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
 
 4  Chronic / Severe Depression Nausea, night sweats, dizziness, weight loss, vivid dreams, Insomnia, bruised easily, difficulty concentrating, memory loss, fatigue. Sexual function didn't change at all. The severity of these symptoms increased as I went from 75mg to 300mg over the years. Also the effectiveness dissolved over time, which is why the dose was increased. If not taken at the same time every day, severe nausea and brain shocks. F 21 6 years
12/25/2006
 4  needed sleep pain very bad pain on my joints a week know. F 35 2 days
1/7/2007
 4  Depression and anxiety Extreme dry mouth, unable to reach orgasm. However, my sex drive is still Ok. No notable weight gain, as I have pushed myself to work out still. Felt a bit sluggish, but after a month or so on the 150mg dose, have overcome that side effect. The one and ONLY complaint is this horrible taste in my mouth- tastes metallic, and bitter, a secretion under my toungue. I hope it goes away- I'm brushing my teeth about 5 times a day! Lol. Keep a VERY close eye on your side effects with this drug. For a week, I had horrible suicidal thoughts and mood swings, which eventually went away. Have a support system- family, friends- to help you when you are down. It gets better. If you have high blood pressure, do NOT quit cold turkey, as this is a very BAD way to do with any of these types of drugs. contact your Dr, and if that doesn't help, get another opinion. There's help out there, and millions of people like us who know what we're all going through. :) F 24 3 months
12/20/2006
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 4  anxiety and irritability with mild night sweats, vivid dreams, dizziness I love it. I don't ever want to stop taking it. F 50 2 years
11/4/2006
 4  irritability with mild depression. night sweats, very cool sexy vivid dreams, dizziness if I miss a dose, nothing serious compared to the good feeling I have when I take it regularly. There was some initial loss of sexual drive and difficulty achieving orgasm, which I attributed to menopause. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who helped me past this and now sex is just as good or better than it ever was. I love it. I don't ever want to stop taking it. I take 78mg per day every morning and I like myself on this drug. I don't lose my temper, go into ranting raging fits anymore. I may drink more than I did before, but still nothing serious, I do get a buzz quicker, but still would never have more than 1 drink through the week, or 2 or 3 on a Friday evening. F 50 2 years
11/5/2006
 4  irritability with mild depression. night sweats, very cool sexy vivid dreams, dizziness if I miss a dose, nothing serious compared to the good feeling I have when I take it regularly. There was some initial loss of sexual drive and difficulty achieving orgasm, which I attributed to menopause. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who helped me past this and now sex is just as good or better than it ever was. I love it. I don't ever want to stop taking it. I take 78mg per day every morning and I like myself on this drug. I don't lose my temper, go into ranting raging fits anymore. I may drink more than I did before, but still nothing serious, I do get a buzz quicker, but still would never have more than 1 drink through the week, or 2 or 3 on a Friday evening. F 50 2 years
11/5/2006
 4  depression, anxiety , crying WEIGHT GAIN would have to be the worst no matter what i do i keep getting fatter, in the beginning i was yawning a lot and loss of sex drive but those have gone away now. But if i miss a dose its bad I started taking effexor for mild depression, and my crying all the time. I have found this has worked for me i only cry when i should i dont get as mad as i used to and i feel a lot better in social situations. I have only a few problems and it is mostly the weight gain its kind of a catch 22 fat and happy or slim and miserable. I have also found that my headaches have gotten a lot better. If I miss a dose I get dizzy and cant think and I have very vived and weird dreams. My doctor has said I only have to be on it for a year and I will be better no more depression. F 29 5 months
11/17/2006
 4  Depression & anxiety Blunted affect, apathy, initial weight loss, followed by weight gain, drowsiness, severe withdrawal symptoms,increase in blood pressure Effexor worked really well for me when I was in the pit of law school despair. It pulled me up and made me feel like living again. It curbed my anxiety, but it also made me pretty apathetic about things that would have normally excited me didn't get a reaction -- like having an entire glass of wine spilled on me. I initially lost about 30 lbs, but regained about 50 over the course of a couple of years. I tended to be sleepy on Effexor in the beginning, but that tapered off. The worst side effect of Effexor is the withdrawal symptoms -- brain shivers, irritability, inability to focus, nausea, you name it. My advice is take it very slow -- I found that opening capsules, counting out X number of specks and licking them off my hand (and gradually decreasing them) greatly reduced the symptoms. Granted, you'll feel like a junkie as you do that, but you'll manage to get through the day. Overall, if you're in a deep depression or very ridden with anxiety, Effexor will probably pull you F 28 2 years
