# Effexor is making me so tired.



## ThePHD (Jul 6, 2012)

In addition to the .5 Xanax i've been on all year my psychiatrist has switched me from Zoloft 100MG to Effexor XR 75MG.

I can't say my experience has been good. For one I don't feel any different which I suppose is normal since i've only been on the med a week. The problem is i'm sleeping like 18-20 hours a day. LITERALLY.

I've read on Wikipedia and other sites that somnolence is one of the most common side effects of Effexor but I never thought it would be this bad. I just can't stop sleeping. I wake up and go right back to sleep. It's like I just can't stay awake. Zoloft made me tired and I felt like zombie but I wasn't sleeping all day long. I can down 3 Xanax a day and not feel a thing but Effexor just knocks me out.

Has anyone else taken this med and had a similar experience? I'm going to try stopping since it has only been a week. I really don't care what my doctor thinks. I can't deal with sleeping almost the entire day. That certainly isn't normal.


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## jgray (Jul 16, 2012)

Hi! Was on Paxil 40mg for 7 years and felt great the whole time...then I got pregnant and had my son & my chemical makeup must have changed because my body would not tollerate it any more. So w my doc put me on 75mg of effexor. I wasn't feel great but I felt a little better then it sort of plateaued. She bumped me up to 150mg and every since I have been struggling with major fatigue and constant sleepiness. Its insane. I have a 2 year old to chase after & all I want to do is sleep. Its debilitating. I go to see my doc tomorrow to discuss what to do. I will keep ya posted.


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## AnnieA (Aug 31, 2012)

*Effexor makes me tired too!*

Effexor makes makes me tired too. If I allowed myself, I could easily sleep 15 plus hours a day. As it is, I get about 9 hours of sleep and crash mid-day after work for two hours, and still sleep fine at night. Haha. Beats the depression I was fighting though!! I don't want to up the dose to see if it gives me more energy because I am hoping that eventually I can come off it. But right now it's a life saver. My parents wonder what is wrong with me, sleeping so much... But, meh, pick your poison I suppose. I find drinking lots of water seems to help a little. The worst for me is around 1-4pm. Apparently the more active you are, the more fatigued Effexor makes you. Ironic. I was going to buzz down to the health food store and see if the had B-complex health shake I could chug midday to give me a boost. B vitamins are great for energy and I don't do coffee or those god awful energy drinks. But yes, the drowsiness sucks. I take long walks with my mom to shake it, just to be outside. I'll take drowsy over sleepy. We already fought depression, now let's fight the sleepies!


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Your lucky your not the types that get insomia with antidepressant medication i guess too little or too much sleep can be a problem. How's your modivation on effexor?


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## catcharay (Sep 15, 2011)

On effexor, I'm not tired per se - just unenergetic and unmotivated, which in tandem, makes me more prone to tiredness I suppose.


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## GabrielAngel (Aug 25, 2012)

it makes me tired too, but i think all of the medications I've tried have.

i'm actually thinking about just weening myself off it.


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## DeafBoy36 (Dec 12, 2009)

When I started Effexor, it made me tired...now I'm at 300 mg....it has gone away. The exhaustion went away after I got up to 150 mg.....so it hopefully should go away for you all.


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## AnnieA (Aug 31, 2012)

*Weening off Effexor*

Has anyone tried weening off Effexor? Any negative side effects?

My motivation is pretty lacking on Effexor too. Then again, it was pretty with the depression. I take Effexor for depression, and not anxiety (obviously from my comments)...though just two years ago and all of through high school and college (Im 25 now) I was crazy motivated, type A, 4.0, half marathoner... not sure what happened. Burn out?


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## 10PercentExtra (Nov 8, 2009)

ThePHD said:


> In addition to the .5 Xanax i've been on all year my psychiatrist has switched me from Zoloft 100MG to Effexor XR 75MG.
> 
> I can't say my experience has been good. For one I don't feel any different which I suppose is normal since i've only been on the med a week. The problem is i'm sleeping like 18-20 hours a day. LITERALLY.
> 
> ...


yeah - effexor @ 75mg makes me a bit lethargic. with wellbutrin xl 150mg added in, it pretty much went away


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## 10PercentExtra (Nov 8, 2009)

AnnieA said:


> Has anyone tried weening off Effexor? Any negative side effects?
> 
> My motivation is pretty lacking on Effexor too. Then again, it was pretty with the depression. I take Effexor for depression, and not anxiety (obviously from my comments)...though just two years ago and all of through high school and college (Im 25 now) I was crazy motivated, type A, 4.0, half marathoner... not sure what happened. Burn out?


yes. twice. once I was taking 75mg for 3 months and I stopped cold turkey. Felt weird for a day or two and then that was it.

second time, same dose for a month. I tried going cold turkey again. BIG mistake. nausea, hot flashes, sweats, mood swings for two weeks - it was terrible.

Advice: taper very slow. even to the point of counting the little spansules


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## CD700 (Apr 22, 2010)

Ironically you should feel better after increasing the dose past 150mg.
It only starts working on Norepinephrine at higher doses


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