Effexor XR

I was just put on this yesterday, and have been reading horrible reviews on WebMD about people gaining weight and having horrible withdrawls when coming off of it.

I don't really think I need to be on it, just some traumatic events going on right now that zanax is helping with. 

Has anyone on here taken it? What are you thoughts on it? I think gaining weight from it would make me depressed enough to have to be on it!

weight gain is common with SSRIs, but it doens't have to be inevitable.

you should be sure to take the effexor at the same time each day. It has one of the shortest half-lives of all SSRIs which means it leaves your body quickly - exacerbating the withdrawal symptoms. (i had a friend who would feel them within an hour of her missed dose)

Either that or ask for a longer half-life SSRI such as Prozac or Celexa. They are easier to come off of. (many times they'll put ppl on prozac to wean them off of zoloft or paxil or effexor!!)

Hi,

I've been on effexor xr for almost three years now and I've never experienced weight gain with it. In fact, before I took it I was in a cycle of bulimia and depression that made me gain weight but the effexor gave me my initial boost of motivation so that I could access help for both conditions and eventually get to a normal weight.

I'm sure it's a very individual experience but the only time I have awful side effects have been the times I convinced myself I should stop taking it and (bad idea) just stopped. I had horrible depression, nausea, headache.

That being said, if you're not comfortable with being on this medication I would encourage you to bring these reservations to your doctor. Was it a pcp or a psych who prescribed it? Either way they should help you find something you are okay with.

If you need any help feel free to message me, I've had lots of experience wading through the maze of medications, doctors and treatments.

I took Effexor XR about 2 years ago and yes I did gain weight (30lbs) despite dieting and excerising, made me tired and sleepy all the time. There were times I was getting shin splints just from walking. I finally decided to get off of them when I fell asleep studying for an exam which was at 3pm and almost missed!!!

I was prescribed Effexor for anxiety. I think for some it makes them lose and some gain. I was one of the gainers.

i was on it for about 3 years and it didn't make me gain weight.  i stopped taking it under a doctor's supervision by slowly decreasing my dosage so i didn't experience any withdrawal symptoms.

even if it had caused me to gain a few pounds, i would've stuck with it.  it's a small price to pay to not be nuts, ya know? 

I took it about a year ago.  I don't know what a normal withdrawal from it would be, because what I experienced was 100x worse.  In one of my suicide attempt, I took over 4 grams of effexor and a ton of ambien, then at the hospital I obviously came off it cold turkey.  Coupled with serotonin syndrome and other complicated factors, it took 2 weeks for me to get off it.  It was hell...throbbing headaches, nausea, vomiting, shakiness, confusion, sweating, dizziness, everything.  It sucked.

And it didn't make me gain any weight, I actually lost weight on it.

Thanks for all the responses.  Don't know why, but I trust the responses on here more than I do on any other websites!  

I feel like I am reading testamonials for diet scams or something when I read them off of generic drug description websites.

Thanks again!