I took a EFFEXOR xr 37.5 mg capsule at 12:30 this afternoon and it is now 8:30pm and i feel as high as a kite.This is not good.I cannot function like this.Does this go away?My scalp also burns and im sweating like crazy.I'm nervous to take another one considering tommorow is saturday and my phychiatrist is not in.Is this a normal side effect at first?I'm a mother and i cant take care of my child feeling stoned.This is a starting dose he expects me to go up to 75mgs next week.i cant even imagine!
__________________ 5'5 weight 155-goal 135.Meds-Aldactone 150mgs.Yasmin,xanax,claritin-d.Currently getting back into weight lifting and attempting to low carb!
I was on regular effexor and they made me feel really aggressive and irritated. The feeling did not wear off, but everyone is different. Your psych should have an emergency/after hours number.
Does it wake you up as well? If not, take it right before bed so it can start wearing off by the time you wake up. Most meds. can take up to 2 wks to level out so, if you can, give it that much time. But, if it gets worse or is too uncomfortable, definitely talk to your Dr. and go off of it. It's sad that sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. Check the label about how to take it as well. Full stomach, empty stomach. Take it with a FULL glass of water. Sometimes that is needed for it to disolve in the part of your body to be completely effective.
__________________ It's ok to cry if you're sad. Tears are God's little safety valve.
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when i first took effexor...it was horrible! i could barely sleep...i had that high feeling...i first took it on a empty stomach...BAD IDEA...so take it after a meal...or even one or two crackers seem to be ok. i've taken it for 7 months and it's good now. i really need to bump up my mg though...oh well...trust me, it's worth going along with the side effects at first...they'll fade away soon enough!
I took a total of two doses of Effexor and called my doctor and told her I could not take it. I was so hyped up it was like I was on crack. I even had to leave work early I was so miserable.
just wanted to update everybody on the Effexor.I had to stop taking it.It may be good for some people but not for me.That messed up feeling did not go away and i ended up getting a large open ulcer on my tongue from it.My body reacts strangly to alot of meds.So for now my doctor and i agreed to try and get my hormones straightened out instead of going the antidepressant route.Thank you for everybodies replies!
__________________ 5'5 weight 155-goal 135.Meds-Aldactone 150mgs.Yasmin,xanax,claritin-d.Currently getting back into weight lifting and attempting to low carb!
Please... consider my advice of having just gotten off Effexor after 7 years. While the results of Effexor may seem like a God send after a few months- it really does work- the long term effects are not worth it given that there are many medications just as effective and safer on the market. First, the "high" of Effexor never went away from me and I feel that it was quite addictive. I would feel withdraw from it within an hour if I missed a dose, and the withdraw is MUCH worse than the depression ever was. I imagine it is much like withdraw from a hard street drug like cocaine or worse. Talk about Totally emotionally and mentally debilitating! While on it I developed a bad facial tic, nocturnal teeth grinding and jaw clenching, and muscle spasms that felt like lighting coursing through my body. And there was always a sense of floatiness and detachment while I took it. Furthermore, it is hell to get off of. I had tried for two years unsuccessfully to do it but finally after making up my mind that i didn't want to be addicted to this drug I was able to quit. I believe Effexor shouldnot be an approved drug. I am not alone in this thought, do a search for Effexor withdraw on Yahoo and you will find tons of horror stories about it. Please take this into consideration! There has to be much safer and gentler medications out there! I cannot in good conscience let this go unsaid, knowing there is the possibility that someone might go through the Effexor hell that I went through!
Effexor is hard to get on to and to get off off, I agree.
The flip side is that for a lot of people who do not do well on other ADs, Effexor -- once they get level on it -- is a godsend. In Frenchiebull's situation, though, where she had an immediate reaction at a low dose which made her dysfunctional, discountinuning seems like a wise choice. Different people tolerate it differently.
Getting on it on a slow-dose ramp-up has been effective for me, even though I spend the first week sleeping and puking. Getting off is a slow-dose ramp-down, with a lot of headaches.
