Drug Ratings for EFFEXORAverage Rating: 3.0 (835 Ratings)
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Results are sorted by Satisfaction from highest to lowest Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR EFFEXOR | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
  | F M | | | | |||
| 1 | Depression from Pulsatile Tinnitus | Clouded thinking. Heavy headed. Weight gain. Aches and pains in joints, almost flu-like. Very vivid, wake you up, can't go back to sleep dreams. Missed dose for two days and thought I would rather die. I could barely walk from the dizziness and nausea. After reading the postings on this site, I want off as soon as possible. | I am taking Effexor because I have had migraines for over twenty years and most anti-depressants make them worse. This one wasn't supposed to. Although it doesn't seem to bring on a migraine, all the side effects do. I thought I needed to up the dose because the depression was not improving. Doc said to take two pills at bedtime. OMG, when I woke up in the middle of the night, sweating, scared out of my mind because of a nightmare I couldn't remember, and clinging to my husband like a little child, I decided not to increase the dose. | F | 41 | 5 months | 10/30/2005 | 1 | Depression & Anxiety | Dizziness, extreme headaches and nausea, difficulty going to the restroom, loss of appetite, sleeping all day, feeling more depressed, flu-like symptoms, delayed or non-existent orgasm. | I was told the side effects would go away in a week, and I can't take it anymore. I'd rather be depressed than feel like I want to die from all these ailments. | F | 27 | 6 days | 10/18/2005 | 1 | Depression & Anxiety | I forgot to mention dry mouth, hot flashes, and trouble thinking and driving. | F | 27 | 6 days | 10/18/2005 | 1 | Depression | This drug did help my depression. At first my mouth and nose were so dry-my nose was actually painful with breathing. After a loading dose my dose was 300 mg a day. I experienced two years of chronic constipation-developing hemmorhoids as a result, dry mouth (which improved over time) and a painfully dry nose. I’ve developed scabs in my nose that would not go away; when I touch them I get a pain going down the inner front side of my neck and into my ear. My nose bleeds almost daily. I went from all my life needing 8 hours of sleep to getting by with 2-4 hours. I was wide awake until 2-3 AM every night. After two years, finally I came to the conclusion this drug was the primary reason for causing so many problems was having: I just wanted to sit around and do nothing-then felt depressed because I never got aythng accomplished. As a result of being so sedentary I have lost so much flexibility and have gained 20 pounds. I got to the point I couldn't exercise at all-even walki | Withdraw was just horrible and lasted a little longer than a week. I tapered down easily from 300 mg to 75 mg and then to 1/2 a capsule per day which I took every other day for a short while and then just stopped. I did this without my doctor. I don’t even know how to describe physical sensations and rushing noises in my head. I also had sudden episodes of dizziness, clamminess alternating with sweats, feeling cold and feeling like I had a fever. I startled (jumped) at noises, had difficulty with bright light, actual unsteadiness, some body aching, terrible tiredness. My concentration was very difficult, I couldn’t come up with words I wanted to say, I had instant forgetfulness-when talking, I would cry and become so emotinal just instantly over anything that was touching. I felt itchy. I couldn't sleep well. I did not have nausea or vomiting. | F | 57 | 2 days | 10/7/2005 | 1 | Depression | crying spells, anxiety, brain zaps, aching joints, poor short term memory, blurred vision | I have recently had an emergency major operation for a ruptured bowel. I would be interested to know if anyone else has suffered like this whilst on Effexor as I feel it contributed to this happening | M | 55 | 18 months | 8/9/2005 | 1 | anxiety | nausea, dizziness, jaw pain, sweating, insomnia, feeling of being on | ....and my doctor put me on Effexor XR because Xanax was | M | 35 | 14 days | 7/28/2005 | 1 | Major Depression/Post partum | Substantially increased depression, thoughts of suicide and killing my family (absolutely against my nature). Shocks