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 |
| 3 | Depression and Anxiety | Excessive sleepiness (10 hour or more of sleep), when awake I felt like I was on speed: heart racing, jittery. Not much of an appetite at all, kind of force myself to eat something each day. Sex drive is low as well. | I've been on this drug in the past (5 years ago) and it worked wonders then, almost to the point of feeling manic, though. I stopped taking it then b/c it raised my blood pressure to much. I am now trying it again hoping the side effects that I experienced then (and now) will taper off. I do recommend being cautious and educated on this drug before taking it and always wean off of it gradually. Luckily my side effects are no where near as bad as other peoples, but its the withdrawal I am worried about even if the manufacturer says there are no "withdrawal symptoms." I personally call bullshit. | F | 30 | 8 days 75mg 1X day | 3/15/2010 | 1 | Severe anxiety | Sweating, insomnia, nausea, space feeling, feeling very depressive, horrible boost of anxiety, feeling going crazy, hyperactivity. | It's the worst thing, no doubt about this. Pure poison. I thought I would really disconnect from reality. I got dreams (the few hours I was able to sleep) that were like over the reality. It's like to be trapped in a dream and you can't do anything to escape. The only thing similar to this, was when I got a high fever during a night. I don't care if this drug can help some people. So many are saying that it's poison, and they are right. People with good experiences are surely a minority. This was the most scary experience of all my life. I ended at ER begging for a way to stop this crazyness. Before to try it I thought it should be used at last resort. I got confident and tried it anyway. But I was right...it was a bad idea. Before I tried paxil, zoloft, wellbutrin, celexa, seroquel, zyprexa, and no one was near the hell of effexor. I got night panics on celexa and it was nothing compared to effexor. Whatever your doctor is good or not, stay away from effexor except if you tried everything. | M | 28 | 2 days 37.5 1X day | 3/16/2010 | 4 | Depression, Anxiety | Vivid dreams, lack of any sex drive, constipation, farting, some sleepiness. | If I take a weekend off, I can have sex/orgasms. When I have gone off the medication, the depression and anxiety is so awful. I will deal with the side effects any day for how Effexor has changed my life for the better. | F | 39 | 9 years 75 mg 1X day | 3/17/2010 | 4 | Depression | I gained 15 pounds on this which was OK for me as I've always been slim and it was better to be a little plump and happier. However recently it seems to have stopped working for me so I will probably try something new. | I found effexor xr combined with celexa to be a good cocktail of meds for my depression. No sexual side effects which was very nice after prozac and paxil completely took all libido away. | F | 48 | 6 years 75mg 1X day | 3/17/2010 | 4 | Depression | Vivid dreams, shallow moods (like I literally could not feel true sadness, guilt, anger). Every day had a little bit more sunshine. | Effexor worked great for my depression. My only complaint was that I could no longer write deep poetry because I was so happy all the time. The vivid dreams I had were absolutely incredible. The only problems I had were when I forgot to take it. If I missed a pill, I would get panic attacks, be short of breath, couldn't focus or function at all, and have cold sweats. This would all go away upon taking the next pill. I went off Effexor because I didn't want to get hooked and take it for the rest of my life (my dad has taken it for years.) I went off of it on my own, without a psychiatrist, by dividing the capsules and weening myself off. (Note: I did go through a severe panic attack when I tried going cold turkey-- dumb idea to begin with.) It was a great drug when I needed it, just be careful. | F | 19 | 2 years 150 mg 1X day | 3/24/2010 | 3 | Postpartum Depression/ Anxiety | Weight gain-90 lbs! Decreased sex drive, difficult to reach orgasm. Night sweats. | This drug helped me so much. However, now I am trying to get off. Before this I took Paxil, again with the weght gain. Celexa made me vomit immediately. SSRS effect people in different ways. I was hospitalized under suicide watch when my baby was 2 months old. Effexor did help me through it. I did feel good, after the dry mouth, nausea etc. stopped, it worked great. But now the excessive weight gain has me depressed! I have no interest in sex. It has been 14 days since I took a pill, and sometimes it is literally minute by minute to get through. My mood swings are terrible! I feel overwhelmed, like before. The headaches are horrible! It is so tempting to go back on, but I want to be slim again. I used to be so small. My pharmacist addmitted that weight gain is a side effect, while my Dr denied it. My dietition told me my diet is fine, it's probably the effexor. 