Effexor?

[satori]

Has anybody here ever taken effexor xr? I started two days ago and feel like crap. I kept waking up this morning then falling back to sleep really fast (waking up before i was ready to). Im sure that + running out of opiates at the same time arent a good mix. Im worried about using pods with it because of possible interactions and i cant exactly call and ask the pharmacist or doctor. Im at 37.5mg right now and will go up to 75 next week (not going above 75).

[alowishus]

I was taking it and doing ma' pods too, never even stopped to think about it. But had no issues.

I've gone TC from a couple SSRI's effexor being the last one, I won't wish that on people. No fun at all.

Wasn't real happy w/ effexor weird side effects I really didn't like.:(

[geanine.aurora]

I respond fairly well to Effexor and I am currently taking it. I just feel more stable and patient. I do think it makes it harder to me to get off on opiates. The first month I was on Effexor I would jump alot at night in my sleep. This side effect went away after a cou ple of months. Good luck with finding the right medication. I hope Effexor does some help.

[Hoss]

Has anybody here ever taken effexor xr? I started two days ago and feel like crap

When I was prescribed Effexor years ago it was an awfully short experience by personal choice; like yourself, after a couple of days (two to be exact, as well) I felt horrible and discontinued use. I essentially felt emotionally and perceptionally like a zombie, and physically I was experiencing funk-tastic side effects such as vomiting accompanied by a slew of other fun happenings.

In hindsight I don't think I handled the situation properly as I did not even talk to my doctor about how I felt or get any opinions on what I should have done - I just stopped. Like all types and forms of anti-depressive medications, I have heard mixed results of Effexor, but, mind you in that mixed bag of feedback I have heard very positive things, respectively.

At the time I was enjoying opiates, thus I am unsure on how that interacted with the Effexor. Anti-depressive medications can carry so many side effects as it is, thus what you are experiencing may very well not be only due to the combination of opiate usage of any form.

[Coddfish]

i junky buddy of mine takes it and swears by it, says it's the only one of all of them that' helped him. the ol' lady takes it and had similar reaction when she started, but the se got better and better after a few days. now she likes it. maybe give it a few more days and see how you feel? depends on how bad you need it to work, i guess.

[vanilla_mlkshake2007]

That shit made me sick as hell I hullucinated and got so sick I will never take that shit again.I have heard itis very similar to Cymbalta,which gets my husband sick as a dog when he runs out.I mean worse then me off morphine.

[jacky]

I know satori knows all about effexor and tramadol.....but for those who dont...

they are VERY similiar in structure...just compare chem. name and structure, almost the same compound.

and both have been found to effect opioid, dopaminergic, and serotonin systems.

I have had habits with both compounds....and experienced opioid like withdrawl from both compounds as well.

some people experience a rapid tolerance to effexor!

My Dr prescribed me effexor as he stated that it seems to work very well for recovering opiate addicts, this was before the opioid connection was well known. no wonder I was liking that stuff.

it has a nice stimulant hit to it.

[theobarbital]

i've been run through the mill on most of the SSRI's antidepressants. since the age of 14, my p-doc has tried me on prozac, paxil, zoloft, wellbutrin, lexapro etc. ranging from several months to several years in duration with each. i was on doses that they feared would make me manic if i was indeed bipolar. but knowing now that i suffer morbid depression perpetually, called unipolar disorder, i never knew the joy of being manic.

none of the aforementioned pills or therapys worked. i have been on effexor for a couple of years now and even though it doesnt bring me to where i am comfortable or happy, its alot better than when i am not medicated. i didnt suffer any ill effects getting on the medicine. and i am now at 75 mgs, three times a day (i take all three at nite).

as for its effects in conjunction with opiates, i dont know what is my imagination and what is reality. i dont "feel" my methadone though. i used to be able to get off on 5-6 10mg methadones. now i'm in treatment at a clinic at 140mg and dont feel a thing. its quite frustrating. not that i'm looking to 'get off' from this drug, but i must say i expected more from this dose.

i think you should ride it out and keep an open mind. it takes up to 3 weeks of taking effexor daily for it to build in your system enough to alter your depression. if you are experiencing something so unpleasant you cannot continue effexor, by all means stop. but if you are trying to combat your depression, give it some time to build in your system.

