There are studies now published showing Zoloft and Lexapro are the most equally both the most effective antidepressants. They used a few AD's too not just ssri's in the study

Effexor was hell to withdraw from and I have withdrawn from 4mg klonopin. It seems that it has weak effects on NE until fairly high doses.

It didnt help me at all, it made me hyper and irritable and it cost 100$ per bottle with insurance.

I have never tried Cymbalta but it looks very promising for an SNRI drug. Perhaps when its generic I will try it. Very balanced reuptake inhibition.

I've been on Effexor for a while and it's been working really well for me, I rarely get down on myself and am more positive in my outlook. Doesn't do anything for anxiety though, but obviously an antidepressant wouldn't.

I'm on effexor and remeron at the moment actually, but I don't feel like that, I just feel 'normal' and yes I remember my own name .

Glad that the effexor is working well for you! It's good to find a med that suits you. I take zoloft an antidepressant and I have been able to drop a 6 year clonazepam addiction (4mg a day) so saying antidepressants don't help anxiety is untrue they have helped me anxiety wise more than any benzo.

Effexor increased my anxiety (even though i waited two or three months to see if i will adjust to the drug.. still, it didnt go away) ... the higher the dose , the higher the social anxiety problem. Was ok for depression, motivation, and mainly it was the most "clear" drug in terms of my cognitive functions. Effexor's Social Anxiety may have to do with its action on norepinephrine(noradrenaline).

Paroxetine was fine for SA , but sedating/unmotivating, not the best for my depression/motivation.

Zoloft seems fine, but Effexor was better for motivation and everything seemed crystal-clear on it (cognition-wise). I mean.. with Effexor I do not feel that my studying abilities are a bit slower. While with Zoloft or especially with Paroxetine I do feel that foggy state.

Bupropion addition to Zoloft , combined, seems superb for depression but still I feel that the foggy state (when studying etc) doesnt go away despite the addition of bupropion. Also, sweaty palms etc and mild anxiety appears.. (less or similar anxiety/sweaty palms with what i experienced at LOW dose of effexor)

So...

Effexor seemed to be the most "clear" drug for my cognition.. U know, I was feeling like when I was not on any medication.. So I WANT TO BE ABLE TO USE MY 100% OF MY POTENTIAL WHEN STUDYING.. but it's sweaty palms/sympathetic system activation/SOCIAL ANXIETY that it causes is a drawback.

---ANYONE TRIED COMBINING EFFEXOR WITH GUANFACINE(TENEX/INTUIV/GENERIC) etc ?????
(to reduce effexor's S.A. / norepinephrine problems)---


ps1. Currently on 100mg Zoloft.. it seems fine, but still this SSRI "cognitive-fog" (even though it is much milder that paroxetine's cognitive-fog) is there.. Effexor didnt have that at all.. but s.a. increase(etc. etc.) was BAD.. so i quit effexor.

ps2. Gunafacine is still not marketed in Europe so I cannot obtain it... (and also I cannot find guanfacine online... it needs a U.S./Canadian doctor prescription). Clonidine makde me feel sedated and mainly depressed(a lot) when it was combined with effexor, though it stopped the sweating(!) etc etc..

Effexor was the best anti-depressant I was on. I'd avoid Paxil like the plauge.

Why would YOU avoid it?
I am interested to hear of your experience..

Paxil made me feel "cognitivelly slow" towards the end oh the three years that I was using it... Apathy, lack of personal efficiency on mentally very demanding tasks etc

U?

Though it was the best for SOCIAL anxiety.

Anyone ever combined GUANFACINE(tenex) and VENLAFAXINE(effexor) here???

Keep in mind there are alot of supplements/nootropics that are very beneficial. They can be used as an adjunct to meds.!!

Lexapro, 5-10 mgs in conjunction with GABAergic med. along with Dex. if you wanna go that route.Throw in some nootropics,supplements and a good diet and exercise!!

I'm on Pristiq (desvenlafaxine), the new Effexor (I think, too lazy to open a new tab to check).


I just realised what an earlier poster said about missing your dose by as little as two hours... perhaps THAT'S why I've been getting headaches on this stuff!


It removes the "fear" of social situations for me. But it doesn't provide me the energy/enthusiasm to be engaging. I would still think something is needed to 'pep' me up to be more outgoing.

It does give me headaches and anxiety when I don't take it on time... most nights I remember, sometimes I forget (maybe once a week... tardy, I know). Also, sometimes I'll take it at 8PM, sometimes at midnight. I think this is not a good idea, since now it's only just clicked that this might be causing the headaches! Withdrawal is going to be a *****

Motivation is not too bad on Pristiq... mostly normal. Lexapro for me was bad for motivation/energy.

Sometimes I get mild anxiety on this stuff... something I've never had. It's almost like I stress over small things, things that don't even matter. And logically I know they don't matter... but the feeling of "OMGWTFSH!T" is there. This comes and goes from time to time. Maybe once every couple of days.

Sex drive is -2/10 though. I've posted elsewhere I feel like I have no penis anymore Sex drive is extremely low, with fleeting surges of desire back to normal levels - but they're extremely short-lived.

