Effexor and headaches

i feel no emotions while taking effexor. no anxiety, mind you, (which is what i was using it for---GAD.) so no anxiety is good, but is it good to not feel any sorrow, empathy, joy or happiness??? I feel like i am just going through the motions of life, not really living it. but if i don't take even 1 dose, the anxirty comes back. (but the other emotions come back too) i cry more if i miss a dose, and that used to worry me into thinking i am depressed....BUT it is normal to cry when you feel sorrow or empathy. and maybe the tears have to come flowing out as a form of release, because they were withheld for so long by the effexor. other possible side effects could be: insomnia; headaches, clenching teeth, biting cheek and tongue a lot, constipation and weight gain. (hard to know if these are side effects of effexor, or symptoms of fibromyalgia).

I have been on Effexor since December 13th. I am finding that this drug is not very helpul at all. I am experiencing headaches, nausea, my depression does not seem to be any better over the past 3 months. My dizziness is what is really bothering me I feel like my head is in the clouds all the time with a constant tightening feelin my head and neck. I wake up every night with a feeling on hotness and shaky eyes. I am trying to get off of this drug but find the side effects are so hard to deal with. I feel some days like I am going crazy and it takes every ounce of energy I have to not loose control. After trying 3 other antidepressants Effexor has been the most difficult to come off of and the the drug with the most side effects.
Anyone with any helpful tips to help deal with this horrible time in my life would be very much appreciated.

Hi everybody,, I would like to know if effexor can kill.. I stopped tsking effexor 5 months ago, since then i've been experienced headaches of different kinds,, you know what i mean.. Headaches that i have never feel before, hadeaches all over the head,,most on the left side,, then my left leg goes crazy at night feeling a kind of electrical shocks that don't let me sleep.. Im really affraid of havin a brain stroke because of effexor,, can someboduy tell me if it can happen,, And can somebody tell me if its possible to go out of effexor alive...

Thanks, reply please..

On day 3 my blood pressure shot up to 160 over 90, over 40 points higher than normal, and my heart rate up over 25%, and the fatigue and headaches are more than I can handle.

Nausea, dizziness, pounding headaches, the inability to do anything but sit here and get thru these wretched side effects from a drug that I was told was non-addictive!
What a joke!
How can a drug that makes me feel this bad piossiblity be non-addictive!
Ive gone cold turkey and this is day 17 that ive been off the effexor. Mind you I had only been taking it for barly 3 months and at a relatively small dosage (1x75mg nightly), and I cant beleive how much trouble Im having trying to come off it.
How long does this drug remain in ones body?

I am a 30 year young female with a husband, three kids, and bipolar disorder. My regular doctor prescribed 75mg of Effexor XR in the morning after I went into a bout of major depression and all I could think about was dying every day. I was just done with life, done. It made me feel "wired" like I had too much coffee and I was hot all the time. But I was happy, maybe a little too happy and talkative according to my family. I lost my appetite and 10 lbs. I was on that dose for a year and then went into another major depression. I then went to a psychiatrist and he raised the dosage to 225mg once in the morning (3x 75mg Effexor XR). I again noticed a raise in my mood, but I still cry and have emotions. I do feel it helped me. I ran out of it a couple times and was off it for a few days, but I did not experience any withdrawl symptoms. I am horrible at taking it the same time every day and have never had a problem. No headaches. I'm on other anti-depressants too though, maybe that helped. I did feel the zzzzzzzzzzip in my head at first, it kindof feels like you've had too much coffee and your head does a flip, but then I was fine.

I have been on this drug for almost 3 years. I have had headaches, very vivid and realistic dreams, dizziness (especially when I skip a dose), severe weight loss (66 lbs) followed by severe weight gain (70 lbs), paranoia, leaking nipples (I am male), and breathing difficulties. I am thankful that this medication got me through a very difficult time in my life, but now I am going to try to get off of it.

