Restarted effexor xr 75 mg about 4 months ago after Lexapro...
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Hi. It's been a while since I've posted and I need some help. I was on a generic brand of venlifaxine for about 12+ years when the generic was discontinued and started with a new one. I didn't have luck on it, so I was cleared to take the name brand. I recently started have anxiety during the day, waking up at all hours of the night. Today is a bad day and I'm exhausted. Am I on to low of a dose?
1 like, 8 replies
philip42202 tammy76379
Posted
all i can tell you is that after 6 years on Venlafaxine, my doctor decided it was already too long + I should try a different antidepressant instead. I hope this helps xx
jennifer21990 philip42202
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jennifer21990 tammy76379
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jennifer21990 tammy76379
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tammy76379 jennifer21990
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Hi there, I'm okay. Today, I've been a little anxious, but I really think it's hormonal. A lot has been going on in life, nothing bad at all, just back and forth, traveling, vacation, babysitting, etc. I don't do well with a lot of change. But having been on Lexapro for 10 weeks...I felt worse in that my anxiety and intrusive thoughts wouldn't stop. Up until about a week ago, I was feeling like my normal, unanxious self, but things are a little haywire right now. There's underlying anxiety, and I expect it to pass. And this happens to most of us, that breakthrough anxiety. I'm using a little bit of Ativan here and there to get thru it. I think this is a good medicine despite what everyone says about weaning off. That's doable to because I did it, and it wasn't very hard. Let me know how you are!
philip42202 tammy76379
Posted
Hi Jennifer,
it so happened I didn't see my usual doctor that day. I sensed what the advice was going to be before I walked in to see him. The first 18 months or so on Venlafaxine, I felt soooooo much better than I had at any time in my life -but as I was on it for 6 years the following 4 and a half years I put on 2 stone in weight and lost all those 'feel good' benefits, which were simply replaced by a build-up of anger. When the doctor suggested I wean off Effexor to go onto another antidepressant I had really made up my mind already - I came off cold turkey - yes, survived the experience, but still have (14 years later) 'side effects' that dictate how I lead my life. Now, whether this may still have happened had I followed the doctor's advice + done the weaning thing over 2 to 6 weeks, I do not know.
I hope this offers some small help.
Kind regards,
Philip
jennifer21990 tammy76379
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tammy76379 jennifer21990
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Hi Jennifer I weaned off of Lexapro very easily down from 20 mg to 10 mg in 5 days and started the Effexor XR 75.
Once the Lexapro was completely out of my system I started feeling better. I did have an adverse reaction to it. My anxiety kept on increasing each day. So I went back on Effexor XR 75mg but this time name brand. As of late I've been having a little bit of a rough patch but nothing too bad that I have to take any Ativan for. I'm also menopausal which is a major contributing factor to anxiety. But I think you'll be just fine. These medications take about a month to work so please be patient with that. You may be okay on 37.5, which is a very small dose. In the past I was on 75 mg for well over 12 years. The generic that I was taking was discontinued and substituted with another generic that did not work for me. So my doctor and my husband who happens to be a doctor thought it might be a good time to wean off of the medication and start the Lexapro, which as I said earlier I'm no longer taking.
Another big thing that helped me was prayer, exercise and talk therapy with my therapist. I also use the Calm app on my phone. Taking medication is only one part of getting better and unfortunately there's no cure for anxiety just management. But if you work at it you'll get better and you'll learn how to deal with flare-ups in the future. God bless you and keep in touch. And always make sure that you have good communication with your doctor