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 | Suicidality increased dramatically in the first three weeks. Then additional side effects of "erratic behaviour" Suicide was successful. | This drug should not be given to anyone without the doctor notifying family/friends of potential side effects. Close monitoring of patient during initial phase of taking drug is vital. Lives are lost on this drug. Doctors should prescribe this drug with extreme caution. Successful suicides result. | M | 20 | 19 days | 11/11/2007 | 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 | Accute axniety and depression | Amplification of depressive and anxious symptoms | I was orignally put on Efferor to help with my anxiety (at this time i didnt think i was depressed, just in an altered state of perception). However I'm not sure how Effexor xr is meant to work? I dont see how dizziness, fatigue, grossly dialated pupils and a limp dick are meant to improve your condition....I seriously recommend something else...just through the last of mine out. Of cousre i will try something else (I believe cipramil is ok), but i would rather go without than use effexor ever again......Shithouse | M | 25 | 3 months | 5/17/2007 | 1 | Anxiety, Depression, OCD | Nauseau, headache, slowed thinking, boring personality, no highs or lows, really numbs you, and malaise. | It's great for anxiety, but I'm a college student, and I certainly cannot take something that is going to slow me down. This would be great for ADHD. You also cannot get excited, or sad about something, you're in one mood the whole time, and it's neither happy nor sad, just a dull personality. | M | 19 | 1 days | 8/26/2007 | 1 | Bipolar/Anxiety/Depression | Lack of sex drive, decreased appetite, manic episodes, brain shivers. | I'm not sure why I was given Effexor XR since I'm bipolar and it's been shown to increase manic episodes... but at the time I had not known that and was taking 75mg daily. I had been on Lexapro, which was all right, but my psychiatrist suggested trying Effexor since I was still having some problems with anxiety and sleeping. I took it for about 2 months when I started to notice I was irritable more often. Eventually irritable turned into manic episodes and I decided I wanted off, especially since I hadn't noticed any positive effects. The withdrawl was awful. At first I thought I just had a weird headache, but the "brain shivers" started occuring every few minutes... or seconds. I endured it for about 3 weeks, and I was given a generic to take whenever I felt as though I needed it. Now I'm completely off SSRI's and SNRI's (Effexor) and I will never go back on one... the Effexor totally killed antidepressants for me. The only thing I take now is Lamictal and Klonopin (as neede | M | 19 | 2 months | 8/11/2007 | 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 | 1 | Depression | Loss of Libido, Loss of appetite , i lost 15 kgs in 6 weeks, headaches and it turned me suicidal to the point i took an overdose of other prescription meds and alcohol. | M | 37 | 5 months | 7/12/2007 | 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 | 1 | depression/anxiety disorder | sleeplessness, 'fuzzy thinking', lack of concentration, lack of memory, unrational behvaviour, extreme anger/agitation, oh ya, sweats too ... | where do i start? this has been a nightmare ... i wish i had been smart enough to do research on effexor BEFORE i went on it ... my mood swings were extreme ... yelling, cursing, swearing ... calling the people i love the most, the worst names i could ... throwing things across the room in anger ... not good at all ... the med made me more anxious than before ... agitation, sleeplessness ... led to prescriptions for other meds ... before i knew it, i was dependent on sleep meds, and was being prescribed tranquilizer type meds too ... i suppose if i had not been on the effexor, i would have been clear-headed enough to know not to take anything else, but i couldn't form a coherent thought for the life of me ... i was off work for the longest time, finally got back to work and tried to wean off the med ... that's when it really hit the fan ... in my 43 years previous, i had never had any trouble with violence or extreme anger ... but i made up for it in the last year and half on this med | M | 43 | 1.5 years | 8/11/2007 | 1 | Gen. Anx. Dissorder, depression | first couple of weeks I had no cares at all, nothing felt good, nothing bothered me, no motivation to even do routine chores..almost no energy...but very different feeling then being depressed and not wanting to do anything. Stomach aches, head aches, loss of appetite,dry mouth | I usually take 225mgs in the A.M.When I missed one day I awoke the next morning and soon had the "head Zaps" mentioned here. Driving to work i realized it had to be that I missed a dose (this is at 4:30 am) I took my dose at 10 a.m.,I had to leave work sick and was in bed by 1pm CRYING, brain zaps, sens. to light, legs and hands zapping, sick to my stomach. THIS MED IS BAD, I hope tapering will go well for me. Thank all for your comments here, good and bad | M | 39 | 10 weeks | 1/2/2008 | 1 | mild depression | insomnia/erratic sleep schedule, feelings of exhaustion, extremely vivid/abnormal dreams, weight gain (20+#), feelings of surrealism/disassociation, and brain "zaps" | If at all possible, avoid this treatment!!!! It is very invasive, and has been very difficult to quit. For me, the side affects do not justify any benefits that could be gained. Do yourself a favor, and get several opinions before committing to this potential nightmare! | M | 50 | 3 months | 12/31/2007 | 1 | Depression | Sexual Side Effects Horrible. Major Weight gain 35+ lbs. Always tired, never wanted to do anything. Still Depressed. Only in 75mg, couldn't imaging being on a bigger dose. Dizziness, crazy dreams, hard to go to sleep. | This drug is not one I would recommend to anyone. When I stopped taking it, the side effects were devastating. Severe chest pains, mood swings, dizziness, brain zaps, feel like fainting, nervousness, and many more. I will never take this again. I was on it for 10 months. | M | 36 | 10 months | 1/2/2008 | 1 | depression | eye sight loss, crying, liver and fluid problems . major major withdrawal symptoms | a dangerous drug in the hands of doctors who do nt know its affects on a person . | M | 52 | 5 days | 1/21/2008 | 1 | no | reading this scares me | I havent picked up my prescription yet, but after reading all these posts, I may not. Its sounds like a nightmare drug. Wouldnt xanax or valuim be much safer for axiety???? Why do doctors want us to feel worse??? | M | 45 | 0 days | 1/12/2008 | 1 | Anxiety | Sleepy all the time, suicidal thoughts, irritability, don't care about anything. | I started Effexor XR at the age of 18 and went up to 225 mg. During the treatment I noticed that I was tired all the time but my doctor didn't attribued this symptom to the medication. During the treatment, it was painful to go to school due to the lethargy that I was experiencing, I was continualy walking in fog. After 2.5 years of torture, I decided to taper off gradually from this medication. The withdrawal symptoms was a NIGHTMARE!!! Flu-like symptoms, fatigue, skin sensivity, sensivity to all noises, chest pain, tachycardia, very bad digestion (unable to eat without having a bad reaction). More than one year after the withdrawal, I still have all these symptoms!!! I cannot work or function at all!!! I tried many drugs after that to repair the permanent damages due to this hellish drug like: Paxil, Celexa, Cipralex, Remeron, Risperdal, Seroquel, Seroquel XR and Zyprexa and for my somach: Pariet, Pantoloc, Nexium, Prevacid, Losec, Pepcid and Zantac. None of these medications worked | M | 22 | 2.5 years | 1/31/2008 | 1 | Depression | Extreme Dizzyness + Sleepyness + Lots of weight Gain. Could not Sleep at night. | (Heroin /Effexor XR in my opinion are one in the same) The side effects are similar coming off this drug. YOUR HOOKED! Due to the heroin type side effects trying to get off this VIRAL Stuff. Geeze what a market. I told my doctor how bad it was. Theye really didnt care. This drug was driving me crazy. They told me deal with it and keep taking it unless i felt like commiting suicide. Then I could get an appointment right way. Otherwise no I would have to wait for 3 weeks for an appointment. How CRUEL!I just wanted off it. He said do not try to go cold turkey. Now I know why. The effects are deadly. Some people have had seizures according to what i read on the web. He had no answer about the side effects i was having. He acted like it was the first time he heard of it. I think that was BS! I think they get kickbacks on certain drugs they push.! I found