7 years is a long time to be dependent on a drug. I hope I can do this. From what I have been reading here, I am not alone. | F | 36 | 7 years 75 1X day | 3/30/2010 | 1 | depressions\ | I you miss even just one dose of this medication.....I experienced terrible nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, fatigue, horrific headaches and 'brain zaps'. | DO NOT EVER start on this drug. If you are already on it, talk to your doctor about weaning the dose. Wean very slowly as these side effecs can, at times, be crippling. | F | 34 | 2 years 150mg 1X day | 3/30/2010 | 1 | Anxiety/ Depression | Decreased sex drive, weight gain, withdrawals less than an hour after missing a dose, stopped working. | I was on Effexor for 3 years. The first 2 years it worked wonders, I felt great. Then it started to wear off and stopped giving me any benefit whatsoever. I spent a YEAR getting off that medication. I had severe withdrawals for 6 months (some of the side effects of withdrawal like motion sickness still have not gone away more than two years later), and the stress of the withdrawals triggered severe GERD which I was hospitalized for. I would never recommend this medication to anyone unless they plan on never getting off it ever. | F | 21 | 3 years 300 MG 1X day | 4/3/2010 | 5 | depression | Slight loss of appetite, slight loss of sex drive but not as bad as other antidepressants, very vivid and interesting dreams (I liked the crazy dreams). | Effexor XR is the only antidepressant that has helped me, and I think I've tried them all. I have been on it twice for about a year each time...I felt wonderful while on it but it gradually stops working after about a year. Felt so much better while on this drug...I was friendly, outgoing, could laugh about things, felt normal. My emotions were great...felt fairly happy most of the time but not zombie-like. There were still times when I felt down but they didn't develop into depression like they would have had I not been on the drug. I actually lost about 5-10 lbs while on this drug. It helped my anxiety so I stopped munching out of boredom/stress. Really changed my life for the time I was on it. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to work for long periods of time. It is hard to wean off of, but I think the benefits far outweighed the inconvenience of withdrawal. Wean yourself off slowly. I only took 75 mg so I switched to 37.5 for a month or so, then started taking the 37.5 every other day, then every third day. You will have headaches and flu-like symptoms and weird electrical jolts in your brain for a few days during the process. It's not such a huge deal. | F | 32 | 2 years 75 mg 1X day | 4/5/2010 | 5 | panic disorder | none | I love it and have not had one panic attack since being on this drug | F | 60 | 10 years 225 mg 1X day | 4/7/2010 | 1 | depression, bipolar | my husband has many negative side effects,memory loss,night sweats,inability to sleep. He wanders around the house all night. He has psychotic episodes,anger issues,delusions. He no longer resembles the man he was 5 years ago,its like he doesnt even see me as human anymore.He is very abusive.He also takes adderral,which is yet another nightmare story | I cannot get medical professionals to take him off the garbage. He did wonderful on prozac | F | 51 | 5 years 150 1X day | 4/17/2010 | 3 | home | hands feet,legs swelling & red blotches | F | 40 | 2 times 75 1X day | 4/18/2010 | 5 | Anxiety/panic attacks | Lots of energy (caffeine-like jitters) and always hungry. | This was an amazing drug. It made me feel much less anxious and I only had 1 panic attack the entire time I was on it - and it was at the beginning when it probably hadn't kicked in yet. The jitters were easily bearable (it just feels like you don't want to sit still, but it's not unpleasant), though the hunger was no joke - it got expensive ;) I gained no weight though, probably a combination of the constant movement and my already fast metabolism. The only problem I had was when I was being weaned off of it: that blood-rushing feeling in your head when you stretch or yawn... well... I got that all the time. It lasted about a week or 2, and then it was fine. All antidepressants have withdrawals, just make sure you wean off of it slowly. All in all, a fantastic cure for anxiety and probably depression too. Just make sure you're being monitored, because I've heard of other people not being able to take the side effects. I HIGHLY recommend it! (Oh, I took it when I was 17 - I don't know if they've changed the formula by now or if my age made a