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 |
| 5 | anxiety | none | F | 58 | 2 years | 11/9/2006 | 5 | Anxiety | If I miss a does I start getting the "sparks" or twinges by evening time. If I realize it and take it I'm fine. One time I missed a whole day and I couldn't go to work the next day I was so unbearably dizzy for lack of a better word. | Works wonderfully for me at 150. Did try to double that and got really depressed. I feel "normal" on it and I don't have sexual side effects like I did with Prozac, Wellbutrin or like a zombie when I tried Paxil. | F | 28 | 6 years | 10/7/2007 | 5 | Depression | First 2 weeks I had a difficult time sleeping at night. I also had slight nausea during that time period. all negative side effects went away after 2 weeks. | Effexor has changed my life, for the better. It woorked within the first week for my depression and it is like night and day, I finally feel like the person I should be. | F | 32 | 6 months | 11/8/2006 | 5 | panic | jaw pain, headache, no sex drive, jitteryness -- all of which have subsided in 4 weeks. | I now take 1 1/2 mg of ativan in the a.m. and i take 75 mg of effexor at night along with 25 mg of seroquel at night and all my panic and anxiety is now gone. I am so relieved. I was really scared that we wouldn't get a grip on it.... but we did. I love my psychiatric nurse and she's been a huge help. | F | 38 | 5 weeks | 10/31/2006 | 5 | Racing thoughts mood swings, sad | The first day I took effexor it worked very fast I experienced relief of my symptoms within a couple of hours but was very sleepy now i am on it for the second day and no drowsiness and i have never felt so good and optimistic it also gives me a lot of energy it saved me and my relationship! | F | 19 | 2 days | 10/26/2006 | 5 | depression | I am on my 3rd week and still feel no bad side effects, just vivid dreams. I haven't argued with anyone and feel more easy going and less stressed, hope this keeps up, I even lost 4 pounds!!! | F | 33 | 3 weeks | 10/26/2006 | 5 | anxiety, panic attacks | nausea when I first started and every time I raised my dose. yawning! severe loss of appetite, weight loss, low sex drive | I love effexor and it cured my panic attacks, depression and even lowered my blood pressure but when I went from 175 mg to 225 mg I became very itchy! It progressively got worse. The itchiness would start then hours later I would break out in hives. Over a 2 month period of itchiness and hives I thought I had developed an allergy to something new b/c I had moved. I had been on the drug for over 8 months and my doctors ensured me I would have experienced an allergy to the drug months ago. I kept taking it. I only discovered it was effexor when I lowered the dose and my lips and mouth would swell 30 mins (on the dot) after I took my pill. I eventually weaned myself off of it but it was so hard because of that tingly/light headed/electric shock feeling you get from withdrawl (I've seen a lot of comments on that from other people...weird). I also lost about 15 pounds because of my loss of appetite. even though I seemed to have a rough time on this drug I was fine and healthy and happy f | F | 22 | 8 months | 2/19/2007 | 5 | depression | absolutely none, it works beautifully for me | F | 49 | 8 days | 10/9/2007 | 5 | PTSD | Night sweats | Saved my life! | F | 41 | 5 weeks | 2/10/2007 | 5 | Depression | Little bit manic at first, but I got A LOT accomplished, and now have leveled out. If I don't take it by my usual time, I get what I call my "phantom body," where I feel sort of dizzy and tingly in areas of my body I didn't know existed???--It's difficult to explain. Forgetting to take the medication is hell. Don't skip a dose. | Great stuff although I'm a little concerned about the long-term effects. It has allowed me to realize I've been depressed for 20 years and didn't know it. I don't cry about everything all the time anymore and it has almost eliminated my (huge) mood swings. I still have feelings, I get mad, sad, whatever, but my feelings no longer control my life. It has also helped me to regulate my sleep patterns. I can now go to bed by 9 or 10PM and get up at 5:30AM whereas all my life I could never go to bed before 11:30 and always hated getting up before 10 or 11AM. I'm a lot less grouchy with other people, more friendly and outgoing with folks, and procrastinate less. I'm now able to accomplish things that I normally would avoid as long as possible, sometimes forever, like sewing buttons on clothing, hanging my coats in the closet, or sorting through old bills and papers. I'm a lot more organized than before, although not perfect. | F | 39 | 4 months | 2/26/2007 | 5 | depression/anxiety | none while taking it, though i was warned about the possibility of it affecting the anger portion of your brain and i have become quite a bit more easily agitated. when i have skipped doses for a couple days at a time, i start to feel a little crazy, often like i'm walking around in a dream, probably a bit manic. | i've tried paxil, zoloft, celexa, and lexapro. i've been on effexor the longest and it's the one that has made me feel most like myself. i have had to raise my dosage over the time i've been on it, often feeling like i've "plateauted." i capped out at 300mg, but i'm back down to 150mg. i would eventually like to go off of it, but i am terrified of what the withdrawal will be like. | F | 24 | 2 years | 8/31/2006 | 5 | Depression | Shakey jaw, twitches, nausea, sleeplessness | It's the bomb. No other anti-depressant has ever worked for me. Now I feel happy, I get out of bed, go to uni, I have friends and I go out...YAY!! | F | 25 | 4 years | 9/13/2006 | 5 | depression | night sweats but TAKE BLACK COHOSH and it completely elminates it. Try it you have nothing to lose. | It saved my life! | F | 41 | 8 months | 8/29/2006 | 5 | Anxiety and Depression | I wake up around 2-3 AM for an hour almost every night. Switching taking the pills to AM or to PM does not change this (so that release times differ). I also have a tremor or shaking in my lower back and legs when I am resting. I tend to move a little slowly - procrastinate more than usual. My skin is more sensitive, and cuts or scratches remain for a very long time. Vivid dreams. Decreased ability to orgasm. LOST weight - at the right dose for me, if I stay away from carbohydrates, then I don't think so much about food. Lost 20 pounds and that feels GREAT! | I was extremely depressed and taking effexor may well have saved my life. Within 2 hours of the first dose, symptoms of anxiety disappeared. Within 3 days - 2 weeks, the depression went away. However, it was less affective after 2 weeks, so the dose was increased. Eventually went to 150mg - this was too high for me. I was tired all the time, not thinking very fast or clearly, and going through emotional swings. Reduced to 112.5mg - experienced about 3 days of side effects tapering the dose, however, this is much better. Can function very well, still a little tired, probably from waking at night. Social anxiety is COMPLETELY GONE!! Still have up days and depressing days, but no where as severe as the depression before I started on effexor xr. | F | 41 | 6 months | 9/27/2006 | 5 | depression | when I started I felt extremely tired and yawned like crazy. I felt like I was thirsty the majority of the time and was also getting very vivid dreams(which is cool.)and night sweats. I still get tired, but only when I am not doing anything active. Plus I still get thirsty and am also still getting the vivid dreams and night sweats. | I feel like my old self again. I am happier, I don't think negative hardly anymore. Plus I feel more calm. | F | 27 | 2 months | 8/29/2006 | 5 | Major depressive disorder | Weight loss (10-15 lbs from normal weight), night sweats, vivid dreams, nightmares, interrupted sleep cycles, occasional inability to reach orgasm. | Although I had a lot of side effects, I rate this drug very highly because it has nearly cured my depression. I have tried Zoloft, Paxil, and Prozac and none of these worked for me. | F | 30 | 4 years 150 mg 1X day | 12/7/2011 | 5 | depression | Sweating any time of day, especially when nervous. Horrible sweating at the gym. NIGHT SWEATS!!! I've actually cut my dosage in half, hoping to lessen the night sweats. It's only been about 10 days, and the night sweats are less severe and the headaches are gone, but I'm not sure if that is due to cutting down or that menstruation ended about 5 days ago. | I've read online a long list of complaints of side effects from patients who are taking or who have taken Effexor. I am blessed that the only side effect I have is night sweats, though it's so bad that I've changed my clothes up to 4 times during one night and I'm cutting my dosage without my doctor's permission. Night sweats literally ruin your night's rest. | F | 45 | 3 years 100 2X day | 1/7/2012 | 5 | anxiety and ocd | difficulty losing weight, more frequent breakouts, some sexual side effects | I give this drug a 5, not because it is perfect but because it has radically changed my life for the better. I've tried various antidepressants over the years and other drugs and I always come back to effexor. It really reduces my anxiety dramatically with minimal side effects. I do have to watch what I eat when I'm on it but I haven't gained massive amounts of weight like I did on other drugs. I've also had to go off and on it a few times (when getting pregnant, etc.) and though it is hard to come down off from it, it's not that big of a deal if you just reduce it slowly, take benedryl the last few days and sleep a lot. Any side effects are really not a big deal in light of how much it helps me in my life. I have no idea how people with anxiety survived before these drugs were invented. Effexor has dramatically changed my life for the better. | F | 37 | 10 years 75 mg 1X day | 3/21/2012 | 5 | Anxiety/Anger/Depression | If I miss a dose, the symptoms are severe naseau, brain zaps, fatigue, and irritability | Whe, I first started on this drug, I started on 75mg for the first year and a half. It took about 4-6 months for the full effect to kick in for me. My anxiety was so bad I couldn't even drive for fear of suffocating in my vehicle. I had intense anger issues, and depression. I now function completely normal, and my dose was moved up to 150mg. I seriously would be a different person if I didn't take this drug, but the fact that I feel so bad when I don't take it does scare me. I mean you really feel sick if you don't take this stuff, so if it works for you I'd say plan on taking it forever. | F | 24 | 2 years 150mg 1X day | 11/14/2011 | 5 | migraine vertigo | Ridiculous weight gain (40 pounds for someone who has never, ever had a problem with weight control and is now on a diet for the first time in my life!), and increased sweating (probably from being so much heavier, especially around the middle), other side effects were transient including dry mouth, yawning, vivid dreams, teeth clenching. | My life was saved by this drug. Without it I have vertigo so severe that I can't stand up most days. It has been a blessing for me in that regard, so I can't complain about the horrible weight gain I guess. I started out underweight, and now I'm overweight. | F | 39 | 6 years 75 mg 2X day | 2/14/2012 |