effexor - longer term side effects

[Terri]

They will never admit it, they being the pharma drug dealers, but others have posted similar symptoms. One lady on another thread posted that her daughter who was in her 20s was found dead in her apartment with her little daughter sitting next to her. Her lungs were full of fluid, blood coming out of her nose. I've seen people post about having congenital heart disease.

I am so sorry about this horrible effect on your heart but very glad to hear you were able to get it fixed with surgery.

[Mary]

btd wrote:

Sorry Mary I really over loaded you if you come back with the amounts you took and for how long why you went on and off... I can give you a guess. Nobody can tell you for sure.

I'm sorry, btd, that I didn't reply sooner. I've just been dealing with everything. MRIs and other tests have all come back normal, which I am very happy about, but that still leaves me with the not knowing how long this will all last.
I was on antidepressants for about 12 years, constantly switching when they would stop working for me. I was only on Effexor (75 mg) for about 4 months when my doctor told me to stop it cold turkey. I sometimes wonder if I would go back on the lowest dose and then taper off very slowly if these symptoms would go away. However, after going through what I've been through, I'm not sure I'm willing to risk it. I wish you well as it sounds like you have really been struggling with a lot. Let's hope and pray that all of us receive the healing we so desperately want.

[eva]

I hav been taking 225 mil of effexor for 5 years and it has saved my life. Tried so many other meds and they all made me soo sleepy. I have had only one side effect, and that is if I miss a dose, I have crazy dreams. I am calm, content and loving life! Before I was sad and had a lot of anxioty. I am afraid if I go off of it, I will go back to the way I was before. I am concerned with long term effects.

[Terri]

eva wrote:

I hav been taking 225 mil of effexor for 5 years and it has saved my life. Tried so many other meds and they all made me soo sleepy. I have had only one side effect, and that is if I miss a dose, I have crazy dreams. I am calm, content and loving life! Before I was sad and had a lot of anxioty. I am afraid if I go off of it, I will go back to the way I was before. I am concerned with long term effects.

Sadly, these drugs do not work forever, and when they stop working it's like you are in full-blown withdrawal even while taking the drug. A dear friend of mine has been on it for 15 years, and it has taken her memory, her eyesight, her balance, her joints hurt constantly, she has restless leg syndrome, low thyroid, early menopause, and now it's not working. I would guess that years ago when she was started on these drugs her depression could have been treated with herbal remedies.

Ya, this stuff works great in the beginning, but it's the long term effects that count. Getting off this stuff is horrific. The sooner the better.

[Rose]

I have been on and off effexor for the past 5 years ! Recently I started experiencing blurred vision , and all my tests are normal ! After reading your posts , I think my thougth may have been right , its the effexor doing this ! Well , no thank you dont want it , dont need it ! F this shit !

[Agent E]

Terri wrote:

<quoted text>
Sadly, these drugs do not work forever, and when they stop working it's like you are in full-blown withdrawal even while taking the drug. A dear friend of mine has been on it for 15 years, and it has taken her memory, her eyesight, her balance, her joints hurt constantly, she has restless leg syndrome, low thyroid, early menopause, and now it's not working. I would guess that years ago when she was started on these drugs her depression could have been treated with herbal remedies.
Ya, this stuff works great in the beginning, but it's the long term effects that count. Getting off this stuff is horrific. The sooner the better.

Most people with depression can probably be solved or 'cured' with simple medicine or better food and stuff but THEY came up with a quick fix that rots your liver out and for some reason.....

gee wonder what the reason is..........

[ANGEL]

The bustards are maiming, killing and ruining innocent people and making lots of $$$$$$$$$ out of their evil drugs. I hope JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED SOON!

