# How critical is taking Effexor XR at the same time daily?



## butterz (Aug 8, 2013)

Since it's extended release does it really matter if you take it 24h apart or a few hours later? I don't want to feel like I have to set an alarm every day to take it at the same time. And it also needs to be taken with a meal which also sucks cause I don't always eat at the same times.

If you miss the next dose by a few hours will you already get withdrawal symptoms?

I am not too keen on trying effexor. I read the leaflet and the side effects like is much longer than cymbalta's list. :serious:


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

It has a short half-life, and depending on how sensitive your body is to changes of the drug in your blood(everyone is different), it could trigger withdrawal by missing your scheduled dose even if taken on the same day.

My body can detect even minute changes in the level of a drug in my system so I cannot tolerate any drugs that have a short half-life that must be taken on a daily basis.


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## butterz (Aug 8, 2013)

This sounds scary. I thought that since they make an extended release it wasn't really that much of a deal. 

I don't know if I should try effexor especially since I'd probably need a high dose at least 225mg or 300mg otherwise it would simply be like a normal SSRI and they didn't really work for me. And I have no idea how difficult getting off it when you've been on 300mg can be. 

I was on 20mg lexapro for 3-4 months and then for the first time experienced brain zaps after getting off it. Other drugs either didn't cause withdrawal for me or I didn't take them long enough to cause issues.

What's also strange is that I still get light brain zaps especially in the morning while lying in bed even though I have been off Brintellix which was my last antidepressant for 6 weeks and I didn't get any withdrawal when getting off it. But the fact that I still get brain zaps sometimes makes me wonder if there has been some permanent sensitization in the brain from taking SSRIs.


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## Robleye (Sep 26, 2012)

It's probably different for everyone and depends on the dose. I take about 150 mg and I can take it a couple hours late without problems. Any more than that and I'll slowly start getting the brain zaps and lightheadedness.

If you're on the fence about starting it, I can't really recommend it. It helps the anxiety a lot, but the withdrawal effects can be hell just from missing one pill. Plus it can make you really drowsy during the day. I'm not a doctor though, that's just what I've experienced with it.


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## knightofdespair (May 20, 2014)

Most drugs have a pretty quick absorption where you get most of the drug within about an hour and then it mostly wears off within about 8 hours.. With extended release they have done some kind of buffering to slow the absorption and make it more uniform for longer, but you would still generally have way less of it those last 6 hours than the first 18 after you take it. Most of those you probably won't notice a hell of a difference in a few hours, but it can screw up the scheduling if you miss it every day.


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## butterz (Aug 8, 2013)

Wow this sounds really bad. I mean when I got off Lexapro I got withdrawal symptoms but only after a few days they did not immediately kick in!

I also read people gain weight on it, this is also bad. It's also strange cause from a SNRI I'd rather assume that you lose weight on it cause it's
activating.


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## Memory (Mar 4, 2011)

I take it every night whenever I remember to take it. I don't take it at an exact time, just like between 7pm and 2am and I feel no difference.
Sometimes I forget to take it one day and it takes a while for withdrawal symptoms to kick in. Like after about 48 hours of not taking it the weird withdrawal symptoms might start.

I've tried a bunch of SSRIs prior and Effexor is the only med that has kept me functioning. But I did gain 40 lbs since being on it. (over the span of about 2 years) I hate that I can't control my weight really anymore. I'm starting to lose it though from not eating much.. seems to be the only way.

I also hate how dependent I am on it. Tried to get off it because of the weight problem and went pretty insane. I tapered off and began getting heart palpitations, brain zaps, anxiety, paranoia, depression, constant anxiety, easily startled, and it was just awful. It lasted for weeks so I went back on a very low dose but my anxiety was still much worse than before I started this med. 

I started college and had a nervous breakdown the first few days so I went back to the higher dose, something like 150mg I think, and instantly could function again. So I figure I'll be stuck on it for a while.


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## mgrz (Feb 7, 2012)

I think even at the lower doses Effexor works a little differently than most SSRIs. I say this because I had either zero response or a went a bit loopy on the SSRIs I tried.

