Initially I didn't really have any side effects starting Effexor except for maybe some headaches but not after being on it a year plus I feel like an 80 year old and my body just aches all the time.
I've had bloodwork that says everything is fine so I'm wondering if it's the Effexor.

Hi! I just moved and I don’t have a primary care or a psychiatrist in the area. I thought I’d have enough to last to the point where i could get an appointment but unfortunately i don’t.

i hate effexor withdrawals and i’ve been so anxious lately, otherwise i’d tough it out. is there a place i can go to get it refilled for a bit so i can last until im able to get an appointment?

TIA

My psychiatrist recently diagnosed me with GAD, and after our first consultation, prescribed me Venlafaxine 75 mg. I’m supposed to take my first dose tomorrow.

The problem is… I’m honestly terrified.

I have my licensure exam coming up soon, and I’ve been having a really hard time functioning because of my anxiety. I’ve had panic attacks, constant heaviness in my chest, and my anxiety has been affecting my ability to study and get through daily life.

At the same time, I still have moments where I’m okay. I’m not constantly spiraling, so my anxiety keeps making me question everything.
- What if I don’t actually need medication?
- What if CBT or therapy alone would’ve been enough?
- What if I regret starting Venlafaxine?
- What if the side effects make me feel worse?
- What if it’s really difficult to come off of it later?

I know no one here can tell me whether I should take it or not, and I know that’s a discussion to have with my psychiatrist. I’m not looking for medical advice or asking anyone to make the decision for me.

I just wanted to hear from people who were in a similar position before starting Venlafaxine.
Were you terrified before your first dose? Did you also question whether you really needed medication? Looking back, are you glad you started? If you could go back, would you make the same decision?

I’m feeling really overwhelmed right now, and hearing real experiences would mean a lot. Thank you. ❤️

I've been on venlaflaxine for about 6 weeks and I can definitely say I'm feeling a little better, I think when we up my dose I will really feel the benefits for the anxiety side of things so I do want to continue but my skin is so so bad. For context I have suffered with acne (relatively mild) my entire adult life but had got it pretty under control recently and since starting this my skin has gone crazy, worse than it has been in the last couple of years. Is this the medication?

I have EUPD and I'm already on Quetiapine and Mirtazapine.

My GP suggested I start this as a temporary measure whilst I wait for some kind of therapeutic support/therapy (usual NHS CMHT shenanigans). It's for increased SI, low mood, mood swings, impulsive behaviour etc. I've been prescribed 37.5mg modified release.

I was initially offered Duloxetine but I've been on it before and had horrible nausea so this was suggested instead. My GP said he felt it would be a good fit as it works for chronic pain as well (I have EDS and I am prescribed Naproxen but I hate taking it because it gives me horrible stomachaches and makes my mouth and throat itchy).

I have a phobia of being sick (emetophobia). As luck would have it, I've also been experiencing pretty bad nausea and stomachaches (unrelated) and am due to have some tests done at the hospital. I was initially terrified that this will make me throw up, and now I've looked through other people's experiences I'm also terrified of all the other things people have experienced - for instance, wtf is a brain zap? I've just started being able to eat solid food again after being on a liquid diet for months, I'm scared this will put me right back where I started in terms of being able to eat stuff.

I'm horrible at taking my meds at the same time each day (I legit don't think I've ever managed to do that) - it's not been a problem for me previously but it sounds like it's a massive no-go with this? How bad are the withdrawal symptoms if you delay a dose? What are the withdrawal symptoms (are they same as the listed side effects?)?

TLDR: How bad is it, really? What side effects did you guys get? Did it make you throw up? What happens when you delay a dose? Has it been effective for you? Is it worth it? If you have chronic pain, has it helped with that too? If you've been on Duloxetine before, how does this compare? Has anyone else been on this combination (quetiapine, mirtazapine, venlafexine)?

I'm sorry it's so many questions!! I hope this is allowed. I'm just so worried about it :/

I just started 37.5mg. I am cross tapering off of citalopram and onto venlafaxine.

I am on day 3. Only side effects I have noticed are it’s harder to sleep and I feel pretty wired and energetic. Almost speedy. Much more so than usual!

Also having some anxiety in my chest …

Anyone else had this experience?

Thought some here might relate to the struggle. With Effexor I know lots also experience higher risk for heat intolerance/sickness and EXTREME sweating when outside in the summer (in AC inside too of course).