[(inaudible screams)]

Some studies have shown that Effexor acts like a potentiator for some people. This can be a good thing :)

I do know first hand that once you have Effexor in your system you are physically dependent on it. If you forget to take it for a day you will understand what I mean. Everyone reacts differently, though. Your 'withdrawals' may be minor, or they could be pretty serious. By serious I mean a walk in the park compared to real withdrawal. So it's nothing to be worried about.

My main issue with combining the effexor with opie's is the complete disappearance of a sex drive. Just one of those things you have to deal with, though.

[satori]

SO effexor wd worse then hydrocodone or comparable? It has just been 4 days and i actualy "feel better". Less compuslive food cravings and cravings for opiates.

Im still depressed but before i had a hard time remembering words and walking straight (cognitive problems). CBT said it could be messing with some chemicals in my brain already that makes me feel a difference. The episode has already been going on atleast 2 months and they usualy only last 3 but this one has been one of the worst and scariest thus far. I also have OCD and social anxiety so it sup0sedly can help with that as well. I keep wondering if i should stop taking it even though it could help because of the WD. The sweating has been driving me crazy to.

[OpiBli$$1988]

When i was like 13 n was actin out n shit, my parents put me on it...it was a very high dose and when i took it i actually got a buzz...kinda like a minor drunkeness...if i took to much id get dizzy as fuck n would pass out (only happend once). Like InaudibleScreams said...they effect everyone differently...for me when i quit, i just flat out stopped cold turkey and didnt feel shit...no withdraw...nuthin. As far as sex drive goes when on effexor i never had any problems, or noticed anything different. Be careful w/ that stuff...ive read alota horror storys on eroiwd.com about it latly...

[shadowbox]

I was on Effexor a couple years ago. My final dose was 225mg per day. The side-effects I experienced when away within a week or so as advertised and after that it was smooth sailing. I loved Effexor. Had to stop it because it gave me high blood pressure. That blew. If you take Effexor, don't miss doses and, when it's time to quit, do a very long, very slow taper. Effexor WDs are bad bad bad....

[satori]

I just stopped taking it but i was only on 37.5 mg xr for 5 days but i still have a pretty bad headache.

[Chemical_Boy]

Like some other people in this thread, I took it but had to quit after a couple of days because it made me feel fucking horrible. Picture the jittery, nervousness of a 7 gram crack comedown, mixed with the tension and anxiety from acid, combined with the sleepless wiredness after three nights on crystal when all the good effects are gone, but you are still too amped to sleep.

In other words, Effexor gave me every bad side effect I have ever gotten from any drugs, with no redeeming qualities at all. IMO Effexor (and it's baby brother Lexapro) are evil little molecules that cause nothing but grief.

I hear that some people have good effects though.

[candyshop]

effexor took me from really depressed to profoundly depressed in about 10 days -so far all 6 of the antdepressents they have put me on have made things worse in one way or another

[Paregoric Kid]

garbage med, not worth the discontinuation syndrome

[Chemical_Boy]

effexor took me from really depressed to profoundly depressed in about 10 days -so far all 6 of the antdepressents they have put me on have made things worse in one way or another

