Effexor and sex drive

I first started Effexor 6 years ago I tried coming off it twice,the 1st was a nightmare but took the 2nd time real slow.Trouble is I had to go back on it as its the only one that has worked for me and my doc says i might be on them for life!Its either have a crap life of take something that helps the quality of my life and effexor is the only thing,and I take 225mg's a day.Its made me put on 3-4 stone and took my sex drive away also had to give up booze as it sent me loopy with the effexor.Going to have a review soon with a new psychiatrist so will see.

I was put on Effexor because of depression. My husband was going to be going to the middle east and I was so worried and depressed as well as experiencing separation anxiety. I started it a month before he left and IT WAS HORRIBLE.! Getting on it was just as bad as not having it! The side effects were like everyone else. No sex drive (mind you...my husband was leaving to the middle east!), cotton mouth and nausea. He left and that is when little by little it got worst. I GAINED WEIGHT and felt even more depressed because my husband was coming home to a PIG! Hubby got out of the military and I had went home to wait for him. (VA is where I was getting the meds and home is CA) When he got home I decided to get off the meds. I had gained over 30lbs! I was always petite and athletic. 5'2 120lbs and size 3 or 5. I was at 152 and size 9,11 and EVEN 13!!!! I have 2 kids and even pregnat never gained that much weight! I called my Dr. and they said I would have to come in to get off the meds! I live in CA now and cannot go to VA just to get the ween off pills so I did it COLD TURKEY!!! BIG MISTAKE!!!!! One disagreement with my husband made me FLIP OUT!!!! I was out of my character! I attacked him and became physically violent and angry! This is not like me! He could not control me and called the police thinking they were just going to calm me down. Because he told them the truth, but did not want to press charges, they still arrested me and I went to jail that night! I have NEVER went to jail and I never thought I would NEVER be somewhere like this. It was so embarrassing! As a result, my charges were dropped, but because my son was there CPS got involved, my husband and I were separated (although we didn't want to be apart, but if we did not do as they wished they would've taken our children!) for 6 months 1 month after he got back from the middle east! I was made to attend 52 week domestic violence classes! THIS HAS BEEN A NIGHTMARE!!!! I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE TAKE THIS MEDICATION!!!!!

This is the worst drug I've ever been on. This has totally destroyed my life, I took it for 8 years, in which time I felt severely depressed (much worse than the depression it was meant to be treating), irrational and no sex drive whatsoever. I stopped taking it 2 years ago and have extreme withdrawal symptoms for months on end, feeling nauseous, depressed etc and now that I have stopped my body has still not recovered from the side effects. I feel that if I had never been prescribed this horrific drug my life would not be the misery it is today.

Effexor XR worked at getting rid of a deep depression when nothing else seemed to help, made me less irritable and more pleasant to be around and rekindled some long-lost interests and made me less reactive and defensive.. AT FIRST.... within a couple months I found myself in a numb kind of depression, there was this irritable sad feeling in my head that I tried to get rid of by eating sweets, something I was never to fond of. I packed 20 pounds on my 5 foot 1 frame which is several dress sizes. I would have gained more if I didn't have periods of dieting and exercising here and there, but mostly I wasn't motivated, I would do things like sleep through doctor's appointments and not even care.. My sex drive was so gone I started thinking I was asexual, no joke.. I kept on craving junk food and couldn't stop, I also couldn't sleep at all.. It felt as if my stomach to my groin area were numb, that's why I kept on eating, to see if I could feel something but I never felt full... To me sleeping, having an orgasm and feeling full are basic human functions and to take them away is well.. depressing... I choose to accept my brain chemistry as is , that was part of the problem, feeling like we have to be happy and smiling all the time... My personality "flaws" are automatically cured when I accept them cause' they are no longer flaws and that makes me more positive and happy!

This drug works really well for my anxiety. However, my sex drive is almost zero and it takes a long time to have an orgasm. Sex shouldn't feel like work!

Effexor was a great drug for me, when I was going through a hard time. The only negative was that my sex drive was low, but I did lose weight and was a lot happier on it!

I know there are times when people need medication to help them with depression, anxiety, etc. but I really think there are better anti depressants out there. I found effexor HORRIBLE! it was a b**** to get used to, and i was so dizzy, tired, anxious and just felt horrible for a while.
After my body got used to it, it was alright, but trying to get OFF effexor was even worse! i have never experienced anythign like that. I felt SO depressed and anxious and DIZZY and this carried on for about two weeks. I felt trapped. I even took some work off while getting off it because I couldnt' function properly at all. Also, my sex drive went down to zero. I'd defintely reccommend trying out a different anti-depressant than this one.

