I have been on Effexor for at least 4 years and am now taking 225...

Read all Effexor side effects

Posted at 10: 0 AM on May 19, 2008 by quesa45, #30597

I have been on Effexor for at least 4 years and am now taking 225mg per day. I was not aware that it is addictive until checking on line. My doctor never told me and I wonder if he was aware. What should I expect when I begin to go off Effexor. It seems that now when I don't have to go to work all I want to do is sleep. Yesterday I got up at 5 PM and had gone to bed at 10 PM. Although usually not for so long, I have been wanting to sleep my weekends away since he uped my dosage but didn't realize what was causing it.

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Reply about 1 year ago on Sep 23, 2008 by wkillpatri, #12696

We sound a lot alike. I sleep CONSTANTLY on Effexor. Lost my job because of it. Finally went to a pulmonologist because my internist thought I had sleep apnea. A sleep study revealed that I do NOT have sleep apnea, but that I also never, ever enter REM (dream state) sleep, nor do I enter stages 3 or 4 of sleep (the deep stages). So I stay in the stages 1 and 2 all night, light sleep, which leaves one unrefreshed, groggy, foggy, etc. I, too, can sleep 20 hours a day -- no problem. Now I'm with a pulmonologist who specializes in sleep disorders and we're trying to determine how to get me into REM sleep. REM and the deep stages of sleep are when things like repairing muscle fibers take place so without REM, your fibromyalgia (and mine!) may be much worse.
I strongly suggest you speak to a pulmonologist about Effexor and its effects on sleep. GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Bill Killpatrick
wkillpatri@aol.com

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