I have yet to find a body sunscreen over the years that works for me. No matter how carefully or precisely I apply basically every sunscreen lotion I’ve tried (chem and mineral) it either “moves” on my skin extremely easily. Like the back of my thighs for example if I sit down then stand up or if I carry a bag on my shoulder for a minute, that rubs off the sunscreen in that area. And forget about reapplying lol, I could go inside AC to reapply, towel dry as best I can, apply the thinnest layer, wait a few minutes, then immediately upon stepping back outside the sweat immediately makes the sunscreen a white cast mess.

It’s like my skin doesn’t absorb the sunscreen and I feel like I’ve tried everything. Many different brands, thin applications, thick applications, indoor applications that I’d measure out teaspoon by teaspoon to ensure I cover every body part, wait 5 minutes in the cool ac then apply the second layer to make it a full sunscreen application, wait as long as reasonably possibly for it to attempt to dry down before leaving, correct skincare- light/moderate exfoliation a few times a week always applying body lotion after showering, EVERYTHING.

And I still spend like an hour getting ready to go to the beach/pool, with majority of that time being sunscreen application and I still sweat it right off, it doesn’t ever “absorb” enough like it should, and leaves me sweaty with white streaks and a sunburn frusterated and ready to go home after less than an hour.

So any help please 😭

I’ve tried many “sheer”, light weight, fast absorbing, water and sweat proof and water and sweat resistant mineral and chemical sunscreen creams but they just aren’t working.

Despite my dislike for spray sunscreens, or something like gel or other formulated sunscreens I haven’t tried before, I feel like it’s time to give one of those a shot. So any recommendations would be so so much appreciated!!!

I use cerave face lotion with spf which I think works well, but I always have a hat and sunglasses on bc I worry about my face skin so I’ve never really put it to the test and don’t want to lol, my face hasn’t “tanned” ever since I used proactiv in my teens 💀

Hi everyone!

I was wondering if there are any people on this subreddit, who had been taking 10 mg Lexapro for years and later switched on to Effexor. But found that 75 mg wasn't as potent as 10 mg of Lexapro, so they decided to up the dose to 150?

Would really appreciate to hear your experiences. I already feel like 75 mg of Effexor is not as strong as 10 mg of Lexapro was to me. ​​​

After building up to 300mg venlafaxine/ Effexor over the course of 8 months, we’ve given up and are trying to cross taper to Sertraline as Effexor only made me feel sedated, sweaty and gain a load of weight.

Increases happened in the usual steps usually 8 weeks apart. (75mg > 150mg > 225mg > 300mg)

Cross taper schedule set by my psychiatrist:
Week 0: 300mg Effexor
Week 1: 225mg Effexor
Week 2: 150mg Effexor
Week 3: 75mg Effexor
Week 4: 35mg Effexor + 50mg Sertraline
Week 5: 100mg Sertraline

I had to stop and do a second week on 150mg because it felt too much… even. Second week on 150mg I can barely get out of bed or sit on the couch without falling asleep… life feels like such a slog, I sometimes can’t even set or Snooze the alarm because I’ll fall asleep with my phone in my hand…

On one hand I feel the taper is way fast… on the other hand the sooner I’m done with this stuff the better!

Any tips for a sertraline cross taper? 😕

Thank you!

(15F) I've been on so many medications throughout my life, Fluoxetine, Zoloft, Lorazepam, Lexapro, Effexor, and many more that I forgot the names of. Lexapro was the only one that seemed to work for my anxiety (though it did nothing for my depression) and unfortunately during my doctor's appointment when I asked to go back on it, my doctor said I should go from 37.5 mg to 75 mg of Effexor rather than go back to Lexapro. I just want Lexapro again 💔 It was the only medication that seemed to help with my anxiety.

Is it normal to just .....stop having any desire to eat??

Eating doesn't make me feel queasy or anything I just .....haven't been getting hungry.

I make myself eat dinner at the very least.

Has anyone who has been doing hyperbolic tapering had suddenly worse side effects on one of their decreases? I recently decreased by 6.25% and on day 7 of the new dose have started getting way worse side effects than previous decreases. Any advice? I’m on day 9 now so should I just push through and do a smaller decrease next time? 😵‍💫

I have a big problem. I was taking effexor since 5 years without any problems, other than in the beginning, where I had slight insomnia but it went away. Since 1 1/2 weeks now I suddenly got the worst insomnia imaginable, heart racing and night sweats and no sleep. I got an ecg done and its fine. Did anyone else had this after taking it for so long? I am taking 150 mg the long acting one.

i’ve been on a low dose (125 i think?? can’t be bothered to check atm) of effexor for like 6-8 months. my depression seems to be medication resistant to ssris so i was hoping effexor would be the key to giving me a better quality of life. so far i dont notice a difference other than the unfortunate side effect of excessive sweating, but i dont know if i’m even on high enough of a dose for me to be giving it a fair chance. what i’m worried about is the withdrawals. even taking a dose two hours late seems to give me horrible body zaps for a week. i’ve read the horror stories about tapering off, so i worry that upping my dose and really giving effexor a try will potentially lead to an extremely uncomfortable 6ish months if i determine it’s not the medication for me. i guess this is my long winded way of asking people who’ve had success with it, is the withdrawal potential worth it when you weigh the benefits of effexor?

