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
 
 4  depression/ anxiety/ OCD insomnia, loss of appetite, drastic weight loss, nausea, restless legs, sweating i've only been on it for about two weeks, but so far so good. i notice i don't get as irritated or angry at work. started on 37.5 mg, now up to 70 mg. i'm not good about taking my doses at the same time every day, but haven't experienced any negative effects as a result. this is my first antidepressant and I know many people need to try a few before they get the right relief, but i think this is working well for me. only worry is possible future weight gain, brain zaps, etc. that others who have taken it longer experience. seems that the higher doses cause more negative effects overall. hopefully i won't need to be on this for long. the weight loss and extra energy add to my elevated mood. F 33 14 days
9/10/2008
 1  anxiety/depression Terrible withdrawal symptoms I took this medication for a week at a low dose and my doctor said I did not have to wean off before stoping since my dose was so low. She couldn't have been more wrong! I had chills, nausea, flu symptoms, crawling sensation all over my skin for 3 weeks. I did not realize at all it was withdrawal and had CAT scans and all sorts of other tests done before figuring it out. I even went to a neurologist who had no idea why I had crawling sensation. I missed 3 weeks of work. I don't think the drug companies tell you about these withdrawal symptoms. I figured out what was going on by reading postings like these. F 53 7 days
9/10/2008
 3  Depression / PMDD Dry Mouth, Decreased Sex Drive, Joint Pain, Hot Flashes, Insomnia, I have only been on Effexor for about a month and a half. The worst side effects were in the first three weeks. Insomnia and decreased sex drive are still a major problem for me as well as the occasional hot flash. However, I have noticed a significant improvement in the way I feel and interact with others F 38 6 weeks
9/9/2008
 5  SEVERE ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, BULIMIA NIGHT SWEATS, WEIGHT LOSS, FEEL LIKE HELL IF I AM LATE ON A DOSE. ANXIETY NIXXED, DEPRESION GONE, BULIMIA IS EASIER TO MANAGE DUE TO A LOSS OF INTEREST IN EATING. OVERALL, THIS WAS A MIRACLE FOR ME. I'VE TRIED WELLBUTRIN, PROZAC AND BUSPAR(SP) F 30 4 years
9/6/2008
 1  depression I had a trial pack and took the smallest 15 mg pill... one pill and a severe reaction! I had (what felt like) the flu less than 2 hours later! It lasted for 4 days! I was vomiting over the smell of anything, as well as from eating anything. I had a headache, fever, hot sweat(s), severe nausea, etc. For being the "#2 recommended drug" as stated by my doctor, there will not be another time that I ever use this. However, it did work at the time for my sister. Different ones for different people, I guess. F 21 1 days
8/19/2008
 2  depression/anxiety I experience serious periods of depression, where I'm crying by myself feeling miserable. Lately, I find myself being overwhelmed with the accumulating negative circumstances in my life. I use to be able to compartmentalize things, keep everything separate, now it feels like everything is falling on me. If I skip a dose, I get weird buzzing sensations in my head. It's SO strange. I finally linked it to missing doses (which I try my best not to do). I've also gained about 10 lbs!! Most others seem to lose weight. I don't have much of an appetite but I'm still much chunkier than I would like to be and/or expect from my diet. The piece that's the hardest for me to understand is ... is it simply my depression and current circumstances that are causing this? Or is it also a symptom of Effexor? There is no way to to figure that out because it's all intangible. F 29 2 years
8/6/2008
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 1  OCD & Depression Mild chest pain and palpatations, increased sweating, short-term memory loss, foggy head, sexual dysfunction, most vivid dreams ever, severe insomnia, waking up very late, fatigue, record-high apathy, diarreah, HUGE increase in appetite;Craving for sweets with some weight gain, periodic euphoria and restless legs. Intention was to taper off of Luvox to get on a better SSRI. Have been taking 150Mg of Effexor, wanted to give it a chance and the "trade off" of horrible side effects is definately NOT worth it. Thanks, big Pharma! M 46 3 weeks
8/5/2008
