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 from oldest to newest. 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 |
| 4 | depression and anxiety | Initially experienced yawning and sweating at night at 37.5 a day.Raised up to 75mg and then 150 and I then experienced heart racing and pounding.Blood pressured raised slightly.When missed a day I felt like I | Immediately on 37.5 my mood improved. I woke up feeling happy and ready for the day. Did not feel anxious or excessively worried like before. On 75 mg continued postivie effect. At 150, I was worried about heart racing/palpitations. Dr. decreased dose to 115mg and then to 75 and added Wellbutrin. I have felt some sadness and anxiety return and heart racing continues. I don't know what to do because the heart related side effects worry me, but I don't want to experience the awfulness of depression and anxiety and I need to be emotionally stable for my family (we have two young kids). | F | 41 | 2 months | 5/16/2004 | 5 | panic attacks and depression | i gained 40lbs in a very short period of time,night sweats,muscle spasms every night but i no longer have any panic attacks and the anger and rage i use to have, my mood is alot better | F | 32 | 9 months | 5/17/2004 | 5 | major depression | major lack of energy, lowered libido, 25 lb weight gain, ravenously hungry at times but not all the time, when dozing off to sleep, my leg, arm or shoulder & arm will feel like a small electrical jolt shoots through one of them and will actually jerk and sometimes wake me up. The electrical jolt is actually rather pleasant. | How do I know whether the lower libido is a side effect of the drug or a side effect of getting old. All I know is that I used to want sex all day long when with my husband but now, I think about it but am just too tired to initiate anything. I know I have to be on this drug or I have dreams that couldn't be described as nightmares but I wake up feeling really scared and hopeless and see no reason to live. It's a very dark place and if I have to I will take drugs the rest of my life to prevent this dark place. | F | 54 | 2 years | 5/19/2004 | 2 | Bipolar disorder | Sleeplessness, tremors, anxiety, headache, dehydration, nausea | When I stopped this medication, I had the worst withdrawal of my life, like electric shocks in my head. | F | 51 | 5 months | 5/19/2004 | 4 | depression | weight gain. dr sd it would not cause me to gain weight and i would have no sexual side effects. she was very very wrong. | F | 42 | 365 days | 5/21/2004 | 2 | Depression | loss of apetite, vivid, strange dreams, increased sex drive (opposed to paxil) slightly more energy | Apart from causing me to eat merely 500 calories a day, the only thing I like about this drug is my incredible dreams. It does not help with the feelings of the futility of life, nor does coming to find out that (by deductive reasoning from the 187 other cases above) these issues of mine will never be solved - except by of course a length of good rope or a hollow pointed piece of lead. I truely hope anyone who reads this can or rather, is leading a happy and fulfilling life, it is an uncommon blessing. cheers | M | 20 | 30 days | 5/21/2004 | 4 | Depression, Anxiety | stomach ache, low libido, numbness to sadness AND happiness, weight gain | I want to come off it but I feel mentally addicted to it as well. I just got a boyfriend and noticed the sexual side effects...is this normal? Ive been on it a long time but only recently started gaining weight. Is that normal? Anyone who's experienced these things feel free to email me and we can chat. | F | 19 | 3 years | 5/25/2004 | 1 | Depression | Felt like on an LSD badtrip, but way worse. Made me even more suicidal. | Its can be a very dangerous drug for those who have an intolerance to it. | M | 25 | 30 days | 5/25/2004 | 4 | Bipolar Depression | Lack of sex drive, 25 pound weight gain, in the beginning blurred vision, | F | 27 | 6 years | 5/31/2004 | 4 | depression/anxiety | Night sweats with 150mg, slight weight loss | It has greatly decreased my mood swings and my anxiety, I have had a lowered libido with all antidepressents so far. But I guess the good outweighs the bad so far. | F | 28 | 4 months | 6/2/2004 | 3 | anxiety + Depression | I experienced nasuea for the first two weeks of taking the pill. Also I have experienced sexual side effects. I have a difficult time mataining an erection and my ejaculation is very delayed if it happens at all. | I have been on effexor for 16 months and it helped with some of my anxiety and depression but it never gave me this great happy feeling. The depression was still there but I did not want to increase my dosage. My life has turned around and I am lowering my dosage now and in a month I will be off of Effexor. I hope it goes well. Can't hurt for trying. Good luck to everyone and I hope this was of help. | M | 27 | 16 months | 6/2/2004 | 4 | None | Worked within 5 days of taking with no initial side effects. After two years stoped working and nausea started. | 28 | 2 years | 6/5/2004 | 3 | depression | sleep sweats, drowsy at times, slowed memory at times.Thought processes just a step slower at times. | Seem to be losing effectiveness over past year at times. Slower thought processes, short term memory not tip top at times. | M | 66 | 4 years | 6/5/2004 | 3 | Depression | Sleep Sweats. Diminished sex drive and ability to have a sustainable erection. Had to take Viagra. Even then, difficult ejaculation at times. Sensitivity in Penis diminished. Had Sleep sweats. Yawning a lot. Slowed down thought processes..at times short term memory disfunction. | Although at 225 mg daily...still had bouts of depression for 2-3 days, then it would clear up. Most of the time it has worked well for the depression, but with the above sides. I feel that it has not been as effective in the past year. Emotions at times seem to be slowed down or not as well defined in intensity. | M | 66 | 4 years | 6/5/2004 | 3 | Depression | Sleep Sweats. Diminished sex drive and ability to have a sustainable erection. Had to take Viagra. Even then, difficult ejaculation at times. Sensitivity in Penis diminished. Had Sleep sweats. Yawning a lot. Slowed down thought processes..at times short term memory disfunction. | I Would like to taper off and try it without EXR. I started it after bypass surgery, when depression is often a given. I also had some Colitis, which added to the depression, also. Doing OK on these counts now, but have continued EXR. Would like to be off to be mentally sharper, resume my normally vigorous libido and to feel some of my emotions in a little more edge. Although at 225 mg daily...still had bouts of depression for 2-3 days, then it would clear up. Most of the time it has worked well for the depression, but with the above sides. I feel that it has not been as effective in the past year. Emotions at times seem to be slowed down or not as well defined in intensity. | M | 66 | 4 years | 6/5/2004 | 5 | clinical depression | Weight gain...