I too am feeling a lot of the effects as you guys are. The bruisings and headaches. I've never realized this before. This is the second anti-depressant I've been on. I was first put on Zoloft. And I stopped taking it. But for those months I stopped it was a living nightmare. I was dizzy and bolts of pains running through my head. But it's worse now then it ever has been now that I am on Effexor. Maybe it's the dosage--I don't really know. I've been trying to get off of them, but fear my body won't let me. Like it'll call me back to the pills. I've been taking them every other day...but it's not good. I feel fine for the first day of not taking them but I have to awaken way early in the morning to take it so I won't feel dizzy all day. But it still makes me feel like I havn't taken it.

I've been taking this drug for about a year and I have also tried to quit the drug with no success. The headaches, unable to walk straight, sick to my stomach is enough to make me take another pill and after taking that pill, all the symptoms go away within an hour. I had lost my husband and this is the second drug they put me on. I'm still on it and they say it helps with nightsweats, which, was also a symptom I got when trying to get off. I've also gained 30 pounds. I want off! I'm taking 150mg. How do I get off, cold turkey can't happen for me.

I'm not sure if this is from Effexor or not, but I have developed serious neck and head pains which tend to bring on even more headaches. I was put on the Effexor as a preventative medicine for migraines and also take care of "hot flashes".

Does anyone else have this side effect?

ZoomZoom,

Good news for you!!! The side effects such as headaches should go away in the very near future. Drs. say 2-3 weeks and the majority of side effects should go away.

What you need to keep in mind is that Effexor XR is different than Anti-D's such as Paxil. Effexor calibrates 2 neurotransmitters in the brain (Seratonin & Norepinephrine). It would make sense that you are having headaches in the early goings because the drug is just readjusting what has been caused by the depression. Hang in there!!!

Don't be surprised if your Dr. increases the dose. He/she is simply trying to maximize the efficacy of the drug. I have no doubt that you will be back to normal in the near future.

Best of Luck,

MattM

I have been on effexor XR for the past going on 6 years. It has made a dramatic change in my life. It has helped my depression and anxiety enourmously. At first I had constipation but that changed when I changed my diet. I too tried to go off effexor cold turkey and ended up in a clinic on my way to work. The first week I felt like I was on a HIGH - felt fabulous - then I started driving erractically - very bizarre throbbing in my head, headaches. Then the crying started uncontrollably - became paranoid - felt like something was going to swallow me up from the feet up and I was afraid to drive as I kept thinking I was going to crash my car. By the time I got to the clinic - I was bouncing off the walls.. Had to go back on it. If I miss one dose I could sleep forever! Angela West - Windsor.

I started taking Effexor about 1 month ago for depression instead of Zoloft. I have had headaches for the last 2 weeks, very moody, tired all the time and have no engery. I feel completely useless about myself, my depression seems to have just gotten worse since I have been on it. I have a very hard time dealing with my children, and that was never been a problem for me before. I am now trying to get off of Effexor and hoping that I don't get the bad affects of getting off of it, but I figure that it can't be any worse then the feeling that i have right now.

Since being on Effexor,I have terrible headaches , mood swings, and diahrea. I have also gained about 50 lbs. This was supposed to be a mood stabiliser. I' more depressed now than ever.

I have been on Effexor XR for over a year now and at first it was helping my depression and compulsive disorder but for the past 5 months I have been having really bad memory loss, confusion, extreme headaches that wont go away and wont let me do anything.....I have also gained 65 pounds and my head feels like it is in a cloud and I have no idea what is going on around me....I am totally adrift. It has also made me like grow a beard and side burns and I am an 18 year old chick.so that is terrible....I have hillucinations I cant stop seeing things come after me and I have terrible nightmares...I had horrible chest pain non stop crying.....diahrea shortness of breathe just every side effect that was bad was what I had.....I have been off of it for a week now and it has been so terrible my school wanted to take me away in handcuffs or in a straight jacket and I was on a strict watch from everyone in my school this drug is horrible and I think no one should ever take it......It has made my life terrible and it has tken away my joy memory and good grades.....I cant learn now in school and I get terrible grades and before taking this drug I was a straight A student.....and I found out that this is more of a mans drug too so I am all screwed up now and I owe it all too Effexor...NEVER TAKE THIS EFFEXOR