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 Gender with females listed first (reviews with no gender reported listed before females). 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 |
| 1 | Depression | My blurb here is based on 2 experiences - the first was when I forgot my medication at home while travelling on business. The other is when I discontinued the medication. | This medication is terrible. My new psychiatrist said that this stuff was a "killer." A killer.... can you beat that with a stick. When I forgot my meds at home on a business trip I felt like I was going to DIE. I was anxious and paranoid, felt like my skin was peeling off...pretty much the worst plane ride home EVER. After experiencing that I decided to discontinue the med shortly after. The next 3 weeks was TRAUMATIC. I experienced paranoid hallucinations (which I never had before), terrible anxiety BUT the worst thing were the "brain shocks" that would zap through my skull every 30-45 seconds. NO JOKE. It felt like someone stuck a car battery charger against my head then turned it on. I don't recommend this medication at all. Pls look for an alternative. | M | 35 | 2 months 175 1X day | 6/26/2013 | 1 | Social Anxiety | Debilitating knee pain (permanent), increased joint pain, bone pain, chest/heart pain, rapid heart beat, sweating, exhaustion & insomnia despite exhaustion, confusion & impaired cognitive function, increased anxiety. | This drug caused permanent knee pain so severe that I can barely walk now about a year later just from the lowest dose taken for only two weeks. This drug is poison to most males, although it seems it works okay for females. If you are male do not take this drug! Instead take a benzo like klonopin for anxiety or if you have pain take something that is less experimental like vicoden or percocet. | M | 24 | 2 weeks 37.5 1X day | 11/7/2012 | 1 | Major Depression | Dilated Pupils | Didn't do sh*t. I read about all the withdrawal stuff and how wonderful people thought the drug was for their depression. But really, it was a wussy drug because it had no effect on my emotion/mood whatsoever. Is this a joke? I didn't even have a withdrawal. | M | 20 | 3 weeks 65mg 1X day | 9/16/2012 | 1 | Depression, GAD, Social Phobia | Apathy, memory loss, blurred vision, insomnia, nightmares, sexul dysfunction, shivers and shakes and the list goes on. | Chronic Discontinuation Syndrome. I was told to taper from 75mg to 37mg for 1 week and then 37mg to 0 for the next week. I had prior knowledge to know that this was way to fast so I took 6 weeks to taper and still suffered terribly, it was worse than my original condition and symptoms, be very careful stopping this drug too quickly or it can be PURE HELL!!!!!!! The worst AD withdrawals I have ever experienced and I've tried heaps. In my opinion just don't go there, it's not worth it. IT SHOULD BE TOTALLY ILLEGAL, It is CRAP and for those of you who are on it I wish you all the best coming off it, be prepared to take at least 2 weeks off work if not longer because you will be lucky if you can get out of bed or off the bloody couch. Put your seat belts on because it a really bumpy ride. The brain shocks, vertigo and ataxia(losing your balance and falling over) are by far the worst and don't forget the crying and chronic anxiety that comes back 10 fold | M | 35 | 5 months | 3/2/2006 | 1 | Dysthymia | I became zombielike, and was in a worse state while on Effexor than before I had taken it. The withdrawal is a living hell, and is long as well. A full 6 months of my life were made unbearable because of it. A year later, I still have withdrawal effects from it. | Avoid this drug. I can't think of a single good thing it did for me, and several problems that continue to this day. Caffeine will start making me hallucinate, which is really not a fun thing to need to live with. | M | 18 | 2.5 years | 12/8/2005 | 1 | Anxiety & Depression | Severe migraines, excessive sweating, dry mouth, itching on the head (as if I had dandruff), vivid dreams, loss of libido | I began taking 75 mg after a year with Zoloft. After a while, the dosage was increased to 150 mg. Although it helped me a bit, I had too many side effects - some of which I couldn't relate to Effexor until I stopped it. But the worst part was withdrawing from it. I could never imagine it would be so hellish. I'd get brain shivers that seemed to last forever, dizzinness, nausea and strong feelings of unreality (depersonalization). My doctor tried to add some Prozac, but it didn't do much for me. I had to decrease the dosage painstakingly slowly over the course of four months. I pray it will be gotten off the market 'cause I know many people who