Posts by copperpuma62

Adam Chase98 said:Hey Ivona. Why are you coming off the Effexor? I'm on 150 mg and it isn't doing anything for me. I've been on it for 9 weeks now.

I was on it for three and a half months and felt terrible. Just a mountain of side effects—headaches, awful nausea, stomach pain, a disgusting taste in my mouth... eventually those eased up a bit, but the actual condition didn't get any better. I still had panic attacks and couldn't even venture out alone, so my psychiatrist decided to switch things up. Honestly, though, weaning off Effexor while starting Zoloft at the same time is brutal. I probably don't sound sane right now, but I feel like I'm getting worse. I'm just lost. In the morning, it takes me like five minutes just to figure out where I am or what day it is. It's total chaos, like this whole thing is some kind of nightmare. Bonk. Maybe try sticking with it longer and see what the doc says. sretno

Kimberly Morris said:Ivona and Rejica, thanks for the input...

The thing is, I'm 20 weeks pregnant and my conscience is absolutely eating me alive because of this Zoloft, so now I'm terrified of touching any Xanax... Honestly, I popped a 0.25 Misar yesterday and it did zero for me, so I figured if the anxiety meds aren't even working, why bother poisoning myself for nothing?

I know, I know—taking ADs while pregnant isn't exactly winning any prizes, but I was hitting a breaking point. The panic attacks were just getting too intense to handle...

Hang in there. Hopefully things settle down soon.👍

Kimberly Morris said:Guys, I need help!!

So, I started taking half of a 50 mg Zoloft pill about four days ago. Yesterday was rough, but today? Today is straight-up killing me!!! I’ve seriously never felt this bad in my entire life... I feel like I'm actually going to crawl out of my own skin. I even popped an unspecified 0.25, but it did absolutely nothing for me!!!
Are these kinds of brutal side effects actually normal?! I am low-key freaking out here....

I started on half a 50mg pill a week ago, then moved up to the full dose last Sunday. It was awful—just weakness, jitters, feeling totally lost. I almost quit, but somehow I didn't. I take Xanax, and honestly, it's the only thing saving me. I can tell you that things finally leveled out for me yesterday and today, so maybe just hang in there as long as you can. How are you feeling right now? Maybe try asking about an anxiolytic.

fadedbear92 said:unspecified

Have you finally finished tapering off the Velfax? Or are you still in the thick of it? Once you make the jump over to the Zoloft, I’d suggest starting slow—maybe just a quarter dose every three or four days—until you eventually hit that 75mg mark. If things get a little bumpy with side effects, just reach for an anxiolytic like Xanax or whatever else you have on hand... that should help everything settle down quickly, though you might get lucky and skip the side effects entirely! Personally, I never had any issues with Zoloft even when I was up at 5 mg; it really worked wonders for my anxiety.

Hays. Not yet, I need to finish this month before seeing my doctor. As for the Zoloft, the weakness and feeling totally lost were awful—it was so bad I almost quit. But I'm at 50 mg now along with the 75 mg of Effexor, and things have stabilized a bit. I'm definitely using Xanax though, otherwise I wouldn't make it. We'll see how it goes🙄. It’s just been way too much adjusting to Effexor with all those side effects, and now this...🤦.
I guess humans can handle just about anything though.....

fadedbear92 said:unspecified

What kind of instructions did your doctor give you for the taper—or are you just winging it?
Normally, I'm dropping the dose by a quarter every three or four days.

My doctor told me to do it this way. I was on 150mg of Trintellix, but now I'm sticking with 75mg of Zoloft for a bit, at least until the Zoloft actually kicks in.🙂

Has anyone here dealt with tapering off Effexor while switching over to Zoloft at the same time? I’m currently on 75mg of Effexor and half a 50mg pill of Zoloft... I feel like absolute garbage, my blood pressure dropped, and I'm just totally lost right now.

