EFFEXOR XR Reviews (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 3.0 (2225 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare EFFEXOR XR with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Date added. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 |
More on EFFEXOR XR: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR EFFEXOR XR | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 3 | Gen Diagnoses: Anxiety & Depression | Lost 20lbs. in 2 months. Tingling in hands like being shocked by those trick pens. Vivid dreams that were always violent. Kicked, punched, screamed and cursed. Needed to take stool softener daily. Around my cycle I would get very weak and become out of breath just walking. All body fluids pretty much died up. Sweat heavily for no reason. | Even with all the side effects that I mentioned, I thought the benefit outweighed the issues. Before taking this medication I would have at least one week during the month where I wouldn't want to go to work or couldn't do my job b/c I couldn't concentrate. I'm a web developer and it would feel like I'm looking at code for the very first time. Not a good thing when you have a schedule and you lose a week b/c you can't get your brain to work. Not only that, but my emotions were hard to control. When I started the effexor I didn't experience the issue with concentration anymore and my moods were more level. With all this being said, my husband and others that I trust were seeing behaviors that I couldn't see. I'm the type of person who wants to correct any annoying behaviors and it wasn't that I didn't want to see what they were seeing, I couldn't. Well, it got to the point where I am today. I saw a Psychiatrist b/c I felt that I needed to adjust my medicine levels to fix what was happening. She conducted her assessment and determined that I should come off of all medicines and fix a sleep disorder issue that I have and then I would be able to determine if medication was necessary. I mentioned all this in case someone may have a similar situation and not think of it until they read this. I know these ratings and comments are very helpful and so I wanted to do my part. | F | 43 | 2 years 275mg 1X day | 9/1/2010 | 5 | Chronic Pain | Decreased libido | I have a chronic pain problem, the cause couldn't be found, and nothing helped. My dr. thinks I might have low levels of seratonin, so he prescribed Effexor XR. It took awhile for the Effexor to take effect, but the pain is 100% gone. I have tried going off of the Effexor XR, but after about 4 months, the pain comes back. This is a lifesaver for me. | F | 51 | 10 years 75mg 1X day | 8/30/2010 | 5 | F | 58 | 1 years 150mg 1X day | 8/24/2010 | 1 | ptsd | pancreatitis ovarian cysts horrid periods increased sex drive in the beginning which changed to numb sex organs for years now high libido went to no libido too gerd severe body pain infections of sinus kidney became very ill after a few years on it my mind started to go nuts paranoid memory was shot could not focus brain fog was severe ability think was gone. This drug has a honeymoon period where you feel great almost high or stoned then it turns on you after awhile making you sick and crazy. | extreme personality change ruined my life and lost everything I own I blame this drug withdrawal can last for years still suffering it is a drug from hell whoever made it needs to pay | F | 55 | 7 years 150 1X day | 8/22/2010 | 5 | depression/PTSD | frequent urination, weight loss, loss of appetite | I have no desire to eat a large amount of food, which isn't a bad thing. It took about a week for me to feel a difference. I feel like myself again. I was really moody all the time before taking this drug. My depression went away almost completely. I no longer get really angry and it seems like I have a longer "fuse". My husband even noticed that I seemed more happy and complained less. This drug is wonderful. I take the generic version, however the doctor said that may be why I get pains in my stomach, so I am switching to the name brand in two weeks. | F | 30 | 3 weeks 75 MG 1X day | 8/17/2010 | 4 | Depression | I experienced memory loss in terms of little things e.g. going upstairs to get 3 things and only remembering 2 etc. This also made me a bit 'ditzier' than I thought I was. I experience cold sweats most nights while I'm sleeping. I also am experiencing withdrawal after an accidental period of double dosage followed by halving the dose again to the prescribed amount. | I was previously crying everyday often multiple times for no reason, after 2 days of the 37.5mg dosage this stopped and even when I tried I could not cry, it was like the water turned off even if I was genuinely sad. As I was still sad but not crying I moved up to 75mg as I had still only left the house for work and university I eventually moved to 150mg which has dramatically improved my life which I am actually living again like a normal person. The last time I went to the chemist with a new prescription they told me to take 2 capsules a day of the 150mg which I did. I did not notice any changes but since returning to the chemist they informed me that was wrong and I am only supposed to be taking 1per day. It has been 2 days since halving my dosage and I am currently nauseous, incredibly shaky and dizzy and had to call in sick to work. After reading these comments and experiencing this 'withdrawal' I am scared about the day when I will have to stop taking this medication. Also there was a period of 3 days where I missed my pills and by the end of the 3 days I was crying over nothing again. | F | 19 | 1.5 years 150mg 1X day | 8/17/2010 | 1 | anxiety | As far as I am concerned, this drug is poison. It made me nauseous, dry mouth with horrible taste (I even scheduled an additional teeth cleaning with my dentist.) When I tried to discontinue it, the nausea got worse. I also talked to a nurse at my doctor's office who said that she had a terrible time come off of it and had bad headaches too. I realize that this medication may work for some people. However, I don't EVER want to even look at the name of this again. It did me no good (how can you get less stressed if you walk around feeling sick to your stomach constantly?) I