Are you taking Effexor?

How is it working for you? What are your side effects? A place to talk with others on the same medication, and get some ideas of what to expect from your dosage. So join the club you do not have to post if you do not want to, you can just sit back and get info from the other members and then post when you are ready. Join the club what could it hurt. NOTHING :)

Canadian medications without prescription

EFFEXOR XR (venlafaxine HCl) Extended-Release Capsules are indicated for the treatment of Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), and Panic Disorder (PD) with or without agoraphobia in adults. Available in following dosages: venlafaxine 150mg, venlafaxine 75mg and venlafaxine 37.5mg

Q: Starting venlafaxine tomorrow
Hello all. I am to start taking it tomorrow, what can I expect? The doctor did not tell me anything.
I saw a few of the messages that you all wrote, should I be concerned? I just fiished taking Zoloft, it was not working for me. Please let me know if there is something to be concerned about.

Thanks, Ruth

Q: My Effexor update
hi, all; thought I'd share what was going on with me, effexor-wise.

I saw my regular doctor last week, and he suggested going from my "1-tablet every 6 hours [total of 300mg]" schedule to "2 apsules every 12 hours [same total, 300mgs]", to make it easier for me. As soon as I started the switchover [Thursday evening], I started getting a headache [not debilitating, but definitely unpleasant]; I wound up taking 1/2 a tablet along with the 2 capsules, since I was sure it was 'effexor level in the blood-stream' related. That continued thru Monday AM, when I didn't need the extra 1/2 tablet [Monday PM, tho, the headache came back, so I added the 1/2 tablet]. The sweats have been back, too, but that's all.

hope to hear from you all
soon,

Rick

Q: Venlafaxine Dosage
I have discovered that my medication has some limits as to its effectiveness. Tuesday I got necessarily (really) irate at some moron and the exitement was followed by a little bit of an emotional roller coaster, not to bad but it still sucked. Last night I got some (later found out to have been misinterperated) really upsetting news and got really emotionally messed up, that was settling a little when someone else upset me. Needless to say I've had a not so great couple of days. Anyway, after that little synopsis, if you want details let me know and I will expand upon the story, I am wondering if maybe I might need to get my dosage increased, or is this pretty normal. Being relatively new to the whole drug thing I'm not yet sure of the limits of control that I should expect. Any insite would be most appreciated. Oh yeah this was great, my doctor left me a message to call, I called and they couldn't remember why they called, and would get back to me when they remembered. Uh, I hope it wasen't important.

A little big of a mental milkshake going on right now,

Travis

Pharmacy articles:

Safety and Effects of Generic Meds

If you treat with generic drugs you are able to save more than 50% of a price that you would spend on the brand name drugs. It is very beneficial but the question is the following: are generic medications safe? The FDA states that generic medicines have the same safety and efficiency as the brand name medications do.

To understand the differences between brand name drugs and their generic equivalents, learn about what brand name and generic drugs are.

A branded medication can be manufactured and sold only by the company that possesses the patent for this drug. Brand name medications are available either by prescription or over-the-counter.

A generic equivalent of a drug can be manufactured after the patent of a brand name drug expires. According to the standards, a generic form of a medication must have the same active component as an original drug. Besides, a generic version must possess the same properties as a brand name medication in terms of: dosage, strength, safety, mechanism of action, the usage, and the indication of a drug.

Before appearing in the market, generic medicines must be approved by the FDA, so there should be no questions regarding safeness of these drugs.

Still, a number of people are not sure if generic medications are as safe and effective as their branded versions.

In accordance with the rules of the FDA, both brand name and generic medications must be effective in treating of correspondent diseases and be safe. Generic medications contain the same active components as their brand name versions and, hence, they have the same risks and positive effects.

High-quality, safety, and effectiveness of generic meds are controlled by the FDA. Furthermore, the FDA requires from generic drug manufacturers to meet the same high standards as a brand name drug manufactures have.

One more important fact is that nearly a half of all generic medications are manufactured by brand name pharmaceutical companies. They make either cheap copies of their own drugs or of other company’s brand name medications.

Many people wonder why generics and branded drugs look in different ways whereas contain the same ingredients.

According to U.S. trademark regulations, generic drugs must not have the same appearance as their branded versions. In spite the fact that generic medications must contain the same active components as the branded medications, the color, flavor, shape and some additional ingredients must be different.

One more frequently question is whether each brand name medication has a generic analogue.

As a rule, brand name drugs have patents for about 17 years, which protects them from copying them by other pharmaceutical companies. The pharmaceutical company that launches the production and distribution of a certain drug spends money on the researches, development, and marketing, that is why they require some time for making profits from the new drug. As soon as the patent ends, other pharmaceutical companies which are approved by the FDA can start production and distributing of generic versions.

That is why drugs that have been presented on the market for less than 17 years don’t have generic analogues. But your some other medication that has a generic version can be prescribed by the medical provider instead of a high-expensive branded drug.

The next question is why generic analogues are cheaper than branded ones?

The answer is very simple and evident. It costs much for a company to launch a new medication. Companies spend huge sums on researches and then promotion of a new drug. Generic medication companies don’t need to spend money on all these things as a generic medication is just a similar version of already well-known drug.

As soon as a generic drug is approved, other companies have a right to produce and sell this medication which creates a competition between these companies, hence, the prices become lower. As a result, generic versions often cost 30% - 50% less than their branded analogues.

Nevertheless, a number of medical professionals stay reluctant to prescribe generic medications. Although an active component in a generic drug and in its branded version is the same, small differences in the composition of a drug might affect the action of a medication in the body. Some people can feel this slight differences and a generic version might be not so effective.

Prior to switching to a generic version, one should consult with a medical professional first in order to avoid possible risks during the treatment and to get the benefits from a medication.