DKnight Posted November 10, 2010 Share Posted November 10, 2010 Just wondering how people feel about this drug. List pros/cons/side effects you had if you would please. So far I've had delayed ejaculation, some weird body heat, and my pupils are always dilated. The drug is somewhat working, but there's a lot of environmental things going on I have to fix too. I worked up to 300mg while I was in-patient for suicide attempt. This is my second day on 300mg I've been on the drug for about a week and a half now. Also: How long did it take before you started to feel better? Weeks? Also want to ask about euphoria on it. Like last night I felt euphoric, felt the best I'd felt in a year and then I plummeted today to feeling suicidal again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeschmee Posted November 10, 2010 Share Posted November 10, 2010 Im at 150mg per day for about 4 months total and it took ALL depression away but i kinda feel like I plateaued(sp) I also take 25-50mg of trazodone for sleep and sleep for me is NEVER regular. I do feel much better on Effexor though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazlina Posted November 10, 2010 Share Posted November 10, 2010 I had a lot of unusual (for me) sweating and frequently felt hot. I'm generally the kind of person who feels cold. I had anorgasmia. I had hypomania after taking it for 2 weeks. On the up side, it got me out of my depression very quickly. Before the hypomania kicked in, it took away my insomnia. It must have helped my then-undiagnosed fibromyalgia because now that the mood is better with Lamictal, I'm feeling a lot of discomfort that keeps me awake at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancesintherain Posted November 10, 2010 Share Posted November 10, 2010 It's the drug that mostly took away both of my episodes of depression. Lifestyle stuff, sleep regulation, etc. helped. But both times I was on something else, changed to effexor, and saw great results. (lamictal finished things off during episode two, hence why I say that it "mostly" took away the depression both times) only downside i've had thus far is that i feel like absolute shit in less than 12 hours if I forget to take it. i'm trying to tell myself that's just a useful alarm clock/reminder to take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKnight Posted November 10, 2010 Author Share Posted November 10, 2010 I'm seeing a lot of 150s did my doc put me on too high a dose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfred Posted November 10, 2010 Share Posted November 10, 2010 I'm seeing a lot of 150s did my doc put me on too high a dose? No, you can take up to 450 mgs. I was on 300 mgs of the stuff and loved it for several years. nf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKnight Posted November 10, 2010 Author Share Posted November 10, 2010 I'm seeing a lot of 150s did my doc put me on too high a dose? No, you can take up to 450 mgs. I was on 300 mgs of the stuff and loved it for several years. nf good to hear because honestly, this is the best i've felt this entire year. I'm sitting here munching down cause i finally got my appetite back. It rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etkearne Posted November 10, 2010 Share Posted November 10, 2010 I have a love-hate relationship with Effexor XR. I don't like some of the sexual side effects, which are only present once in awhile. I also dislike the stigma of taking an antidepressant, yet, for some reason, I don't care if someone knows I take an antipsychotic! However, I cannot lie. It does help my neurotic depression to some degree. Sure, things could be much better, but the cost benefit ratio is just enough in the benefits favor that I will keep taking it. I have tried taking 300mg, and I went back down to 225mg, as the benefits were not much greater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKnight Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 I'm seeing a lot of 150s did my doc put me on too high a dose? No, you can take up to 450 mgs. I was on 300 mgs of the stuff and loved it for several years. nf btw what happened did it stop working? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s_v Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Hi guys; Just some comments on Effexor too: I'm blessed with Bipolar II/ ultradian cycling; I used to have crazy mood swings every 4 hours and so on which tended to be bad depression and then mild mania. Anyway I tried one or two anti-depressants which helped a little with the depression lows of the cycling but the cycling remained pretty nasty and very disruptive. One bright spark psychiatrist then changed me onto Effexor, which is often cited as the drug NOT to use when you're bipolar as it supposedly jacks up the mania side of matters. Well the Effexor turned out to work really well; permitted I took exactly the right dosage in 37.5mg steps. 225mg works, it's stopped the intra-day cycling dead in its tracks on both the depression and the mania components (more or less). HOWEVER the moment I push the dosage past 225mg I start cycling like crazy with worse mania. Side effects tend to sweating bucket loads at night plus a degree of muscle tenseness around the shoulders. However it's been about 5 years now that I've been on Effexor and over time both these symptoms have tapered off. In short, Effexor has been a life saver for me but the dosage is absolutely critical. (* I'm also on Lamotrigine and quetiapine; it's possible the the quetiapine tamps down whatever mania the Efexor might otherwise have induced) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfred Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 I'm seeing a lot of 150s did my doc put me on too high a dose? No, you can take up to 450 mgs. I was on 300 mgs of the stuff and loved it for several years. nf btw what happened did it stop working? After 7 years it pooped out. nf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashdene Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 i just started it too, and i started on 75mg now 150, and its made freaking almost catatonic so to speak, i feel like its too strong for me or something? does anybody find that. I just cant function. My pdoc has gone on holiday so not sure what to do? I mean i am sleep like 20 hours a day!!! And nightmares of note! And i cant concentrate? Have you gained weight on it? So also got lots of questions about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKnight Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 i just started it too, and i started on 75mg now 150, and its made freaking almost catatonic so to speak, i feel like its too strong for me or something? does anybody find that. I just cant function. My pdoc has gone on holiday so not sure what to do? I mean i am sleep like 20 hours a day!!! And nightmares of note! And i cant concentrate? Have you gained weight on it? So also got lots of questions about it? I've actually lost weight on it, but I agree it's a bit strong and I'm on 300mg. I also have memory problems and ya I can't seem to focus as well. However I know if I stopped it my depression would be unbareable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowen Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 i just started it too, and i started on 75mg now 150, and its made freaking almost catatonic so to speak, i feel like its too strong for me or something? does anybody find that. I just cant function. My pdoc has gone on holiday so not sure what to do? I mean i am sleep like 20 hours a day!!! And nightmares of note! And i cant concentrate? Have you gained weight on it? So also got lots of questions about it? I haven't gained weight on it. The nightmares go away, and the sleepiness should. If you can try to give it a few weeks, this stuff should abate. If it's unbearable, though, definitely call the doc when he/she is back in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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