difference. I know they don't prescribe it to minors anymore because of a risk of suicidal thoughts/actions.) | F | 26 | 1 years 75 mg 1X day | 4/19/2010 | 4 | Severe Depression | weight loss; dialated pupils; racing heart; loss of appetite; increased energy; changes in taste; restless; | Overall, I feel better even after just 8 days taking it. I have not had any "depressed" lows yet. Dialated pupils and racing heart lasted 2 days. I've lost 5 pounds already. And about 6 days into treatment...everything sweet, is now too sweet. I discovered this eating yoplait Cherry yogurt. It tasted like an entire box of artifical sweetner was poured into it. Same for tea, soda, and candies :( I havent tried chocolate yet. I drank alcohol while on this med, and did not experience any side effects. Moderate drinking too: 2 margaritas and 2 full glasses of wine. Still feels like the meds are working | F | 26 | 8 days 75mg 1X day | 4/19/2010 | 4 | Anxiety | Let me start by saying that I have previously tried Zoloft, Lexapro and Paxil. The side effects experienced on these I found to be UNBAREABLE: Increased anxiety, restlessness, headaches, inability to ejaculate, suppressed emotions, etc. Since starting Effexor, the only side effects I've experienced is an initial increase in anxiety levels (which subsided in a week), vivid dreams (which I find to be pretty cool), and a slight delay in orgasm (which is NOTHING compared to SSRI's, which required a marathon effort). The difference I noticed here is, when I was on the SSRI's, the sensation of sex kind of felt like nothing. Like I was getting no where. Whereas on Effexor, it feels good like it should, but just takes longer to ejaculate. | To date I feel a lot better. Not a 100% better, but a lot better. I feel like I can get through the day with less worries which makes getting through the day easier (more happy and motivated). I feel less worried about social situations and I am not starting to look forward to meeting new people and socialising more. I really hope my comments will encourage people to try Effexor. I know drugs affect people differently, but if Effexor can help me as much as it has, then I recommend people to try it out :) good luck! | M | 24 | 4 weeks 75 MG 1X day | 4/21/2010 | 5 | anxiety, mild depression | it took about 4 weeks to really start working. in that time i had strange feelings almost like i was on a high at times. pupils were hugely enlarged, clenching my jaw alot, suffering alot of dreaming i never use to. sleeping alot about 12hours a day, coffee doesnt keep me awake anymore.have experinced headaches alot when i wake up mainly. increased appiette, weight gain of course. no lose of sex drive. | effexor works very well. has aken away all my anxiety and depression. makes everyday life much more mangable. im happy with the result, is certainly worth the side affects. the side effects are less common and some totally gone already. Very grateful for this drug! | F | 20 | 3 months 75mg 1X day | 4/25/2010 | 5 | Depression and Anxiety | nice i like it | F | 45 | 1 years 75mg 1X day | 5/1/2010 | 4 | Depression | Insomnia, loss of libido, memory loss, loss of consentration | This pill has helped me a lot. That is when I am taking it when I am supposed to. However, the side effects are awful. I can't sleep at night and during the day I am extremely exhuasted. My memory is crap and I can't seem to consentrate very well. According the research I have done myself it has also caused both my babies to be born early due to toxemia. I wasn't taking it like I was supposed to with my second pregnancy and my child was not born as early as my first one. | F | 22 | 5 years 150 1X day | 5/1/2010 | 3 | Depression | Major sweating, constipation | F | 62 | 5 years 90 1X day | 5/4/2010 | 2 | Depression | Agitated depression, hypomanic-like symptoms, mood instability. Of course, these could have been unrelated to effexor. I also gained about 10 kilos (22 pounds), but it could have been due to other things such as implanon. When I started taking it the first time I experienced some insomnia and headaches. The worst thing about effexor is the withdrawal, which the doctors don't seem to know much about but it seems to happen to everyone who tries to stop taking it, and not just the people who post about it on the internet. | It just didn't do anything for me, but no antidepressant has. I was on varing doses on and off for about 2 years and I was almost continuously depressed. Apparently it works great for some people, and it doesn't have many side effects while taking it, but it is VERY hard to stop taking it. I had to wean myself down to 5 granules once every few days before I could stop, and even then I had brain zaps for a few weeks. | F | 24 | 6 months 150mg 1X day | 5/9/2010 |