12/3/2006
 4  depression and anxiety nausea diarrhea dizziness sleepiness irratable bowels frequent urination F 26 2 months
12/3/2006
 4  For OCD and Physcosis Lack of intrest in the opposite sex. Weight loss. Dry mouth. I think it is a wonderful drug that has changed my mood wonderfully and has made me much less irritable. F 17 1 days
5/27/2006
 4  For OCD and Physcosis Lack of intrest in the opposite sex. Weight loss. Dry mouth. I think it is a wonderful drug that has changed my mood wonderfully and has made me much less irritable. F 17 35 days
5/27/2006
 4  Long Term Moderate depression Reasonable and manageable until weight gain and significantly increased triglycerides were linked to the time I started on this med. Also pretty extreme withdrawal when trying to ween off twice. Still on and looking for better options Was well tolerated for quite some time, smooth and even not the disconnected feeling of some others. Disappointed recently to find that some of my symptoms - tired a lot and 'inactive' along with sky high triglyceride counts are likely connected and I had to find that out for myself. F 43 2.5 years
5/30/2006
 4  ptsd/major depression/severe anxiety loss of appetite lower doses helped me more than higher doses F 29 1 years
3/2/2006
 4  anxiety/depression EXCESSIVE weight gain and sweating I've been on Effexor XR for 4 years now, 225mg. It completely alleviates the anxiety which is one reason why, after gaining 100 lbs and enduring disgustingly excessive sweating, I'm still taking it. After three years of calm, I'd hoped to slowly get off the drug to see if I could manage the anxiety myself(and wanted to lose some of this weight as it exacerbates my arthritis among other problems.) I went through a long period of tapering off with no trouble. However, two days after going from 37.5 down to nothing, I had flu-like symptoms (dizzy, vomiting, diarrhea,) deep depression and uncontrollable sobbing. After 4 days of this I went back to the doctor for more Effexor. Three doctors later, the first I've heard of these side effects was today, looking them up on the internet, and it appears that nearly everyone trying to get off Effexor goes through the same thing, and it lasts a long time. F 41 4 years
6/17/2007
 4  Depression, anxiety Forgetfulness; vivid/bizarre dreams that seem so real i have to think about them for a while to realize i was dreaming; some blurred vision; low libido; suicidal thoughts (read comment); frequent urination I love this med so far (150mg). I feel "normal". I still have real emotions (crying when i'm sad, anger when it's right to be angry, etc). I don't feel depressed and am more interested in activities. I did have suicidal thoughts each time i upped the dosage; however, I knew it was a side effect and was able to put it aside in my head + I felt better about myself, so it wasn't really an option. The dreams are extremely bizare and profoundly real feeling. I am not sleeping well and think that may have an effect on my forgetfulness and not paying attention to detail. Doc said i could develop a carb addicition and to stay away from them. Have lost weight so far and plan on watching what i eat even more so I don't have the weight gain. F 26 2 months
10/11/2007
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 4  Panic and Anxiety Sweating during sleep - if missed dose - sweating increased dramatically. Confusion during early days of taking effexor, subsides after a few weeks. Increase in dreaming. Flat affect (not necessarily a bad thing!) Worth the side effects! F 25 5 months
4/6/2007
 4  severe depression & anxiety none really, thankfully.. after reading other peoples experiences, i was scared, but now I'm not too worried. I have headaches, but I had those before taking Effexor XR...same thing with fatigue. My doctor told me to up my dose on the 3rd day, which I did, and I still feel fine..so far. F 30 4 days
7/1/2007
 4  Depression/Anxiety Constipation, nausea I have been taking Effexor for 6 weeks now and love it. I have lost 20lbs (partially due to nausea but worth it) F 32 6 days
4/5/2007
 4   This medicine helped me for many years at 300mg.XR. Now it's not working so my doctor is taking me off to put me on Parnate. It is like having the flu when you come off. Everything hurts, aches and pains. Tiredness and sick stomache. I think I have to sleep through the withdrawls. F 37 3 years
8/17/2005
 4  Bulimia/ OCD/depression Stiff Neck, Constipation - but could also be from overdosing on laxatives, the bulimia or Enemas, Vivid Dreams, Opposite effects whilst indulging in Recreational Drugs, Spasms whilst dosing off to sleep. Commenced taking this efexor-Xr 75mg for the Bulimia, has helped immensly with stopping the binges and purges but i am also getting help from a therapist and dietician who have all taught me its ok to indulge in moderation and that i do not have to binge to compensate for the F 24 9 months
12/25/2004

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