Reverse effects from effexor...

My husband has been on paxil for years now but recently the doc suggested that he try effexor to get a "better bang for the buck!".  He took it for a month, initially with really no side effects.  Started on 37.5mg, then 2 weeks later 75mg, then 2 weeks later 150mg.  Over the last 1.5 weeks he has been getting increasingly frustrated, angry, depressed, even with suicidal thoughts and really short tempered.  We went to the doc and he said that he has never hear of these responses to effexor.  It was horrible, anything would set him off.  Yesterday we decided that maybe if we stopped the effexor that might help.  I'll tell you that within 36 hrs from taking his last dose of effexor he felt 75% better!

Does anyone else have similar experiences?

Any SSRI (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor) may cause this sort of mood swing (emotional lability) and irritability. I don't know if Effexor is an SSRI, but you might find doing a search on "serotonin syndrome" may give you more pertinent information.

In my experience, any anti-depressant that doesn't work positively will work negatively, usually roller-coaster style, at least some of the time. But the SSRIs, particularly Prozac and Paxil, are notorious.

sk8,
I was on zoloft for years and have fibromyalgia. My dr. thought that I would have some pain relief as well as depression relief by switching to effexor... Within four days I was totally paranoid, thought the neighbors were watching me, accused my husband of drinking, (he'd been sober for 6 yrs.) and had an argument with my business partner... thought she had been embezzeling funds... I was a basket case! Called my doc and told her what was up and said "Can I just discontinue it?" She told me I might have problems with being dizzy... I"m like.. Duh! I'll take dizzy anyday over total paranoia!!! That stuff sure ain't for everybody!!! I'm back on my zoloft... I'll take some pain and my serenity anyday. (Darn drug companies! They are the ones pushing this stuff with your doctor!)

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~ Jeannie

"As one goes through life one learns if you don't paddle your own canoe you don't move."
-Katherine Hepburn

I don't want to judge any doctor on his or her motives, but I sometimes have felt like a bothersome, overactive, rambunctious, child being put in front of a TV set showing Shrek 2.

It seems very fashionable for GP's to get the old prescription pad out. "Next Patient please"

The Pharma giants keep churning these things out like the cars that saturate the marketplace.

This wasn't a rant, just comments