ooooo.....good parallel.....i love that painting...

yeah...if possible, for your sanity and for the sanity of those around you take one day, a saturday or sunday, just one day.....dedicate it to being alone.....if the weather's nice in your part of the country, just sit outside and drink in the fresh air in a nice quiet location....if it's still cold, possibly you could take in an art museum....while you're out, tell yourself "this is my day"  and just stop and think about yourself for a while.  you've been working so hard, that it seems as if you're wrapped up in some short-term problems (which i know all to well....and they are created from and labled by ADHD)

also, next time you go to the doctor or whoever is giving you the meds. ask if this is normal, or call your pharmacy....they can tell you right away the side effects of a medication...

         Good luck!

I took effexer for a year, don't rember much of that year. It was very bad for my memory.  Now the bad news when you stop taking it, the withdrawl is HELL.  I have never been through anything that bad.  Scares me to take SSRI type meds.

Wish you the best!!!

Hi there,

I was on Effexor for over a year and went from a low dose to a high one, I had the same symtoms as u and when i found out that i had add i had to come off it.  DO TAKE EXTREME CARE when u come off it.  I checked sites and some people are sueing the company that makes effexor cuz they cannot stand the side effects and have to go back on them.  They should be removed as they are the worst anti's to come off.    my advice,  slowly reduce your med, then dont just stop when on low dose, take half if u can break them, for a week then another half of the half then one every other day and so on.   I had extreme dizziness from them, it was like i was on a ship and couldnt stand still.

All in all your symtoms are typical from effexor so get off them!

I weened myself off Effexor XR because the drs. told me that someday I should be able to only need Adderall or whatever they were perscribing for me at the time. Anyway, I lowered my dose but had horrible horrible side effects. I finally got down to 35 mg daily then I went to every other day for about a month. Then I started opening up the capsule and taking a half dose every other day, until I finally was off it. However, that's not the end of the story. I felt the withdrawl side effects for another couple of weeks on and off.  Over the courese of one month after that I could still feel my mood changing and the dizziness would come and go. Whatever you are planning, take it slow. Depending upon your dosage level and how your body can tolerate the changes plan on at least a couple of months if not more to totally be free of Effexor.

Oh' one other thing I have to tell you is that now that I'm off Effexor completely, I feel like I need to be on anti-depressant becuase my mood swings are back and they are reeking havoc in my life.

Wow, I thought I was the only one with the withdrawal effects of Effexor like that!  Itis good to know it wasn't just me, even though I am sorry people had to go through that.  I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

I was on Effexor for about 8 months in 2002 after Paxil killed my libido.  The Effexor didn't do anything, and so I my doctor took me off of it in January 2003.  She said it would take 2 weeks to wean off of it.  Those 2 weeks were the worst two weeks of my life.  DON'T EVER GO OFF ANTIDEPRESSANTS IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER!!!! 

I was constantly sick to my stomach, felt like I was a puddle, wanted to hurt people, snapped at everybody, ended up effecting work because I would go to the nurse's office and lie down for 2 hours at a time, or I would just stay home.  Cried constantly, couldn't walk downstairs because of the dizziness.  People were seriously frightened of me and what was happening to me.  I almost checked myself into a hospital. 

The effects were the worst for the first 2 weeks, but still took another 4-6 weeks before I felt "normal" again.  I then went on Lexapro 20mg, and have been on that ever since.  A year ago, I was diagnosed with ADHD and added Ritalin, and the combo has been excellent. 

So my advice, echoing those before me, is to go off Effexor VERY SLOWLY.  Like 3 months slowly, and write how you feel down daily.

As for the current situation - you know you can do it, don't doubt yourself!  Take one day at a time, and take some time for yourself outside. 

I was just put of Effexor because my doctor felt my complaints of ADD were more targeted towards Anxiety and mild Depresion. I was shocked and kinda upset at first when he told me this because it was hard to swallow being diagnosed with *eeekkk* "depression".

I started taking Effexor on Tuesday and stopped my Ritlin. The first few days I felt nothing but I did notice I felt better rested come morning although for some reason I keep waking up at 4am and after half hour manage to fall back asleep until I get up for work. Today I really feel something like the med is taking effect. Hard to describe but I feel really "Good". I havent noticed any more or less memory problems and I hope it doesn't get WORSE beucase my memory is already terrible

When I started researching Effexor all I heard were bad stories so I'm sceptical. So far I can't say I've had a real negative effect but then again I just started it.

I was just put of Effexor because my doctor felt my complaints of ADD were more targeted towards Anxiety and mild Depresion. I was shocked and kinda upset at first when he told me this because it was hard to swallow being diagnosed with *eeekkk* "depression".

The silent scream is reaching an audible pitch. 

(Do any of you have the silent scream

I'm still pretty new here... can you tell me what is the "Silent Scream"?

 Anti depresants made me feel dumb too. I sympathize with you having to cope with that on the job. I am going to introduce you to a more natural product that relieves stress.

Go to > http://adhd-becalmd/?id=54552 Read all it has to offer. Read about how it restores the transmitters in your brain and what is accually happening to them while you are on medications. Look into the ingredients to find how safe they are. They are very affective in getting you well and fit. Natural products normaly take more time than perscriptions but you will notice a positive difference while tappering off the meds you have been on. There is more info on the web site if you are interested and I hope things get better for you soon.

Wyrd,

Thanks for the description.  I like that one... the silent scream!  I was curious because I have a bit of one myself.  Mine comes in the middle of the night, when I wake up, and my head is racing 1000 miles per hour, thinking of every stupid thing I've ever said or done.  Sometimes it might be something exciting like how I want to decorate a room.  My head will just go and go and go.  At those times I literally feel insane, and in my own head I do the silent scream saying "STOP!"  Since my diagnosis everyday is getting a little better.  I'm so thankful for these meds because I may wake up, but my head isn't going crazy with these thoughts anymore.