[Terri]

"They" take advantage of our ignorance, and when I say ignorance I mean simply we trust our entire body (and soul) to doctors and to the pharmaceutical companies who have such pretty advertisements. Other than our immediate symptoms, we really don't pay much attention to our bodies. Because we've become so reliant on doctors, when we get a sniffle or a cough we simply go to the doctor and get the medicine we "need" and go home, rest and get better. There are a lot of ways to contract viruses that create sniffles and coughs, and there are a lot of things we can do proactively to avoid them and even to treat them should we contract them. The same is true for depression and anxiety. It's just so much easier (we think) to rely on doctors and drugs than to be proactive with our own physical and mental health. Now, this is not the entire problem, but it certainly is part of it for a large part of the population.

I read something yesterday that made so much sense to me. We've all heard the saying "the rich stay rich by keeping the poor poor." This was described in a little more detail to me yesterday. The rich stay rich by keeping the poor ignorant. When I say ignorant I mean simply that we blindly trust "authority" when it's that very authority that can lie through their teeth to achieve their personal goals, and if those goals include money, well we're screwed in the long run. As long as we stay ignorant, we will be prey to the greedy. They feed us what they want us to know so we move in the direction they want us to move, slowly separating the rich from the poor, slowly allowing more and more power to the rich. This has been going on for decades so no wonder pharma has made such progress with such little fight back from its victims. We are finally seeing scientists speak out against the effects of pharmaceutical drugs but....

So, yes, most people with depression, with a sniffle, with stomach ache, with acid reflux, with high blood pressure, you name it can find a natural way to combat their symptoms on their own, but we just don't do it. We've slowly become fully dependent on doctors, the herd has been moved slowly in a certain direction that has landed bagillions of dollars in certain pockets.

If we only knew that if you eat a pickle a day you will never have to take Nexium again.

[Agent E]

I did not Know about Liver enzymes befor Effexor I do know NOW.

And nerve synaspses, and brain shivers and all sort of things quite an Education realy.

Thanks,

to Wiki.

[frank]

Have you considered maybe you are just a retard?

yes wrote:

Hi Jeff , sorry to know that things are not going well, in response to ur question, I have been on effexors for 7 yrs due to chest pains , Since that time I have been to many doctors and have had many test done, DR's include ,chiropractors, eye specialist,rumitiod arthritis specialist, nerologist,phycologist. I had ekg's,x-rays,cat scans ,Mri's,Blood test,emg, x-ray of esophegus.Plus I have been in and out of ER rooms numerous times. my symtoms have included, chest pains, blurred vision , chronic arm pain,headaches , neck and back pain , over all weakness and fatigue, aches and pains, chest pains,numbness,tingling, itchy rashes,weight gain of 40lbs, severe heal pain,sweats , nightmares, insomnia,lack of concentration,memory problems,ect...the most resent is tremors and swallowing difficulty. I'm sure I missed a few symptoms , but anyways ,I was tested for cancer,for MS,for sugar, thyroid, anemia, and what ever else they tested for who knows.However all testing were negative, thank god but still I remain the same , still not knowing what is wrong with me. I recently was perscribed wellbutrin so that I could discontinue effexors, since I have tried many times to get off of them and had to always go back on them due to the horrific withdrawls, I no longer want to be addicted to them. plus I am tapped out financially due to,toooo many perscriptions and hostpital and dr bills,I didn't realize that my symptoms then but have read where some of the others posting are having the same type of experiences too, So now I to believe that all my ailments are side effects of effexors, once I am able to completely stop taking this drug I will stop all the rest of my meds too, I have already begun the process, and wow the with drawls ,They are just like most of the post , with , brain zaps, and the likes. I only pray that the side effects go away and that the withdrawls will be short, I am two months into the weaning and I am now down to splitting my 37.5 capsules into 3 parts daily the suicidal thought are starting to diminish and the crying is less frequent, most all that remains now is fewer brain zaps, much irratability,insomnia,,but all the side effect symptoms still remain only much worse now , I haven't left the house to many times ,because I cannot drive due to severe tremors , and I have missed most of my resent dr's appointments. I hope that this post helps you in some way.best of luck to you .

[frank]

congenital anything is not something drug induced, dummy.

