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 |
| 4 | depression | weight gain. dr sd it would not cause me to gain weight and i would have no sexual side effects. she was very very wrong. | F | 42 | 365 days | 5/21/2004 | 4 | Depression, Anxiety | stomach ache, low libido, numbness to sadness AND happiness, weight gain | I want to come off it but I feel mentally addicted to it as well. I just got a boyfriend and noticed the sexual side effects...is this normal? Ive been on it a long time but only recently started gaining weight. Is that normal? Anyone who's experienced these things feel free to email me and we can chat. | F | 19 | 3 years | 5/25/2004 | 4 | depression and anxiety | Initially experienced yawning and sweating at night at 37.5 a day.Raised up to 75mg and then 150 and I then experienced heart racing and pounding.Blood pressured raised slightly.When missed a day I felt like I | Immediately on 37.5 my mood improved. I woke up feeling happy and ready for the day. Did not feel anxious or excessively worried like before. On 75 mg continued postivie effect. At 150, I was worried about heart racing/palpitations. Dr. decreased dose to 115mg and then to 75 and added Wellbutrin. I have felt some sadness and anxiety return and heart racing continues. I don't know what to do because the heart related side effects worry me, but I don't want to experience the awfulness of depression and anxiety and I need to be emotionally stable for my family (we have two young kids). | F | 41 | 2 months | 5/16/2004 | 4 | bi polar | I was sick when I first started the Effexor XR. Things got better, then I noticed I could not sleep, there was no urge for sex, night sweats, hot flashes, constipated, night tics. | Just went up to 200 mg's and side effects are getting stronger. The medicine has worked very well for my disorder, but has caused problems with my marriage because of not having an urge for sex. Wellburtin did not work for me at all. | F | 27 | 4 months | 5/12/2004 | 4 | severe clinical depression and anxi | Increased sexual desire, sweating | It's a great med. It has helped me a lot. | F | 48 | 6 months | 7/10/2004 | 4 | depression | When I first started taking it I had dry mouth but found that gum worked well for that. The worst has been the withdrawal effects. I was gradually weaned off by my doctor over a period of two months. It has been a week since I finished my last pill and am still experiencing dizziness, nausea, and headaches. I have to admit that the withdrawal effects aren't as bad as they used to be. | Effexor XR worked well for me and the worst part has been trying to get off of them. For anyone trying to get off and struggling with the withdrawal effects, hang in there. The effects subside with each day, but I'm getting the feeling that it takes a few weeks to clear up. | F | 23 | 3 years | 7/13/2004 | 4 | Major Depression w/Mania & S.I. | I decided to stop taking it when I started feeling better and being the genious that I am, didnt figure out that the horrible horrible nightmares were due to quitting the Effexor XR cold turkey... Also, bad headaches, bitchiness, extreme sadness, etc. I'm back on the med. Realized it is whats making me feel some semblance of normalcy--but I have little to no sex drive and thats saying something cuz I think my husband is sooooo sexy--but I could care less about sex now. Follow Dr instructions -- do not quit suddenly, better to be weaned off it. | I feel normal now--I take it in combination w/Risperdal because it | F | 32 | 4 months | 7/29/2004 | 4 | Depression, Anxiety | I began at low doses and am now at 225 mg/day. Since about 150 mg/day, I have had all of the common side effects (dry mouth, tremor, insomnia, diziness, constipation, decreased sex drive), as well as intense night sweats and jaw clenching/teeth grinding. I have actually lost a little bit of weight but am now concerned about weight gain after reading everyone else's comments!!! | Effexor did nothing for me when i was on small doses, but since I have been at 150mg and higher, i have definitely noticed a difference. I do not cry as often and am more social and productive. It has really heightened my level of daily functioning, for which i am very grateful. However, I still have an occasional episode of hour-long sobbing, suicidal thoughts, and trembling. But... I do not think i will change medicines because it took me a long time to even find a medicine that made a difference and i also fear the intense withdrawl symptoms of this medicine! If i go for more than a day or two without taking it, i become dizzy, my vision suffers, and it is just an all-around really awful feeling!!! I have begun to accept that this is about as good as it's going to get (at least i think so)... however i do fear never being able to stop taking it. | F | 18 | 7 months | 7/30/2004 | 4 | fibromylgia | no side effects | F | 56 | 1 years | 8/10/2004 | 4 | Anxiety, Depression, OCD, ADHD | During first few weeks, nausea, sweating, fatigue. | I've been on Effexor XR for 3 months, and it's helped me have a life. Before taking the Effexor, I had constant anxiety and irrational responses to stress. Howver, don't miss a dose. I missed one yesterday, for the first time, and it has taken me all day to recover. I've been sleeping off and on all day trying to releive the dizziness and headache. Once I took my dose today, took several hours for the symptoms to go away. | F | 38 | 3 months | 9/16/2004 | 4 | depression - bipolar | 300 mg a day ... excessive sweating, very vivid dreams. | F | 20 | 10 months | 8/28/2004 | 4 | Major Depression & anxiety | no major effects noticed whilst taking attributed to effexor except my pupils are constantly dilated a little more and maybe a little weight gain. although