Effexor and paxil

I have been on effexor for about 6 months now and I love the way it makes me feel. After my second child I we diagnosed with PPD
I have been on paxil, lexapro, zoloft,and now finally effexor I have gained 40 pounds on it. I am not a lazy person by any means I am an animal trainer, have 3 kids, and 110 acre farm, so I live a very busy life, I have considered going off it, but my withdrawal periods with my other medications, I went through hell my doctor tells me to just increase my cardio activities, his nurses believe otherwise. Anyone have any ideas?

I started taking Effexor 3 years ago. My doctor had put me on Wellbrutrin, Lexapro, Zoloft, Paxil, and probably a couple of others without great results. But Effexor did work for me with some sideffects. I have gained over 40 pounds since I have been on Effexor, have had no energy, over slept a lot and had the most vivid dreams. If I missed one or two doses by accident I would feel shitty. I have now quit since 3 weeks ago ( somewhat gradually). Right now I feel pretty angry and wound up most of the time. I also have a cough that won't go away.

My boyfriend took Effexor for 4 weeks. The whole time he was tired and yawning due to interrupted sleep. He also twitched a lot in his feet, hands and face. 3 of his brothers were on Paxil, and although he hasn't been on it, his conclusion is that Effexor is worse. No weight gain, but also no sign that it did what it was supposed to do.

I have not yet started to take Effexor yet, just trying to see if I can find some reason to take it first.
I have read a lot of these side effects and I have had all of these side effect like symptoms and have never even take this drug.
I have taken Wellbrutrin, Lexapro, Zoloft, and Paxil and all of them cause bad panic attacks. I am not sure what to do about anything. I have also tried a natural pill called Seredyn and it works pretty good at night to sleep but causes me to feel uneasy during the day and obviously it would be needed during the day.
The ONLY thing that helps is Ativan and according to doctors and pharmacists it is very habit forming. So I cannot get anymore of those.
Has anyone taken anything for Anxiety that helps?
I am not a depressed person and do not need anything for depression.

I have been taking effexor xr for about 3 weeks now. Started on 37.5 and then a week later went to 75 mg. I was taking lexapro prior but freaked out one day on that stuff....so my dr. changed me over to effexor. I have taken everything from prozac, paxil, celia, lexapro, zoloft, & buspar. So far the only side effect I have experienced has been a headache the first week and a half, which subsided. I take it for GAD and social anxiety......I was very timid about taking it after reading all these horrible things, but with any drug you have side effects and what works for one may not work for another, you just need to listen to your body and give the drug the appropriate time to get into your system and do what it is supposed to. I plan to continue to take it, so far so good!

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 was started on Effxor XR 35 mg last week. I took the 7 days worth and I have never had a headache like I have had with this medicine. I have had severe headaches, sleep disturbances, increased sweating, night sweats, suicidal thoughts, compulsive behavior. The doctor's office had me repeat the 35 mg again this week and the headaches are still there (very bad) the compulsive behavior has subsided, be the other effects are still there. I was on Paxil 30 mg a day then switched to the Effxor. At first I thought the headaches were due to having the paxil and the effxor in my system at the same time. I now think it is the Effxor and it wouldn't matter if the paxil was in my system or not.
zoomzoom

Redd,

I'm 27 with a full time job & I've been on the 75mg of Effexor for about 4 months now and I really like it. If it takes a pill to level me out, that's fine...I'm not going to read too much into it. I previously took paxil and it did nothing for me, so I'm just glad that I finally found something that I like :)

Anyway, I do drink wine (on the weekends), and smoke cannabis. I don't really notice any difference now, than when I wasn't taking the effexor and I would drink or smoke. I do have a hard time getting to sleep on the effexor which is why i usually smoke before bed.

I'm no doctor, but if you are taking 150mg daily and you are not getting the effects that you desire, then ask your Dr to try giving you something else. There's no sense in trying to force this medication to work. All meds have different effects on everyone. I'm sure there's somthing that will work well for you. Don't worry about the fact that you take a pill to help you out. I consider myself to have a normal life, I just happen to take a pill to help me out. :) Hang in there!!!

I have been on Effexor for about 2 months now,, before that I was on Paxil for about a year and bit..... When I was on the Paxil............ it was not very nice,,,,,,,, especially when I tried to come off of it... I was moody,,, and just did not feel right.. When my doctor switch me to Effexor I had no side effects cause I went from Paxil to Effexor.

I now want to come off of the Effexor cause I am having troubling getting back to a normal working environment... I have apply for two jobs and both of them I got some Anxiety over them and had to refuse them both.

To me this is not normal... cause before all the medication I had great working skills.... and now I have not been at a job for about 17 months now.

The medication has helped me with my O.C.D. and my general anxiety,,, but the fact that I have not had a normal working pattern bothers me.

If this has happen to anyone else, please tell me.....

Sincerely,

Out of work (and not liking it )