in my brain, I thought I was going insane. I begged my husband to take me to the ER, I though I was dying after trying to quit taking this awful, horrible medication. | I have lost complete faith and trust in my psychiatrist, I feel completely betrayed that she would ever put someone on this. I gained 20 pounds in 2 months and with starvation and extreme excercise I have only been able to take off 3 pound. This drug took a miserable situation and made it so much worse I can't think about it without crying. This medication should never ever have been approved!!!! | F | 34 | 2 months | 6/9/2005 | 1 | anxiety | muscle twitching | major withdrawl when getting off | F | 44 | 8 months | 5/20/2005 | 1 | depression | headaches, heart rate increases, sweating, high blood pressure | i developed high blood pressure on effexor. how long does it take for the meds to leave the body? | 3 weeks | 5/17/2005 | 1 | depression | I am having extreme problems right now I'm on 300mgs of Effexor and I forgot to take it at 6 am as usually and NOW I'm going through hell just for not taking it on time What am I suppose to do I feel like I'm going to die from this I can barely sit here and type it hurts so badly Anyone got any advise? | F | 25 | 7 years | 5/6/2005 | 1 | depression | I am having extreme problems right now I'm on 300mgs of Effexor and I forgot to take it at 6 am as usually and NOW I'm going through hell just for not taking it on time What am I suppose to do I feel like I'm going to die from this I can barely sit here and type it hurts so badly Anyone got any advise? | F | 25 | 7 years | 5/6/2005 | 1 | depression | severe withdrawl symptoms | F | 19 | 9 months | 4/24/2005 | 1 | anxiety | rapid heart beart 170 beats per minute headache couldn't sleep | worse medication I have ever taken | F | 40 | 2 days | 4/10/2005 | 1 | anxiety brought by stress | dry mouth, decreased sex drive, weight gain, headache, dizziness | This drug is horrible and should be pulled from the market. After only one missed dose, I experienced vomiting, dizziness, cold sweats, and symptoms much like the flu. I am on 75mg per day and trying to get off, but it is a nightmare. My advice is not to take this medicine unless you plan on taking it for life!!! | F | 22 | 9 months | 4/6/2005 | 1 | anxiety, PTSD, borderline schizoid | It's like you're on speed! They have me on effexor and zanax for my above stated problems--and it wierds me out....I tried to tell my Dr. about my problems--but he just wants to keep raising my dosage--so I only take the first perscribed dose because I am afraid he's going to end up killing me! I also have mitral valve prolapse regurgitation since birth which makes my speed trips worse! I really wish I had a Dr. who knows what he's doin--cuz mine's a quack! | F | 24 | 2 months | 3/30/2005 | 1 | Clinical Depression | SEVERE WITHDRAWAL PROBLEMS - Brain shivers, flu-like symptoms, nausea, irritability, vivid dreams, lack of libido, a sense of | It took me TWO attempts over the course of 10 months to finally wean off this drug. DO NOT STOP TAKING IT ABRUPTLY. It must be gradually weaned out of your system. I read several reports about the addictive qualities and | F | 42 | 2 years | 3/30/2005 | 1 | Clinical Depression | HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE (STROKE STAGE). IF YOU EXPERIENCE HEADACHES WHILE TAKING THIS DRUG, HAVE YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE CHECKED IMMEDIATELY!!!! | Can also cause menstrual cycle problems including fibroid tumors. Make sure you read all the warnings for this drug!!!! | F | 42 | 2 years | 3/30/2005 | 1 | GAD | Weight gain, Hives, Night sweats, Heart palpitations!!, Crazy dreams, confusion, dry eyes, Complete loss of libido | Would not recommend this drug to anyone. I've never had any heart problems in my life but I started having heart palpitations and out of breath. Yesterday I walked up 3 flights of stairs and could barely catch my breath. Very embarrassing! I'm quiting cold turkey today- I'll deal with the withdrawal symptoms, I'm not going to poision my body another day!!! Oh, I have zero sexual desire, in fact I am repulsed by the thought of having sex. My poor husband:-( I HATE EFFEXOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | F | 30 | 1.5 months | 3/3/2005 | 1 | depression | wieght gain (30 lbs in 3 months) nightmares, memory