Same time everyday. You get in the habit of taking it. I aim for 6PM but usually its the hours either side. The one time I forgot to take it I was watching a horror movie in the early hours. I decided to skip the dose and was a bit paranoid/worried the next day.

You'll be fine on it though. If you're heading for 300mg off the bat though... be sure to ramp up slowly. Start off on 37.5 for a few days then 75 for a week or so and see if you notice a difference before going up. It improved my mood off the bat but expect nightmares and nausea to begin with.


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## butterz (Aug 8, 2013)

How does it make you gain weight? Does it make you eat more or
does it somehow slow down the metabolism and you gain fat even if you eat the same as before? 

And how exactly didu taper down, memory? Did you go from 37,5 to 0?
Or did you open the capsule and remove pellets? Cause if you did that and still got withdrawal then this would be really bad. :surprise:

I'm really a bit worried. I mean even IF effexor worked wonders and it would help me then I'd still know that the longer I am on it the less likely I am to get off it again. This is scary. What if they stop making effexor one day or what if I have to switch to a generic cause of my insurance?

I read that the generics are much worse than real effexor.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Robley said:


> It's probably different for everyone and depends on the dose. I take about 150 mg and I can take it a couple hours late without problems. Any more than that and I'll slowly start getting the brain zaps and lightheadedness.
> 
> If you're on the fence about starting it, I can't really recommend it. It helps the anxiety a lot, but the withdrawal effects can be hell just from missing one pill. Plus it can make you really drowsy during the day. I'm not a doctor though, that's just what I've experienced with it.


I remember a psychiatrist years ago tried to tell me that Effexor had no withdrawal syndrome. Hahah. I should really write a book about all the dumb things I've heard come out of their mouths over the years.


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## butterz (Aug 8, 2013)

He probably read it in a book, this idiot. Imo psychiatrists should have to try out drugs too so that they even know what they are talking about.


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## blahblahdeeblah (Feb 20, 2015)

i didnt read the comments. not all of them. effexor causes weight gain. if you go off it without tapering down you get painful crazy horrible withdrawals. that happened to me. didnt know what was happening to me or why. it was from stopping effexor. so you go back on then taper down. to fix it. me and two of my friends gained 30 pounds on it. this was when i was 19. also, it may or may not have been one of the ones that INCREASED anxiety. it was either that or the one i took right before it or after it but it was during that time. so it may have been the effexor. whichever it was i was put on for DEPRESSION and it increased anxiety and i think it also said that it can increase anxiety in the side effects. even if it was for anxiety as well as depression. so read the side effects and see if it says it increases anxiety. if so watch out.

psych meds are all bad news. this is my opinion please do not attack me in response. its an opinion. i felt like writing it. they aren't candy. they aren't something to mess around with. they aren't to be taken lightly. who knows what they're doing to you. even if they do something for you they may eventually screw you up in bad ways. so in my opinion, the meds are very dangerous for many reasons. tons of side effects. who wants those? and lots of permanent dangerous possible side effects. its not a game. also, i think i know what im talking about after 20 years on tons of all the medications so please do not respond to this as that would be so freaking annoying.


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## blahblahdeeblah (Feb 20, 2015)

*ha ha ha. ha ha*



Noca said:


> I remember a psychiatrist years ago tried to tell me that Effexor had no withdrawal syndrome. Hahah. I should really write a book about all the dumb things I've heard come out of their mouths over the years.


The emergency room told me risperdal didn't cause weight gain. Well guess what it's a major weight gainer. I didn't know what was happening to me.

oh please put me on something that can cause permanent tardive dysconethia that I DON'T NEED. And put me on effexor that DOESN'T WORK.

Oh wait and all my therapists were completely stupid and knew NOTHING ABOUT ANYTHING. People online know more about psychology than the psychologists. SHoot me in my head now


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## zeusko87 (Sep 30, 2014)

I take my Effexor XR in the morning around 8-9 AM all at once (225 mg). If i skip a dose i don"t get any problems. Sometimes i forget to take it in the morning so i just take it afternoon


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