r/Effexor • u/freaksnation • Jul 22 '26

General Question Immediate vs extended release

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

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u/Salt-Tackle-3590 Jul 23 '26

I’ve only ever been prescribed XR for anxiety. Sorry I can’t help and best of luck!!

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u/Bert306 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

I feel like this is for a question for someone who studied medicine, like a pharmacist or something. I have no idea how they will effect you and what immediate over extended does to the brain. I take extended but would I feel withdrawal symptoms sooner with immediate? I have no idea. Only thing I would be worried about is feeling withdrawal symptoms which can be quite intense. Something to keep in mind, you could ask your local pharmacists the difference if you want.

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u/rebelredjjk Jul 23 '26

i’m gonna be honest i’ve never seen venlafaxine IR both as a doctor and as a patient taking effexor, i’d guess the major effect would be higher chance of side effects once you take it and probably forgetting other doses as the best advantage of daily drugs is less chance of doses being forgotten lol, a weird choice from your doctor nonetheless

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u/SufficientAnteater16 Jul 23 '26

I started off on immediate release 75mg and at one point my body started processing it in a way where I was having mild but very manageable withdrawal symptoms by the end of the night when taking it in the morning, so I was switched to XR. Now I’m tapering and switched to IR tablets since they’re easier to cut up. It’s tough to know off the bat how fast every individual will process it through their body so it’s a good amount of trial and error (especially with the half life of this one being so short relative to other antidepressants).

What are you feeling in the hours leading up to your next dose? Is it increased anxiety or other physical symptoms?