loss, mania, dry mouthh, | This drug has done nothing positive for me. I am trying to get off of it. | F | 26 | 5 months | 2/20/2005 | 1 | Major Depression, Social Anxiety | Extremely vivid nightmares, chronic fatigue, nausea, dehydrating night sweats (every night), headaches, because of side effects: inability to function | I've been taking this medication for about nine months. It has been wonderful in controlling my depression and anxiety, but the side effects are so strong that I can no longer function because of always feeling ill and exhausted from never getting a good night's rest. | F | 18 | 9 months | 2/17/2005 | 1 | Depression | I gave up on Effexor recently only after 11 days. I did not have any problems nor notice any effect whatsoever in my first 7 days at 37.5 mg. Only one weird incident, on night 5, I woke up with my right arm pointed toward the ceiling for some weird reason. I was most worried about what any kind of drug would do to my sex life and sure enough, on day 11, as it was strange--though I had no problem being aroused, I lost libido or the want of having sex--and that ain't gonna happen to me. I'd rather live with my so-called depressed stae condition than be even more depressed. Because of this side effect alone - I quit effexor xr. I told the Doctor, if this effects me in any way, shape, or form regarding sex..I quit. Nothing more depressing than not wanting nooky. End of story. Ought to rename it | Not good for virile guys with hungry libido's. | M | 46 | 10 days | 1/31/2005 | 1 | Depression | Extreme fatigue, constant sleepiness, no mood improvement | One of worst I ever tried. I nicknamed it | M | 41 | 6 weeks | 1/28/2005 | 1 | anxiety and depression | After I taking my first dose of Effexor xr; the very nest day I started getting dizzy when I stood up or even moved my head and I had trouble breathing; it was like my diaphram no longer worked. After a while I noticed that I was getting more and more out of breath, I couldn't walk from one end of my apartment to the other without being completely out of breath, I also noticed that my heart didn't speed up when I was exerting myself. I eventually began passing out and having what my parents thought were seizures. I finally saw the doctor and he had me wear a Holter monitor for 24 hours, he told me after the 24 hours, that I would get the results in about a week. However, my doctor called me the next day and said I needed to have a pacemaker implanted RIGHT NOW or I could die. My heart was beating only 35 times a minute and the top of the heart was not giving the bottom part of my heart the signal to beat. I now have the pacemaker and I am completely dependent on the pakemaker to make the bottom of my heart beat. I never had problems with my heart before taking Effexor XR. | F | 56 | 21 days | 1/28/2005 | 1 | depression/anxiety | While taking the medication I experienced a marked lack of emotion (positive and negative), complete lack of motivation, loss of sex drive, 50 pound weight gain. The withdrawal symptoms were MUCH WORSE--constant sensation of electrical pulsing in my brain. | A very bad experience for me--both the effects of the medication and the withdrawal. | M | 42 | 7 months | 12/18/2004 | 1 | hot flashes from tamoxifen | I was constipated the whole 3 years, had bizarre, violent nightmares the whole time on this drug which made me doubt my own sanity, both symptoms stopped when I quit using the drug. | After 5 weeks without effexor I'm still experiencing flu like symptoms, body pains, headache; also crying for no reason; short term memory loss and trouble finding words;brain zaps were intense, also during the time I used Effexor. I worry that I've developed brain damage, as well FM, I'm in so much pain all the time now. | F | 49 | 3 years | 12/7/2004 | 1 | Major depressive disorder | Brain zaps! On Effexor, if I missed even one dose I'd get these electrical-shock-like sensations in my head, affecting my eyes and my hearing. I'm trying to get off Effexor right now, and am experiencing these shocks constantly, even after SEVEN days off the drug. The shocks are painful and disturbing, and they just never stop. One shock every few seconds. Other people have described this strange side effect also, but doctors just write it off and call it | The withdrawals are worse than heroin