companys selling drugs for coming off effexor for almost $300 a bottle. I found a ov | M | 38 | 4 months | 2/15/2008 | 1 | anxiety | night sweats, terrible itching, munching, munching and more on hard candies to the extreme, bloating with just about everything I ate. | This medication is dangerous. Here is somewhat of a diary of my withdrawl from effexor. It's a little choppy, as it was difficult to keep track of at the time. thurs. pm. - missed dose int the am, and took tonight after a ridulous rage episode. Than at about 2 am I felt better, but was still upset about the event earlier. I looked on the internet for answers. And I got some. I decided to quit cold turkey. days 1 and 2 - feeling very strange, nervy and squirly, sort fo light headed. tingly feeling in my lips , that spreads down kind of like ahead rush. I can feel these epidodes coming on. Starts out like gerbil wheel starting to spin in my head. Then it turns into feeling of steady light electrical shocks. day 3 - terribly crying episode this afternoon lasted an hour and a half. I think I cried as if everyone I loved had suddenly died in terrible car crash. later that evening - I think I can feel the beginning of a bad episode again, My head was starting that weird | M | 44 | 1 years | 2/18/2008 | 1 | anxiety | Severe depression, suicidal, lightheaded, brain fuzz, almost ruined our family life! | My husband took this and these comments are about him. This drug was a disaster for my husband! He said that it helped his anxiety slightly, but at a huge huge cost, He has never seriously considered suicide except while on this drug. He was lightheaded and had a "fuzzy" mind often, especially if he was late or missed a dose. Any drug that could cause this much depression and does so frequently, and is so hard and dangerous to come off of is dangerous. I would recommend close supervision for anyone taking this, and only take it as a late resort, too much risk. I personally wanted to try to get it off of the market! | M | 28 | 6 months | 12/30/2007 | 1 | depression | Night sweats, inability to focus or concentrate, high blood pressure, the worst side effect are the sensory disturbances (best described as feeling like electrical shocks/impulses in brain, ears, and extremities) | The medicine seemed to help with my depression. HOWEVER due to several factors (developed inability to concentrate/focus while taking drug and blood pressure increased from normal to stage 2 hypertension) my doc and I decided to stop Effexor and try something else. I am on day 6 of weaning off Effexor, and feel terrible!! I can not sleep, the "brain shocks" are terrible, I'm very irritable, and talk like I've had 3 pots of coffee. I would VERY highly recommend researching EFFEXOR WITHDRAWL before taking this drug. Start with the FDA's medwatch, then check out the Effexor Petition for "testimonials" on how good this drug works! | M | 4 | 4 years | 12/28/2007 | 1 | depression, suicidal thoughts | Inability to gain an erection without significant physical stimulation from partner; even then, orgasm was infrequent. I began to get twitches that felt like bodily electricity, which was not only startling and uncomfortable, but also led to me developing an incapacitating social anxiety that used to be only nominal, and i still retain a modified form of the latter two side effects to this day (it's been a year and a half). | I firmly believe that it should not be approved for medical use unless some method of effective test is made to make sure that it won't worsen your state while you're on it, but even more importantly, after you get off of it. I had to begin taking a different prescription (Lamictal) to counteract the side effects that it gave me for a couple months longer than I was on Effexor XR, and now they are TOLERABLE, but I still feel a social anxiety unlike anything I'd ever experience before... When I get nervous (which is often) my body will literally move in coordination with other people's bodies... I used to describe it as if vague, kind of abstracted strings were pulling me and everyone else around me in accordance with eachother. When I told my doctor that he most likely misunderstoof and thought I was exhibiting schizophreniform symptoms, when in reality, I didn't believe in any of it, it was merely the only way I could describe the sensation. | M | 20 | 4 months | 12/8/2007 |