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Default Jun 17, 2020 at 09:30 AM
  #1
I have been taking Effexor for three months. I started at 75 mg. My psychiatrist increased my dosage to Effexor 150 mg XR two weeks ago and I don’t see many changes and I have been having anxiety. I’m really uncomfortable with Effexor and it’s short life span and I don’t want to take it. Can I switch from Effexor to another SSRI? Which one would better for the transition that would have less side effects?
I have taken Prozac for five years before, but it stopped working.
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Default Jun 17, 2020 at 09:32 AM
  #2
Sometimes meds that stopped working before will work if you try them again... That's where we are at. We are retrying meds we have tried before.

Effexor is kinda hard to get off of, tho. It has some withdrawal symptoms. We can't really remember them off the top of our head, but definitely talk to your pdoc about that and how long a proper taper would take.

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Default Jun 17, 2020 at 09:44 AM
  #3
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Originally Posted by childofchaos831 View Post
Sometimes meds that stopped working before will work if you try them again... That's where we are at. We are retrying meds we have tried before.

Effexor is kinda hard to get off of, tho. It has some withdrawal symptoms. We can't really remember them off the top of our head, but definitely talk to your pdoc about that and how long a proper taper would take.
Yes, that’s why I don’t want to take long term because of that. I have contacted my psychiatrist and we would discuss it in the afternoon.
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Default Jun 17, 2020 at 09:47 AM
  #4
150 mg Effexor XR is still a low dose (in my non-professional opinion).

I am on 450 mg Effexor XR.

Have you considered taking the Effexor XR at different times in the day? For example, I take 300 mg of it in the morning, and 150 mg of it in the early afternoon. This ensures that I am depression-free all day long.


Also you could consider increasing the dose. Effexor XR has honestly been one of the best drugs I've taken for my depression. It has helped a lot. If I remember right, and this isn't medical advice, but the max dosage of Effexor XR is around 375 mg for people with severe depression.

I guess if you're totally finished with the Effexor XR, you could try a different drug, but usually Effexor XR is considered to be one of the more powerful antidepressants. Effexor is an SNRI which means it works on serotonin and norepinephrine, two distinct neurotransmitter systems. I guess that means (in my non-technical opinion) that it helps more. But maybe try increasing the dose or splitting it into different dosing schedules.

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Default Jun 17, 2020 at 12:45 PM
  #5
Just be careful of the withdrawal symptoms when coming off Effexor. I had them even when I missed a dose.

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Default Jun 17, 2020 at 06:43 PM
  #6
We had to go down to 37.5 mg every other day before we could stop altogether...

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Default Jun 18, 2020 at 11:27 AM
  #7
Is that for switching to anothe medicine?
I’m thinking of reducing to 75 mg for a week and starting the new one on 25mg.
How did you reduce it? My doctor wants me to do a hard switch.
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