Posted by Racer on November 14, 2004, at 18:21:20
In reply to Effexor XR: Any positive experiences out there, posted by keeppluggin on November 14, 2004, at 15:44:15
There are two things to remember about boards like this:
1. Your mileage will vary. That means that every body reacts differently to every drug. I can tell you my own experiences with a drug, but it's really not going to tell you much about what you'll experience on it.
2. This board is mostly made of of people who are still searching for a medication that works. That tends to skew the averages, you know? Effexor XR works great for a lot of people, but those people are doing something else right now, instead of hanging out here on this website. After a few (dozen) bad experiences with medications that don't work, it's easy to start painting all of them with the same brush.
That said, Effexor can work well, and some people don't have as much trouble as others in getting off it. Because the withdrawal syndrome is now known, your doctor will be able to help plan your downward titration when the time comes, to help minimize your discomfort. It is important to remember that missing one or two doses can be enough to start withdrawal with this drug, though. Make sure you don't run out.
Personally, I was on it for a long time, and it worked OK for me. I wouldn't take it again, but that's because it pooped out for me, and I did have a bad time with withdrawal. Also, it didn't work that well for me, so I'd rather find an alternative. Again -- your mileage will vary. I didn't have a good ride with Paxil, either, so we've already found one difference between us. And I couldn't hack Lexapro for more than about two weeks, so again, there's a difference.
Good luck!
(And you might want to look into Cymbalta, which is a brand new drug with a similar action to Effexor, which is not expected to have the same level of withdrawal effects.)
poster:Racer
thread:415866
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041113/msgs/415953.html