Water is key on Effexor. Many people find they need to drink a lot of water and that helps.
Junkbox, I'm sorry your experience was so awful. It seems like you got all the rare side effects all together. That must have been awful.
For me, the side effects are manageable and worth it because I don't tolerate anything else as well as I tolerate Effexor, even with the side effects. And I really need an effective AD to function. Which stinks, but there you have it.
I have been on Effexor XR since March and I have never gotten a high feeling from it! No fair! Oh well! I do get extra dizzy when I miss a dose though. I take 150mg a day and I hope it's working, I started taking it after a particularly tradgic event that I was not recovering emotionally from. I don't cry all the time anymore but I sometimes wonder if that's just time passing. Hmmmm... Oh well. Sorry you had such an awful time with it, and I wish you the best with the hormone treatment!
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Dara~who rocks!
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Can I go home now?
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I have never got high off venlafaxine! I've been up to 225mg when i've been really depressed. I've tried most other anti-depressants n this is the only one which has helped. The side effects can be horrible but i perservered n it paid off. still get really depressed but when given a higher dose i do improve. sorry to hear ur experience wasnt positive. The withdrawal is awful but no way as bad as when i was on seroxat! i felt like i was dying!!"
the main problems for me are dry mouth n nightsweats/vivid dreams. take my med at nite which helps with the dry mouth.
best of luck in finding something to suit u xx
don't give up!
__________________ Sarah (24)
Vegetarian cyster
DX 11/9/03
After believing I was going crazy for years I finally have a diagnosis! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
I have never got high off venlafaxine! I've been up to 225mg when i've been really depressed. I've tried most other anti-depressants n this is the only one which has helped. The side effects can be horrible but i perservered n it paid off. still get really depressed but when given a higher dose i do improve. sorry to hear ur experience wasnt positive. The withdrawal is awful but no way as bad as when i was on seroxat! i felt like i was dying!!"
the main problems for me are dry mouth n nightsweats/vivid dreams. take my med at nite which helps with the dry mouth.
best of luck in finding something to suit u xx
don't give up!
__________________ Sarah (24)
Vegetarian cyster
DX 11/9/03
After believing I was going crazy for years I finally have a diagnosis! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
I had periods of depression off and on during a 10 year time span, and Effexor was the only drug I could handle. I'm one of those people that medicine affects very powerfully, so it seemed like no matter what I took, it made me physcially ill for well over the 2 weeks that it takes to get used to a new drug. I was on and off of just about every drug for depression for four long years while my doctors fooled around with each drug and the dosage that I could take. Finally, my doctor put my on the lowest dose of Effexor, and I only could take about a fourth of a pill, but it did help me.
I never felt "high" or even overly happy on it though. My first night I had hallucinations, but that was the only side effect I had, and I started feeling better within 3 days. It did take away the depression, but I felt more calm rather than overly "good", but I didn't feel depressed which made me able to work on making my own happiness. However, I did eventually chose to stop taking them because the medicine made me not feel anything. Within a 3 week time span, a very close family friend died and my 13 year old dog got lost, and neither of these tragic events made me feel a thing. I finally decided I'd had enough of the pills in general, and by that time, I was able to fight it on my own. It's been almost two years that I have been "drug free". Still, I don't regret taking the meds, because I never would have gotten to this point w/o them.
Like others said, don't give up hope. It may take a few tries to get the right medicine and the right dose, or it may even take a few doctors to help, but eventually, you'll find what works for you.
It blocks out all emotion. Sometimes it can be frustrating esp when u need to cry and u can't x
__________________ Sarah (24)
Vegetarian cyster
DX 11/9/03
After believing I was going crazy for years I finally have a diagnosis! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
took my first Effexor today...PLEASE HELP!!!! 
I was really hoping it would work for you. Hoping that your get your hormones worked out and start feeling better soon. Lendi
Venlafaxine XL (Effexor) 