withdrawals. Don't start this medication unless you plan on being on it forever, because the withdrawals are that bad. | F | 26 | 4 years | 11/16/2004 | 1 | depression | while on, horrible dreams (boarderline night terrors), EXTREME night sweats, weight gain of about 15 pounds DISPITE intense exercise and normal diet prior to using Effexor. | NEVER EVER EVER GO OFF COLD-TURKEY, the worst i've ever felt in my life, i would imagine these w/d symptoms with major narcotic, but not with a perscription drug, so nauseous and dizzy i almost wrecked the car a few times and such emotional w/d driving off a bridge seemed conceivable. | F | 26 | 4 months | 11/15/2004 | 1 | depression | weight gain 30 lbs. on 12000 calories a day and lifting weights, walking 30 minutes 3 times a day, and swimming the length of three football fields 3 times a week. Debilitating fatigue. Stayed in bed most of the time, except when using shear will power to exercise because I knew I should in order to not gain weight. Gained weight anyway. Headaches, bad neck painn radiating up back of head. rhinitis (nose hurt like a headache, shortness of breath ( I developed asthma), flu like stmptoms every 2 or three weeks, lower back and hip pain from muscle spasms, and hurting muscles and joints. Also gastro - intestonal acid from large intestime to esophogus, pains in ears, and swollen lymph node lower left side of body. | F | 62 | 4 days | 11/13/2004 | 1 | Anxiety | Dry Mouth, Night Terrors, Headache, Upset Stomach, Dizziness, Crying, Unable to Sleep, Fits of RAGE if I miss a pill, Brain Zaps, And anything else you think of. | This medication needs to be pulled off the shelf and the makers need to be SUED! | F | 37 | 7 years | 11/9/2004 | 1 | Anxiety, Depression, Lack of Energy | Oversensitive skin, difficulty urinating, seminal fluids in urine stream without erection or arousal, retarding of survival and responsibility instincts. Made me not care about my feelings of not caring if you can grasp that. | Dr. says non-habit forming. I trusted my Dr. Effexor didn't energize me and make me happy- it made me complacent with my depressed feelings and lack of will. It lost my job. Now after running out for several days, the Dr. is right- I don't crave more of it, but the withdrawal effects are horrendous! Head zaps,ringing of the ears,indigestion, increased thirst,aural hallucinations,paranoia,terrifying dreams,deep, strange, almost mystical dreams that make you feel like you opened a part of the universe you should not have- I'm not being sarcastic. Feel free to e-mail me, because this is a travesty and I don't recommend the drug to anyone. There has to be a better answer and someone held accountable for the deceit and damage of this drug. | M | 33 | 2 months | 11/8/2004 | 1 | SAD | Loss of Sex Drive | Fast acting against depression, felt better in a few days. However this was more than offset with a complete loss of sex drive and not being able to orgasm. | M | 29 | 5 days | 10/29/2004 | 1 | depression, panic attacks | I would love to be left alone for a few minutes in a locked room with ANY health care professional that states this is a safe drug. Absolutely NO ONE should consider this except as a desperate last ditch effort. ALL other drugs in its category should be tried first. I have talked to hundreds of people who have taken Effexor XR and only one is happy...but, she realizes she has to take it exactly on time or suffer the consequences and she accepts the other side effects. To me, the small benefits do not come near justifying the severe disabling side effects. I have been trying for 3 months to eliminate Effexor XR from my system. Down to counting grains in a capsule and taking a few every other day. And still the horrific side effects continue. I have joined a class action suit against the makers for NOT labeling this drug better and offering the warning that to MOST people, the side effects are common, severe, possibly disabling and lingering. Even months after discontinuing use. I realize that it can be useful to some, and I would not ask for it to be | F | 46 | 8 months | 10/20/2004 | 1 | Depression | numbness of arms, back of the neck, and legs. DONT TAKE THIS DRUG. I thought I had some weird disease that caused this effect. I went through MRIs and blood tests only to find out this drug caused numbness. I came home from