had the exact same problem. | M | 25 | 1 years | 2/25/2008 | 1 | Depression | Cloudy thinking,memory loss, headache,stiff neck. Withdrawal symptoms were horrible with electrical shocking episodes,painful muscles,weakness, etc. for over six months after tapering off. Lost 40 lbs during withdrawal period. | Physical withdrawals felt similar to withdrawal from narcotics except for horrible electric shock sensations like touching an electric fence. Homicidal and suicidal urges and extreme anger with mood changes from depression to mania. Withdrawal lasted for months not weeks like my Dr said. | M | 59 | 4 years 1X day | 12/7/2011 | 1 | Depression | Where to start? Chronic constipation, aggressive eczma, a spiky feeling like stinging neetles when I got hot, memory loss - could never remember names or big words in coversation; loss of sex drive; verbally aggressive if I missed med or when I tryed 60 mg of drug. | I was told by my physhciatrist this drug was the next big thing and that I had tryed most everything else so I put up with all those side effects for 3 freakn years!! My wife got fed up with my aggressive verbal behaviour on this drug. Then my new GP sayes try Cipramol and then suddenly the adverse effects all but disappear. Im over the moon with Cipramol - the only side effects I now have is same low sex drive. There was also no withdrawals moving between these 2 drugs. | M | 40 | 3 years 40 MG 1X day | 8/22/2011 | 1 | dysthymia/OCD/name it | Felt better the moment I swallowed the first pill (placebo effect). Able to cope with life better (although perhaps a bit numb). Took for two months, stopped cold. Experienced terrible headaches and feelings of primal aggression after stopping medication. Also, experienced lucid dreams in which I could not tell if I was awake or asleep. It was an out of body experience. I jumped up to see if I was awake, and if I stayed floating in the air, I knew I was having the out of body experience again. Then I would float down the hall. It was like being in 'The Matrix'. If you think this sounds fun, guess again. It was terrifying. (The dreams happened say within a year of stopping Effexor. I can't prove this was a side effect of taking Effexor, but what else would it be? I read some other posts that prompted me to think it was the Effexor.) | Simply too dangerous to try it. If you have an addictive personality you will find it difficult to quit. If you MUST take an antidepressant, at least consider another one. If you must take Effexor, do not let your psychiatrist talk you into taking a larger than starting dose. (I took Effexor for two months when I was about 27.) | M | 33 | 2 months | 12/19/2006 | 1 | Depression | Severe addiction, cannot discontinue. Nightmarish withdrawl symptoms - inability to move or speak, suicidal thinking, nausea...too many side effects to name here. | Impossible to get off this drug - withdrawl is far, far worse than anything I experienced before staring it. Heroin withdrawl is not this bad. | M | 33 | 7 years | 3/20/2007 | 1 | Major Depression | Sexual side effects. Not being able to achieve orgasm. No problem with achieving or maintaining erection. Lethargy, drowsiness, inability to focus or concentrate on school work. | However withdrawal from this "drug" is horrible. I have now been off for 3 days after tapering off the dosage from 150mg alternating with 75mg for 10days, then 75mg alternated with 37.5mg, then 37.5mg for 5 days then one every other day. Til now I am off completely. I am having uncontrollable brain "zaps" or "shocks". These are horrible and concentration is nonexistent. I am sweating profusely and having cold chills then will get really hot and flushed in the face. Headaches are also really bad. I would advise anyone considering this to evaulate all options and the weigh pros and cons of this medicine. If I had known of the withdrawal symptoms I would have never started this drug. | M | 23 | 3 months | 3/27/2007 | 1 | depression | The usual sexual side effects: or lack of sexual effects, that is. Erectile failure but mostly erectile loss, wicked anorgasmia, dreams, sweats, etc. | I have been on the unheavenly host of antidepressants for the past 12+ years, but Effexor is ONE ILL-ADSVISED alternative to the rest. My doctor prescribed it when I continued complaining about my ongoing and heartbreaking SSRI and SNRI sexual side effects. The effexor is no better in this regard. However, as cited so often in this survey, withdrawal is the ultimate punishment: terrific body/scalp itch, brain-blowing, sickening thumps inside my head, dizziness, severe irritability, etc. My son has been on Effexor XR for years. He told me a horror story about his withdrawal rigors