Joint and Muscle Pain side effect of Effexor

[Jan Marie]

Anyone have any success with remedies for this side effect? I do not want to stop taking Effexor but I am walking about like a 90 year old (I am in my early fifties)!

[Margaret]

Jan Marie wrote:

Anyone have any success with remedies for this side effect? I do not want to stop taking Effexor but I am walking about like a 90 year old (I am in my early fifties)!

I have bad joint pain after taking Effexor in smallest dose after 2 days.

[Brigid W]

Ibuprofen and aleve help somewhat with the joint a muscle pain.

[Brigid W]

I had lingering horrible joint pain from effexor. I tapered off the effexot over 2 months, and the joint pain just got worse and worse.
My doctor put me on a low dose 10 mg daily of prozac, and the joint pain disappeared within 24 hours. I have now decreased the prozac to 10 mg. every other day and so far, the joint pain has not returned.
I hope this info can help somebody else out there.

[mel]

Jan Marie wrote:

Anyone have any success with remedies for this side effect? I do not want to stop taking Effexor but I am walking about like a 90 year old (I am in my early fifties)!

I am basically the same way after sitting for a short while. After geting up in the morning it really is bad. I am 51 also. I wish I could help but you are not the only one. Did this just begin when you started taking Effexor?

[casey]

hey i found out muscle pain is a side effect of effexor and ive only been taking it for like...3 months and i would like to know when this started for you because i am a competitive dancer and that is like a real problem because i am reallllly sore to begin with. does it happen to everyone or i don't know i would just like some imput. im young just 15 and i really am concerned that this might effect my dancing.

[Brigid]

jFor me, the joint pain started a few months after I started effexor. It was mild at first, then got progressively worse over time. ( along with lots of other side effects) When I went through withdrawal, the joint pain got much worse. I could barely walk or bend down. There wer also many other horrible withdrawal symptoms too numerous to list here. After weeks of this, I finally tried a low dose of prozac which relieved the pain. Now I am trying to get off the prozac.

[mel]

I have ruled out every other possible pill, food, etc. that could have caused the soreness and pain. It all points to the Effexor. It hurts to open a packet of Sweet n Low! It hurts to bend my arm to bathe my back. I teach kindergarten and it kills me to squat down, I can hardly get up. I have always been very active and exercised all my life. I have an appointment coming up and plan to do anything to come off this. Each time it was increased I can pinpoint the soreness and pain increasing now that I look back. the lowest dose did not seem to bother me.I think that was 150....when it was increased the soreness and pain AND weight gain began. That was the end of March. I gained 11 pounds by June. In June I lost my Father and my only daughter left for college. Dr. increased another 150. More weight gain and debilitating pain in the bottom of my feet , legs and joints. The stiffness is awful.

[barb]

Jan Marie wrote:

Anyone have any success with remedies for this side effect? I do not want to stop taking Effexor but I am walking about like a 90 year old (I am in my early fifties)!

wow you sound like me. funny how the dr.does not know all of this. been back to my dr. been to EM got off effexor rx 2 days ago, can not wait until this muscle pain goes away. did yours go away, how long did it take.

[barb]

how long did your pain last. i got off effexor after being on it for 2 months. bad muscle pain like you decribed. please let me know your outcome. thank you

[barb]

sounds like me mel. it is very bad, the pain. let me know how it is going with you. mine i believe is the effexer rx.

[Jamie]

i also had terrible joint pains in both of my hands while taking effexor. I thought I had artheritis and talked to my doc about it. It was so bad, that the pain was constantly on my mind and often woke me up when I was sleeping.
Ever since I quit effexor, THE PAIN IS ABOUT 80% GONE! I can hardly believe it and it feels like a miracle to me. I seldom even think about it anymore.

[shannon]

Jamie wrote:

i also had terrible joint pains in both of my hands while taking effexor. I thought I had artheritis and talked to my doc about it. It was so bad, that the pain was constantly on my mind and often woke me up when I was sleeping.
Ever since I quit effexor, THE PAIN IS ABOUT 80% GONE! I can hardly believe it and it feels like a miracle to me. I seldom even think about it anymore.

Wow, another symptom...I think I'm up to 39. Were your hands very swollen, like you couldn't wear any rings? I haven't been able to wear rings for 6 years..coincidentally that's how long I've been on "the evil E". My hands are so swollen sometimes I can't bend them into a fist, or pick anything up...and Im in my 30's! Still hanging at 37.5mg...will start counting out beads this week. How long did ur hand symptoms last after you stopped? I need something to look forward to....

