long term side effects

[jamie]

Hi there, I've been taking effexor for almost 2 years and every once in a while i'll get terrible symptoms come on. Nausea, feeling anxious, headache, eye pain and vision impairment. The feelings usually last for several days to a week and it's nightmarish. I attribute those feelings to not taking the medication at the same time each day and not being very consistent overall with it. I might be wrong but I think effexor can cause many physical and psychological symptoms, and Your health is probably fine. The problem with talking to a doctor about this is that they'll tell you it's your anxiety that's causing the symptoms when it's possibly the medication! It's a hell of a conundrum. Good luck to everyone who takes meds!!!

[cheryl]

nohelany wrote:

continue:gain lost of weight... i have been getting strange cramps on my toes, or muscle spasm.. not sure if is related to the medication.

have been on efexor for 9 yrs and have gradually increased from 225mg to 450mg per day. My muscular spasms have been diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, there is no ra in the family, I think it's down to the efexor

[Jeff]

nohelany wrote:

continue:gain lost of weight... i have been getting strange cramps on my toes, or muscle spasm.. not sure if is related to the medication.

I've been on Effexor for about six months and I am getting sharp pains, periodically, in my toes. I haven't noticed any other side effects. Otherwise, it's been helping a lot.

[Daphne]

hi....i have been taking effexor for about 8 years...300 mg per day....was up to 450 mg per day until i lowered my dosage back to 300 mg....but it was not because my doctor suggested it....he actually had no idea as to what to do....he's a general practitioner. i was originally seeing a psychiatrist, but recently moved to a small town. when i was taking the higher dosage, i felt so out of control, i could see why some people with mental illness could commit suidcide....it was a nightmare....i couldn't function in normal day to day life....thank god i had enough of myself left to see that the medication must be the cause of the irratic thinking.... i am down to 300mg per day now....and i am going to attempt to lower it to 150mg next week....but i fear the withdrawl symptoms...irritablility, electric shocks, sweats, headache, nausea, shakes, waves of weirdness....and so on.........i began taking effexor (after trying many others) for depression and anxiety....initially it seemed to take the edge off and life became somewhat normal....but has life went on i became more irritable...can't think clearly....my husband sometimes finishes my sentences for me because i can't seem to get the words out....my memory has suffered terribly....i sweat like crazy....and i have gained an enormous amount of weight....my eyesight have deteriorated....my optomistrist told me he that many of his patients taking anti-depressants have complained of blurry vision.....anyways folks....i know what you're going through.....it is not a good quality of life.....sometimes i feel like i'm damned if i do and damned if i don't.....but there's gotta be light at the end of the tunnel....gotta be.........thanks for reading.....and good luck

[Kathrine Ann]

Hi there...I've never posted on a forum before, but after researching and reading about Effexor, which I've been taking for the last 7 months (150 mg), I sorta feel that I finally found some ppl that are going through the same thing as me, which in itself is a relief..I don't feel alone anymore. I am on day 3 of stopping taking my meds. They worked for me at the beginning, but lately I am getting/feeling worse than before. For me, I have uncontrollable emotions, mostly crying, and I just couldn't stop. I have gained control back in my life and really have no reason to be sad, so by process of elimination, i determined (although I'm not a doctor) that it was the effexor. I since found out that our family has a history of not reacting well to anti-depressants. Gee if I had known that I probably would have not started. Anyways...I'm hoping to get through today without tears.it would be the first. I'm having a few withdrawl symptoms like diziness, but otherwise I'm oky. I will keep you posted on my progress..I'm determined to make it through this withdrawl period..wish me luck!

[Jeff]

I'd like to chime in here.

I was taking Effexor for about 2 years from 2002 to 2003 (approximately).
So I've been off for around two years.
I ramped my dosage gradually downward, for a while I was taking the capsules apart and taking tiny doses. I still had the coming off symptoms - strange jiggly electric shock feelings. I actually had them on and off throughout my usage.