David Jackson22 said:Exactly! You can't ever lose hope because there’s a solution out there for everyone, but man, finding that one specific thing that actually works for your unique brain is such a massive struggle.
I was honestly right on the edge of just throwing in the towel and giving up on everything because I couldn't deal with the endless cycle of testing different meds and just eating side effects for breakfast, but look at me now—eventually, I finally found something that actually clicked.
It is seriously, deeply exhausting, but once that medication finally kicks in and you realize the nightmare is actually ending, you feel absolutely euphoric.
shadowfox75 and restlesstiger49, I really hope you guys hit that breakthrough soon; I truly mean that from the bottom of my heart because I know exactly how terrifying this whole mess is.

Waiting for something to work when you aren't even sure if it will is the worst. Or worse, having to switch again and restart the whole cycle... I'm just hoping this Effexor finally kicks in. Ugh. It feels like you're running on empty.😁

David Jackson22 said:I didn't get the stomach pains, but man, that nausea was brutal. It takes some serious time for all those side effects to settle down; it’s definitely not an overnight fix, but from what I've seen, it's worth sticking it out because it really does help in the end.
It took me forever for the Effexor to actually kick in, though honestly, saying it "starts working" is kind of a stretch because the drug triggers these biological processes that need a ton of time just to stabilize. Like, technically it's working the second you swallow it, but you won't feel the actual impact right away. I went through hell for a few months before I could finally say things were leveling out. In the beginning, the progress is tiny—almost invisible—and you might not even notice a positive shift yourself because you still feel like absolute crap subjectively. For me, everything moved incredibly slowly, but that’s not a rule for everyone. You might feel the effects way sooner; usually, you should start seeing real movement after about a month. Just saying, it took much longer for me, and I don't regret being patient and not tossing the meds out the window, because the effect did eventually show up. Those side effects should pass relatively quickly, so just hang in there for another week or two...

Thanks a lot 👍

David Jackson22 said:Look, I take Velax, and honestly, I'm on a way higher dose than most people in here, yet I'm not dealing with any side effects right now—even though I definitely had some when I first started this AD. Since I deal with bipolar disorder, I've been on antidepressants for years. What I can tell you for sure is that these ADs have helped me, and they continue to help, rather than causing some massive side effects that would force me to quit.
To cut to the chase, I've got plenty of long-term experience with ADs, and I really don't think what's happening to you is from the Velax. And even if it is—which, honestly, I highly doubt—the damage probably isn't permanent. Are you taking anything else along with the Velax? If not, did you recently stop taking something else, and how long have you actually been on the Velax?
Anyway, people tend to automatically blame their meds for every little thing that happens to them, even when that's usually not the case, but I totally get why you're freaked out and unsure. You just have to weigh the potential downsides against the benefits the medication provides. My own experiences have been mostly positive, even though I've obviously had to go through my own rough patch trying to find the right therapy every time a new depressive episode hits. If the med is working for you, trust it and trust that it's helping you get better; don't go hunting for negatives, because you're just hurting yourself at that point.
I'll say it again: I don't believe those symptoms you described are being caused by Velax, but hey, that's for your doctor to decide. I don't know your specific diagnosis, so those symptoms could easily be part of the underlying condition you're treating. Honestly, I'd say those symptoms are more likely to be caused by long-term use of an anti-anxiety med (if you're on one) than by the Velax.

Hey. I've been on 150mg of Velax for 3 weeks. Before that, I was on 37.5mg for 2 weeks, then 75mg for 2 weeks. The worst part is the constant stomach pain, nausea, and this gross taste in my mouth I never had before. Did you deal with that? And how long did it take before you felt it actually working?? Thanks.

Sean Howard2 said:Has anyone here tried Cymbalta? Please let me know.
I’m having major issues with it...
I feel exhausted all day long, almost like my head is foggy or drunk—it's hard to even describe.
I have to use the bathroom constantly, sometimes up to 20 times a day.
I've gained weight too... though that's the least of my concerns right now.
I get incredibly irritable; most of the time, I don't even want anyone talking to me. 🙂
I can't focus on anything at all.
Basically, everything just gets on my nerves and I feel like crying.
I've been on this for 11 months and I've never felt this way before.

Man, I was on it for two years and it was mostly fine, way better than when I was taking the portal. I had nightmares at first, but that cleared up fast. I guess it just depends on the person. I still deal with panic attacks, though—not sure what your diagnosis is?

Anyone know what it means when the 24h urine test shows zero microalbumin?