Effexor vs citalopram
Common Questions and Answers about Effexor vs citalopram
effexor
Never rush coming of psych. meds. I'm on Effexor, as Citalopram didn't help.Am on it for life, as I've relapsed several times, only to end up in Psych. Hospital. Consultant insisted that it is in my best interest to remain on Effexor 150 mg as a 'maint. dose. Along with 3.75 mg. of Zopiclone (sleeping tablet) Since I've not quitted Effexor I can't answer your question. Take longer than you are tempted to before you quit.
My doctor put me all the way up to 150 mg of effexor and it made me worse. I've only tried xanax once recreationally so I don't really know the side effects. But my doctor reduced me to 37.5 mg of effexor and 20 mg of celexa (citalopram) plus 5 mg twice a day of clonazepam.
I have found that the clonazepam has helped a lot, although I have been feeling extremely tired. But at least I don't have a constant knot in my stomach or get panic attacks.
does anyone have any experience with citalopram? i am switching from effexor to citalopram because the cost is cheaper. i have been taking effexor for mild depression, insomnia, and hot flashes.
I stopped taking Effexor XR four months ago and I've been on Citalopram for the past 2 months. It's not helping and I want to go back to Effexor which helped me a lot more. For both meds I had to go through a month of hell before they started to work. Will I need another month for Effexor to start working again or will my body remember it and therefore will allow it to start working straight away?
Perhaps you can help answering: does substitution of citalopram by effexor would help the withdral that I'm having now by not taking citalopram? It's been 4 days and I have brain zaps, dizziness...it's hard to deal with and I don't have a doctor to go to. Would effexor take the effects of withdral? Thanks.
I have been on almost every depression pill known to man over the past 10 years and I can say the only prescriptions that did not cause me weight gain are the ones i'm currently on, which are citalopram and wellbutrin sr.
Today, he switched me from Effexor to Celexa, which is good because I was never completely happy with Effexor anyway. However, he said that I can stop the Effexor cold turkey and go straight to the Celexa. Is this correct? I always thought you had to taper off Effexor, and I know how badly it affects me if I even miss a single dose. I took my "last" Effexor today, and am supposed to replace it completely with the Celexa tomorrow. Is that advisable?
1 mixture of (S)-Citalopram and (R)-Citalopram]; Escitalopram [(S)-Citalopram) is a pure enantiomer. The dosages for Escitalopram are typically 1/2 of those for Citalopram, and there are fewer side effects, suggesting that most side effects come from the (R)-enantiomer.''
Basically escitalopram is the new citalopram with less side-effects and requires only half the dosage and I think it is the reason for it's cheaper price.
-http://en.wikipedia.
I have been taking Effexor 37.5 xr for about 2 1/2 weeks and keep a constant headache. I was prescribed this for night sweats. Will I have a problem if I stop taking it?
I was on Lexapro then to citalopram because of costs, added effexor and still had such horrific depression I wouldn't get out of bed for days. Then I started on 5mg saphris twice a day. At first I felt great but a little too high, so went from 80 mg citalopram to 40 mg a day.
Impossible to predict. Twitches/tremors are things that are associated with SSRI's they are things I've had in past, but they are no problem now. Citalopram failed me after 3 yrs, went on to Effexor XR & that works for me.
I take Celexa (citalopram) and I have taken Effexor XR in the past. The Effexor was best for my GAD, but I still needed Klonopin (.5 mg 2x a day) to keep the panick attacks away. BTW I quit the Effexor xr because I switched to insurance that only covers generics. I had no problem tapering off it unlike some horror stories I've heard from others. I now take the Celexa and klonopin and seem to be fine for now.
i took it for about a year and then got off it because one side effect was increased appetite and I gained like 20+ pounds. So I then went to Effexor, Lexapro, Remron, and I am now on Pristiq. SO far the prestiq has helped my depression. I got severely depressed a few months back because I was not doing anything. I would just lay in my room all day because of the fear of my panic attacks. Anyway lets just say that I am getting back to my old and happy self.