will NEVER go on this med or anything like it again. | F | 60 | 2 months 37.5 - 75 1X day | 8/14/2010 | 5 | depression | F | 59 | 300 mg 1X day | 8/12/2010 Patient History | 2 | Anxiety/Depression | There are no side effects from taking it -- but HORRENDOUS side effects from discontinuation. | I've been trying to discontinue (slowly, by lowering dosage) for about 7 months now. The withdrawal is ridiculous. If I could go back and time and never take it I would in a heartbeat. | M | 25 | 7 years 150 1X day | 8/10/2010 | 2 | shaking, withdrawal symptoms | I have used brand named for many years. If I missed a dose in the early morning, withdrawal effects would not show up until late afternoon. With generic, withdrawal effects will show up by 10:30 in the morning. | M | 43 | 7 years 1X day | 8/1/2010 | 2 | Depression | Have just been switched to generic after taking brand name for 5 years, and have been very ill - feels like withdrawal, which is nightmarish. | Generic has a problem - don't know if it doesn't release right, or what (since Effexor XR is extended release) - it has made me very ill - anyone else with this problem, please let your doctor and pharamacist know - please get the word out that there is a problem with this generic! | F | 40 | 5 years 75mg 1X day | 7/30/2010 | 4 | Anxiety | Side effects included increased sweating, permanently dilated pupils, nausea, teeth grinding/jaw clenching, increased heart rate (90 bpm) and increased blood pressure. The nausea and sweating subsided after the first month. | Despite the side effects this drug really did help me to gain some balance in my life, I am now tapering off slowly with no real withdrawal syptoms. My main reason for coming off is that the drug tended to dull all of my emotions and I kind of want to feel things fully again. | F | 25 | 1 years 75mg 1X day | 7/27/2010 | 5 | for hot flashes! | none | I have only been on this for 2 wks but after one week my hot flashes stopped! This was wonderful since I just started having them 2 months ago and they were every 30 minutes! I feel happy and perfectly normal otherwise | F | 50 | 14 days 75 mg 1X day | 7/23/2010 | 1 | Migraines | Extremely tired...sleeping 15 hours a day sometimes. Migraines continued. Numb. | I needed to get off this medication to do a sleep study. I got VERY ill. Within 2 days of going off 37.5 mg I was vomitting and had nausea. It has been 15 days and I still feel awful. Migraines, muscle aches, tired, gastrointeritis, bloated, dizzy, shocks, hard to concentrate, brain doesn't track, this has been a NIGHTMARE. My doctor did say that Paxil and Effexor do have many withdrawl effects...however, they should be gone by now and aren't. I do not want to start taking this drug again. This is scary..I am not able to work and get things done. | F | 49 | 7 years 300 1X day | 7/16/2010 | 5 | Depression | For the first few months I had sexual side effects but they went away. Some weight gain | The only drug that ever helped me. Others did not work or had bad effects. The "brain jitters" everyone talks about are very true when missing a dose. They are really no biggie, to me anyway. Over all my mood is good, I am much more productive generally. I tried the new generic version and it does not work the same. BEWARE. Even though it's cheaper, the wreth brand works different and much better. I am waiting to talk to my doctor as to why but this is in the literature. There is a difference in this generic. If you are starting out I would defently suggest the name brand to see if it helps. Once stable, then test out the generic for yourself. | M | 34 | 1 years 150 MG 1X day | 7/11/2010 | 1 | depression | after missing 2 days of dosage (forgot to fill it): nausea, dizziness, MASSIVE headache, "brain surges", blurred vision, inability to concentrate. I went through this twice. The second time I began researching the drug online and seeing how so many others were having issues with it. I know you are suppose to come off the drug slowly, but by that time it was almost out of my system completely, so I just dealt with the side effects and felt completely different after a week. That week was hell, but to get off this drug was heaven. | Don't take! Stick with the older drug combinations such as Wellbutrin & Zoloft. | F | 28 | 4 months 1X day | 7/9/2010 | 1 | Anxiety, depression | Strange itchy rash on my skin-scared for life now.. swelling of legs and ankles, eventually entire body, bloating, constipation, loss of "caring".. no sex drive, insane sweating.. dizzyness, heart palpatations. These all occurred gradually as the dose was upp'd and when I complained to the dr's (three) they didnt know what to do and at first denied it was the effexor- eventually weaned me down- and all smptoms disappeared. | Cost hundreds of dollars to find out this medicine was CRAP! | F | 36 | 1 years 150 MG 1X day | 7/3/2010 | 3 | Depression/OCD | Nausea, staring into space, delayed orgasm, increased anxiety at times | Good for OCD and anxiety but really didn't help with depression so my pdoc switched me back to paxil with no taper. Even after taking for just 30 days the withdrawal was really significant. I felt like I was a having a really bad allergic reaction, but after resuming at 37.5 felt fine. | M | 38 | 30 days 75mg 1X day | 7/2/2010 | 3 | depression/fibromyalgia | Really helps with social anxiety and depression. Side effects are weight gain and horrible sweating. I really would not recommend starting though because when and if you want to go off of it, it is so awful to try...I felt suicidal, not typical at all for me...decided to stay on it to avoid withdrawal so PLEASE don't start. | F | 63 | 7 years 75 1X day | 6/29/2010 | 5 | Anxiety/Panic | No side effects whatsoever | I have been on Effexor XR twice before. Both times it significantly reduced my anxiety within a week. Going off Effexor wasn't that bad as long as you go off slowly. Recently I restarted taking Effexor XR due to a return of anxiety. It is working as it always has. Prior to restarting Effexor XR I tried both Lexapro and Zoloft. Both of those medications made me sick as a dog. I am so happy that I respond so well to Effexor XR. It makes me feel normal again. | M | 47 | 4 years 37.5 mg 2X day | 6/19/2010 |