EFFEXOR XR Reviews (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE)

Average Rating: 3.0 (2225 Ratings)

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 ANTIDEPRESSANTS

 Type: Rx Drug

  

EFFEXOR XR  (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE):  Venlafaxine is used to treat depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and social anxiety disorder (social phobia). It may improve your mood and energy level and may help restore your interest in daily living. It may also decrease fear, anxiety, unwanted thoughts, and the number of panic attacks. Venlafaxine is known as a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). It works by helping to restore the balance of certain natural substances (serotonin and norepinephrine) in the brain.   FDA Approval Date: 1997-10-20 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

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.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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More on EFFEXOR XR: Reviews Summary  |  Drug Safety Information

RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR EFFEXOR XRCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 5  DEPRESSION Experienced immediate craving for sweets. HAVE NEVER eaten sweets. Have gained 25 pounds. Do not seem to be able to control this craving! In 3 days I began to feel better. Have been depressed since I was a child. Other antidepressents never worked and cause all kinds of terrible side affects. Feel normal for the first time in my life! Had moderate to severe depression for 50 years. Yes 50 years! F 59 2 years
2/21/2007
 5  gad a bit dizzy much better than lexapro which made me sleepy and much better than cymbalta which made me unhappy F 48 2 years
2/22/2007
 5  SAD I Love it. F 36 6 months
2/24/2007
 5  Depression Weight gain, eye discomfort, temporary tiredness, very bad hives It really has helped me a great deal, after 2 years on 75 mg I am now getting off the meds, am prepared for a lot of discomfort! F 62 2 years
2/26/2007
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 5  PTSD I have been taking 150 mg for 6 weeks, I dont look forward to discontinuing it. F 41 8 weeks
2/24/2007
 5  panic attacks start up (on 37 mg) was tough, had panic attacks every day. after i went up to 75mg for a few days, panic ceased. now up to 150mg. loss of sexual drive, a little trouble staying asleep. overall, i feel this is the first med to really help me and to cause me to feel like me, and 'normal'. i have not had any weight gain thus far (been on it for about 3 months). i'm not crazy about the lack of sex drive, but i'll take that any day over panic attacks, which this med knocks out pretty well for me. it has also decreased my menopausal hot flashes, thank god. F 49 3 months
8/4/2005
 5  clinical depression I took Effexor for a year before I stopped it because of developing an allergy to it and experiencing hives. My doctor didn't know that this is a rare side effect. It did help my depression but going off of it was difficult with electrical zapping in by brain. If traditional SSRI's have not worked for you this medication could be helpful, but do understand that there are side effects with any drug. Go off of it slowly tapering your dose. Also, know that medication alone rarely helps depression long term. You also need life style changes and usually, talk therapy. F 59 12 months
10/13/2007
 5  anxiety First day or so, nausea; lost a couple pounds in the beginning until I got used to the medication; I get the infamous "brain shivers" if I miss only one dose. This medicine has been a Godsend for me. I started on 150 mg and have now tapered down to 37.5. Nothing bothers me anymore, like it used to....it's wonderful. Just remember, everyone is different and not all medicines will work the same for everyone...it's trial and error. You WILL find something that's right for you. Just make sure you have a doctor you trust and feel comfortable with. F 38 2 days
3/9/2007
 5  menopause, can't take hormones Nausea first few days. I finally can sleep at night. No more hot flashes or night sweats. I started with 37.5 mg, and now I am on 75 mg. F 44
2/26/2007
 5  SAD/ DEPRESSION I used to be so depressed and anxious, that I didn't want to leave the How. Now after continued therapy and Effexor I look forward to living. F 42 9 weeks
2/27/2007
 5  severe depression disorder If you don't take the medication around the same time each day then your sleeping patterns can be disturbed. Give the medicine time to work. Nothing happens overnight. If you are severely depressed as I was and still would be if I was off meds than look into this drug, please. I take 300mg a day. This is the perfect amount to take with my diagnosis. I have tried many anti dpressants and this is the ONLY one that makes me feel NORMAL and OUTGOING as I used to be. I feel like myself and not some babbling idiot or zombie like I was on some other medications. This drug has saved my life. Literally. F 26 2 years
