I've read some of the effexor stuff...i have been on it 9 days and my panic has been ridiculous. my blood just feels like it's boiling constantly. i called the psychiatrist on friday afternoon and he called in xanax....it helped me sleep friday night. took .25 yesterday morning and managed to have a pretty good day. i broke down crying about 5pm after a talk about our wedding budget (one of the things i think contributing to my off the chart stress level) and then took .5 at 11. Fell asleep about midnight and was hoping my fiance would be coming to bed. Well, he is working on his final project for school. I had panic until 2 am when he came to bed. This morning I took my effexor and again .25 of the xanax. I still feel tightness in my right arm. I remember last time I came off meds in 2006 and I was just so physically exhausted from how bad my heart and arm ached. Anyway...back to the point....has ANYONE had luck with effexor? The doc thinks I may being have a paradoxial reaction with increased panic. I told him Friday I would wait it out with the xanax, but I don't think it's gonna help. His next choice was to go back to zoloft. That was the first med I took 8 years ago...I don't even really remember how great it worked then. I know I was able to finish my junior and senior years of high school happily, so I guess it worked for me. ay dios mio!

just had to taken another .25 xanax after having otherwise a great day. tomorrow morning i'm calling the doc. i think i've already decided in my head effexor is the problem not the solution! hopefully going back to tried and tested zoloft will help! i have a lot coming up that i'm excited about and i want to be happppppppppy!

I was on Effexor for 3 1/2 years. It was a life saver for me.

It relieved the symptoms of depression and therefore I could actually work on Panic and Anxiety in therapy.

I found getting over Panic and Anxiety is a lot of hard work, but totally worth it.

In addition to meds and therapy I have utilized Massage, Acupuncture, Nutrition Counseling, Exercise, Yoga, Meditation/Visualization, and lots of creative outlets such as painting, drawing and writing.

It took everything I could do -- and it worked.

I hope you find a way to put together a good program of recovery. It's a lot more than just "the right medication" -- that is usually just a small part of the real recovery and surviving (and moving into THRIVING)!

thanks ceejay for your input. i have had this since i was 8 years old and it likes to come and go. i've had to go back and kind of re-evaluate what my last "outbreak" was like 3 years ago. it seemed like once the right meds were working, then the therapy and massages and doing things i enjoyed were just that much easier. i spent some time talking to my dad on the phone tonight about all of it, because i am just like my mom. unfortunately, she passed away (hence the occurence 3 years ago) and i wish i could ask her some of these questions. my dad reminded me that she too had some meds that just phsyologically didn't work for her either. this feeling of my blood boiling and hot skin and increased panic is unlike any of the other 3 meds i've tried over the years. first thing tomorrow is to call the psychiatrist, and i'm also expecting a phone call to set up my first therapy session in over 4 years. i know this will be a life long thing....

I'm sorry to hear you lost your mom. Grief can certainly be a long-term process, and I hope you have and continue to have some healing and some peace around that. It's great that you have your dad to talk to -- family can be so important!

I do believe you're right - these meds affect certain chemicals and if we're not on the right one then it isn't doing its job, and in fact, is doing 'other' stuff that we don't need!

Good luck getting your meds straightened out.

And do investigate some creative outlets -- art classes, writing workshops...things like that. Sometimes these can be as helpful as medication!

I am currently on Effexor, and it has been wonderful. I have been taking it for about a year now, and it has stopped my panic attacks that I was having in the middle of the night. Also, there have been no side-affects, which has been great. I am thankful, because I didn't have to go through trying different medications.

It's true that everyone is different, and so what works for one person may not work for another.

I am also in counselling, and have been for about a year. This has been very important, because I have learned different and more helpful ways of thinking.

I agree with Ceejay, getting out and becoming involved in different activities can be just as helpful.