Effexor and celexa

I just visited my doctor today, after about a year on celexa he changed me to effexor and within a week I will be up to 75mg 2 times a day, I really hope this works for me, I have been really depressed and am in therapy and have just not been the mother and wife and friend that I used to be. I will be monitored very closely, I also take Valium and amitriptyiline.

One 37.5 mg Effexor XR and I thought I was a dead woman. I was BURNING HOT for 12 hours. I had a massive headache and I felt like I swallowed a brick my stomach hurt so bad. I was vomiting and trembling bad. Doc said he would consider that an allergic reaction and prescribed Celexa, which took 3 days to make me hypermania and I almost called 911 when my G.I. tract started burning. So this week he gives me Cymbalta, what is he NUTS? He let me try a small amount of xanax which doesn't give me side effects, it just releases that feeling of impending doom that I have 24/7. He says I can't have any more though, it might get me addicted. I can't imagine it being worse than what I have found online about SSRI's.

I'VE BEEN ON EFFEXOR FOR THE PAST 2AND A HALF YEARS. BEFORE THAT, CELEXA. BEFORE TAKING EFFEXOR MY MIND WAS SHARP AND I HAD PLENTY OF ENERGY TO CARRY ME INTO THE WEE HOURS OF MORNING. NOW I CAN'T HARDLY FIND THE ENERGY TO GET THROUGH THE DAY. MY HOUSE IS NEVER CLEAN ANYMORE, I HAVE NO DESIRE TO EVEN TRY. AND THIS IS FROM A WOMAN WHO'S HOUSE USED TO STAY VERY CLEAN. MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT RAMBLES AND I CAN NO LONGER CONVERSE WITH MOST ADULTS. I FORGET THE APPROPRIATE WORDS TO USE. I MAKE MY LIVING WRITING. I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO WRITE ANYTHING DECENT IN THE PAST TWO YEARS WHICH HAS CAUSED MY BUSINESS TO SUFFER. A YEAR AGO MY DOCTOR TRIED TO CHANGE ME FROM EFFEXOR TO WELLBUTRIN. I FELT ASTHOUGH I HAD LOST MY MIND. I CRIED CONSTANTLY AND NOT THINKING RATIONALLY,SUDDENLY DECIDED TO SELL MY HOME THAT I LOVED DEARLY. NEEDLESS TO SAY WITH MY LUCK, IT SOLD RATHER QUICKLY LEAVING ME WITH NO WHERE TO GO. THINKING THE WELLBUTRIN CAUSED ALL THIS CONFUSION, NEVER THINKING ABOUT POSSIBLE WITHDRAWAL FROM EFFEXOR, I STOPPED THE WELLBUTRIN AND STARTED AGAIN ON THE EFFEXOR. I TOLD MY DOCTOR ABOUT LOSING MY MIND AND SELLING MY HOME AND WAS TOLD HE FELT I MAY BE BI-POLAR. TALK ABOUT DEPRESSION! I WANT TO THANK EACH OF YOU THAT HAS POSTED ON THIS WEBSIGHT YOUR BATTLES WITH THIS SO CALLED WONDER DRUG. AT LEAST I FEEL I MAY HAVE A CHANCE OF GETTING BACK TO NORMAL IF I CAN BEAT THIS HABIT. I'M AS ADDICTED AS ANY JUNKIE TO ANY STREET DRUG AND HAD ALWAYS PRIDED MYSELF ON BEING CLEAN EVEN AS I GREW UP IN THE FREE LOVE AN DRUG GENERATION. ALL I CAN SAY IS GOD HELP US ALL.

Hello! I went off of Effexor 75mg @5 days ago. The withdrawl symptoms came back with a vengeance. I have tried 3 other times to get off of this drug with no success. Not because of depression, but the physical withdrawl sypmtoms were terrible. I immediately experienced dizziness, "zapping" in my head, nausea, extreme fatigue; all the very next day. I had tried in the past to taper off, same effects as quitting cold turkey. This is day 6 and still have the same syptoms. It's very hard to function at my job and driving is a chore also. I am determined to "not" go back on this or any other drug like this ever again (Lexapro, Celexa, etc) I will say I felt fine while on it, but I'm sick of not being able to lose the 30 lbs I gained while taking it. I want to be able to handle lifes curve balls as they come without any drugs. I will keep you all posted as to how long this goes on. Take care all, and we have to hang in there!!!!!

I have been taking Effexor for about 6 months. I took zoloft for about 5 years and it worked great for my depression, but eventually caused my sex drive to be non-existent. My doctor then put me on Celexa which made me VERY tired and also gain weight. Now I am on Effexor, and it seems to work fine for my depression, but I too have noticed that if my dosage is even a little past 24hrs, I get very agitated about everything. If its more that a few hours past that time, I actually begin to feel physically ill, with stomach aches, dizziness, inability to concentrate. My doctor did not tell me about this effect of the drug, he actually told me that I would experience less dizziness when coming off this drug, as compared to other SSRIs such as zoloft. I now am deathly afraid to run out and I am sure to be at the pharmacy before I run out of pills due to how horrible I feel even after a few hours of a missed dose. I do not like being a slave to any medication, especially since I am a recovering addict. I feel I need something for my depression, but I am getting really tired of all the drugs and their side effects. I am afraid to go off them entirely but feel it can't be any worse than the withdrawls, which they don't tell you about when prescribing these drugs. They are advertised as being"not addicting" but I have found that they actually change the chemistry of your brain to the point where you cannot function normally without them, especially after years of taking these drugs...will try to slowly wean myself off of the 75 mg effexor and start from square one..anyone who has any tips for successful withdrawl from this drug, I am open to any suggestions, Thanks.