What else? Hmm... drinking. I drink quite heavily on this stuff, and I'm mostly fine. Apparently one night I got super drunk and flopped my willy out on camera (embarassing)... another night I felt normal and had a nice warm shower, brushed my teeth and read a bit before going to sleep after a whole night of clubbing and heavy drinking. I can't really say how I am with alcohol because sometimes I'm fine, sometimes I'm not! Note this is only for heavy drinking... at normal levels (i.e. not binge-ing) you'll be fine.


That being said, I can definitely say I would prefer to be medication-free. Even with the slight benefit of reduced fear in social situations, there's nothing quite like that clearness you have with a drug-free lifestyle. I'm working towards that... unless a quick trial of Wellbutrin (as soon as I can convince my doctor to trial me on it) proves super highly motivating, without the anxiety issues some people complain about! :P Drug-free clearness might be great, but it will always come second to drug-induced wiredness with unflappable motivation


x

Yeah you are right, and you are fortunate enough to be on other medications which are more powerful and less addictive or difficult to come off than effexor is.
If i could do it all over again i would be inclined to say "no thanks" because i know there are potent SNRI/SSRI's out there with little to no withdrawal effects and i have a lot of success with my TCA pamelor so yeah i kind of wish i could stop

They have good effects on anxiety and work well for binge eating disorder and other eating disorders, they do act as a slight stimulant too at first so you have energy and motivation but they are not effective in treating severe depression

the biggest issue with effexor tends to be withdrawal from them, even switching meds which can be done with SSRI's as i did, is really difficult on effexor, i mean i could easily switch from fluoxetine to paxil and from paxil to effexor but i have never experienced withdrawals' like this before, and that was dropping from 300 to 150 so i am terrified of whats going to come.

My advice would be to taper slowly off these and introduce something else like an antidepressant with less withdrawal effects and maybe a short term sedation pill like klonopin or zopiclone, because doing this alone is hell

Hi, I've been prescribed Lexapro, Paxil, Effexor and right now I am on Prozac. Effexor worked best for me, but I had to stop taking it over one year ago because I was laid off from my job and lost my insurance, the cost would have been $145 for one month supply of 75mg. I was diagnosed over 10 years ago with GAD and have started and stopped meds throughout this time period.

After not taking anything for a year, suffering with my symtoms I started to do some research on my exact symptoms; shaky voice, hard to breathe, dizziness and the feeling that I had a ton of bricks on my chest when I socialized with others. This is when I finally realized that I have social anxiety, but this happens to me all the time whether I am talking to my close family members, friends or total strangers. I am not afraid of talking to anyone, have no problem in crowds, and in my mind have the confidence I need to do whatever I am doing at the time of the anxiety. So I am totally confused as to why I get so anxious over the stupidest things. If I could hide the issue from others I would not even worry about it, but my voice gets so shaky that I sound like a squeeky toy and it makes me sound like a total incompetent idiot. I try hard to control it, but I just can't do it. I've been taking prozac for over 2 months and the only thing it does for me is make me sleepy. I've read that what I need is a beta blocker. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice for me???

SAD,GAD,etc titles that have been made to make our and the physician's life easier. Think of it as a continuum , rather than isolated anxiety disorders. You may have a few symptoms from gad and a few from SAD, seems that this is the case with you. Beta blocker ? Well , who knows until u try . Do play with meds, if effexor extended release 75mg worked the best for you , GO FOR IT! Why experiment since you already found the med that worked ? :s try switch to a generic extended release version to cut costs, and yes a generic version of Effexor XR/XL/ER(or whatever, there r all basically interchangable) will work better than a complately different branded drug that didn't work for you (eg Prozac). FIND a way to pay for venlafaxine extended release. Do not play with other meds since it worked , hm? Or even Import it from Canada perhaps at a cheaper price. Generics from reputable producers work the same but do not go for other crap generics' brands just because they are one cent cheaper.

Beta blocker is not gonna be effective for ever .. Is not the first line treatment for your case , they r usually used in combination , add on treatment , the cherry on the cake , not the cake itself.

CBT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogniti...vioral_therapy

Effexor is a one way road. Yes, it works for some, (even helped me a bit) but as a result of increased anxiety and acute withdrawal I increased my benzo and hypnotic usage.

All these addictive prescriptions in me at once... hell I might as well be taking opiates for my anxiety/depression.

Yeah Cymbalta seems interesting, except for the liver thing.

Beta blockers prevent the appearance of the symptoms you mentioned. You still feel the same way inside, but there is no outward sign of it.

effexor , when i was in the nut hospital i was put on effexor an the nurse said , i havent given a patient this for a long time. So i think its out of favour now, because of the withdrawl.

Withdrawal already when you take it 2 hours later than on the day before!?!


I get up at different times all the time. It might be that I get up at 10 AM or I might sleep til 3 PM. Does this mean I'd have to get up during the night to always take it at the same time? This is insane. What kind of **** is this? Why didn't my doctor tell me about this? This is ridiculous.