3/10/2007
 5  anxiety, depression loss of appetite, crave sweets, gained a few pounds, extremely low sex drive, inability to achieve orgasm. love the way this drug made me feel. I feel human again. I would love any suggestions on improving the sexual side effects. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. F 32 5 months
1/30/2007
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 5  depression, social anxiety disorder Increased sex drive and phenominal orgasms, constipation, headaches, tremors, joint and bone pain, jaw clenching, muscle twitching, poor sleep, electric shock jolts at night, buzzing/shocks in head if I forget a dose, bad short term memory, yawning, dry/sore throat, extreme appetite for carbohydrates, palpitations, chest pain on high dose (300mg), dizziness, buzzing on left side of head at night (all of these happen when the dose is changed, except the first 7 which are constant) This drug changed my life. The misery I lived prior to finding this drug was horrendous. The side affects during dose change really aren't that bad but certainly are not pleasant. As antidepressants go, this is is the best I have taken and I have taken quite a few. I do not look forward to withdrawal, but I do know to take it slow.. F 35 4 years
2/4/2007
 5  depression and anxiety increased resting heart rate, loss of appetite in the beginning but went back to normal after 2 months, mild constipation, vivid dreams when dosage was increased to 150mg, difficult to wake up but more energy when awake. the first time i used effexor was 4 years ago and it caused me to lose about 10 pounds, but i became pregnant and switched to zoloft. do not wean off effexor too soon as i had one very bad day and experienced mild halloucinations F 46 3 months
3/4/2007
 5  Major Depression None. I don't have the zaps or low libido. The only problem was weaning off of it once I had some bad anxiety. This drug has saved my life twice. I have suffered major depression all my life and this drug completely removed it. I need to take 300 mgs a day but no side effects at all except being happy and feeling energetic again. Last year I was switched to Cymbalta which just stopped working and within a week of being back on Effexor I am back to living again. Great drug for MDD. F 44 9 years
10/6/2007
 5  postpardom and anxiety at first dizziness..icky feeling...sick feeling..lack of sex drive...but only lasted for a ahort period of time..now sex drive is back Very happy with the results of this drug after I had the baby had severe panic attacks to where i didn't want to leave the house...couldn't sleep i am now on a dosage of 300 mg a day and the panic attacks are gone along with the racing thoughts and i am sleeping peacefully..It takes a while to find the right dosage for you and you have to stick with it but once you find the correct dosage the benifits are GREAT..I have been on effexor for a little over 7 months and when I started out I couldn't get out of bed or stop crying after 8 weeks I was back to living on my own with the baby and now I am feeling great...but miss a dose and you feel the side affects nearly right away... F 31 7 months
8/22/2006
 5  anxiety, psychosomatic problems None. But then, I have taken several other SSRIs in the past, and have never had any side effects. No side effects when reducing dosage from 150 ER to 75 ER. I have now reduced to 37.5 ER (by halving dosage) and I think I am beginning to experience some problems, but it's kind of too early to tell yet - it might be coincidence. It definitely helped with my panic attacks, anxiety, heart flutters, psychosomatic heart pain, breathlesness,etc. which are now GONE. I have reduced the amount of alcohol, and lost a lot of weight. Of course, as with all the drugs of this type, you don't really know whether you might not have to some extent gotten better on your won. F 35 1 years
9/27/2005
 5  anxiety, depression Tired, Yawn all day long. Taking this drug was well worth the minor side effects I experienced. I now enjoy life again. Happy to get up in the morning, work and exercise. I did go off the med once - very slowly - but the anxiety and mild depression returned. Started back on effexor xr at 75 and the anxiety and depression disappeared - have not felt any need for an increase in the dosage. F 49 1.5 years
2/7/2007
 5   Fatigue....fatigue....fatigue I took Prozac for 8 years and thought I was doing great....After noticing more tension and tightness in shoulders and neck, my Dr. switched me to Effexor XR. I am only taking 37.5 mg daily, but wow.......I FEEL LIKE A NEW PERSON.....No tension....no second guessing everything and everyone....wonderful so far.... F 38 2 months
11/1/2006
 5  anxiety none F 58 2 years
11/9/2006

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