@ 30 lbs. If I forget to take my pills (I take 600 mg/day), the withdrawal symtoms begin that same night with horrible, vivid nightmares...and an extremely wierd expanding-contracting feeling accompanied by psychadelic, kalidescope-like images-quite colorful and interesting if you can view it for it what it is...without being totally freaked by it...which I was the first few times it happened... | This drug has helped so much--for a long time (two-three years), I tried several different drugs...the depression was bad...I had always been very UP...very outgoing...very HAPPY...an unexpected hysterectomy (e.g., no more hormones) sent me spiraling into depression...I felt this constant greyness...encompassed by a life-sucking cloud that left me anti-social, so depressed that I wouldn't get out of bed...called in sick for days...couldn't talk to people I didn't know, and had a very difficult time talking to people I DID know. I developed a kind of stutter when I found myself forced to deal with people. My husband stuck it out with me...and my doctor kept working with me and we tried everything...the effexor xr has helped and over the last three years, the dosage has increased to 600 mg...a very large dose, but I can function and I can concentrate...and I am living life again...I am trying to deal with the weight gain now that I am a functioning human being again... | F | 48 | 3 years | 6/13/2004 | 5 | anxiety.depression | Unable to achieve orgasm. Low sensation during sex.Weight loss. | Effexor has taken care of both my anxiety and depression. I have tried nearly evey drug for this and finally found one after 20 years. It allows me to be able to think clearly and calmly.I however can not achieve an orgasm any longer. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Can not take viagara or any of those due to being on a nitrate. | M | 46 | 5 months | 6/13/2004 | 5 | Severe depression | Initially, I had some weight loss (a positive!), nervousness/anxiety, and blurred vision. Now, the worst side effects for me are insomnia, hot flashes, and excessive sweating. My doctor added Remeron to help me sleep, but it really didn’t seem to do the job. We tried Trazodone instead and it worked…however, I developed 24/7 hyper-sexual arousal (yes, I know…it doesn’t sound like a problem, but believe me--without going into too much detail--it can be). I found out that it was related to the Trazodone. Now, I take Ambien and that seems to do the trick. I also had problems with daytime sleepiness and later ADD-type symptoms. We added Adderall, which caused heart palpitations. While, my internist and psychiatrist kept trying to add meds to quell the symptoms, I did my own research and discovered that the sleepiness and ADD were not just because I wasn’t getting enough sleep. I have sleep apnea, which means that I don’t get quality sleep if I don’t use my CPAP machine…and I hadn’t used it in several months. Light bulb! I now use that lovely positive airflow machine every night and have no more problems with daytime sleepiness, ADD, and palpitations! Other side effects for me are dry mouth, constipation, and vivid dreams (which are kind of cool, when you take time to decode them). If I miss one day of taking my 300mg of EffexorXR, I suffer night sweats, headaches, nightmares, and confusion. | I am very happy with EffexorXR. When I started taking antidepressants about 10 years ago, I was prescribed Norpramin, which was awful! I had horrible anxiety attacks. I took Prozac for a few years, but I found that it made me feel like a zombie…no emotions at all and an extremely low sex drive. I switched doctors and my internist prescribed Wellbutrin, which didn’t work for me…more anxiety attacks. I finally found a great psychiatrist, who prescribed Effexor and later EffexorXR. I take 300mg each morning. My depression has decreased, I’m able to function normally, and I can still feel all my emotions. Sure, I have some side effects, but those I can live with. Not being able to get out of bed, crying, feeling hopeless, etc…not so much. My psychiatrist also referred me to a fantastic psychologist. I’ve seen her for almost 3 years now and feel like I’ve made a lot of progress. | F | 41 | 3.5 years | 6/16/2004 | 3 | depression | increased appetite and weight gain, no sex drive, mental dullness, lethargy, apathy | When I took the first dose, I felt better within 24 hours. I started with 75mg for 2 weeks and then went to 150 mg after that. I felt better than I had before I went the on drug but I couldn't feel anything else. I didn't really care about anything-I was living but not alive. I also gained weight and slept all the time so I didn't try to the lose the weight. I switched to Effexor from Lexapro which also made me very lethargic and that's why I switched. I finally couldn't take the side effects anymore so I quit the Effexor cold turkey. NEVER DO THIS! For 8 days I was dizzy to the point I didn't want to drive. I was also severely nauseous all those days. I was able to see my doctor and now I am on my second day of Prozac. The Prozac has at least helped with the dizziness and nausea. I'm hoping this will work since this is the fourth medication I'm trying. Before the Lexapro, I tried Welbutrin, which had no effect and I hated it. | F | 33 | 8 months | 6/16/2004 | 2 | For depression? Wrong!!!!!! | I have taken effexor Xr 450mgs for over 7 years.I am currently going thru severe withdraw symptoms which I was never ever informed about. I would really caution anyone who wants to begin any drug for depression without first finding out all the facts of this medicine. | F | 44 | 7 years | 6/17/2004 |