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 | ANXIETY | started on 37.5 mg for one week, was then increased to 75mg. first started noticing muscle pain (flu-like), and then tremors... really annoying hand and finger twitching. started getting headaches. started getting brain shocks when falling asleep. found myself sleeping a lot longer than usual in the mornings. very dizzy... lightheaded. lack of energy. zombie-like no emotion status. and a severe loss of sensation to my penis and testicles. hard to maintain an erection, and takes forever to reach an orgasm. more frequent urination during the night. joint pain, especially in my hands. | i had none of these side effects before taking effexor. i wasn't able to see my pcp, so a physicians assistant prescribed the effexor to me without warning me of any of the possible side effects. the pharmicist didn't even go over these with me. i have been on effexor for three weeks now and am going to discontinue it's use immediately. i know there are withdrawal symptoms, but hopefully after only three weeks it won't be too bad. i do not recommend this medication and plan on complaining to my pcp about it on my next visit. | M | 45 | 21 days | 1/4/2007 | 1 | Premature ejaculation | Complete sexual shut-down. | Don't ever take this drug if you like sex because it can damage your sexual ability forever. | M | 39 | 1 months | 1/7/2006 | 1 | Major Depressive Disorder | This withdrawal is terrible. This is the 5th time im trying to get off it went down from 225-75. Im in great difficulty but have decided to be resilient. I am extremely worried about lasting side effects. | Anyone feel free to contact me about this It can really help having someone who understands what is going on. [email protected] | M | 20 | 2 years | 8/4/2006 | 1 | mild depression | Headaches, Feeling stoned, couldn't concentrate, couldy vision & thoughts, tight chest, a few times thought I was going to rape my wife | I was on the 37 mg for 10 days, my dr. wanted me to do 37 for 5 days, then 75 for 5, & then 150. But I couldn't stand the 37mg. Am trying Wellbutrin Xl now | M | 38 | 10 days | 11/22/2005 | 1 | anxiety from health issues | tons. extreme sweating, ejaculating at a different time then the orgasm, suicidal depression, a non-functioning human was the main side effect. they warned me about these side effects too. like people are going to live there life like that. you might as well be dead. | just an awful drug. i was a little depressed before. after taking this drug,i was running out trying to commit suicide every day. then there are withdrawl symptoms too. i have more luck with klonopin and the benz.. | M | 21 | 28 days | 4/5/2006 | 1 | Panic Disorder | Weight Loss. The drug caused depression - a great side effect for someone with panic disorder. | Here is what cured both my panic disorder, my depression, and the withdrawal symptoms - Jesus Christ. Two years fter becomming a born again Christian, I have no desire for ANY drugs of any kind. Prayer is all I need now, and IT WORKS!!! | M | 65 | 3 years | 10/21/2006 | 1 | Depression | My time taking effexor, it seemed to have worked, or at least keep me normal...however when you stop taking it, the withdrawels become a living hell. | light headiness, | M | 27 | 4 years | 5/25/2003 | 1 | teeth grinding, loss of concentration, apathy, bizarre sexual dreams and horrific nightmares, complete sexual dysfunction | I was put on effexor after no success on wellbutrin for minor depression. Started out on 150mg. An apparent boost after a month that quickly went away. Was then put on 300mg. Nothing. Besides the physical side effects, the best word for the feeling was zombie. I question whether the initial positive response was more due to the apathy. Sure, most of the negative feelings were gone but I soon realized so were the positive feelings. I really didn't care about anything. Two warnings if you do try it. Don't let your prescription run out. I went without for 3 days and it was absolute hell. Makes you wonder what the exact definition of non-habit forming is. Also, be prepared for a struggle when you decide to go off the drug. I tapered down at 37.5mg every two weeks and that was two awful months. | M | 28 | 6 months | 2/7/2004 | 1 | depression, anxiety | isomnia, decreased apetite | It worked like speed for me. My depression was gone. But also my ability to sleep. Everyday I was sleeping 30 min later than the day before. 