Effexor XR - What is the highest dose you can take?
Question posted by cz2007 on 8 July 2018
Last updated on 29 January 2019 by Baron_gordo
3 Answers
I have been taking Effexor for 12 years. At least 6 of those have been with a dose above 300mg. I’ve been at 450 for over a year. I’m 6 foot 200lbs and male currently 41 years old. Been seeing the same psychiatrist for the entire time. Doctors do go above recommend dosages for certain cases. I’ve heard of people at 600mg but my doctor won’t go above 450
I was on Effexor & Effexor XR for years. My Dr. had me passed the max dose at one time. It can cause serotonin syndrome... I was on 450mg when, 300mg is the actual max dose I was on for years.
It was the most difficult to discontinue especially, at a very high dosage & after, being on it for many years. I personally, had a very bad experience with Effexor-mentally & Physically.
Please, be careful... take care!
May I ask what you switched to? This drug is working for my mood but the physical side effects are too much to take for a long time.
I have stopped antidepressants completely for over a year now. I didn’t do well on any I have tried. The meds I have tried- the list is very long... I was depressed on antidepressants. Once, I stopped taking them. I am no longer depressed.
It’s all individualized. What may work for one person doesn’t for another. My friend finds cymbalta to help her after, having a very negative reaction to Effexor. My other friend who suffers from depression and panic attacks feels best on remeron. I have had negative & worsening symptoms on all I have tried besides remeron. I just felt like I had the flu. It’s a rare side effect. I wasn’t on it long enough to tell you the true affect of the medication... but, I can tell you I was a lot calmer and able to sleep at the time.
Effexor was the most difficult to discontinue out of all I have been on in my life. I agree there!
The last antidepressant I tried was Prozac, for PMDD, Panic disorder & OCD- I felt out of control like a complete lunatic... my mood & my panic were the worse it’s ever been. The good thing about it was it was the easiest medication to ever discontinue...
If, it’s just depression & Effexor seems to help well for you. Maybe, try Pristiq it came out once, Pfizer lost their patented for Effexor XR. I was on it ten years ago. I did what I had to do everyday. I had lessened side effects, not as moody, or impulsive on it- especially, when compared to Effexor XR. I don’t know much about you to say this may help better...
A bit about my experience just in the last ten years- even, more so the last three.
August 2016 I actually, had serotonin syndrome it was not just because, I was on Effexor. It because, I was on Effexor while my doctor added TRINTELLIX at the same time -I was also, on other medication that were not antidepressants but, increased serotonin levels as well... Even though I was on lower dose of Effexor just-150mg at the time. I began feeling very detached like I was in a movie/a nightmare. I would become so, angry out of nowhere as I would destroy things that I wouldn’t remember having blackouts. I called my Doctor at the time and she told me to give it a chance after, I spoke with her about how I felt and the thing I was doing that was not me at all!
Two days later without a thought not even a bad day... I overdosed on one medication- It was a very difficult & painful recovery- I wouldn’t ever want to go through that again!
After, I was out of the hospital/s... after, trusting her with my life for over a decade-I questioned her judgment and began to call her out and quoted her back on her promises to discontinue certain medications. After, a few months or so, of not feeling heard with her knowingly giving me medication I haven’t done well on in the past and I still don’t do well on. I stopped Effexor & went inpatient to safely stop benzodiazepines too. I was dismissed from my doctor after, seeing her over 12 years... because, of noncompliance ha... it was actually, the best thing to happen given the situation.
I have a great doctor now. He listens and doesn’t push medication on on me. Doesn’t just do a quick fix that doesn’t work out well later on...
I was one one medication when, I began with my previous Doctor. I ended up on 7-12 medications at a time to mask other symptoms rather than, discontinue any medications that worsened symptoms continually having adverse effects... Everything happens for a reason. I am a lot better and no longer misdiagnosed or over medicated.
I know it wasn’t a direct answer as it went a little off topic. It was the best way to help understand my situation and why I no longer take antidepressants.
I hope that you find what you need as I wish you well!
Take care!
Hi, cz! 225mg/day is the maximum dosage except for the most severely depressed patients (usually in hospital):
https://www.drugs.com/dosage/effexor-xr.html
I take 300mg of Effexor XR. I’ve been on that dose for 5 years. I think it depends on how conservative your doctor is. The FDA suggests the highest dose of Effexor XR is 225mg and inpatient is 300mg. The guideline is written for every drug so Doctors can easily tell what is a safe and therapeutic dose based on studies done and for Effexor XR it shows 225mg is the highest dose that’s effective. With that being said it’s not a legal guidebook they must follow. It is a suggestion and should be taken into consideration. I know people on much higher doses but not many. The highest dose with a good amount of people on is 300mg. However, before you try getting your doctor to increase your dose look up Effexor discontinuation syndrome. I wish I knew about it before I started. Good luck!
" Whether or not higher doses of Effexor XR are needed for more severely depressed patients is unknown; however, the experience with Effexor XR doses higher than 225 mg per day is very limited."
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effexor, effexor xr, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, dosage
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