Question posted by John_Finan on 15 April 2016
Last updated on 17 March 2019 by Extra Brutality
I was on 75mg for a couple weeks.
That was fine.
But bumped it to 150, and not sure if that's making me tired, or just an off day.
Does this medication have a reputation for inducing tiredness??
I was on lexapro previously, which definitely made me tired, but taken at night, that wore off by morning.
Effexor is XR though, so, I guess it doesn't work like that???
You are probably taking too high of a dose or have too much in your system. Antidepressants take a long time to show effectiveness because they simply stop certain proteins/chemicals/neurotransmitters from escaping. Your body produces those chemicals at a certain rate regardless of how much antidepressant you have in your system. So taking a really high dose of an antidepressant is actually futile and poisonous. You have to understand that your body is producing the chemicals at a fixed rate.
Now that that is established, with my experience on Effexor, I was trying everything during the first three months to figure out the most effective dose without getting sick or having too many side effects. Figuring that out can lead you to optimally allowing your body time to produce neurotransmitters without letting any go and also without taking too much antidepressant medication to the point where it is bad for you (note both sides of the scale aside the optimal dosage.) When I was taking too much Effexor without knowing that I was taking too much, I was getting EXTREMELY tired. I would wake up in a sleep paralysis, take almost an hour to get going, only to cook, eat, brush my teeth, and get right back to bed. Then I realized there was a direct relationship between taking the Effexor and the onset of the fatigue, which lead me to believe that taking too much must be what is going on. I’m actually just going through all of this now, myself. I haven’t taken any in a few days, and the days before, I was taking 150mg at night and getting stuck in a constant sleepiness. Only after I stopped taking it for a few days do I feel somewhat good. In addition, I quit drinking and smoking, so I require less of the antidepressant, so since I was continuing with the same dosage by mistake, I definitely built up too much in my system.
I hope this helps someone. I would encourage people who are taking a new drug to be very cautious and take note of everything you feel throughout any given day so you can figure out if your dose is too high, not enough, what are the side effects, and so you can figure out optimal dosage. I feel that I will take my next dose of Effexor when my body craves the drug. When you feel like you need more or taking more will make you feel good, that’s when you should take it. If a drug has put you in a bad state, do not keep taking it just because the directions say to.
I started on 75mg Effexor XR, I am now up to 300mg. When I started taking it, I took it at night because of the "sedative nature". On the contrary it actually made my sleep issues worse. After a year, the time was switched to mornings with food. My sleep issues are still the same. They have determined tgat the underlying problem with my sleep, is not my depression but my PTSD. My meaning is that the Effexor may be helping your depression but have nothing to do with your tiredness. Were you tired before you started using the drug? My side effects started to reduce after the first couple of weeks of starting the drug.
I can only tell you my own experience with Effexor. Yes I'm so tired on them at times I could fall asleep standing up. I've been taking them for nearly five years and I'm now on 300mg a day. They helped me at a time when I'd hit rock bottom so I feel a kind of gratitude but at the same time I also feel as though I've lost some of the last 5 years of my life as all I seem to have done when I had the chance is sleep! I've turned down numerous nights out and family celebrations etc all because I felt too tired and would often rather go to sleep than socialise. I did try changing the time of day I was taking them just to see if it would help but It didn't make any difference. It might wear off with you though in time. I've always been someone who is very sensitive to pills that say
may make you drowsy if it lists that as a side effect with any pill you can guarantee I'll be unconscious within half an hour of taking it.
I'm afraid I'm just too scared to come off effexor just now but I will eventually coz I want to have fun again before I'm really really old. I don't want my next big family do to be my funeral!!
I'd be sleeping then as well eh?
About 11% of Effexor users have report a generalized feeling of tiredness/fatigue. It may be that your higher dose is causing a side effect you didn't experience at the lower dosage.
But never fear. These side effects are generally transient and should resolve within a few days to a couple weeks.
effexor, depression, anxiety, venlafaxine, major depressive disorder, fatigue, anxiety and stress, medication, reputation
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