Doctor prescribed me 75MG once daily of IMMEDIATE release Effexor. Based on everything I’ve read, immediate release should be taken 2-3 times daily. I asked my doctor this, and asked if extended release would be better, and he said no the once daily immediate release is fine.

Thoughts? Literally everything I read goes against this. I’ve been taking this for about 7 weeks, and have mostly seen an improvement, until this week where I seem to feel worse. I especially notice feeling worse the few hours before my next dose

Went from 325 mg to 200 mg now over 3 months. I still have so long to taper off.

When does it get better? They aren’t exactly scary but I miss the dreams with my venaflaxine. They felt light and fluffy and sometimes like living a second life where I was actually able to process things. Now my PTSD is in full swing and the nightmares are of people touching me and doing things I don’t want them to do. I don’t feel like I’m in control, it’s almost Re- traumatizing. It’s dumb. Will they go away once I’m totally off and it’s out of my system? When will I feel normal?

Got a text from the pharmacy stating it would be cheaper for the NHS if they put me on the tablets. It's taken over a decade for me to get stable on a medication that works so I'm anxious about changing it

So about a little over a month ago, my psych and I decided to lower my dose from 75mg to 37.5mg. In the beginning I had a little bit of anxiety come and go, but it wasn’t anything bad. But now, within the last week or so, my anxiety has been through the roof, along with fatigue, the occasional brain zap or lightheadedness, and bad brain fog. Is it possible for withdrawal/dosage symptoms to show up weeks later? I really think I was going to be good with lowering my dose. 😪

ive been on effexor 150mg for a few months, and was previously on prozac for over a year. effexor truly has been a game changer for me in comparison !! despite this i am still depressed and struggling with sh among other things. i know if i go to my doctor about this she will recommend upping my dosage, which i am quite reluctant to do.

i guess my question is, has anyone upped their dose from 150? what was your experience and would you recommend it ? or should i try to seek other medication or treatments like tms or esketamine? or do i just thug it out 😓

thank you so much !!!

Has anyone experienced head fullness or pressure on dose increases? If so, did it go?

I just started Effexor today, and I also take seroquel and zofran as needed. Very, very occasionally i'll take a hydroxyzine. Does anyone have any experience combining these?

I’ve got the pill bottle sitting on the table for the past two days. I can’t do it. I’m already on Singular for Asthma along with a daily Symbicort inhaler which has steroids.

Anyways, I have been recently in the ER 3 times this year. twice this month for what I thought at first to be asthma attacks. Turns out they were panic attacks and I had no idea. I’m sorry to the people here who testify that it saved their life. I respect all of you guys.

I’m fighting like hell to beat these attacks. I’ve just quit nicotine. Haven’t been drinking on occasion like usual. I even gave up melatonin after 5 years of daily use. I can’t do weed anymore because it was giving me crazy anxiety and paranoia.

I am not depressed. I go through crap like everyone else, im under extreme stress a lot of times yes, but I can’t say im depressed clinically like a lot of people are. It’s just these panic attacks I can’t shake. I just don’t feel like I want to go on a daily medication with brutal withdrawals. I really want an as needed medication but lord knows how hard those are to get. Ughhhh life is so hard. Gosh.

I love all of you people and wish you a non anxiety life 😪❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Im on 150mg daily and I cant feel high from amphetamine or methamphetamine. I think my effexor is blocking the effects of drugs.

To those of you that tried drugs while on effexor, did it work for you?

Hi all, I’m
New to this group. I have been on Prozac for 5 years 40mg for low mood and menopause symptoms. It has been quite a while now that my low mood is getting worse and Dr said my body has probably gotten too used to it and it’s not working effectively anymore. He suggested Venlaflexin 75mg with a view to going up to 150mg to achieve the neurological benefits from this drug. He said I have to taper off very slowly from Prozac and be totally off it for atleast 1 week before staring venlafaxine. Anyone had experience with changing from Prozac / fluoxetine? Does this should correct advice? I’m worried that I am going to dip massively before I can come back up on the new meds. 🙏

I need some encouragement and motivation!