withdrawl is horrible as i am on 300mg a day, if i miss a dose for one day my heart hurts and i get dizzy and headaches. if its more then that 1 day, i have fits of crying and shaking and rage, heart pulpitations, dizzyness, confusion, motion sickness, etc | has stabalized me immensley, so far only one to take the edge off. | F | 20 | 6 years | 3/26/2007 | 4 | depression & anxiety | During the first week I experienced hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia. Wasn't sure I was going to be able to continue but I went on the web and found out that those symptoms were normal and usually went away. I started feeling better around the fifth day. My only continuing side effects are total loss of appetite and continuing problems with insomnia. I take another medication to help me sleep. The appetite is not a concern because I am quite overweight, it has actually helped me lose 50 lbs over the last six months. | Withdrawal symptoms are nothing to mess with. I ran out of pills over a 4 day holiday weekend, and boy did I feel wierd. I have had recurring depressive episodes since childhood, and this is the second time I have tried anti-depressants. Prozac worked well the first time, but the same dose had no effect this time. I am also in cognitive behavioral therapy and I strongly recommend therapy in addition to medication. | F | 35 | 6 months | 7/23/2006 | 4 | Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar | Jittery, restless somewhat, sexual disfunction, sleep disorders | I felt a difference on the second day. I feel a little shakey at times but I'm told this will pass. The great thing is that I view things with more optimism and seem to have a reduction of the mental inertia that was dragging me down. I have more energy and feel more focused. This is only the beginning, but so far, so good. I've had very bad experiences with SSRI's and other drugs. Keeping my fingers crossed!! | F | 43 | 6 days | 1/19/2007 | 4 | depression, stress, anxiety attacks | sweating, insomnia | I feel so much better on this. I'm happy about everything again. I was on Paxil, Serequel before and they just weren't doing much. I can't stand the side affects though. Only on 75 mgs | F | 25 | 2 weeks | 1/21/2007 | 4 | Depression | NO sex drive, severe fatigue, sweating, mild jaw clenching | I've been on Effexor for about three years now, and I have to say that along with therapy, it really saved my life. However, the side effects are awful, but to me it's worth it because after trying Lexapro, Wellbutrin, and Zoloft, this is the only thing that makes me feel better. I have to take Adderall XR in combination with the Effexor just to keep me awake during the day because if i don't, i absolutely can't function; I will literally just sleep all the time, to the point where it truly can disrupt my life at times. I had never experienced a fatigue like that before, and it can be very dibilitating. I have absolutely NO sex drive, but that didn't happen until about a year ago. I wake up a lot in the morning with my jaw feeling tired and aching, and it never even occured to me that it may have been because of the Effexor (until i came upon this site!). The sweating is really bad, but i've found a great solution - aerosol deoderant! I've tried going off of Effexor before...it's hell, | F | 20 | 3 years | 8/6/2007 | 4 | Depression for PTSD | rapid heart beat, loss of appetite, and bruising. Occasional sleeplessness. | I have been taking this medication for the past 2 months now. It is helping me greatly! I have however noticed, if I have skipped a few doses, I have dizziness and nausea. | F | 23 | 2 months | 1/24/2007 | 4 | severe depression | Effexor caused me high blood pressure. The more I take of it, the more blood pressure meds I have to take. But for me, it's the only drug that, otherwise, works really well. | I had tried everything else and I mean EVERYTHING else and nothing seemed to work well or had side effects that weren't acceptable. Effexor changed that. It helped my depression a lot! After 4 years I began to feel like I was over medicated and cut back strength from 75+37.5mg to just 75mg. I now feel much better. It's only been a month so I'm still keeping close tabs on how I feel. | F | 60 | 4 years | 2/5/2007 | 4 | anxiety | tinnitus(ear ringing)I freaked out the first night, but doesnt bother me anymore. Constipation!!! I get bruises easily. I used to sleep only a few hours a night. I did move a lot in my sleep, but now take my medication in the morning. mild headaches. crazy nightmares... especially if i lower the dose. I feel so much better, have so much more energy. I think its worth the side effects. I take 75 mg a day. | F | 27 | 1 years | 6/15/2006 | 4 | For severe depression and anxiety | In the beginning I suffered a bit of fatique, generally tiredness. Took care of the depression on a dose of 150mg a day. Missed doses = severe side effects (see comments) for me. Currently struggling while still on dosage with rage/anger issues. Throughout have suffered extreme hot flashes. | Severe side affects I mentioned include: feeling a sort of vertigo issue just by moving my eyes around. nausea and faintness. electrical shock sort of feelings from behind my eyes and through my head. disoriented and so forth. Hot flashes has been a major issue throughout, starting with about 3 mos after beginning treatment. Significant weight gain, increased appetite and difficulty controlling urge to binge. Currently suffering bouts of "rage" or irrational anger. The slightest thing sets me off, might be time to switch meds, this has NEVER been an issue before. Has worked well for me over a year, a little afraid of the withdrawal when it's time to quit. Anyways. Good luck. | F | 30 | 1 years | 6/10/2006 |