My 93-year-old takes most of her medicines but lately she is refusing her Effexor. How can I get her to take that medicine?

Depends on the dose - it may be OK to quit if the dose is not real high, and she is iether not needing it or needs something else due to side effects. Continuing to take meds as prescribed is usally a virtue UNELSS there are dangerous side effects going on - yes of course, the doctor deserves a call or two about it, but if they are insensitive to side effect issues or flat out don't believe the person, that can be a huge problem as well.

I didn't have enough room to mention, she is in a nursing home. The problem is she takes ambien at night to help her sleep, lately is up and down several times during the night, they have been giving her a PRN xanax. I am wondering if her not taking the effexor is part of the sleeping problem at night. Now they are upping her ambien. Trying to figure out a way to get her to take effexor.

Effexor usually causes a little insomnia - but everyone is different. Some people react backwards to Xanax and even Ambien. If she can't tell you, its also possible she has reflux that wakes her up at night. I hope your doctor is helpful, I can't even get through to my mom's lately...

My friend started taking the effexor, and she loves it. She used to take prozac and some of the other ones you hear about, but this one she likes best. If it causes insomnia, can't she take it in the morning, or is this only at night?