Effexor and wellbutrin

Ive had really good results with this drug. Ive been happy alert cheerful etc.. like a "normal" person. I was taking it for about a year when Lithium was added to my cocktail and some very bad sexual side effects occurred. Thankfully a touch of real (im not going that here) Wellbutrin eliminated that but right now im off and in the wonderful land of generic budeprion. Im switching back to Effexor ASAP!!!

I had no trouble coming of Effexor 6 years ago. No side effects, nothing. In past attempts, I'd merely suffered recurrence of depression, but this time, not even that. I was on Effexor-XR, 75mg and Wellbutrin-SR 100mg and went off both.

At the time, I was receiving neurofeedback to try and overcome ADHD (which is what the wellbutrin treated for me). It seems that this method of re-programming brain wave patterns might have reduced or eliminated any withdrawal effects from these drugs. Can't guarantee it, though, since I'm my own guinea pig here.

Just started back on after being off for 6 years. Hopefully short term. This depression is reactive due to several losses. So far the only side effects are appetite loss and vivid dreams, and I had vivid dreams in the first go around too, so I'm not too concerned. They went away in time.

I take Effexor XR 225mg daily and Wellbutrin 150mg twice daily and they have worked wonders. I started the Wellbutrin, initially, to help me quit smoking. Not only did it help, but also counteracted the sexual side effects of the Effexor, which were never all that bad to begin with. I think everyone needs to realize that different anti-depressants work differently for every individual. Some of these postings would scare many people from taking ANY antidepressants and that is a very, very dangerous thing.

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.

I only took Effexor for 6 weeks - it worked so well as I lost a daughter and was in such a depression that I was suicidal - but once I was feeling better (and reading up on the withdrawl symptoms) I decided to switch to Wellbutrin and amd now off Effexor. For me short term it was great and did the trick - and I feel more myself with the Wellbutrin. I feel that Effexor depersonalized who I was, I let my 3.5 year old do whatever she wanted with a smile on my face, and i was unable to cry for the 22 year old daughter i lost. I wanted to feel again.

I have been taking Effexor for around 2 to 3 years for depression. I am currenty taking two 150 mg at night, though I was told to take one in the morning and one at night... I found it easier to take them both at night. The only side effect I am sure comes from the Effexor is the reduction in my libido (and I am female). Effexor is the only anti-depressant I have been on, and I think I got extremely lucky in that I found the one that works for me on the first try. I also see a psycho-therapist, and between the two, I feel I have managed to get a better hold on my life. I am a thirty-five year old mom (married, and with a seven-year-old daughter) and I have "almost" nothing but praise for Effexor.

HOWEVER, I do know that the withdrawal side effects are terrible... I have missed it for up to three days when I went out of town and forgot my medication. I can usually miss one day and the side effects will most likely just be a bad headache, and maybe a little nautious. But when I missed three doses:

Missing one dose at night: I had a headache the following day.
After missing two doses: The headache became worse, I would occasionally get dizzy spellls, and I started getting very emotional - swaying between sad and cranky.
After missing third dose: The headache became worse still, and was aggravated by light - I wanted to just keep my eyes closed. I felt dizzy and nautious - nautious to the point I couldn't tell if I was going to throw-up (never did).
Oh... and I should add that the dreams while I was off the medication were incredible... like watching movies... so detailed and complex. I usually don't remember my dreams... but these I could recall... not in perfect detail... but they were amazing.

After I got back home and took my dose that night: I missed three days of work while being back on the medication. I was nautious, had a terrible headache, wanted to just stay in bed, I was no longer ultra sensitive emotional-wise - but I was ultra-pissed-off. I became very angry that I was on a medication that was addictive after having been told it was "not addictive". I was angry that I have never had an addiction before, but now suddenly I was addicted to a prescribed drug. I don't smoke, I only drink a couple of alcholic drinks in a month (socially), no canabis (pot... is that an out-dated term? ... everyone here says canabis), or any other illegal or legal addictive drugs... the only other drugs I take are allergy (Clarinex) and birth control (Nuva Ring), neither of which are addictive.

That whole experience was months ago, and now that I have had time to calm down and get a clear perspective on the situation... I wouldn't stop taking Effexor for just being addictive... and YES... it is addictive... I don't give a rat's ass what any "expert" says about it. If you can't stop taking something without your body freaking out... then IT IS ADDICTIVE.

I don't know that I will ever be able to stop the medication. I go back and forth as to how I feel about this. At times it bothers me being so dependant on a medication... but on the other-hand, I'm dependant on the allergy medication, and that doesn't bother me, so why should I let being dependant on an anti-depressant bother me? Who cares what everybody else thinks, right? - - Boy, that's loaded...