college, and I have to explain to my teachers that this drug has caused me living hell. Oh and I cant wait for the withdrawl because like everyone else, this drug causes dizziness, and every other horrible side effect possible. | this drug has made my life living hell. If you life pain take this drug for a month, then stop. | F | 21 | 8 months | 10/15/2004 | 1 | depression | Withdrawal from this medication is horrendous. | Be prepared for horrendous withdrawal symptoms that include: vertigo and subsequent nausea for three weeks or longer, even when tapering off; horrific dreams; severe anxiety; frequent crying episodes for no apparent reason; and hot spells. The vertigo is by far the most disconcerting. When I stopped taking Prozac and Serzone, withdrawal was minimal if anything. Withdrawing from Effexor has been one of the most difficult things I've ever experienced. If your doctor prescribes Effexor, do NOT take it. There are other medications that work just as well or better and do not have the horrendous withdrawal symptoms. | F | 35 | 2 years | 10/12/2004 | 1 | GAD | trouble swallowing and breathing, trembling fingers, bad nausea, dizzyness when moving, floating on a cload, no erections and numb glans, very thursty, headaches | I felt like I got poisoned. | M | 48 | 1 days | 8/29/2004 | 1 | depression | After 2 months of coming off this medication, I am still having the terrible effects of this drug, dizzyness, eratic heart beat, nervousness, moodinesss, sleepless nights, etc...... | It should banned | F | 49 | 10 months | 8/25/2004 | 1 | depression | Loss of libido, inability to orgasm, twitchiness, odd pains, dizziness, mostly mild... BUT | It has been 12 years since I stopped taking 225mg/day. 12 YEARS!!! And I still getting symptoms! Nearly every day I wake up with the dizziness; it's kind of like every time I move my head, it takes my brain a second to catch up. Sometimes I nearly fall from it. Still have difficult sleeping sometimes. I have recently tried taking St. John's Wort and the dizziness seems to be less. My point here is how LONG do these symptoms last?? | F | 45 | 10 months | 8/11/2004 | 1 | depression | The side effects prior to withdrawal were memory loss and feeling disconnected. The side effect with the withdrawal are worse than anything I could have ever imagined! I have NEVER been addicted to anything. This has been the worst experience of my life. I have electric shock, hallucinations, cold chills, cold sweats, hot flashes, and I cannot sleep. I have been off of the drug for 7 days now after slowing reducing the amount I was taking. I am wondering if I will ever get back to normal again. I would NEVER suggest this drug for anyone. It is a CRIME that it is still on the market. I simply do not understand this. I though the FDA better protected citizens of the USA. If it is suggested that you take it, run and run fast! | F | 44 | 6 months | 8/10/2004 | 1 | anxiety attacks | Dry mouth, dizzyness. Vagueness and feeling distant from the world. Mind not as sharp as usual. Genital numbness, erection like a lump of rubber and inability to reach orgasm. | Even a month after stopping taking it, the effects are still with me. It has COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN MY SEX LIFE. No erection worth mentioning. I feel more anxious (and now depressed) than before I started taking it. A drug from hell. | M | 42 | 40 days | 8/5/2004 | 1 | depression | Extreme constipation, bloat, high blood pressure, lack of energy, horrible dreams, insomnia | It helped in controlling the depression but the side effects and the extreme dizziness, headache and nausea if I missed one single dose was making my life extremely stressful and miserable. | F | 49 | 10 months | 7/17/2004 | 1 | major depression | nausea, dizziness, headache, constant sleepiness at the beginning- those went away after a few weeks, but sexual side effects continued- if i ever missed a dose i would get dizzy and sick and i had electric shocks within a day- also messed up my concentration pretty badly, and i was pretty hyper | this drug seemed to work for about two weeks, but then completely stopped- quitting was a nightmare, it's been four months and i've finally stopped feeling side effects- since effexor and lexapro after that, i've been tentatively diagnosed with bipolar 2, except that it might