What I'm wondering is if anyone starting to have even longer term side effects.

I am presently going through a bout of neurological disorders that correspond somewhat with symptoms for MS. Pins and needles over entire body - numbness at my extremities - and now including the right side of my face - some slurred speaking - and general weakness. I've had a couple MRIs and the neurologist sees no indication of MS. I'm starting to look for other explanations and am wondering about the possibility of it being effexor.

I will continue my search.

[Liz]

In response to Page and anyone who is experiencing cognitive problems while taking Effexor (i.e. trouble focusing, decrease in mental acuity, difficulty remembering information), there is no doubt that the Effexor could be causing these side effects. Most antidepressants, including Effexor, cause severe interuption of the normal sleep cycle, especially the stage of the sleep that is vital for memory consolidation and learning (REM sleep). There is, in fact, evidence that this distortion of the sleep cycle is a necessary part of what allows antidepressants to work. However, it is a steep price to pay. I was on 150 mg of Effexor and got to the point where I couldn't form a coherent thought or remember almost anything I read or heard. Having cut back to 37.5 mg, my brain is sharper than ever and I'm exceedingly irate that I was ever put on this awful medicine to begin with.

[Carolyn]

I have been on Effexor for a number of years and have tried to get off of the medication. My doctor would always suggest increasing the dosage. I have tried on my own to stop taking Effexor but have always had the electric shock brain thing and was never successful. I really want to get off this drug, it's like a ball and chain! I just had surgery and didn't have my medication for about three days and had shock jiggles and out of reality feelings. I am now on it again and started at 37.5 twice a day then my doctor increased to to 75 plus 37.5 twice a day. That was an unpleasant experience and I decreased it to just 75 once a day. I have started today to reduce it down to 37.5 today and hope I can finally get off this. I tell friends that might need anti-depressants to NOT start taking Effexor! I am glad to read there are other people out there with the same side effects I am having.

[Bryan]

I have started taking effoxor 4 days ago(37.5mg). Just to my curioucity i've started searching for forums , just to know what i'm dealing with here.

I'm probably most shocked of what i'm reading about widtdrawel symptoms.

It's sunday today , tommorow i'm going to my doctor to stop with this medication.

based on you're experiences , do you guys think i will have these horrifing experiences by taking only taking the med 4 days on 37.5 and stop?

[Kimberleydust]

Hi Bryan - I think you will be fine because most antidepressants take a few weeks to build up in your system so a few days should be easy to stop and you are on a very low dose.
If you are suffering from depression I suggest you look at alternative treatments. Get to the bottom of your problem and use natural therapies. I have been on Effexor for 8 years now and desperately want to get off it and go natural and it's going to be hard work. If you have access to a Metagenics Practioner I suggest go and see one as they have some excellent products. Good luck....

[Kimberleydust]

Daphne wrote:

hi....i have been taking effexor for about 8 years...300 mg per day....was up to 450 mg per day until i lowered my dosage back to 300 mg....but it was not because my doctor suggested it....he actually had no idea as to what to do....he's a general practitioner. i was originally seeing a psychiatrist, but recently moved to a small town. when i was taking the higher dosage, i felt so out of control, i could see why some people with mental illness could commit suidcide....it was a nightmare....i couldn't function in normal day to day life....thank god i had enough of myself left to see that the medication must be the cause of the irratic thinking.... i am down to 300mg per day now....and i am going to attempt to lower it to 150mg next week....but i fear the withdrawl symptoms...irritablility, electric shocks, sweats, headache, nausea, shakes, waves of weirdness....and so on.........i began taking effexor (after trying many others) for depression and anxiety....initially it seemed to take the edge off and life became somewhat normal....but has life went on i became more irritable...can't think clearly....my husband sometimes finishes my sentences for me because i can't seem to get the words out....my memory has suffered terribly....i sweat like crazy....and i have gained an enormous amount of weight....my eyesight have deteriorated....my optomistrist told me he that many of his patients taking anti-depressants have complained of blurry vision.....anyways folks....i know what you're going through.....it is not a good quality of life.....sometimes i feel like i'm damned if i do and damned if i don't.....but there's gotta be light at the end of the tunnel....gotta be.........thanks for reading.....and good luck

