Thanks so much sue that’s great to hear I’ve only been on it two weeks so I assume this is very early to tell? I feel it helped the rocking sensation quickly although I was told to go up to 75mg and that has made me feel a bit off but hoping it’s from going up. Was Effexor ur first med? I don’t get vertigo as such do you mean spinning ? Thanks so much for the reply
I think that may have changed rather recently. Dr Hain (US) recommended 37.5mg as maximum because of difficulties which occur withdrawing at higher levels, now his text is amended and he seems to use up to 75mg on occasion. Doctors in other countries (Ireland, and UK) seem to have recently started using it for MAV and it seems, in stubborn cases, they work towards 150mg the neurologists that believe in it. Others don’t seem to recognise it for MAV at all. Helen
Thanks for the update. It’s good to know that if I needed it, I could take a higher dose.
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Hey Amy! And everybody else …
How soon did the insomnia kick in? After 5 hours of sleeping in here wide awake, it’s 2:45am 
I’ve only taken 2 dosages of Effexor XR so I’m not sure if that could be causing insomnia so quick
Well I don’t take it but I see no reason why it shouldn’t cut in that quickly. Bear in mind the total state of flux your brain is in. Your anxiety levels, Nori and Effexor tapering. I’d say expect anything to happen and you won’t be far wrong. These are brain altering drugs. Helen
(PS If you want to be sure Amy sees that post edit it to include her full username)
Hi Diana, yes it’s pretty immediate when you take effexor, best thing is to take it early am. I had a few nights of this at the start but it will settle for you. It may reappear as you increase dosage too bear with it, its a good med. Take care x
Absolutely yes, quite nauseous for a few days and on each increase, am med sensitive so I feel everything quickly. But like the insomnia, it does settle. I take it early am with brekkie always. Even now, if I didn’t have food within an hour and a half, my tummy would feel it.
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Can I ask what dose you’ve started at? Helen
The capsule 37.5 mg has 37 beads, I’m taking 19 of them and putting them bCk in the capsule and discarding the rest. So that puts me st around half the dose
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yeah, insomnia is immediate. It settles after a few weeks. Nausea and diarrhea are also commons temporary side effects.
I only asked about the nausea because of embarrassment but thank God you mentioned the other 
reassurance always makes me feel better
dont discard the rest. Just use them the next day. Have them with apple sauce or just water ! It is a relatively expensive med.
Would that cause any problems for somebody with GERD? I thought about it, even about some vegetable empty capsules somebody mentioned but I thought that could alter the extended release part.
It’s definitely not a cheap medication and insurance seem to want to control it …I was giving a 60 pill prescriptuon for when I start taking two pills (eventually let the dr know and they can just sent a higher dosage prescription) but the insurance wasn’t having it and only gave me 30 and said I would have to get the prescription for the higher one since they only allow 1 pill per day
So reading between the lines am I right in assuming you have been told to eventually increase the Effexor so you take one x 37.5mg XR pills twice a day. Is that correct? I only ask because someone else queried that. Perhaps that is common practice. We can only assume these neurologists are clever people as surely they must be but it seems odd being told to take XR pills which are desinged to be taken once a day twice daily. Must be some reason for it even thiugh the PILs state “to be taken once daily”. Be interesting to know why that is done with MAV. Helen
You are correct Helen. Twice a day, she left it up to me depending on how I do with it if I want to do one in the am and one pm or both at the same time. Apparently I’m gonna have to do it just at the same time or pay out of pocket for the rest because my insurance only covers one pill per day. But this is assuming I’ll need a higher dose than 37.5
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are u taking the brand or generic? r u in the us?
Sorry for my earlier cryptic message, I am lazy to write on the phone. I think you should only take it once in the morning if taking the extended release. And if you are in the US, the generic of venlafaxine is pretty cheap, like $15 dollars. The brand, effexor, is ridiculously expensive and you need special permission from insurance to get it.
haha, yes, in my experience nausea and diarrhea got better in a few days (less than a week), and insomnia over weeks (probably two months).
It’s beginning to look to me as of doctors are using the XR like it was Immediate Release. That could just be because the immediate release has reputation for Super Side Effects here in the UK. My GP volunteered that info which is out of character. She will only prescribe XR she said so. I know someone else who has been told to take XR twice a day too. She thought it was a mistake but checked back and her neuro confirmed it. Helen