Boy I hope this is the last one of these that I start! I finally convinced hubby to start this new one. He stopped the Remeron last week after a major explosion. I talked to the pharmacist when I picked up the prescription yesterday and I was asking how long it takes for the meds to be out of your system and not affecting the neurotransmitters. He said it is generally only a few days that it is not affecting you, for it to be completely out of the system could be a week to 2 weeks. He also said that sometimes it does work out that you are more irritable for the first 2 weeks before the med starts working but my family dr said that in 2 weeks there should be some indication that the med is starting to work. We found that this was true with the Paxil. By about the end of the 2nd week hubby's moods were much improved. So he started the Effexor last night at supper time, it is supposed to be taken with food, and in a couple of hours he was really, really tired and still tired this morning. This is probably a side effect, I know when I took Celexa for a bit that I could barely get out of bed without 12 hours of sleep. Well if it chills out his mood it will be worth it and eventually he'll get used to it.

Hi my name is Donna, I was just reading your message and wanted to let you know about my experience with Effexor. Let me first say that I have been on just about every anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication that they make!
I gained 100lbs in one year on Effexor. Yes it helped me! But after that much weight gain I told the Dr. that if I wasnt depressed before, I sure am now! After I begged him to change my med (to a combination of Lamictal & Lexapro) the lbs started dropping! I also started the Adkins diet. I am now down 70lbs (has taken about a year also)

Hey girls....I started effexor about 3 weeks ago. So far, I love it. I was on zoloft before which made me gain about 50 lbs. The effexor has either suppressed my appetite or made me so much happier that I dont do the emotional eating anymore. I have stayed on my diet. I have lost about 5 lbs. I dont feel hungry all the time anymore. I also am thinking more clearly about things. Rather than blowing up at my husband for something small, I take the time to think about it. Our marriage is better than it has been in the last year. There are many other things that I love about this medicine so far. I just hope it lasts. Oh, there are 2 downsides. The drymouth is terrible. It sure does make me drink all of my water though The constipation is really bad. Other than those, I love it. I hope this gives you some hope that it will work for your husband!

Love,
Deanne

I am such a huge advocate of Effexor. I was on Effexor for two years and it was the most amazing thing. I got up and did what I needed to do without any anxiety or breakdowns. My weight went down and I think it suppressed my eating as well. Unfortunatley I started having some stomach problems with Effexors so I had to get of it. It is a side effect with Effexor on some people. Right now I am on Lexapro which I don't like as much as Effexor, I sleep way too much on it. With Effexor I was always ready to start a new day. When I went off of Effexor though, I was sick as a dog. But anyway, I thinkk Effexor will do the trick.

jkbunch...I feel the exact same way that you felt. I feel like I can get up and do what I need to do. Before, I felt like Id rather die then get out of bed.
I was on lexapro 2 years ago and it wasnt right for me. I gained my initial weight with that and then finished with zoloft. I think it was because I was still unhappy. I dont think it was actually because of the lexapro. I wish there was one RIGHT drug for everyone.

Love,
Deanne

Thanks so much for the positive reports about effexor. I'm hoping that it is going to change things around here.

Just had a question for those who've take the Effexor...how was the fatigue when you first started taking it and how long did it take to get past it? My husband is just wiped out and tired all the time since he started taking it but so far he's not complaining too much about it. I'm just wanting some encouraging words for him, that I can tell him that he'll be feeling less tired in a few weeks.

Often weight gain on Effexor only starts after several months of taking it. I lost weight at first, then gained 40 pounds over a year. It worked wonders for my depression but it has serious side effects and can be very hard to get off of. The drug companies call then "discontinuation effects" such as headaches, hot flashes (both sexes), loss of balance, nausea, etc.

Just thought I would update. My husband has been on the Effexor for less than 2 weeks and it is working absolute wonders. It was effective within a few days. It is so nice to have some peace around this place and not walking around on eggshells. He is still feeling really tired but I think that will pass. He's not as quite as wiped out as he was the first week. I haven't noticed that his appetite seems any different. So we'll just have to see if it has any side effects down the road that he can't cope with.

Good luck Jen

i was on effexor for quite some time and hated avery minute of it. I was on a very high dosage and gained weight like crazy. when i finally got to the right dosage i sure wasn't depressed but i was just an automaton. i had really no emotions one way or the other (which made it very hard to motivate myself to finish law school). I then decided to go off them cold turkey (my doc said it was ok) and i was sooo incredibly sick for about 2 weeks it was ridiculous. nauseau, vertigo, weakness, sleepiness you name it.

on the meds i was not tired all that much HOWEVER i do suffer from insomnia in general (i'm lucky if i can get 4 hours sleep a nite) so I doubt it affected that. if anything i slept less when i was on them.

having said that. a friend of mine is currently on effexor ( a much smaller dose than i was on) and its working wonders for him. anti-depressents are all so bloody personal and subjective.

good luck