EFFEXOR Reviews (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE)

Average Rating: 3.0 (925 Ratings)

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 ANTIDEPRESSANTS

 Type: Rx Drug

  

EFFEXOR  (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE):  Venlafaxine is used to treat depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and social anxiety disorder (social phobia). It may improve your mood and energy level and may help restore your interest in daily living. It may also decrease fear, anxiety, unwanted thoughts, and the number of panic attacks. Venlafaxine is known as a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). It works by helping to restore the balance of certain natural substances (serotonin and norepinephrine) in the brain.   FDA Approval Date: 1993-12-28 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

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Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR EFFEXORCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 1  Depression I took it many years ago but just found this website. I would get electric shocks constantly. It also made me feel brain dead. I stayed on it so long because my doctor said to give it more time. I should have quit it sooner. Didn’t help my depression at all but it made the doctor happy. And the pharmaceutical company. F 56 9 months
Don’t reme 1X day
1/26/2023
 3  Anxiety and depression Extreme highs and lows Deja  vu with temp rise, dizziness, and nausea When dose increases I'd be going up on a roller coaster and felt great for a few weeks then I'd hit the peak and level off. About 3 weeks -a month after the up the downward slope would be an awful ride and an emotional mess F 29 2 years
225 1X day
11/3/2022
 3  Depression/Anxiety I think it did help with anxiety, but only because it kind of numbed me out, which helped with depression as well. Unfortunately it started to not only stop working, it seemed to enhance feelings of not caring, not wanting to get out of bed. It was like I'd overdosed on apathy. I'm weaning myself off it (down to 75mg) but the side effects of stopping it are bizarre. I don't think it's that great. I think natural supplements like L-theanine and GABA are better. F 55 3 years
150 1X day
7/5/2022
 4  Anxiety Gained 15 pounds quick Constantly crave sweets Makes me lazy - like no motivation to even get up Hard to orgasm I actually really liked Effexor aside from the above side effects. However, I can't let myself be fat and this med was putting weight on me so fast it was crazy. I was the heaviest I've ever been and at 40 it's not so easy to lose so I had to get ahold of it which meant coming off the med. F 40 5 months
37.5 1X day
5/4/2022
 1  Depression pain Horrible headache pain anxiety worse no sex drive Brain zaps confusion Never ever take this med. Feel like I am dying trying to get off. Can not function with all withdrawal symptoms. Back on Cymbalta which I realize now was really working for pain and worth sweating side effect. My pain level is intense with vertigo and nausea. Two weeks of hell after stopping this bad drug. Please let others know never to take Effexor F 63 3 days
150 1X day
3/23/2022
Email
 2  Depression felt like zombie. Felt and did nothing. Restless leg syndrome at night. Side effects with no benefits. Sexual side effects, of course. I've taken 8 other antidepressants, and this is the only one that taught me what people mean when they say their doctor gave them a drug that made them a zombie. M 40 14 days
75mg 1X day
9/11/2021
 2  GAD/major depression At first this drug worked great for me. It even gave me sex drive back after Zoloft took it away for years. But then after each year my dosage kept going up and up because I still felt depressed and anxious. We even added other meds to help with the anxiety (Wellbutrin, hydroxine) and it made it worse. I've gained about 25 lbs and became very isolated on Effexor. No energy, always moody, unmotivated, sad.. Trying to withdrawal from it is a nightmare. I'm praying I can get through this withdrawal and be done with this horrible drug. Stay away from this medicine if you can. Side effects of withdrawal: severe dizziness, nausea, insomnia, sweats, crying, extreme hunger, irritability, swooshing in my head and ears, concentrating problems, hot flashes, and feeling like I'm going to spew my guts out. I'm tapering off of 275 mg and I'm now on 37.5 mg and it's still a horrible withdrawal feeling on the 37.5 F 37 3 years
275 MG 1X day
8/27/2021
 1  Depression and anxiety Memory difficulties, decreased sexual interest, no emotions, no interest in activities The withdrawal symptoms are horrible. I don't understand why any health care provider would prescribe this medication to anyone. If I live through the symptoms of dizziness, sadness/depression, mood swings, suicidal thoughts, anxiety and nausea, I will consider myself lucky. F 60 21 days
1X day
7/14/2021
 2  Depression and anxiety IBS-D Dry mouth and throat, achy muscles, EXTREME sweating, headaches, total loss of sex drive. I don't think my depression and anxiety were bad enough to deal with the side effects of this med. F 52 2 months
75mg 1X day
6/21/2021
Email