 5  Depression / Anxiety Teeth grinding, slight increase in sweating, harder to reach orgasm. I'm not 100% sure that these side effects can be attributed to the medication however, as they are also symptoms of my anxiety and depression. I haven't noticed them as much in the past week, my third since starting Effexor. So far, aside from the side effects I mentioned, I'm very happy with this drug. I was on Welbutrin for many years and noticed a decline in it's effectiveness over the past year. I can possibly attribrute this to the fact that I was switched to the generic version. I still can't understand why no one told me that the generic version isn't as effective or why they would even dispense something that wasn't as effective but that's a whole separate topic. I have some severe stressors going on in my life right now, but have remained relatively calm and in control, where in the past, I would have lost my temper daily, lashed out and had severe feelings of hopelessness and despair. Now, out of habit, my mind drifts to feeling that way, almost as if I want to go back to that behavior, but then it stops. It's like I can't even MAKE myself get depressed and angry. I'm not walking around on air, oblivious to everything going on around me, but at least I'm not as depressed as I was a month ag M 41 3 weeks
8/1/2008
 4  depression and anxiety strong dizziness, episodes of heart pounding where I could feel my head throbbing/vision shaking with each beat; these decreased with time, became only occasional. Sex drive plummeted (not a problem since my husband has a low interest already) I started with Lexapro, which had no affect. Then I was put on Effexor. It did seem to improve my mood for about 10 mos., but then the sadness and apathy returned. I was weaned from Effexor, and had a return of the same symptoms that I had when I first started it, though the dizziness was much worse. F 48 10 months
7/31/2008
 1  hot flashes & depression panic attack, mental fog, severe diarrhea. I took 25 mg starting dose. My side effects were severe. I tried taking it during the day, then before bed - separated by three days. Both reactions were exactly the same - and horrible. It was truly scary. Maybe for some this drug will work, but it was the worst psychotropic med I have taken aside from Remeron. F 44 2 days
7/30/2008
 4  depression & anxiety on large doses, it's hard to achieve orgasm, your sweat smells of it. It definetely works for anxiety and depression, i used it for years, one important thing is to decrease the dose from time to time not to develop tolerance. It's pretty easy to quit using 5-HTP or Prozac, don't try to quit cold turkey, it's impossible. Well, i have been using it for 7 years now, it really helped me to pull myself together and keep my life normal. I quit once a year for 2-3 months to give my brain a break, it's always an interesting adventure. M 30 7 years
7/28/2008
 2  Depression/ADHD Insomnia, stomach pain, loss of sexual desire, loss of appetite, agitation, anxiety, WITHDRAWAL = HELL, elevated blood pressure I took Effexor for about three years, and although it worked well for my depression, the side effects were too much for me too handle. The biggest problem I had with Effexor was that it gave me bad insomnia. ADVICE ON HOW TO WITHDRAW: Effexor is difficult to withdraw from because it has a very short half-life. Kind of like cocaine, your body metabolizes it very quickly and then needs more to re-achieve equilibrium. To offset this, take Prozac the day after you stop taking the Effexor. I've quit taking Effexor once "cold-turkey" and twice with Prozac. There is no comparison. The Effexor withdrawal symptoms with the Prozac were diminished by 2/3 at least. Without Prozac, the symptoms were pure hell. Prozac has a much longer half-life than Effexor, so getting off the Prozac once the Effexor withdrawal symptoms have subsided is no problem: Prozac withdrawal symptoms are in the minor leagues compared to those of Effexor. This makes some "theortical sense" too: Effexor is M 35 3 years
7/18/2008
 5  Anxiety/Depression Effexor XL - memory loss, feeling spacy, very lethargic, brain "buzzing" when trying to lower dose or come off of medicine; and, worst of all, when trying to lower dose or quit taking all together, depression worsened tremendously - one time even led to a suicide attempt. Non-XL - still got the lethargy, and memory loss, but other things aren't as bad!! Overall, this medicine has helped me tremendously. I have been on it for over 8 years. I was down to the lowest dose (75mg) when my cousin comitted suicide and eventually had to increase my dose to 225mg. At the time I was on XL. When my insurance no longer covered this, I had to switch to regular (non-XL) in order to get the generic, it was a God-send. I was able to lower my dose to 150mg with almost no side effects and am very happy! If you're having trouble with the XL, I highly recommend switching! F 29 8 years
7/14/2008
 5  n Leg pain (restless leg) and anxiety & decresed sex drive and orgasm with 75mg. I do not want to stop taking Effexor as it has changed my life, but I looked for a solution to my side effects and I started taking a potassium pill daily and it took away the leg pain completely and my sex drive is increasing. Wait for about a week to feel a difference. F 33 2 months