when he ran out of the stuff awhile ago. He was right. I should never have let the dr. talk me into the effexor. Big mistake. This is DETOX, not withdrawal. I had to take one yesterday after a few days of cold turkey or make the morning news. It's that bad. Very addictive stuff. AVOID THIS MED. | M | 60 | 28 days | 2/24/2007 | 1 | Social Anxiety & Depression | Brain tremors, loss of sex drive, SEVERE withdrawl symptoms! | I couldnt imagine a prescription drug being much harder to get away from. Missing 1 dose will send you into all kinds of nasty side effects, sometimes with in a few hours of the missed dose. Quitting and getting away from this was a horrible experience. Even when slowly stepping down. And I still sometimes will experience brain temors to this day, and I have been off it for over a year. I was also on a pretty high dose, 375mg daily. The doctor just kept pushing it higher and higher. | M | 26 | 1 years | 8/26/2006 | 1 | depression | My dad killed himself on the third day on effexor. | PLEASE BE CAREFUL!! The Wyeth company will only give the warnings that the FDA requires them to and they will continue to try and silence the idea that SSRI's can lead to an increased risk of SUICIDE in some patients, because the longer this drug can stay on the market without bad publicity the more money wyeth will make. | M | 51 | 3 days | 11/15/2006 | 1 | Anxiety/Depression | OMG THe normal ones ie: headache, weird sleep habits and nightmares BUT I ended up in The ER with severe abdominal bloating and pain from this after a week they let me out and i was off it, however im about to make another visit because in three weeks my bloating is back to before. How long before the side effects wear off I dont know but I cant sleep anymore laying down because the bloating stops my breathing! And I cant walk far cause the bloating makes me pant and Im only 43! and rode my bike a few miles per day before this.. Help! | In the past 2 years my dr has tried just about every ssri on me with bd effects, so she consulted another psychologist who interviewed me and came up with the effexor idea.. WRONG | M | 43 | 3 weeks | 1/30/2007 | 1 | depression and anxiety | Initially not a lot. Sexual dysfunction was about the most noticeable. However I felt drugged on and off theoughout the treatment...a bit like the old tricyclics. | I believe that this medication should be withdrawn. Over time it's effects tapered off and getting off it was just awful, tapering down over a month from the normal dose still produced another month of the dreaded seratonin electric head, headaches and sense of unreality. If I hadn't understood what was happening and why I think I would have been totally deranged. Getting off it was far harder than getting off the two tricyclics I had been on in the last 20 years and miles harder than getting off Zoloft. FWIW I would be looking for a different drug next time I need an antideppressant. | M | 55 | 12 months | 10/5/2005 | 1 | depressionn | it worked great for depression. nothing better. but im in my 4th year of vivid, bizarre, repetitious, depressing dreams. my dr acknowledges dreams happen, psychologist has heard of problem-he's no help! last stop this week at sleep disorder center. if they cant help, im beyond help. DO NOT EVER START THIS MEDICINE OR ALLOW ANYONE U CARE ABOUT TO DO SO. YOU CANT GET OFF IT AND THE DREAMS ARE BEYOND BELIEF!!!! | GREAT CALMER. BALANCES LIFE GREAT. BUT THE DREAM SIDE EFFECT THAT GOES WITH IT IS A HORROR STORY. | M | 57 | 4 years | 2/4/2007 | 1 | Depression / Anxiety | Sweating, headache, sexual disfunction, mania combined with poor judgement (bad combination), weight gain, memory loss... | Discontinuation syndrome is vicious - no words in the English language can adequately describe the physical and emotional pain. It's been two years since I finally stopped taking it, and I still get the "shocks" early in the morning. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG. | M | 43 | 9 months | 9/1/2006 | 1 | GAD | Insomnia, loss of appetite (I'm all but a skeleton now), decreased sex drive, delayed ejaculation, sweating, dizziness, lack of concentration - just felt drugged. | Absolutely useless. Was on Paxil for 5 years and am going back. Sexual dysfunction is worse on Paxil but at least you get your life back. | M | 34 | 7 weeks | 8/10/2006 | 1 | Signs of depression | Cognitive impairment, memory loss, inability to concentrate, no motivation, extreme anxiety, sweating buckets, depression, feeling suicidal, slurred speech, tiredness, muscle spasms and shakiness, lightheadedness, collapsing, seizure, visual phenomena, night blindness | Withdrawal from this drug is hell | M | 17 | 2 years | 8/22/2006 |