Only antidepressants I ever had any luck with were the tricyclics- they kind of helped with my generalized anxiety disorder- and trazadone- helped with sleep patterns. I have never taken antidepressants for depression. Alprazolam works better for the GAD and Clonazepam works better for sleep, but I have never experienced WD from the trazadone or nortriptyline or amatriptyline when stopping them suddenly.
I have nothing against benzos, but do not want to take them on a regular enough basis to cause physical dependancy. I don't have the GAD problem anymore, but the sleep thing still effects me. Nothing really knocks me out, but the trazadone helps.
I actually get better results from 200mg trazadone than I do from 400mg Seroquel, which is good because trazadone is cheap and Seroquel is really ficking pricey. Unfortunately for me, though, I am not taking trazadone anymore. I am taking amitriptyline for chronic pain that they are wondering if it has some neuropathic cause. The amitriptyline doesn't help me sleep too much, but it doesn't have any real negative side effects either.
Some people get bunches of side effects from tricyclic anti depressants and lower side effects from SSRIs and SNRIs. Some people seem to be the other way around. If Prozac, Lexapro, Cymbalta, Effexor, etc are causing bad side effects in you, look into trying some of the older antidepressant (mainly the tricyclics) as they are used to treat many of the same conditions. Plus they are cheap, so if they work that is just an added bonus.
Atypical anti-psychotics can also have an antidepressant or anti-anxiety effect in a lot of people. Some may have quite a few side effects for people (Zyprexa wasn't real pleasant for me) but some-especially the newer ones- can have less side effects and be very helpful. For those, I reccomend Seroquel (it's great for sleep and anxiety, but you may also want an antidepressant to prevent depression. Also, it leaves some people so groggy that they can not function and may cause increased appetite and weight gain)) or Abilify. Abilify is a good one for depression and anxiety, but not as helpful for sleep. Also, I was told by my psychiatrist, who is a great guy and very knowledgable, that Abilify can be very good for ex-drug addicts (mainly coke, meth, and heroin users) because it helps to perminantly restablize dopamine production and absorbtion. The lack of/ instability of dopamine is a common cause of long-term depression and is a frequent problem in heavy users of the drugs that affect dopamine.

[johnny27]

I been on Effexor about 3 years, never had any probs when i first started taking it. I've tried about all anti-d's out there, and effexor is the only one that worked, and it really does work well for ppl who no other med helps their condidition. It has'nt got a dis-coutinuation syndrome, its got a really bad withdrawl syndrome, big difference.
Extremely similar to opiate withdrawl for me, quite bad, but not as bad as my 3year, 3-4 cup material per day pod habit.
Never tried hydro, so i can't compare the withdrawl with it, but in my early opiate days, using codeine and DHC, about 800mg per day, the effexor is def alot worse.
In conclusion, effexor "may" of saved my life, i was in a really bad physotic (sp?) depressed state for 5 years previous, as mentioned no other neuroleptics or anti-d's worked, including ssri's and tricylics, and some of the worst shitty neuroleptics like risperidal never made a patch on my condidtion.
Just take into consideration before you go on efexor that if you are on it for over a few months you WILL get Wd's from it.
btw i'm only giving details of my condidtion/story just to let you know how efexor worked for me so you can judge your own condidtion. I hate the way alot of ppl with mental probs try to out do each other about just how crazy they are, hate getting involved in that shit lol

[Paregoric Kid]

withdrawal and discontinuation syndrome are the same damn thing, it's just a nicer sounding term doctors use.
most of these antidepressants are junk and don't really work in a lot of people, sure it works great for some people and if it works for you that's good. however, if you are just starting to use it and in the first month you feel worse or don't feel at all stop as soon as you can and get switched to something else because it's not worth it.

[Flagg]

Effexor made me sick to my stomach. I hated it.

[satori]

I feel like im going crazy again. My head is cloudy and my response to things around me are reduced by half (atleast). I get this way sometimes with bad anxiety / depresion. Its weird the few days i was on effexor it actualy took that away. I wrote it off as a plaecebo affect since i had been on it less then a week bure sure enough that symptom came back right when i stopped. I did get adderall XR but im nervous about taking it if anxiety is what is already causing my my cognitive problems.

[Flagg]

Take the advice of your doc. Enjoy the Adderall :D