Mental Health Should I start Effexor?

[SamPca]

Hello, I'm a 25 years old student and i have been taking benzos daily for insomnia and anxiety for the last 5 years (mostly clonazepam, last full dose was 2mg / day) , 3 months ago i started tapering and now i've stopped taking it. I'm feeling pretty damn bad right now, my doctor encouraged me to take effexor both for benzo wd symptoms and as a better solution to my anxiety problems, however my current experience with quitting benzos has left me a bit weary to possible dependence on other substances, and a quick search online confirmed the fact that effexor can indeed cause physcal dependence, despite my doctor saying that it doesn't. Also, i'm actually sleeping somewhat decently despite the benzo wd (i am also taking low dose mirtazapine, i suspect that's the reason), this is helping a lot in maintaining my sanity and since insomnia is a common side effect when starting effexor it looks like a pretty dangerous moment to try that.

However i'm aware that simply googling side effects and other bad stuff online might scare me off a genuinely goog medication, so i wanted an opinion from people who have tried it

So, before starting i wanted to ask three questions:

-How hard is it to quit? Like, compared to quitting benzos? They seem to be the mot dreaded substance to quit and i have a good idea how it feel like.

-Was it actually useful for you and would you recommend it? Are the side effects bad? Is insomnia a problem?

-Would long term use cause problems or be viable? Does the tolerance increase like benzos, leading to high dosages? Are there other health pproblems associated to long term use?

thanks you for the help

 

[Quickfixgrrl]

Highly recommend. I've been looking for an antidepressant that actually works for me for a few years now. I've tried many and Effexor has done it. I'm ecstatic and cannot believe how much it has improved my MDD, anxiety & PTSD.
I feel like a "normal" person again.
I will come back to this post to reply properly soon as I'm half asleep right now
Take note though... everyone is different and we all respond differently to medications such as these.
P.S. don't let the side effect horror stories deter you.

 

[jose ribas da silva]

discontinuation syndrome is a hell be conscious of it

 

[SamPca]

Highly recommend. I've been looking for an antidepressant that actually works for me for a few years now. I've tried many and Effexor has done it. I'm ecstatic and cannot believe how much it has improved my MDD, anxiety & PTSD.
I feel like a "normal" person again.
I will come back to this post to reply properly soon as I'm half asleep right now
Take note though... everyone is different and we all respond differently to medications such as these.
P.S. don't let the side effect horror stories deter you.

Thank you for the reply, i started today with the first 37.5 mg capsule, doesn't really feel too good but i know i have to wait at least two weeks for the intended effects

discontinuation syndrome is a hell be conscious of it

Yeah, i'm really worried abot that, if it's anything like benzos it is pure hell, hope i don't regret starting this

 

[CoastTwoCoast]

It's worth trying to see if it works for you. If you ever want to come off of it, just make sure you taper.

I was on it for a year at 75 mg in the am first, then a 75 mg dose was added at night...so a total of 150 mg for a year. I decided to quit because I didn't think it was working for me anyway. When I quit, I had no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever.

Is it because I was taking Gabapentin during the time? No idea, but I escaped with no pain.

Hopefully Effexor works for you! At the very beginning, it made me extremely sleepy and I could not stop yawning to save my life. That goes away gradually.