7/14/2008
 1  ptsd dead emotions, weird sexual changes, personality change I would not wish this drug on my worst enemy. I beleive effexor made me terribly ill and I do not think they know the damage it can cause. when it didn't work celexa was added. At around the four year period I started to vomit blood and my periods were way too heavy and long. flue like spells with body pain mostly on my right side and especially in my sternum upper right quadrant pain and back. Two gi doctors found nothing to explain the pain. I still have it but not as severe. infections sinus chest and kidney-bladder they cycled for the next three years I had 14 kidney infections in two years Bowel movements were small and thin. I would often vomit green slime or have green diareaha....stool testing showed nothing. Head aches fluctuating bp severe dizzisness couldn't walk-sweating felt like fainting head fall forward. I purchased my own bp machine bp was irratic 140 to over 200 it would cycle several times in a day. I w I would have said 5 years ago that it was a great drug now I say over the long haul it will kill you. That is what I beleive. Six months after I was started on liptor and verapamil for high bp and high cholesterol which I beleive was cause by effexor I quit them all three drugs the same day...I was so sick I thought I have nothing to lose I can lay in this bed and die or quit. At that point I was put on a liquid diet clinic doctors diagnosed intestinal obstruction or a pancreas issue tests showed nothing I was use to that by then. Tons of antibiotics as I had been doing this running to docs for 3.5 years by then and just gave up on them decided to quit on gut instict. It has been 8 months and I am better (bp is normal under 140 cholesterol is also fine- liver cysts I had have gone away) still have the pain in my urq but it is not as bad...have had a ton of tests al fine. If this sounds like your experience email me. The long term effects have not been studied!!!!!!! I am scar F 48 8 years
7/14/2008
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 5  Dysthymia Headaches, Light-headedness, Dizziness M 45 2 times
7/9/2008
 3  anxiety,panic,depression tired, heartburn, restless leg, crying, sweating, body aches, blurred vision, jaw pain, loss weight, sleep paterns all over the road, heart racing, palpataions, F 31 2 months
6/30/2008
 3  fear of recurrent depression Weight gain, elevated blood pressure at 75 mg per day. Once went cold turkey off of 75 and had severe physical pain in legs and twitches and weird feeling in legs. It did help - but I probaby would have weathered the situation I was in without it. Doctors are too quick to prescribe this drug and do not know enough about side effects or serious withdrawal problems. A good choice for one who responded to Nardil; less limiting - no dietary restrictions, but patients should always be told about how seriously difficult it is to go OFF it. F 63 11 years
6/21/2008
 5  depression, anxiety initially insomnia, throat tightness while yawning (frequently), currently my symptoms are weight gain (not due to increased hunger, but strong cravings for unhealthy foods), vivid dreams (which are actually really interesting - i actually have an imagination!!), night sweats, night twitches, jaw clenching, my sex drive has actually increased (but only just now) i felt the effects of effexor immediately (both side effects and postive effects) my mind has slowed down to a point now where i don't make quick, irrational decisions, i don't have a problem falling asleep anymore, i am calmer in a stressful situation, clearer thoughts...i lucked out because this was the first drug i was prescribed, and it worked for me...no lenghthy frustrating trials...took 75mg for the first week, worked up to 150mg since then...have a family history of depression... F 33 4 months
6/17/2008
 5  Depression & Borderline Personality Nothing significant - sleeplessness (2 nights) in beginning and at dosage increases. Withdrawal symptoms do occur with this drug, it must be tapered with doctors assistance. After trying Prozac, Wellbutrin, Paxil with no luck. Effexor has been a God send. I have taken it for 8 years with no problems. I have tried tapering off it twice with return to depression. I take 300mg a day; the higher dose is said to affect two other neurotransmitters in addition to Serotonin. No this is not a fun drug to just stop. I have experienced the brain shivers when I ran out, now I make sure I don't. One of the best things I did for my mental health was get off of birth control pills. Even small amounts of hormones can have adverse affects on mood. I dont believe in taking psychotropic drugs without therapy. Thanks to DBT therapy I am no longer diagnosed as borderline. F 34 8 years
6/16/2008

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