I started with 187,5mg Effexor and my strong depression went away in 3 months. Because of a dizzy brain, difficulty in concentration I reduced to 75mg. But still I feel sick and tired in the afternoon - strange but it becomes better after meal. But I have to take a antidepressiva for a long time, to reduce the risk of a fallback. So I search for a better drug with less sideeffects.
I tried zoloft and citalopram but the sideeffects were worse.
I am currently taking 75mg of Effexor XR at bedtime. It makes me SO tired during the day I can hardly be productive in anyway. I have read that Effexor ONLY acts as an SNRI at 150mg's and above. Anything below- Effexor is just an SSRI.
I got had to get off of Zoloft because of how tired it made me.
Is it possible that by talking with my doctor to increase my does to 150 mg; would the tiredness decrease?
Paroxetine (Paxil), Fluoxetine (Prozac) and Citalopram/Escitalopram (Celexa, Lexapro) are inhibitors of CYP2D6 - the enzyme responsible for metabolizing lots of medications. Fluvoxamine (Luvox) is inhibiting another enzyme.
Sertraline (Zoloft) do not have this side effect, and Venlafaxine (Effexor, a SNRI) is also perhaps a good choice, as itdood said.
Citalopram and Escitalopram are both prolonging the cardiac repolarization and they are usually not recommended with arrhythmias.
So, I am now on day 4 of Effexor and so far so good. No ups and downs like citalopram and no zomby on Mirtazapine. Hearing horror stories about Effexor though. Feeling good so I'm trying to not worry - I always thought I was not an anxious person, but now realizing that I internalize it. So hopefully this is a good mix for me.
Just wanted to drop a line.
I stopped taking Effexor because it was so expensive and I don't have health insurance anymore. I also started taking Celexa and so far so good! Plus it is a lot cheaper!
Hi,
I was started on nefazadone hydrochloride years ago, worked well but was withdrawn from the market, citalopram for about 12 years, weight gain and few other side effects. stopped working. Escitalopram gave me fast hearbeat as did trazadone, Setraline fast or slow and irreg heartbeat. Never considered effexor xr/venlafaxine as i was so put off with the reviews of weight gain and the awful discontinuation symptoms. Prozac was great but major weight gain in two months.
I missed 3 days of my 20mg Citalopram prescription (which I've been on for years). I missed because I didn't refill in time. Anyway, SO FAR, I feel better than I have in I don't know how long. The medicine has always kept me very even-keel, but too much so. I never cry much or get depressed, but I don't get as happy and excited as I used to either. I'm pretty tired of not being my silly, happy self.
i have never taken wellbutrin but my daughter does, i have taken effexor. for me the effexor was terrible, but some people on this site do very well with it. it made me extremly tired, heart palpitations, raised my blood pressure, jaw pain and many other problems. my daughter says the wellbutrin helps her depression but makes her anxiety worse so if you have anxiety you may have to take something for that on top of the wellbutrin. in my opinion, effexor is horrible, i hated it.
This is my case and it is difficult to understand what I am suffering from most now as the effects of being on effexor are much like a thyroid gone bad. And since I stopped effexor and all antideppresson drugs almost 7 months ago. However now I feel effexor withdrawls are worse. I am aware of this happening and am trying to deal with both problems. Has anyone else felt this same thing and if so how do you deal with it, how do you tell which is which, thyroid or effexor?
Hi, I am on Citalopram for years as was mistakenly diagnosed with depression (i am bipolar 2). I wouldn't say Citalopram is additictive . I would say it is very gentle drug compare to others eg Effexor. However you can't stop taking it once as it will lead into side effects. It happened to me that after just three days of not having it I was very depressed, angry and bit of out of myself. I was on 20 mg. I am still on it but started to take mood stabilaser as well.
Not true that people find Effexor more effective. They all affect each individual differently. Effexor tends to have far more side effects than Zoloft, and is known to be much more difficult to quit. On the other hand, are you sure Zoloft is any safer during pregnancy? Whatever the case, you'll have to taper very carefully off Effexor before you start Zoloft so you can tell which is a side effect of Zoloft and which is a withdrawal effect of Effexor.
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