2 weeks later I spent 2 nights lying in bed without 1 minute of sleep. I had to get off it. I was very happy about my mood stability and increased energy. But it made me unable to sleep. I lost a lot of sleep during the 2 weeks I used it. Now trying Zoloft. | M | 28 | 2 weeks | 12/4/2002 | 1 | for depression and lack of energy | nervousness, anxiety,agatation like pinpoints on my skin | M | 54 | 12 days | 12/27/2002 | 1 | anxiety, depression | Switched from | Effexor xr should be outlawed, the withdrwal effects are UNIMAGINABLE unless you experience them. I was on 150mg for 8 months and on prozac for 10 years at 80mg with no withdrawal problems. Do your research this drug is horrible!! | M | 34 | 8 months | 8/11/2004 | 1 | Social/Genral Anxiety | More anxiety, mind racing, shakey. | Was taking Effexor XR extended release starter kit (37.5m) along with Buspar (10m) for 5 days when I had to stop due to feeling even more anxiety than usual. On the first day I felt very fuzzy and cloudy headed. After that I felt unending anxiety until I finally stopped cold 5 days later. Today is my first day being off it so unsure yet if I'll get any withdrawal symtoms. I tried Zoloft for 1.5 months prior to this and stopped that due to the extreme sexual side effects. Still no solution for my anxiety. I've been told by two doctors that there are no tests to check if I even have a chemical imbalance. This is very frustrating since then every drug they put me on is a guess. Anyone ever get testing? | M | 33 | 5 days | 3/14/2004 | 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 | 1 | Depression | I only took it at the lowest dosage for 4 days. I felt like my blood pressure may have been high, and felt shaky, so I discontinued. The shaky feeling didn't quite leave, but it wasn't that bad. But 5 months later, I thought I'd give it another try. Again the same thing, but this time the tremor was worse. I've been off of it for 3 1/2 months and still feel tremor especially in my face, but also everywhere else. Before this I had been working hard at learning to play the piano. This is not fun when your hands and arms shake, so I've quit. I'm a little self consciense that people will notice the shaking in my face when I smile, so I don't as much. I'm not sure if this is ever going to go away. | M | 40 | 8 days | 5/14/2004 | 1 | insomnia and anxiety | Intense agitation. A feeling of being disconnected from myself. Worsened insomnia. | After months of anxiety and insomnia, the doctor prescribed Effexor. In the brief period I took it, it seemed to help anxiety, but only because I stopped caring about anything. I felt completely disconnected. Also, it made my insomnia worse - I was not able to sleep at at all. The worst effect was the constant feeling of agitation. Perhaps some of these side effects would have eventually resolved, but they were so bad that I could not continue long enough to find out. Effexor is definitely not for me. | M | 43 | 5 days | 1/3/2007 | 1 | psychotic depression/ maybe bipolar | none | This medicine was comparable to taking placebo; no lift of depression, energy increase, motivation, nothing. | M | 19 | 69 days | 12/21/2006 | 1 | chronic depression | I am one of those rare people who experienced a full blown manic episode with psychosis (detachment from reality, auditory hallucinations) requiring nightmarish week's stay in local psych ward. Followed by months of crushing depression so severe my psych was considering electroshock treatments which I would never agree to. "Normal" life and occupation completely trashed, but now almost fully recovered after 3 years. | I had taken the drug for years, but when my depression intensified, my psych upped the dose to 300 mg. Felt MUCH better and lamented that I had not taken the higher dose before. Actually, I was experiencing hypomania. My psych screwed up and missed several warning signs over 3-4 months (including rapid cycling) that I was heading for mania. The psych, though, has excellent credentials which shows that all docs are fallible. Beware. Now Dx of bipolar type 1 even though I'm 62 and never had mania before, nor has anyone in my family been bipolar. Due to mania, taken off Effexor cold turkey. Because I dropped into severe depression, I have no idea how much of the horrible experience was due to withdrawal. Effexor is notorious for causing mania. | M | 62 | 12 years | 11/17/2006 | 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. | M | 35 | 5 months | 3/2/2006 | 1 | Irritable bowel / anxiety | Found that I didn't care about much of anything. I started drinking very heavily and gained around 40 pounds. When I decided to get off of it the experience was very painfull. I had to decrease very slowly over an extended period of time. Then I had withdrawal symptoms for a long time after. I am now taking Buspar and while I had some problems initially, it seems to work well. I have lost 15 lbs and don't drink abusively. | Wouldn't recommend this drug to anyone. Very scary. I would classify this as having done a lot of damage to my life. Stay away from this drug. | M | 46 | 3 years | 2/26/2006 | 1 | PTSD ADHD migraines depression | First weight loss, which was bad becaus I was previously anorexic, then 35 lbs weight gain. I've become a whale. Also agitation/night terrors/panic attacks, inability to sleep more than 4 hours a night, nightmares, impotence + anorgasmia, suicidality - I was in a psych ward for 3 days. | I know this drug works for some people, but the side effects seem to outweigh any benefits - there's a petition on the web to force Wyeth to disclose all the undisclosed side effects about this insidious drug. And yes, it DOES cause anorgasmia - not just impotence - in males. Effexor is a supposed | M | 42 | 10 months | 8/20/2005 |