Hi Daphne - I have also been on effexor for 8 years and prior to that Zoloft & Prozac. I also get a lot of the symptoms you get and at present some new ones have turned up which I believe is the effexor. I am distressed at my quality of life at only 39 and am working on reducing. I am also taking 300mg but the last few days have halved it. Will see what happens. I am also starting on alternative products to replace the effexor and try and return my brain and body back to normal - whatever that is - it's been so long since I have felt normal....I sometimes feel I am going stupid as I also have the memory problems and thinking clearly. I think it is up to us to take our own health into our own hands - educate ourselves. Hope your future is brighter...

[Kimberleydust]

cheryl wrote:

<quoted text>have been on efexor for 9 yrs and have gradually increased from 225mg to 450mg per day. My muscular spasms have been diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, there is no ra in the family, I think it's down to the efexor

Hi Cheryl - yes me too - I have been told to take Magnesium for the muscles. Powder form is best.
Take Care

[Bryan]

Hey kimberley ,

Thank you for you're time writing me.

I understand what you means. Beacuse i'm scared i've started lower the beans in the tablet slowy
to build off. every day i take a little more out of it.

Today is my first day i've lowered it , i'm curious what to expect i hope i do just fine , because of only 5 days on the medicine.(36.5mg)

I hope you're able to go trough it and get out of the medicine soon..

I can imagin how terrifying it could feel.
I'm feeling it.

Good luck.

[Steve]

I am a chronically mild depressed individual which makes it hard to concentrate on dealing with things that need to get done unless I specifically have the drive to do it. It makes being a procrastinator very easy! Moreover, my sleep, never good at the best of times is always an indicator of how I'm doing! Occasionally, I get more down and into a moderate depressive funk.

The time before last my Doc tried Effexor. NEVER AGAIN!!! I took it for about 5 months.

I took 150mg per day after tapering on. It didn't really work as advertised. I really can't say that I noticed any particular improvement. BUT what I did note was the side effects.

First, I developed tinitus in my left ear, which, now over 2 years after stopping hasn't gone away.

Other minor side effects which I could deal with came and went.

The worst, and the one that caused me to quit, was the nausea. I have a hiatus hernia and the two problems together were awful. Effexor seemed to have a lifespan in my system of about 20-22 hours, so, every day I experienced about 2-4 hours (assuming I wasn't late taking the capsule) of withdrawal symptoms of nausea and increasing disorientation.

This just was not good! I decided to stop, so I weaned off to half strength caps for a week, and that was the beginning of the horror. I had from 5-6 hours of nausea and disorientation a day, and the tinitus screaming in my left ear had me wanting to rip it off! Then there were the "flashes" presumably this is what other see as the "electric shock" experience ... I'd keep experience the sensation that something was happening somewhere in my field of vision and my eyes were almost forced to go and look.

I hadn't experienced enough desire to want to resume taking the effexor yet.

After a week the side effects began to ease a bit, so I thought it was safe to stop altogether. Within 24 hours, I was unable to eat I was SO nauseous. The world was almost spinning like being drunk. The tinitus started screaming again. Drink tasted awful. So, I retreated to bed and a fairly dark room, getting only when I had to. I spent 3 days in this horrific state. The urge to resume the effexor was incredible to try to stop these withdrawal symptoms, but I knew that to quit the Effexor, I had to resist, because being on the Effexor was no doing me any favours.

After the 3 days in bed, I began to feel more human. I could begin to eat without feeling the need to choke with the nausea. The tinitus eased and I began to be able to focus on the world again in closer to my normal way.

It was about another two weeks before I felt normal again.

