Posted by DebbieLynn on May 27, 2001, at 19:24:15
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by maribeth on May 26, 2001, at 8:20:35
> > > Dee, I have been on the 37.5 for a week. Will switch to 75 today. All I know is, doctor told me to give it two weeks for it to work, so I'm trying to hang in. Last night, couldn't sleep from the anxiety. Heart racing all night. Scared of what affects the 75 will have, and nearly threw in the towel, but I'm going to try to hang in another week. Feel ok during the daytime. > > I SUFFER FROM ANXIETY CURRENTLY TAKE XANAX AND NOW DR. WANTS ME TO TRY EFFEXOR XR 37.5 MG. I AM TERRIFIED OF ALL THE SIDE EFFECTS! ANY THOUGHTS??
> >
> > Thanks for the help. I still haven't started it. Very apprehensive. I may try it this weekend when my husband is around for that extra security that I desperately need!! All these side effects make me wonder which is better to stick with the xanax and therapy or try the effexor since some people do have positive outcomes from it. I have also been told to try the herb Kava Kava? Anyone tried this yet?
>
> Dee --I have taken most of the anti depressants you can name and I have been on Effexor XR 350 for a little over a year. I would say without a doubt it is the best. I had a few side effects in the beginning but they went away within a week and now I wouldn't trade Effexor for anything. Hang in there! Maribeth
Hello. I take Effexor XR--225 mg a day. I take 150mg in the morning and 75 mg about 6pm. When I first started it, I started at 37.5 mg. I felt so weird. It made my heart race, my pupils dilated...I probably had every side effects thats possible. I was scared to jump to 75mg. I was on 37.5 for about a week and a half, I wanted to feel "ready" to jump to the next step. When I started the 75mg, it really wasn't that bad. Then I started 75mg 2x a day. I was extremely tired at that dose. When my doctor put me up to 225mg...3 weeks went by and I was like "is this all this medicine does?" But magically, about the fourth week of being at the 225mg level, I started feel "up" and in great moods. I too suffer from anxiety, and the Effexor did make me feel incredibly anxious at first, but I took Xanax to control that until it stopped. (that was about 2 or 3 days for me) Effexor does wonders for anxiety as well! I never would have thought I'd be at this level, but it is working great for me.
Hang in there, and do as you doc says. If you can tolerate these side effects, I believe you will be grateful. It does take awhile for it to "kick in"Good luck to you!
Debbie
P.S. Sorry to ramble on about my experience, but it is nice to know that there are people out there feeling the same way I do.
poster:DebbieLynn
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010522/msgs/64447.html