Posted by Chaston on April 2, 2001, at 11:38:45
In reply to Starting Effexor XR and I am afraid, posted by Jennifer1 on April 1, 2001, at 17:38:06
Hi Jennifer,
For any given medication that stays on the market for any length of time, there are many people it helps, some it doesn't, and a few who actually feel worse taking it. Many, if not most, of the people who post on this board (including me) come here because they are not entirely satisfied with their "meds." So you get a distorted sample.
I don't know why Effexor in particular is so controversial here. One reason may be that it is so widely prescribed. Obviously, it doesn't work well for everyone, some people have had a lot of discomfort discontinuing its use, and a few people have very strong negative opinions about it, based on their experiences.
Before I took it, some of the posts here scared me too, even though I had taken other ADs, and experienced some withdrawal symptoms from Paxil before, without any horrible problems.
About 2 years ago, I started on Effexor XR. The side effects (including sleep disturbances)went away within a few weeks. I think I got up to 200-300 mg /day. I discontinued it after about 6 months because I was no longer depressed. I tapered off slowly, and didn't have any withdrawal problems at all. I can't say whether it will work as well for you, but I just wanted you to know that people are more likely to report problems with a med, than successes.
Good luck!
> My doctor diagnosed me with depression and anxiety. My major complaints were fatigue, poor concentration, not being able to focus, inability to sleep etc. He started me on Effexor XR 37.5 mg, which I started on Wednesday. I haven't really had many side effects except not being able to sleep. I have been waking up at 3:00 in the morning and not being able to go back to sleep until 5:00. I'm also starting to experience blurred vision. I have been reading the postings and am starting to wonder if I should continue taking the meds. I'm afraid of all the other side effects that I am going to experience. I also don't understand why my doctor would prescribe this medication if he knew one of the side effects was the inability to stay asleep. I'm not sure if this is the AD for me, has anyone had a better experience with something else or will these side effects subside over time. Especially the sleeping problems. I look forward to everyone's feedback.
>
> Jennifer
poster:Chaston
thread:58332
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010327/msgs/58455.html