New medication- Effexor

[Kat2345]

On the first day of taking Effexor I was so dizzy, numb and I couldn't sleep. Today, on the second day - I'm having pretty bad anxiety. Should call doc or I should wait? Sometimes it's hard to determine when it's severe reaction or just side effects that will subside later.

[thealonemom]

I guess I'm going to be very honest here. I took Effexor XR for yrs. You need to be aware that once it is in your system, missing a dose will cause serious withdrawl. You may not feel until the next day but you will. Once you get to the correct dose never lower it or completley stop. You will be very sick from the withdrawal. I will never take this medication again. If the dr. Ever starts lower your dose to stio the me, make sure they give you another antidepressant at the same time. This will keep the withdrawl away.

This is an older med and for me the newer SSRIs are more effective.

[Kat2345 in reply to thealonemom]

Thank you! I asked my doc to switch to SSRi

[thealonemom in reply to Kat2345]

So did the Dr. Give you something else? If you look it up, Effexor has some of the worst withdrawal than any of the other meds. There have also been some who have tried to file lawsuits. Not sure how far they got but thats how bad it is.

[Kat2345 in reply to thealonemom]

Why did you decide to stop taking Effexor? I, honestly, don't plan to stop taking antidepressant because I can't function right without medication. I didn't have plans to go off Effexor but for first three days taking it I got really bad panic attack and I asked doc to switch to something else. Now my doc prescribed SSRI.

[thealonemom in reply to Kat2345]

Actually i didnt make that decision. I started seeing a new Dr. Because i was seeing my old one for 15 yrs. And was not getting better at all. When i was put on effexor it was about 20 yrs ago. It Was supposed to be newest and greatest thing. An SSRI. It wasnt working so old doc would just increase until i was at the max dose of 300mg. Because i have panic disorder and major depression the new dr. switched to Lexapro. This is also an SSRI but it not only helps with depression but also anxiety. Doc told me i would have a hard time crying on the med. He was right. The daily crying stopped.