Dosage for Effexor on a 15 year old
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Anonymous
| My DS psychiatrist has prescribed Effexor for anxiety and this is the first time to be on anxiety meds. The dosage prescribed is 37.5mg and I feel like this will be too strong for him as I read that’s the starting dosage for adults. For those of you in similar situations what’s your child’s dosage? TIA!! |
Anonymous
| My 14 YO takes it for anxiety. She started at 37.5 and now takes 112.5. It’s working fairly well for her. |
Anonymous
| PP here- I am wondering why your psych chose Effexor as the first med though. We started with Zoloft which initially was great and then seemed to wear off so we kept raising the dose but it didn’t work so we moved on to Effexor after that. |
Anonymous
| She chose Effexor because SNRIs are known to have less side effects compared to SSRIs and DS also has problems with concentration. |
Anonymous
| My kid takes 225 mg of Effexor, which is the maximum. There is no difference in dosing in kids vs. adults. |
Anonymous
| Effexor is known to have especially brutal withdrawal effects. Please research Effexor withdrawal and discuss the pros and cons with your kid and the psych. And if you decide to use Effexor, make sure the kid takes it regularly and doesn’t miss/skip doses. |
Anonymous
Thank you so much! I have read about this and really not comfortable about filling this prescription. |
Anonymous
I was coming on here to say the same thing. I was prescribed Effexor for hot flashes after cancer treatment. It worked fairly well (and I think it helped some low-grade depression to boot), but my primary care doc thought it was raising my blood pressure. The withdrawal was horrible, and I now have complete empathy for those trying to get off opioids. I was taking a fairly low dose, but this was a while back so I can't remember exactly what it was. Like PP says, don't miss a dose; the withdrawal effects start pretty quickly. |
Anonymous
| I wouldn’t put my kid on Effexor. I took it in my 20s. |
Anonymous
Generally, SSRIs are considered the safest antidepressants and most doctors will try them first. IF anxiety is causing the concentration problems, then SSRIs could help that too. If it's ADHD, then stimulants are the first choice. You can take an SSRI and a stimulant together. |
Anonymous
What kinds of problems did you have with it in your 20s? |
Anonymous
Horrible withdrawal, including symptoms if I missed a dose or took one a few hours late. Disturbing brain shivers. Complete lack of sexual interest. I think SSRIs such as Prozac are easier to tolerate and have a track record that makes me more comfortable with them. |
Anonymous
Racking on: I’d consider it if SSRIs don’t work, but I would not start with it. |
Anonymous
| People are different- I had depression and suicidal thoughts with ssri’s. Effexor has been great for me I’m on 37.5 as a 45 year old. |
Anonymous
| Yeah, everyone is different. It’s an experiment for each person. |