Terri wrote:

They will never admit it, they being the pharma drug dealers, but others have posted similar symptoms. One lady on another thread posted that her daughter who was in her 20s was found dead in her apartment with her little daughter sitting next to her. Her lungs were full of fluid, blood coming out of her nose. I've seen people post about having congenital heart disease.
I am so sorry about this horrible effect on your heart but very glad to hear you were able to get it fixed with surgery.

[Tina]

I cannot believe this drug Effexor has been destroying people's lives for so long yet it is still beig prescribed! I took 75 mg for about four months and 150 mg for about three months (strangely enough my doctor increased my dosage from 75 to 150 after I complained about the weight gain and the tingling I felt when I was late taking a dose). So now I have quit cold turkey because it finally hit me that if I feel strange after being an hour late taking this drug then it has way too much control over my body and my life! Quitting cold turkey probably wasn't the smartest thing to do but once it really clicked in my head what this drug was doing to me I couldn't bare the thought of taking another dose. So I am on day nine without the drug and I am still struggling. The nausea has subsided a great deal but I still can't sleep and my anxiety is through the roof! The only thing that helps me sleep is Tylenol pm but I do not want to replace one addiction with another. The left side of my body feels weak, heavy and tingly, my chest feels tight, and my breathing sounds really fast and loud inside my head. I just want to be normal and happy! Shame on any doctor who prescribes this poison to people who are already obviously in distress! Don't get me wrong I am doing much better than I was seven days ago (fewer brain zaps, less diarrhea and nausea, fewer sweats, less tingling) but I am still afraid that this drug has done some permanent damage to my body.

[Bridget]

frank,in Boca, why so quick to call people names? People who post here are hurting and need support, so maybe you should look someone else to vent.

[Terri]

Frank is just an internet bully with too much time on his hands and no guts to talk to people like this face to face. If he is this way in person he is probably a very lonely man.

But he was right about my post, I meant to put congestive heart disease, not congenital. Lots of people end up with congestive heart disease from taking these pills long term. I made a mistake which makes me human not a dummy.

[DEANA]

I have also suffered for years from anxiety and depression. I was put on effexor about a year ago, and kept having to up my dosage due to increased panic attacks. Recently I went to a chiropractor who educated me on different treatment options. You see, I started having the fear that I would just have to keep increasing my dosage until..what? At some point they will max me out and them I am back at square one. Only instread of being depressed and anxious, I will also have the brain zaps, arms going numb, vertigo feelings, pain, yawning, etc..how is this stuff legal??? I am slowly taking myself off of this prescribed crack cocaine of the pharmacy world and going natural. I should not be having withdrawl symptoms from something that is supposed to be helping me. It is very clear why the government allows this to go on. Simply put, it is in their eyes 'for the greater good'-meaning, I will pay for my scripts every month so that jane doe can get her food stamps, so and so can get his pension from congress, and the health care industry can sustain on sad people who need therapy, meds, and surgeries. This is the sick world we live in. I am going to stop getting treatment from the whitecoats, and head to the local guru instead.

[bdt]

DEANA wrote:

I have also suffered for years from anxiety and depression. I was put on effexor about a year ago, and kept having to up my dosage due to increased panic attacks. Recently I went to a chiropractor who educated me on different treatment options. You see, I started having the fear that I would just have to keep increasing my dosage until..what? At some point they will max me out and them I am back at square one. Only instread of being depressed and anxious, I will also have the brain zaps, arms going numb, vertigo feelings, pain, yawning, etc..how is this stuff legal??? I am slowly taking myself off of this prescribed crack cocaine of the pharmacy world and going natural. I should not be having withdrawl symptoms from something that is supposed to be helping me. It is very clear why the government allows this to go on. Simply put, it is in their eyes 'for the greater good'-meaning, I will pay for my scripts every month so that jane doe can get her food stamps, so and so can get his pension from congress, and the health care industry can sustain on sad people who need therapy, meds, and surgeries. This is the sick world we live in. I am going to stop getting treatment from the whitecoats, and head to the local guru instead.

Please see the thread titled
Reasons to taper slowly 2
it is a nutshell of how to get these drugs safely. peace to you