have been caused by the effexor- i wouldn't recommend effexor to anybody | F | 15 | 2.5 months | 6/27/2004 | 1 | Chronic Depression | I've taken it off and on for about 3 years now. I stopped it when I found out I was pregnant and didn't take it until I had a severe case of postpartum depression. I am now stopping it because I've run out of medication and work has switched my insurance company/doctors, so I've decided to stop again. Everytime I've decided to stop, it's been at least a week of HORRIBLE WITHDRAWAL EFFECTS: dizziness, numbness in my face, and my heart feels like it's skipping. Avoid this medication... it is addicting for the mere fact that you hate dealing with the withdrawal symptoms! | F | 29 | 3 years | 6/2/2004 | 1 | Anxiety | Horrible!!! have weird symptoms in my head. Dizziness and slow thinking. My boss probably thinks I am on drugs or something. | I quit only after 2 days. I do not want to loose my libido or have to struggle to get off it. I prefer to live with anxiety. | M | 27 | 2 days | 4/20/2004 | 1 | depression | odd and vivid dreams, decreased sex drive, sweating, WEIGHT GAIN | It was very effective for depression, but I quit Effexor cold turkey when I realized it was making me gain weight. Withdrawal has been extremely unpleasant--dizziness, nausea, sleeplessness, and an odd sensation like someone is shooting through my head with a compressor-driven nail gun. I'm hoping that I can tough it out to reduce the withdrawal period to a minimum. | M | 48 | 1.5 months | 4/12/2004 | 1 | Fibromyalgia | Dizzy, blurred vision, shaking, dialiated eyes, headache,hard to turn my head without throwing up, weight gain, strange dreams, zombie like feeling, very tired, seems all I wanted to do was sleep. Mini seizures in my mind its hard to explain, feels like a fast seizure then you come back to a ringing feelings, then your tired and dizzy. Its really hard to drive without concentrating. | This stuff is a nightmare, my husband and I want to get pregnant again but I dont dare try until its out of my system. | F | 33 | 3 months | 3/30/2004 | 1 | ~ Anxiety ~ | i stopped taking effexor about 3 days ago because i was all out and going to switch meds... by stopping taking this med. i experienced dizziness, nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, confusion, tremors, shaking in just that short while... i would recommend taking effexor... if you dont plan on stopping. | F | 18 | 2 years | 3/23/2004 | 1 | depression, ADHD, anxiety | drowsyness | made me worse...almost suicidal! | M | 27 | 2 weeks | 12/6/2003 | 1 | depression, ADHD, anxiety | suicidal thoughts | did nothing but worsen my depression | M | 14 days | 11/3/2003 | 1 | Depression/depersonalization | Vomiting Anxiety Agitation | Emergency trip to hospital after four days Took four days to get feeling a bit better | F | 49 | 4 days | 6/9/2003 | 1 | depression | emotional apathy, loss of sexual desire, weight gain, excessive sweating | severe withdrawal effects even after tapering | F | 49 | 18 months | 4/10/2003 | 1 | Anxiety | Dizziness, ringing in ears when tapering off, even at 37.5mg level. Still experiencing same symptoms, although mild, 2 months after stopping medication. | Had no effect on anxiety symptoms, even at 75mg dose twice a day. | M | 51 | 3 months | 1/24/2003 | 1 | Anxiety | Update to previous post. Dizziness, ringing in ears when tapering off, even at 37.5mg level. Still experiencing same symptoms, although mild, 2 months after stopping medication. Also - decrease in sexual desire. Vivid dreams | Had no effect on anxiety symptoms, even at 75mg dose twice a day. Have found Xanax to work well at small doses, and only need to take when symptoms occur. | M | 51 | 3 months | 1/24/2003 | 1 | depression | Headaches and seizures | Seizures were serious. No previous history | M | 44 | 6 months | 9/1/2002 | 1 | | 7/26/2002 | 1 | anxiety/depression | HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE MED FOR ME! Sweating, shaking, extreme nausea so bad I had to leave work and stayed home the next day! Felt like a zombie and nervous at the same time. Eyes dialated the whole time. Had hullucinations when sleeping at night.It was a very scary feeling. | Everyone is different- what works for some doesn't work for others and vice versa. I just know it didn't work for me. | F | 22 | 1 days | 5/31/2002 |