[barb]

Jamie, how long after you quit effexer rx did your syptoms start to go away? did you have pain in your legs or feet also?

[Jamie]

Yes, hands were swollen and I did have to cut my wedding ring off. My knees would hurt occasionally but not relentlessly like my hands. I think the pain went away very soon after I stopped. I tried all kinds off remedies - from rx's to the foul stinking stuff one of my Asian friends gave me - all to no avail! It's funny how the absence of pain is often taken for granted, because when it's not there we don't even think about it that we are pain free! What a blessing!

[Arnold]

I am 30 years old, I've been taking Effexor XR 75 mg daily for the last 3 years. I never knew why I was having this joint pains for no obvious reason. First I thought it was because of my job, using my hands constantly, it didn't seem normal at my age to have problems like this. Now I'm getting off of this medication I don't need this anymore, I want to be healthy, and I won't take anymore pills. The drug industry just makes money on us and we are guinee pigs. Stop taking your pills gradually, and do some exercise, walk, breath, forget about your problem, don't live your life on drugs, be happy, and most of all don't listen to your doctor, they don't know what is like to be "you", only you can be your doctor. YOU CAN DO IT!

[Betsy]

Hi guys! I have been on effexor xr for nearly 5 years. My body is lethargic, tired, weak and achy all the time. Do you guys think that all of these could be side effects of effexor? I had not even thought about that possibility!
Please help cause this is destroying me and my marriage!
Thanks

[Ezin]

Betsy,

If you have a read of Effexor drug info sheets (read as many as you can, and sort through the info carefully), you will find multiple references to weakness (asthenia), lethargy, apathy, and muscle and joint aches and pains (arthralgia, myalgia). More than one term covers the symptoms you list, so it will take a little time to go through the info, but reference to an on-line medical dictionary will swiftly allow you to translate the various terms.

Asthenia (for example) has a definition of: "Weakness. Lack of energy and strength. Loss of strength. The word asthenia is not much used in medicine today, although it is a prominent part of myasthenia, a loss of muscle strength"

Drug sheets here e.g. http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/effexor_ad....
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/venlafax_ad...
http://www.drugs.com/cons/effexor.html (lots more effexor sheets here, scroll to the bottom of the page, and access via the links).

A visit to a library/bookshop for "Prozac Backlash" by Joseph Glenmullen (side-effects of these antidepressants, won a medical award) will explain much more about the symptoms you are experiencing - most particularly the weakness, tiredness, and apathy. The opening chapter is available on-line here: http://www.prozacbacklash.com/prozacBacklash.... and may give immediate insight into your current situation.

"The Antidepressant Fact Book" by Peter Breggin may also be helpful; but Glenmullen's book, which has pages of references, may give you the bulk of the info required, quickly, neutrally, and in a scientific manner...

The symptoms you list, are known to be related to long-term Effexor use, and have been so for many years e.g. http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/LongTermS...
http://www.priory.com/psych/venlafax.htm

I hope some of the above leads may be of help.

[Betsy]

Thanks Ezin.

I am a long term user - been on Effexor XR for nearly 5 years starting at 300mg/day and now 225mg/day. Would love to come off this drug but can't see any way of doing it. Every time I try I relapse even under strict doctor supervision. Psychiatrists have advised me to stay on this dosage basically forever to reduce the risk of another serious episode of depression.

It really sucks.....

[Ezin]

Yes, it does.

There are some individuals who cannot wean off Effexor, no matter how they attempt to taper... however, as a caveat, it does appear common for standard withdrawal effects to be diagnosed as return of the 'original problem'.

So, if you wish to research withdrawal, to confirm that your physician's tapering regime was appropriate to both the half-life of Effexor and your own physiological withdrawal response (mild/moderate/severe), and that this taper did lead to relapse rather than withdrawal, then these two sources of info will allow you to assess the situation:

a) Healy's withdrawal info will give you the nuts and bolts of telling apart relapse vs. withdrawal:
http://www.mind.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/59D68F19-...

b)'The Antidepressant Solution' by Joseph Glenmullen (a book on the subject of antidepressant withdrawal) gives you 200+ pages of info on the subject.