I've been on it for 4 years with no side effects. Working slightly less well now; think I may need a change soon, but it has defo worked for me :)

It's worked better for me than any others i have tried. I battled a little with severe drowsiness, teeth clenching, hair loss and weight gain. But they didn't last .. just a little while until i guess my body adjusted. Be very careful to take your meds. Don't forget from what i have read the whithdraw symptoms are horrid. I've had the "brain shivers" from missing one dose.

I have been taking 150 mg of effexor for about 4 years, it started at 50mg & went up from there. I tried about 8 other meds before that with no success. Welbutrin just about put me over the edge. I ended up in the hospital for a week on suicide watch then they tried combining effexor & wellbutrin but the effexor alone seems to be the best. I have had slight weight gain but not to bad& slight loss of sexual desire but it is all worth it compared to how I was feeling without. I was having difficulty sleeping with the effexor, also because I take predisone for RA I just recently started taking 50 mg of topamax at night & that helps me sleep much better. Good Luck

I think I have tried the lot. I am on 225mg a day (it should be more but I refuse)Effexor has been the best thus far. I have been taking it for about 4 years. We are all different some suit some people and not others. I have no side effects apart from my spelling goes a bit niljlj nycgfweilh ', du [hh r see!!!

Yeah thats true, you can tell if you've missed a dose, but its never been too hardcore for me. I just keep strip in the car just incase, but I just get a bit woozy come early afternoon which reminds me that I forgot them that morning!

I started taking it about 8yrs ago. side effects at first but went away after a few weeks. like shaky, heartbeat faster, dry mouth, headache etc. It took about 6 weeks for it to start working for me. It has worked pretty well now that I'm taking 150mg especially. I was taking 75mg up until a year ago. My problem has been continuing to drink while on them which isn't a good thing because it sets me back over and over again.

I have been on Effexor since September..so I guess that's not that long. 3-4 weeks into starting it I felt a little less anxious..but then a couple weeks later my anxiety was really bad again and I didn't feel like helping, so we increased my dosage from 75 mg to 112, and I am gradually supposed to go up to 150, because I don't think 75 is very much. I feel a little less anxious but I cant seem to get out of bed cause of my depression..my mom told me it doesn't look like the effexor is working so I'm starting to taper off of it..and i'm going to try something else to get more energy..maybe stay on effexor too for the anxiety i dunno..i'm thinking welbutrin is something i need cause i need something that will seriously give me more energy cause i am an extremely active athlete but when im not working out like on weekends all i do is sleep and it's not always cause i'm tired.

oh and before the effexor i also used lexapro..cause the lexepro stopped helping..it might help just to go on something new

and i haven't had any side effects

I was on it years ago, and only changed because it stopped working so well, but that was about the same time frame as curvykate....meds are different for everyone, but I can't complain about it.

All meds have side effects of one kind or another. What is effective for one person may not be effective for others.

A good step though is to make sure that one has a clear diagnosis. I have met so many people misdiagnosed, working from old diagnoses, or from family docs who lack the speciality of psych.

I tried lexapro, then they added wellbutrin. Finally switched to Effexor I am taking 150 mg and can tell some difference. But am going to call Monday and see about upping it as I can tell it is slowly becoming less effective. For me I haven't had any side effects. I would recomend keeping ajournal though and watch for side effects and/or effectiveness. I wish I had been, Iwould have spotted the trends sooner on all 3 drugs.

Been on effexor now for about 3 weeks, i'm going to apply to be an extra in the next Romero film. also severe dehydration and an unpleasant physical side effect i'd be quite embarrased to admit to... so so far, they have had a totally negative effect :( I really hope they work for you tho, i've been told by someone in the know that they are generally considered the best product on the market at the moment.

it made my blood pressure too high. good luck. hope it's one that works for you. :)

question for yall about meds.
How long do they usually take to come into effect?
Is it different for each?
Can you wean yourself of it eventually?

thanks all,