I have the same exact issues as 17978.I want to stop taking the effexor.but I can not handle what ever is happening to me.Whether it is side effectes or what.WEak,lightheaded,dizzy feeling,fatigue,ect.This happens about 2 days after not taking it.
I have put on about 20-25 lbs and have absolute no sex drive.Does anyone know if that is a side effect.I am 25 yrs old and can not be intimate with my husband.And the weight gaain is too uncomfortable.
Thank you.

I have been taking Effexor for a year now. Not for depression but for chronic pelvic pain due th adhesions from a surgery. Not real sure if it is working. The side effects seem to be worse. No sex drive, not interested in things that I used to be interested in, Leg shaking while sitting, weight gain. Considering talking with the doctor to stop taking it.

Since going on Effexor 3 years ago, I have had similar side effects, as well as withdrawal symptoms when trying to go off the drug. My symptoms while on it are: night sweats, being hot all the time (sweaty hands and feet), rashes all over, excema on my scalp and neck, "lightning flash" type feelings in my brain/head, extreme depression, an inability to feel intimacy (although no sex drive problems), extreme weight gain (despite frequent exercise and good diet). During my pre-menstrual period, I am pretty much psychotic, to the point of wanting to hurt myself and others. With the weight gain and depression, I really AM better off not taking the drug. But I find it impossible to take two weeks off work to simply stop taking a drug. It is not possible to stop taking effexor and work or function in ANY CAPACITY. I really feel for the moms out there who have had to do it. One other thing I have been experiencing is severe joint pain. I would like to know if others have experienced this.

Thank all of you for your candor. I too had been on anti-depressants for the past 3 years. I finally said enough is enough, each med had different side effects.I had lost interest in my "life" didn't want to exercise, work or really do much of anything...unless I "had to" & was becoming quite the actress going through the motions...this was NOT the ME I had known for 30+ YEARS & will not BE ME. I have the blurred vision, confusion, forgetfulness to name a few of the side effects. It has been 1 year since my divorce (reason I started it)... I no longer felt "situationally depressed" and assumed the unusual feelings I was experiencing was due to the drug and that I needed to get off of it to get my life back. So I stopped Effexor cold turkey.After two weeks & unusal side effects I got on line to see what other experienced. I too have experienced the vivid dreams / nightmares, where I literally felt as though I was "drugged". I have the cotton mouth, when tired "spaced out", mood swings, tiredness, night sweats, flu like symptoms, my appetite has increased, I had no sex drive on Effexor, 2 weeks off and it is coming back at least I'm thinking about it....I can identify with most of what I've read others have experienced on some level.

Bottom line...if I had it to do all over again. I would NOT take any anti-depressants, I suppose I was depressed divorcing & I should have been it is a major change in ones life. In hindsight I should have let my mind and body go through whatever the "natural process" was to be... because the experience going on, waiting to feel "normalcy" (which neve happened) and coming off has been awful. My point of view, there is no "magic" pill that is going to make us get up and go like the TV commercials portray. Life is difficult & I will survive without a "pill", I definately feel better over all getting the Effexor out of my system ...I'm hopeful the side effects will be short lived.

I have been taking 150mg of Effexor 3 times a day for about four years now. Yes, I sweat like a pig! I have absolutely zero for a sex drive,gained weight and I have trouble making choices of things.Going to the store is a big ordeal because I cant make up my mind which item is better, but I have tried other meds and this one is the best for me. I am bi polar and manic. Effexor helps me be calm in my head and I dont have so much chaos going on in there. I dont think I would want to be taken off it. But everybody is different so its not going to be the wonder drug for some people like it is for me. Good luck out there.

Well, I have been on Effexor 75mg for about six months. I certainly haven't lost my sense of humor, but the weight gain I have experienced is no laughing matter (25 lbs). I do know that my appetite has strongly increased -- eating all the time, and I started smoking cigarettes again; I think this drug makes me too relaxed and I feel indifferent to many things... Maybe wanting to eat & smoke is a desire to get "highs", as this drug makes me feel too lifeless. I have decided to wean myself from this drug on my own (starting tomorrow), because I want my appetite to go away, and I miss the higher sex drive I once had. Also this drug has given me a feeling that I am "not myself"... like "personality disintegration"... Who am I?

Anyway, I shall let you know how I make out during my withdrawls... Oh, incidentally, I also have experienced "shock-like" twitches in my head (times when I miss just one dose)... Wish me luck!!

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.