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 newest to oldest. 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 | none | it has been the best medication i have taken for my deppresion, i also have ect with it. | F | 43 | | 8/10/2007 | 1 | cataplexy associ with narcolepsy | At first I really thought this was fantastic I had gained weight on an old ssri (vivactil) so asked for something that would not put weight on. I gained 50 pounds but stanford insisted it was not the effexor and i believed them, so after 7 years I am off cold turkey..day 5. My pharmecist mentioned it can put weight on and I nearly fell over! I know you are not supposed to go cold turkey but I am angry I had polio as a baby and narcolepsy also so need to be awake, and strong, not weak. It has been tough getting off of this crap but i dont care..i am determined My symptoms, intense anxiety, weakness, terrible stomach burning,hair loss,fatigue~neck pain, back pain, irribility, feelings of futility ~nervousness, not wanting to be around people, gallstones, pancreatitis, craving sweets, wanting to eat when not really hungry, grinding of teeth | I felt better at first with anxiety problems but began "futurizing" This is day 5..First thing I noticed, my cats stared at me strangely :D)~Day four they stopped, I can see really well and colors are bright This is awesome I lost weight on the first day in my face and arms Gone are the sweets cravings and hunger...wow!! I am dizzy, brain zaps, itchy, no headaches, no teeth grinding, chills, naseated, trouble concentrating, head feels squirrely, tightness in back of head, wee weeing a lot, the symptoms taper off a bit every day..I work for myself so have stayed in bed for 5 days..my kitty stays close like she does when i am sick, i would rather have cataplexy than another day drugged, not sure about depression as it has only been 5 days and i feel emotionally good..maybe the medicine had quit working long ago??? Please anyone write to me, would love to hear from anyone and encourage anyone who needs support or an ear | M | 55 | 7 years | 8/10/2007 | 4 | bipolar disorder | bitchiness, lack of energy, weight gain | it got rid of my depression, but it makes me very irritated at people for no real reason. | F | 17 | 2 months | 8/9/2007 | 1 | PTSD, Severe Depression, Anxiety | Total loss of ability to climax, Don't feel like doing anything at all including eating, Hate myself and want to die, Brain shifts or zaps, Focusing problems, and generally don't care about a whole lot | M | 59 | 2 years | 8/9/2007 | 4 | depression/ocd/anxiety | blurry vision (occasionally), decreased appetite | I have tried about everything for depression and ocd. Things tend to work for a while and then the bottom falls out. I am a nurse and understand that there are many different reactions to different meds and stating that a drug is "evil" or "should be stricken from the market" is a personal opinion stemming from a personal experience. I have had bad side effects from a few and have seen bad side effects from meds. All I know about this one so far is that I am not nearly as tired, don't dread going anywhere, don't want to cause physical harm to my husband (sarcasm-ok) and am not so upset with myself about the weight gain from other antidepressants right now. | F | 29 | 8 days | 8/8/2007 | 1 | Bipolar II | Nausea, upset stomach, stomach pain, dizziness, complete withdrawal symptoms | This is the worst drug on the planet. Not only did it not work for me, it is responsible for sending me into 2 manic fits and the end result being my hospitalization. They pulled me cold turkey off it and I went through withdrawals. Full on anxiety attacks, brain shivers, cried all day and couldn't get off the couch for fear, messed my pants, and just felt like dying. Only thing that fixed it was taking Effexor again...now I am being weaned off it. Beware this drug! | F | 22 | 3 weeks | 8/7/2007 | 4 | Depression | NO sex drive, severe fatigue, sweating, mild jaw clenching | I've been on Effexor for about three years now, and I have to say that along with therapy, it really saved my life. However, the side effects are awful, but to me it's worth it because after trying Lexapro, Wellbutrin, and Zoloft, this is the only thing that makes me feel better. I have to take Adderall XR in combination with the Effexor just to keep me awake during the day because if i don't, i absolutely can't function; I will literally just sleep all the time, to the point where it truly can disrupt my life at times. I had never experienced a fatigue like that before, and it can be very dibilitating. I have absolutely NO sex drive, but that didn't happen until about a year ago. I wake up a lot in the morning with my jaw feeling tired and aching, and it never even occured to me that it may have been because of the Effexor (until i came upon this site!). The sweating is really bad, but i've found a great solution - aerosol deoderant! I've tried going off of Effexor before...it's hell, | F | 20 | 3 years | 8/6/2007 | 4 | Severe Depression & Anxiety | Delayed ejaculation(not necessarily bad); increased libido; night sweats; dry mouth; occasional dizziness; waves of fatigue every few hours until night time; periods of constipation alternating with diarrhea; short-term memory issues | I'm currently taking 300mg/day. My depression and anxiety are much better with "crash" bouts lasting only a day or two every few weeks versus being depressed for weeks on end. I've taken Prozac, Wellbutrin XL, and Lexapro in the past; the side effects are far more tolerable than those drugs. I may see if my psychiatrist will up my dose to 450 to avoid the "crashes" altogether. It'd be nice to get this "energizing" effect he keeps talking about. | M | 31 | 3 months | 8/4/2007 | 4 | depression | nausea at first | effective | F | 47 | 5 years | 8/3/2007 | 2 | Depression | Expected side effects going on this were drowsiness but as a surprise, inability to reach orgasm. Also of less importance, frequent yawning. | I've been on this at 75mg for 1 month now with a 37.5mg start for 1 week for my body to get use to it. I have NOT noticed anything as far as a switch in mood or overall feeling. To be honest, if it were not for the side effects, I would not even know I was on an anti-depressant. As a 33 yr old male, the most frustrating side effect has been the inability to reach orgasm. (which btw my Dr