactly an answer...more of a response

Answer 8

Effexor withdrawls are quite bad, so do NOT do it on your own. Your doctor needs to taper you off.
Weightloss is one of the side effects with Effexor, not gain. However, in older adults water retention and high cholesterol can happen. (which is something you should ask your doctor to check for because that can lead to other problems)

Answer 9

Lexapro, it done wonders for me.