Effexor has helped me tremendously. My thoughts about death are very infrequent. I don't feel like crawling into a hole and disappearing all the time. I have found "my voice" with the help of this drug and my therapist to voice my opinions more often to help me from not feeling so trapped and helpless in situations. It does cut down on emotional sensations... I don't feel overwhelming sad at all the terrible things I hear on the news. And I don't cry at sappy commercials and movies any more (Thank you!). For the first time, I feel much more in control of my feelings and my life.

So, I can understand the anger in a lot of these postings, but I would like to add, that I don't think the people who have benefited from Effexor are posting here. They have no reason to be looking for this site. I found this site when I had been angry over finding out it was habit-forming. I believe Effexor has probably helped a lot of people - and it isn't an "evil" drug... it's just a drug. For some, it just isn't the right drug.

I should add, that I'm on here today because I've recently started experiencing night sweats, but I wasn't sure if it was a side effect of Effexor or not. I hope that it is a side effect of Effexor and not a symptom of menopause... cripes... I'm only 35! The first site that popped up after searching under "Nightsweats" was about nightweats being a symptom of perimenopause or menopause... ugh!

But if I have to weigh the benefits I have experienced using Effexor, with the downfalls: addictive, sexual side-effects, and maybe night sweats... I still am of the mind that it is a good drug for me.

I wish all of you luck in finding what helps you most to be happy with your life.

Went to the Dr due to stress on the job, elder parents, and new marriage. I was on Efexor 75 and my Dr increased the dose to 150 due to no improvement on 75. I felt numb no crying, no excitement just going through the emotions of every day life. In two weeks time on 150 I felt more lifeless and my hair is falling out by the handfuls. I went to see a dermatolgist and he told me I reminded him of someone on chemo and not to be surprised if I lost all my hair! Has anyone had problems with hair loss? My Dr has dropped me back to 35 and wants me to start Wellbutrin. I think I am going cold turkey. I don't want to be bald! Thanks for reading.

I started my 'adventure' with anti-depressants 9 months ago.
The first was Zoloft. I began to feel totally weird and out of it, I couldnt function or barely talk. I was told this was depression and I was hospitalised and then it was changed to Effexor.
It was increased up to 300 mg a day.
I NEVER felt anything good from this stuff! all i had were the side effects
-Couldnt sleep
-awful sweating but just in the hairline.
-NO feelings
-NO taste of food (guess thats why the weight loss)
-NO energy
-felt like I had morning sickness all day.
-SCARIEST thing... it was like my IQ was chopped in half!
-I still have no retention of things I read or things that happen
-Constant thoughts of suicide. (more than when i was just depressed and not on medication)

Im trying to get off it now... slowly... and its tough. At least the sweating has finally stopped and I can taste food a bit.

I have absolutely NOTHING GOOD to say about Effexor. Its supposed to be industrial strenth for the severely depressed but I dont feel it did a thing.
I would not take it again, knowing how it was.

of course now, im supposed to be trying Wellbutrin. I dont see anything coming from that either.

"may include mild sexual side effects..." can you say delayed orgasm? (They happen about a week late.... : )

I was given effexor to help with chemo-induced menopausal hot flashes and night sweats. I also had mild depression from Taxol. This is one of the strangest legal drugs I have taken.

Whether it was increasing or decreasing the dose - at times I feel like maybe I'm allergic to it or something. In any case night sweats are starting to sound pretty good after a few episodes of feeling like I'm going to pass out or total lack of coordination.

My Dr is definately getting a kick back from the drug companies... she basically whipped a big bottle of wellbutrin out of her back pocket and said "here... try these instead...".

What a bizarre society we live in. I wll be increasing my water intake and excercising more instead of medicating.

Sorry for you folks who have to be on stuff like this forever... and that you have good luck in finding the "right" chemistry.

I took Effexor for two weeks and during that time I notices my energy escalating every day. My heart was racing and this got worse each day. I didn't mind though because I had been so badly depressed so when the doctor said that I may have to go off it (the lowest dose is what I was taking) I told her I didn't want to because I finally feel like I don't have to sleep all the time and my mind was so alert. She said if it kept up I couldn't have it. Within two days of seeing her I was like a nut case - telling my husband I wasn't going to leave the house at night anymore because it was dangerous to drive and kept him up all night because I could hear my heart beating really loud and it scared me - he took the pills away and told me I couldn't have them back until I called the doctor and told her what was happening. Wow! I felt like a drug addict that would fight for my pills and realized this was not good. The doctor switched me to Wellbutrin and I feel just fine on this medication. No racing heart, no staying up all night, no abnormal thinking. Everyone has a different reaction to different medications and some that have worked for me have not worked for others and vice versa but the important thing to realize is that there is help out there - keep trying until you find the one that works and always get help if side affects don't seem right. Depression can kill us, just like diabetes if left without care. I wish you all the best!!