says is NOT suppose to be a side effect). If your not really sexually active then this may not be that big of a deal..but I am married and so it is an issue for me :-( After reading about the experiences of coming off of this, i'm all the more tempted to get off of this soon so that I will not be hooked on it. My DR did talk to me about putting me on Wellbutrin instead, although I have not researched this one out much and may consider just going without any anti's for the time being until I have done more thorough research. Please email me if you have been on this for about a month and have had | M | 33 | 1 months | 8/3/2007 | 1 | Bipolar/Rapid Cycling/Depression | While on it, I didn't notice much change. I was rather scared reading the side effects here. Then an incident oocurred where my insurance went through changes, and my doctor moved out of state, and i was still in prescreening for the new docs. The discontinuation was horrible. EXTREME Nausea, irritability, lack of focus/concentration, Brain shivers, etc. come off slowly if you have the option! | F | 24 | 5 months | 8/3/2007 | 3 | Anxiety/panic disorder | heightened anxiety in 2nd week(after going from 75mg to 150mg), yawning a lot, problems staying asleep for more than 3 hours even when exhausted | going to tough it out although this 2nd week has been hard, doc says to experience full effect i need to have taken it for at least 4-5 weeks. I have noticed an improvement in my thoughts and mood, especially in the first week. guess im just being impatient but am hoping will be worth it in the long run as ive tried everything else! | M | 32 | 2 weeks | 8/2/2007 | 1 | Depression, anhedonia | Dry mouth with unpleasant taste, excessive sweating, low sex drive. When I did have sex or even when masturbating, orgasm was very difficult to achieve and ejaculation was weak when it finally arrived. At the same time there would be semen in my urine, or sometimes an emission of semen by itself when defecating. Very low energy: I've been unable to accomplish much, and when I had to take about a month off from exercise due to illness I was unable to resume my routine, which had never been a problem before. There's been some weight gain, presumably resulting from lack of exercise rather than the drug itself. I'm currently weaning myself off it, and had brain zaps and vertigo when I cut back too quickly. | This didn't really do a thing for me. My mood lifted for a while, but that seemed to be because I had an unusually interesting project at work, which would have naturally lifted my mood anyway. As soon as it ended the anhedonia returned to what it had been. | M | 43 | 6 months | 8/1/2007 | 1 | Anxiety | Constipation, sleepiness, tiredness, insomnia, hotflashes, heart racing fast, loss of appetite | F | 24 | 2 weeks | 8/1/2007 | 3 | depression | memory loss loss of appitite sweating and felling like i am loosing my ming i cant rember the movie or anythang about it that i watched last night | it dose great for my depression but i fell like my brain is in slow motion i cant sleep and i still want to sleep all day like i did before i started efexxor | F | 28 | 1 months | 7/31/2007 | 4 | major depressive disorder | While starting I had strange dreams, frequent headaches, anxiety, restlessness, decrease in appetite, teeth grinding, insomnia. After my body got used to it I no longer had these side effects other than the decrease in appitite. I have better concentration and memory, am able to communicate better with people and am starting to enjoy things again that I used to enjoy. Still don't feel %100 yet but definite improvement than how I felt pre-drug. | I have been plaqued with constant migraines and headaches since I was three. After a few weeks on this I haven't even had so much as the slightest headache(other than perhaps one caused by a hangover) So strange but most welcome side effect. | F | 26 | 11 months | 7/27/2007 | 1 | anxiety | Horrific side effects while getting off of Effexor, beware!! | I was on it for 2 years and it worked good while I was on it (taking 150mg a day). It basically stopped working overnight and my doctor upped the dose to 225mg. After 3 days on 225mg my anxiety was unbareable! I went back and he took me off of it completley and replaced it with Wellbutruin. It's been 7 days since I've stopped taking it and it's been a living hell. I know it's not he Wellbutruin as I've have researched it on the web and know people who have taken it with no problems. I would describe Effexor XR as being drunk 24/7 plus having the flu at the same time. My dr. told me that it could take up 3-4 weeks for it to completly be out of my system and has given me Valium to get thru the next couple of weeks. If you are thinking about taking or know of anyone thinking about taking Effexor don't do it, save yourself the pain!!! Take a look at the Effexor website and it will tell you the symptoms if you stop taking it, basically its a withdral!! There are about 15 aweful symp | F | 33 | 2 years | 7/26/2007 | 3 | GAD/Panic Disorder/Insomnia | Drwsy/dizzy/slight headaches sometimes/hard to orgasm/loss of libido | I am so scared after reading all these ratings. I do feel an improvement in my overall mood but am freaked out about possible more side effects and weaning someday. Any advice? | F | 25 | 2.5 weeks | 7/25/2007 | 3 | depression | none | F | 53 | 1 days | 7/24/2007 | 1 | Depression/Bulimia | headaches, brain zaps, rapid weight gain, suicidal behavior; withdrawal: headaches, zaps, tremors, cystic acne, shortness of breath, elevated heart rate | I felt great once the initial side effects wore off and it started working. I was truly happy and stopped purging and maintained a healthy diet of 1400 cals with exercise for about 6 weeks. Despite the diet and exercise, I gained 21 lbs in those 6 weeks. Suddenly without any explanation I became more depressed than I ever felt before I took the drug and began feeling suicidal to the point of throwing away all of my possessions and selling my car. I have never felt so low. I stopped taking it immediately and the withdrawal has been horrid. I am a marathon runner and I suddenly couldn't make it more than 5 miles from a raised heart rate and shortness of breath. My skin has broken out in cysts and the weight I gained won't budge. I hope there's some relief from this soon. I wish I'd never taken it. | F | 24 | 2 months | 7/24/2007 |