My daughter had been prescribed Effexor by her doctor too while studying. She had similar problems of the short day dosing and after seeing my withdrawal, decided she would go off it after 4 weeks. Fortunately, she only went through 2 days of the hell and another 2 of disorientation.

Now we're both taking Zoloft. At least it's helping with the symptoms. I can see that there's gonna be some disorientation trying to come off it (having run out of caps for a few days), but it's nothing like as bad as the Effexor.

This is an EVIL drug and should really only be used in a very controlled setting and not by GPs.

[COOPER]

well iv bin on this for 12 days an today im qwiting cold turkey all let ya know if it screws me up like ive herd but im hoping on such a short term use it wont be so horrable as i have bin reading i jus cant get off during sex i can do it long an hard but jus no sign of orgazim so i cant take this stuff i need to be able to get off cause otherwise theres no point in having a gf that i cant make love to so i guess all be back with my results to let yall know if short term use will leave side effects affter qwitting cold turky

[Steve]

Depression itself is enough to cause both decreased libido in both men and women and enough to prevent climax. Most anti-depressants don't help with this at all until you're actually finished with them. Some brands are slightly less libido supressing than others. But it's a YMMV scenario ...(your mileage may vary) because every individual will react somewhat differently. I found that Effexor didn't impact my libido, but the side effects of nausea at bed time did!

[Dirk]

I was on Prozac for years.... as it seemed to stop working, i was put on Wellbutrin SR. After 5 months of nothing, i went to the doctor. Granted coming off the Prozac and going on the Wellbutrin was NASTY... tinitus, dizziness, you name it...
Now my GP has written me a scrip for Effexor.... stop the Wellbutrin immediately, wait 4 days than start gradually with the Effexor.... After reading all of this... i think i will wait longer than 4 days after stopping the Wellbutrin.... and then go back and DEMAND something else.... Fighting depression for 18 years is bad enough.. getting into this kind of mess/insanity probably would put me over the edge... No thanks!

[Steve]

All very well trying all these new drugs but sometimes, the old ones are just as effective and sometimes fewer side effects and definitely fewer withdrawal effects (not to mention often cheaper too!)

Imiprimine (aka Tofranil), mimipramine or trimipramine (aka Surmontil), Doxepin (aka Surmontil) are a few of the many tricyclics available.

The downside to tricyclics are increased sleepiness, trench mouth, and a greater tendency to weight gain (carbs cravings!)

There are a few people for whom Effexor works and works well ... but there are definitely some real horror stories.

Good luck!

[Cheryl]

Hi wendy I am someone who was on effexor for 5 years and successfully was off it for 1 full year with no side effects, however now we are investigating wether the effexor could have burnt out my adrenal gland function, iether being off of it or my body reacting to stress differently now? we don't know. I have been for numerus tests. I 'll tell you what I am experiencing now, muscle aches , muscle weakness and extreme fatigue( which is the adrenal glands not working properly also. So my advice is if you are mentally stable enough continue to slow withdrawl off the effexor, but go and see a naturopath and get on some kind of herbal detox to flush your system out totally.
Cheryl.

wendy wrote:

When are the doctors going to tell us what we're really in for when starting or stopping this drug? i've been on this for 12 months & i've never one day since felt right! still every time i cut my dosage down i know i'm in for at least 4 weeks of headaches,muscle aches sore throat,diarrhoea,diziness & insomnia.
I feel trapped!

[Jody]

Donna wrote:

<quoted text>
Mark no one is saying that Effexor doesn't work. But boy oh boy just wait till you decide to discontinue taking it. It is a nighmare. I hope you don't experience what thousands of us are going through right now. It is horrible. Don't believe me? Stop taking it and see for yourself. You won't be singing the praises of Effexor anymore!!!!!!!!!!

Couldn't agree more...I'm not a fan of roller coasters and to say I've been riding one 24/7 for several months isn't making me all that happy. A dilemma - want to discontinue the med but am feeling so horrible...