Efexor

SweetFA

I have been prescribed efexor for anxiety (37.5 to start going up to 150mg) and just wondering can anyone tell me their experiences with it and what sort of cost I'll be facing with it?

aluminium

SweetFA wrote: »

I have been prescribed efexor for anxiety (37.5 to start going up to 150mg) and just wondering can anyone tell me their experiences with it and what sort of cost I'll be facing with it?

https://healthwave.ie/price-list/

page 3 under mental health. 37.5 = 5.75

150 = 9.95

caipin

SweetFA wrote: »

I have been prescribed efexor for anxiety (37.5 to start going up to 150mg) and just wondering can anyone tell me their experiences with it and what sort of cost I'll be facing with it?

I was on this many years ago to treat depression. I had pretty severe nausea and tremors for the first month or so, but after that it worked quite well for me. Good luck x

Strawberry Swan

It can work well but coming off it can be horrendous and missing a dose is not an option. I read it likened to coming off heroin, it's that severe. Do plenty of research but don't let what you read scare you either. It may be worth it if your symptoms are bad enough.

LegacyUser

Hi OP,

I have been taking venlafaxine/effexor for the past 5 or 6 years to treat primarily anxiety but also depression.

Do I think it works for me? To be honest I don't know. Some of my symptoms have gone away completely but I've been taking another medication in parallel with it all the time so I don't know which has helped.

My dosage has changed over the years. The most I was taking was 187.5 mg per day. Two years ago I was gradually reducing my dosage over the course of 18 months and I was down to 37.5 mg. I then tried the next step of going off it. I lasted about four days before I started taking 37.5 mg again. I was horribly depressed for those four days, crying myself to sleep each night I haven't been great in 2018 and I'm back on 150 mg now.

Have a long hard think about going on it

LegacyUser

Hey, it helped me with my depression / anxiety... As in it helped me get over the real low / stop worrying what people thought of me / over thinking everything. So it was good in that sense. However I will say it does effect libido and also just you aren't really to bothered about much of anything in life, like you are kind of zen.... No extremes of happy /sad. So I ran out of prescription and just cold turkey stopped. I got brain zaps and felt crppy for about a month.... So I wouldn't recommend going cold turkey... Taper if you decide to come off... Don't be silly like me. It did take some months for libido to come back to someway normal. Anyway I'd suggest it for a while if you are feeling you need it and it helps get out of dark hole but taper then when coming off. All the best.

Big Bag of Chips

Thread will be allowed to remain open for the purposes of people posting their own experiences. Medical advice is not allowed. So do not advise the OP to look for a certain medication or treatment. Only a doctor who has physically seen and examined a person can offer medical advice.

OP, it is also worth bearing in mind that anonymous people are posting experiences. We have no way of verifying the legitimacy of claims made here. Listen to experiences, but speak to a professional too.

Offering Medical Advice

aluminium

SweetFA wrote: »

I have been prescribed efexor for anxiety (37.5 to start going up to 150mg) and just wondering can anyone tell me their experiences with it and what sort of cost I'll be facing with it?

I'm in a patronizing mood this morning, so forgive me if I come across condescending.

You (op) asked a question about pricing and peoples experiences on the drug.

Pricing is matter of fact.

Peoples experiences of a drug are subjective. Im 17 stone and 6 foot 6.
My metabolism would be different to someone who is female 5 foot and 8 stone. Doctors prescribe accordingly.

The fact is that whether you take an SSRI or an SNRI there will be side effects.
The side effects are listed on the information sheets. The side effects listed are the same for every drug regardless of brand or type. How we deal with these side effects is down to the individual.

Another fact. (not medical advice), It takes six weeks for the efficacy of the drug to kick in properly. An individual is going to be on a roller coaster until that 6 week period lapses. And that's what GP's are for.

Canard

I had awful sweating the entire time I was on it. I had moved to a hot country at the time and assumed it was solely due to that and that my body didn't readjust after moving home, and then when I upped my dose it got even worse and the penny dropped. I googled it (had never thought to before) and it seems to be one of the most common side effects, and it was so bad that I decided to come off it and, as others have said, coming off it is horrendous. I'd go a few days managing it and then have to take a tablet just to stave off the side effects, but it's not too dissimilar to the flu in terms of nausea/dizziness. See how you get on and don't be afraid to change tablets if it's not working, I wish I had sooner.

aluminium

Canard wrote: »

I had awful sweating the entire time I was on it. I had moved to a hot country at the time and assumed it was solely due to that and that my body didn't readjust after moving home, and then when I upped my dose it got even worse and the penny dropped. I googled it (had never thought to before) and it seems to be one of the most common side effects, and it was so bad that I decided to come off it and, as others have said, coming off it is horrendous. I'd go a few days managing it and then have to take a tablet just to stave off the side effects, but it's not too dissimilar to the flu in terms of nausea/dizziness. See how you get on and don't be afraid to change tablets if it's not working, I wish I had sooner.

im on lexapro and if I go out during the day i bring spare t shirts and underwear. Were not talking sweating here, i can actually squeeze water out of the shirt when I take it off. Ive put my headaches down to dehydration and carry water with me.

Red Lightning

I've been on it about 5 months now and has helped me a lot. No side effects for me.

gemsgirl

SweetFA wrote: »

I have been prescribed efexor for anxiety (37.5 to start going up to 150mg) and just wondering can anyone tell me their experiences with it and what sort of cost I'll be facing with it?

Hi... I'm on efexor about 8 yrs now and I can definitely say for me it really has worked. I suffered with bad anxiety and very low mood. When I had a baby my symptoms worsened and I had severe postnatal depression.
I'm still on it and don't ever see myself coming off it because I can now live a normal life... simple things most people take for granted...like leaving the house...taking care of my children etc. And I'm happy in myself...I can cope with life's ups and downs.
I wish you the very best of luck x

I've been on it a few years now. Was on 225mg but now down to 150mg. I found it worked better for me than Lexapro did, but it's important to remember that everyone has different reactions to these kinds of medication and what works/doesn't work for one person may have a different affect on someone else.

What I will say is that if I miss a dose for two or three days (I never intentionally skip it but do occasionally forget) I start feeling unpleasant side effects - it's hard to describe the feeling in words but I notice an increase in the speed of my thought and increased feelings of being uncomfortable and "on edge". So if you do start taking it then be sure to avoid skipping days in case you react badly to missed doses.

With regards to price, I would think that it's not a prohibitively expensive treatment for most people; I don't think I've ever paid more than €20 for a month's worth (not for 150mg anyway). If your GP recommends Efexor and you're concerned about price, remember that Efexor is a brand name; the actual drug itself is called venlafaxine, and there are generics available that may be cheaper - be sure to ask your GP and/or pharmacist, who will be able to advise you more about this.