Effexor and insomnia

i feel no emotions while taking effexor. no anxiety, mind you, (which is what i was using it for---GAD.) so no anxiety is good, but is it good to not feel any sorrow, empathy, joy or happiness??? I feel like i am just going through the motions of life, not really living it. but if i don't take even 1 dose, the anxirty comes back. (but the other emotions come back too) i cry more if i miss a dose, and that used to worry me into thinking i am depressed....BUT it is normal to cry when you feel sorrow or empathy. and maybe the tears have to come flowing out as a form of release, because they were withheld for so long by the effexor. other possible side effects could be: insomnia; headaches, clenching teeth, biting cheek and tongue a lot, constipation and weight gain. (hard to know if these are side effects of effexor, or symptoms of fibromyalgia).

I have been using this drug for about 8 months and have found some of the side effects can be horrible. However i am in the process of separation and im terrified to face this without them. I know i am rather numb and at times just unconnected because of the drug but without them i would be crying constantly and i hated that. I believe i have been depressed for some time and i know for me the benefits of this drug far out way the difficulties of depression! The crying, sleeplessness, inability to get anything accomplished depression sucks. For me i have not gained or lost i am about the same. My therapist tells me to go off them slowly once things settle down i am on 300 mg of them now of which i started on 75mg to start. So i will keep you updated to my progress with getting off them!

Hello,
I started taking Effexor about 4 weeks ago for social anxiety disorder. Initially I experienced some side effects such as dry mouth, trembling, feeling light headed, nausea and drowsiness. These side effects diminished and my doctor increased my dose to 75 mg, I then experienced other side effects for example very vivid dreams like watching a movie played out before me which was kind of interesting until I had a very vivid and disturbing nightmare. I also experienced weightloss. Currently I am having trouble sleeping which causes me to feel very tired in the day, and have been troubled by mild depression which I'm trying to conquer. On the positive side, i find that I'm not as anxious as I used to be however I'm a long way from complete recovery. It takes about 12 weeks to feel the full effect of the treatment and I am impatient to be rid of this horrible anxiety disorder. I'm happy to be on Effexor and can tolerate the side effects, they are nothing compared to what it's like to live with social anxiety disorder and insignificant in comparison to enduring the pain of depression.

I think I am gonna have to agree with about 90 % of the others on here.
I was on Paxil 20mg for about 7 years and then my doctor told me i must be immune to it now cause it just doesnt seem to solve any problems i suffer from Minor Depression and Generallized Anxiety Disorder ( GAD ).
My Dr. suscribed me to take Efforex 75mg once daily and see if this works.
I would have to say to that, " I THINK NOT ", ever since i have been taking them, ( 3 days ), i have been feeling worse than ever, trouble sleeping, nausious, twitching, and about 2 -3 hours afterwards i feel like i drank a keg or so.
Just had to say, Efforex, Ya sure no more for me thanks.

I,ve been on effexor xr 4 months now for depression and anxiety. Overall i have nothing really bad to say about this drug. I had trouble sleeping at first and some sexual side effects occur when my dossage is upped. Other than that I,m pleased with the results that I,m getting from this drug. I have more energy and it seemed to eliminate the minor body aches and fatigue that I I was expiencing. My depression has subsided a great deal and I can drive now without having a panic attack. I seem more comffortable around people I dont know and I have also gained a lot more confidense in myself. To be completly honest I dont know if I ever want to quit taking effexor. This drug is not for everone though. I would say to take the recommended dosage prescribed by your Dr. for the recommended time to allow the effexor to take full effect. After the 6 to 8 weeks if you're still eperiencing the same side effects, this drug is not for you. Try somthing else. If everyone in the world shared the same brain chemistry I doubt that their would be so many different anti deppressants. I wish you all the best of luck in finding true happiness, but remember the drug doesn't do the work all by itself. Their has to be a line drawn somwhere between fantasy and reallity, meaning that even perfectly normal people have bad days to.

I've been suffering from insomnia for 4 years on and off (the off when I used cannabis/alcohol). I took ecstasy every weekend for about 19-20 months, that ended two and a half years ago. And since then i've also suffered depression. Anyway I've been pescribed effexor XL 75mg, the first night I took it I'd been to the local pub (or bar for the Americans) I had a couple of pints of larger and went home. About 2:00am I still wasnt asleep and I felt like I had taken ecstacy. I kept thinking that someone had spiked my drink with XTC, got about 1 hours sleep. My pupils were very dialated and I looked like I was on drugs (the illegal ones). But it turns out it was the Effexor. I'm on my second day with it and feel like i'm on a downer and my head kills, my teeth hurt, my stomach kills, and my eyes look very starnge. Is this normal should I stop or just grit my teeth and bare it (pun intended). There is alot of bad comments about this drug but there is good ones aswell. I start college in less than a week this will be my 4th attempt I only hope I can sleep properley by then.
Stu (Beverley nr Hull, England)

i have actually been on effexor for 3 years i have no appetite but have never lost any weight , i cannot sleep at nights i was up until 7 clock this morning i did not realize how many side effects there are and i am lucky that my doctor is taking me off them and putting me on a different tablet, the first night i cut down on my effexor and took the other ones i slept for the first time all night however that only lasted one night and i have been up every night since then , i am on a lower dose of effexor but i quess it will be some time before i will see the results , it has completly changed my life as i sometimes sleep all day i feel like i have some kind of sleeping sickness through the day as i cannot stay awake , i was told to take effexor at night so it is no wonder i could not sleep , i am suffering extreme pain every day not due to the effexor at least i dont think it is i am no morphine sulphate tablets and medicine i feel like a walking wreck i am not sure how much it is due to the effexor as i am on so many tablets it would be hard to say it was that alone. i itch all day long and i do not feel i have had any benifit at all from the effexor tablets