Reviewer: krislic84, 25-34 Female on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)

Comment:
before you decide to take this medication, THINK AGAIN! This is by far the worst medication I have ever taken in my life (and mind you, I have taken about 5 other anti depressant/anti anxiety meds). Day one, as instructed took 50 mg at bed time. Felt so nauseous, almost puked twice, and had terrible sweating and insomnia. Day two (took 1/4 of a 100 mg pill 4 times throughout the day, in a fog all ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
before you decide to take this medication, THINK AGAIN! This is by far the worst medication I have ever taken in my life (and mind you, I have taken about 5 other anti depressant/anti anxiety meds). Day one, as instructed took 50 mg at bed time. Felt so nauseous, almost puked twice, and had terrible sweating and insomnia. Day two (took 1/4 of a 100 mg pill 4 times throughout the day, in a fog all day, slept all day and all night. couldn't eat, was a mess. Day 3. woke up with head buzzing and felt high as a kite for hours. DID NOT take meds at all. horrible burning in stomach and anxiety at night from not taking, but went away. The side effects alone ruined two days of mine, and left me immobile and bed bound. The fatigue is nothing like I have ever experienced on any other medication. STAY AWAY!
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Reviewer: georgiapeach, 35-44 Female on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)

Comment:
No more crying fits. Relaxed but still disinterested in life. Just want to stay in bed. Used to be almost panic stricken. Not hostile and angry. Lessened appetite and anxiety. No sex drive at age 40 - female. Almost 30 days into treatment and am very hopeful. Have not run out of medicine. Have not tried to change dose or to stop therapy. I believe that it helps with IBS/constipation. Not as imp ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
No more crying fits. Relaxed but still disinterested in life. Just want to stay in bed. Used to be almost panic stricken. Not hostile and angry. Lessened appetite and anxiety. No sex drive at age 40 - female. Almost 30 days into treatment and am very hopeful. Have not run out of medicine. Have not tried to change dose or to stop therapy. I believe that it helps with IBS/constipation. Not as impulsive. More vivid dreams. Not consumed with violent/negative thoughts.
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Reviewer: 19-24 Female on Treatment for 1 to 6 months (Patient)

Comment:
I was on this for about 5 months, although I worked my way up to 300mg pretty quickly. Unfortunately for me, none of the effects really helped me. I think the drug was doing everything it was supposed to do, but I just wasn't the right candidate. Bad news before the good news: This drug didn't work or help me, but I think that might be because I have a form of bipolar 2 that is difficult to de ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
I was on this for about 5 months, although I worked my way up to 300mg pretty quickly. Unfortunately for me, none of the effects really helped me. I think the drug was doing everything it was supposed to do, but I just wasn't the right candidate. Bad news before the good news: This drug didn't work or help me, but I think that might be because I have a form of bipolar 2 that is difficult to detect. (I am trying a mood stabilizer now that seems to be helping) Effexor definitely increased my blood pressure, which in turn made me feel dizzy or weak after exerting myself. I was rather flushed on my first couple weeks on the high dose. I didn't sleep well and often felt caffeinated. I seemed to startle much more than usual. Good News: From my experience, I can say Effexor was a POWERFUL drug and perhaps a great drug for refractory depression folks. I never experienced any libido problems -- probably difficulty getting off at first, but that issue faded away. I have heard a lot of reviews saying that Effexor is a slow but powerful drug -- it may take up to 8-12 weeks on your target dose to really feel yourself turned around. Anyone trying it right now should have hope, knowing that they are on a beast of an AD. About the withdrawals: Very little for me! I lucked out considerably. I basically cut it off very quickly, knowing that the drug was probably more bad than good for me. I got a few "shocks", but not painful, just weird. They were gone in a couple weeks.
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Reviewer: wimomof4, 35-44 Female on Treatment for 6 months to less than 1 year (Patient)

Comment:
This seems to be working just fine. I was suicidal before taking this med. I occansionally still have a couple of "down" days a month. Usually right before my period. The doctor has said it is because my hhormones are out of whack at that point of the month. I am not suicidal anymore. The did have to up my dosage because a lower dosage was not working. Once the doubled the dosage it seem ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
This seems to be working just fine. I was suicidal before taking this med. I occansionally still have a couple of "down" days a month. Usually right before my period. The doctor has said it is because my hhormones are out of whack at that point of the month. I am not suicidal anymore. The did have to up my dosage because a lower dosage was not working. Once the doubled the dosage it seems to be working just fine. I am taking 150mg twice a day now. That is a high dosage to be on. It took about 3 months before the med starting working.
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Reviewer: ellie, 45-54 Female on Treatment for 2 to less than 5 years (Patient)

Comment:
Life was ok with effexor--took 75 mg twice a day. Felt like I was getting a horrible case of "flu" if I was late with a dose. I developed prolonged QT syndrome on it. I am now trying to get off it.I decreased by 37.5 mg a week for 5 weeks. Became very ill with dizziness, headaches, nausea/vomiting, and "brain zaps" I call them. It feels like an electrical current zapping throug ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
Life was ok with effexor--took 75 mg twice a day. Felt like I was getting a horrible case of "flu" if I was late with a dose. I developed prolonged QT syndrome on it. I am now trying to get off it.I decreased by 37.5 mg a week for 5 weeks. Became very ill with dizziness, headaches, nausea/vomiting, and "brain zaps" I call them. It feels like an electrical current zapping through your brain. They are horrible. Now I'm down to 1/4 of a 37.5 mg tab every 48 hours and trying to eliminate that does. Currently, I'm at 71 hours since last 1/4 tab dose and today has been awful! Besides, it totally took away my sex drive. If I would have known about these withdrawal symptoms, I would NEVER HAVE STARTED IT!! DO NOT START THIS MEDICATION IF YOU HAVE ANY CHOICE AT ALL!!!
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