to 5 weeks
I took Effexor for major depression for about two years. Like most antidepressants, it takes 3 to 5 weeks before you start to feel any improvement in your mood, if in fact it’s going to work at all. For me, I got some relief from the blackness and disconnected feelings I had, but it was not as good as Zoloft. I had to stop taking that drug because it gave me uncontrollable diarrhea. Effexor was not without side effects of its own. I had some intestinal problems resembling a mild case of IBS, alternating constipation and diarrhea. This was manageable, though annoying. I also had increased perspiration, particularly at the extremities. When I felt that it was no longer helping me, I tapered off it on my own, not telling my doctor about it until some time later. There was an increase in irritability, but my depression did not deepen. Eventually, my moods returned to normal, as did my sweating and bowel movements.