 5  Menopausal Hot/Cold Flashes No sex drive and a lack of sensation in the genital area, the worst GERD, higher blood pressure, higher cholesterol (in a person who previously had a average bp 90/70), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and poor bowel movement because the anal sphincter becomes impaired on Effexor. Emotions: Inability to cry, just numb and slightly pissed. I was initially prescribed 37.5mg. The hot/cold flashes were reduced by 75% in the 1st 2 weeks. After 6 mos, not so much. Needed 75mg to maintain. After 18 months I was feeling really good, too good to be true. Then I couldn't stay sleeping at night, my hands started to shake often, suddenly my health stats started to decline (ie:blood pressure, cholesterol, sugar) sweating profusely all of the time but not feeling hot. The hot/cold flashes that I experienced were far worse then any of these symptoms. If they return I will take Effexor again. Until these side effects appear again. Effexor gave me energy to get out of bed and take better care of myself without those awful hot/cold flashes. However, detoxing/tapering/titrating from Effexor is challenging. I am currently detoxing alone taking 1 every other day for 1 week, than every 50 hours, 55 hours, etc. until I am done. Will do it over a course of 2-3 months to minimize side effects. So far, brain zaps, dizziness, slight nausea; which are distracting but not more than awful hot/cold flashes. F 56 2 years
75mg
6/8/2021
 2  MDD, GAD, PTSD Nausea, headaches, twitching, constipation, increased hunger, increased weight gain, worse body odour, heat intolerance and fatigue Didn't work that well for my depression and gave me a bunch of awful side effects. Withdrawal is awful. Do not recommend. F 25 1 years
225 mg
6/5/2021
 4  Depression and anxiety Loss of sex drive, muted emotions, weight gain Withdrawal is miserable, brain zaps, anxiety, tearfulness, high BP, bad dreams, irritability. I have had very limited support in going off medication, other than taper slowly. I have to work and take care of people! Going off slowly. 150 to 75 mg, been taking that for a month, now down to 37.5. Will probably take that for at least two weeks before tapering further. Take a different medication! F 54 10 years
150 1X day
5/24/2021
 2  Depression/anxiety RLS, crazy dreams, tired all the time, anxiety was worse than before, head feels swimmy after stopping, with worse dreams. F 33 5 months
150mg 1X day
3/12/2021
Email
 1  Anxiety and depression This medicine helped with anxiety and depression more than most I've tried however the cons outweighed the pros. NO organs in a year, I couldn't find my husband who I KNOW I'm attracted to, attractive. Sex is once a month and its the biggest chore ever which is not me. I am fat. Gained 30 lbs in the first 3 months no matter how little I ate or how much I excersized which was a LOT. I am drowsy like taking benadryl or sedative all the time! O sweat buckets. My boobs even sweat!!! I had headaches galore and extreme lights sensitivity. This is to name just the cons I can think of. I am currently weaning of the MINIMUM dosage it is hell that I would only wish on my worst enemies. I feel like I'm being electrocuted with a light socket. My head hurts my eyes feel oddly swollen and painful. I feel like I need to throw up. I took painkillers for the withdrawal symptoms and even that doesn't do a thing. I feel like I'm dying a very slow and miserable death. F 30 1 years
35.5 1X day
12/29/2020
Email
 1  Anxiety and Panic Felt lethargic. Made mood worse. Did not do anything for my condition. SSRI & SNRI are so overrated drugs. I do better on older meds like Tricyclics. M 24 6 weeks
11/24/2020
 2  Anxiety depression Metallic taste, dry mouth, nervous, hot, sweaty, odd dreams, nauseous, increased heart rate, and more F 39 2 weeks
3/12/2020
 1  general anxiety disorder Insomnia, metallic taste in mouth, increased anxiety. Already taking Lunesta as sleep aid. Doctor experimenting on monthly basis. Can tell where this is headed, so stopping now. As a chef, the last thing I need is no sleep and an impaired palette. M 53 8 days
75
1/22/2020
 3  depression You’ll get a hell of a cardio workout on this thing bc you wont be able to achieve orgasm F 51 3 days
76
11/12/2019
Email
 1  Bipolar manic depressant When I first 🌟 taking effexor I was in a Florida prison they did not say it was an addictive medication then I was transferred back to county to clear up some loose ends immediately I started having withdrawals and bad night sweats diarrhea headaches throwing just to name a few I rode it out and never took it again ask plenty of questions before taking this medication 100 days
9/11/2019
 1  Migraines Worse feeling ever! DO NOT TAKE Had insomnia within 2 hours of taking it before bed, brain zaps, sweating, nausea, food aversion, migraine. Pumped water to flush it out of my system. Lost a whole day feeling like absolute death. F 47 1 days
75mg 1X day
6/24/2019
Email
  

EFFEXOR  (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE):  Venlafaxine is used to treat depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and social anxiety disorder (social phobia). It may improve your mood and energy level and may help restore your interest in daily living. It may also decrease fear, anxiety, unwanted thoughts, and the number of panic attacks. Venlafaxine is known as a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). It works by helping to restore the balance of certain natural substances (serotonin and norepinephrine) in the brain.   FDA Approval Date: 1993-12-28 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

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