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I have been diagnosed with severe anxiety, and given this med. Does anyone else take it just for anxiety,if so has it helped, also when is the best time to take it morning/evening.

Thanks

Sue

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Hi Sue!

    I have been taking it on & off for a number of years for severe anxiety. I've currently been on 75mg XR for about a year. It works really really well for me.

    My system was really sensitive - if I started by taking the 75mg starter dose I would get severe nausea, dizziness and upset stomach. I started by taking about a quarter of the 75mg and then increasing it so I was on 75mg by about day 4 or 5.

    I always take it about an hour after breakfast. I found that if I took it at bedtime I couldn't sleep.

    I've been on and off this drug and I haven't experienced any withdrawal symptoms as long as I take it really slowly.

    HTH

    Angela

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Hi Angela and Sue

    I've been taking Efexor XR for about 2 years for depression but found it also helped with anxiety. I've only ever been on a low does of 37.5mg a day and have found that has still worked for me. I take it at night with dinner and find I have no trouble sleeping.

    I did have nausea for the first week taking the medication.

    I'm currently in the process of going off the medication but am not sure how. Even though I'm on a low dose, I'd like to do it slowly. How have you slowly withdrawn from the medication, Angela?

    I have tried over the past month to skip a pill one night in a week (and so I'm taking 6 pills in a week instead of 7) but I have been experiencing fatigue and nausea.

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Hi Elizzyk

    Are you on tablets or capsules? As far as I know the smallest dose available in the UK in capsules (XR) is 75mg (peach). Apparently you can get 37.5mg capsules in the US (I think they are white in colour).

    When I wanted to come off the capsules I would take out maybe a quarter of what was in the capsule. If I felt ok the next day I would take out half, if not I would continue at that level before progressing. Day by day I slowly decreased the amount in the capsule.

    When I first took the tablets (37.5mg) I had nausea and dizziness so I began breaking the tablets up and taking small pieces. This was a lot harder to do accurately. When I was on the tablets (as opposed to the capsules) I couldn't sleep as I would take one morning and evening. I was also experiencing peaks and dips - so my gp switched me onto XR capsules which I found a lot better.

    I've found the capsules a lot easier to wean on/off than the tablets.

    Hope that makes sense ! :D

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Hi

    Thanks so much for your response.

    I'm on 37.5mg capsules (peach colour) (I'm in Australia) and so I'll try to take them apart and see how I go.

    I see my doctor next week and so I'll see what she says and work out a new plan.

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