Hey there - first off, good luck with your medications. I know what a pain in the ass it is to go from one to the other, increasing and decreasing doses until you find just what works for you. But keep hope - after six years of trying 25 different medications (and medication combinations), I'm finally stable, and even though the fight was tiring and difficult, I've found that you can come out victorious on the other side:)
That being said, my personal experiences with Effexor weren't all that good, but then again, different drugs work differently in everyone. As long as it is not making you very dizzy, giving you headaches, or making you vomit regularly, I think you'll be okay physically. I myself had horrible cotton mouth on Effexor, but there was a benefit to that - I drank more water, ate less, and therefore lost about 10 pounds. I never gained a pound on Effexor (and I had gained 20 on Lithium, ick...) And, to the best of my experiences, there were no sexual side effects - and I was in a relationship at that time, so I can say that with utmost certainty:)
Just make sure the drug isn't causing you to feel MORE depressed, or suicidal, or make you hallucinate. I've heard of that happening, and the reason I stopped taking it back in 2002 (when it was newer) was because it was making me feel exhausted all of the time. Being a full time college student and working 30 hours a week didn't leave me the chance to sleep much, and being on Effexor (for me) required 10 hours of sleep a day.
My best advice - provided that you aren't feeling WORSE than when you started the drug, stick with it, and see what happens. If you notice any large behavorial/physical differences that are negative in nature, then consider lowering the dose/quitting the medication. Is this the only newer medication that you have started? Sometimes, if a doctor starts you on two or three different things at the same time, it's hard to tell which medication is doing what. I think that's an incredibly stupid idea, having someone start a few different meds all at once - how would one know what's actually working, and what drug is doing what - but it happens very frequently.
Good luck to you, and let me know if you ever want to talk.
Again, I hesitate to post this because my experience with Effexor was really bad but remember everyone is individual. For me, the medication that has worked best is probably Lustral but even that had side effects. From what I remember Effexor made me gain 30 pounds in 2 months and made me a total zombie plus withdrawal was horrible, but luckily didn't last long. If you are going to take it then don't come off it suddenly because the withdrawal can make you really ill, and I know some people are campaigning to have it withdrawn from the market partly because of this. If you google effexor or effexor + withdrawal that should give you more info.
That being said, my personal experiences with Effexor weren't all that good, but then again, different drugs work differently in everyone. As long as it is not making you very dizzy, giving you headaches, or making you vomit regularly, I think you'll be okay physically. I myself had horrible cotton mouth on Effexor, but there was a benefit to that - I drank more water, ate less, and therefore lost about 10 pounds. I never gained a pound on Effexor (and I had gained 20 on Lithium, ick...) And, to the best of my experiences, there were no sexual side effects - and I was in a relationship at that time, so I can say that with utmost certainty:)
Just make sure the drug isn't causing you to feel MORE depressed, or suicidal, or make you hallucinate. I've heard of that happening, and the reason I stopped taking it back in 2002 (when it was newer) was because it was making me feel exhausted all of the time. Being a full time college student and working 30 hours a week didn't leave me the chance to sleep much, and being on Effexor (for me) required 10 hours of sleep a day.
My best advice - provided that you aren't feeling WORSE than when you started the drug, stick with it, and see what happens. If you notice any large behavorial/physical differences that are negative in nature, then consider lowering the dose/quitting the medication. Is this the only newer medication that you have started? Sometimes, if a doctor starts you on two or three different things at the same time, it's hard to tell which medication is doing what. I think that's an incredibly stupid idea, having someone start a few different meds all at once - how would one know what's actually working, and what drug is doing what - but it happens very frequently.
Good luck to you, and let me know if you ever want to talk.
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From what I remember Effexor made me gain 30 pounds in 2 months and made me a total zombie plus withdrawal was horrible, but luckily didn't last long. If you are going to take it then don't come off it suddenly because the withdrawal can make you really ill, and I know some people are campaigning to have it withdrawn from the market partly because of this.
If you google effexor or effexor + withdrawal that should give you more info.
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