EFFEXOR XR Reviews (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 3.0 (2225 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare EFFEXOR XR with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
|
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 | Anxiety,depression, | The doc started me on 75mg. No side effects. Except medicine does'nt seem to be doing ANYTHING. I can skip doses and I can't tell a difference, exept maybe loss of appetite. | Started on 75mg. for about a month. Couldn't tell if it was doing anything at all! Still was fighting bad depression. Increased me up to 150mg. Still no noticable results. Especially the "speed" feeling that some expressed. I take my Effexor when I wake up in the morning. So if you are having trouble sleeping I would give that a try before quitting. I believe it takes a little while before you notice anything happening. So far all I have noticed is a loss of appetite. But I am wanting something that lifts my mood and gets a little motivation so I can function. Taking it in the morning works best for me because it doesn't make me tired. I have other meds for that. I see my doc in a couple of weeks and I am going to talk to her about either a nice big boost in the dosage because what I am on now is NOT what I need. Will have to see what she says. | F | 39 | 6 months | 10/29/2008 | 4 | panic attacks | weight gain, severe side effects if only one pill is missed | I initially decided to start taking a mild antidepressant b/c of going thru rough peiod. I started with Celexa, the very first pill I took caused SEVERE panic attacks. I actually went to the emergency room. From that day on I had severe panic attacks all day for no reason. I was prescribed Effexor for that. At first it gave me racing heartbeat, and vivid dreams. I was only prescribed 37.5mg. It actually took a long time to get rid of the panic attacks. I had them all the time for about 6 months, then slowly they stopped. This medicine actually inhibits the panic attacks from becoming severe. I would still get panicky, but definitely wasn't as bad without the medicine. Sometimes situations will arise where I'm anxious, but definitely no anxiety for no reason. It is something you have to stick with, its not a quick fix. It does take time for it to work. The really bad thing about this pill is the side effects if I miss just one pill. I get very swimmy headed. Someone described it perfect | F | 21 | 2 years | 9/9/2007 | 4 | Anxiety | light headed/dizziness, leg twitches, Yawning - lots of yawing (but not so much now) | I started taking Effexor about a year ago, I am on 75mg/day. Many responses I see deal with the side effects. They were pretty considerable at first, but went away once my body adjusted, which was about a month or so. It has helped me a lot. I was so tightly wound, and having anxiety attacks all the time. Now not-so-much. I like it because I still feel things, I am not completely numb to the world, I cry, I can laugh, and I can get mad. I was really worried I wouldn't knowing that Effexor treats anxiety and depression. Anyway, let the medicine adjust to your system. You'll take a low dose for a week or two, then start a higher dose, so until you are on that higher dose for a couple of weeks, you might feel those side effects. | F | 36 | 1 years | 5/24/2007 | 4 | anxiety and depression | Ringing ears, lack of sexual desire, insomnia. | I have been severely depressed for a year. I feel MUCH better now! I feel a little happier everyday. But, if I had not read everyone elses' side effects, I would not have noticed that I was experiencing any of them myself! (the ringing in my ears is very mild and I had insomnia to begin with). But gone is the anxiety I had w/the insomnia. Sometimes I take xanax for the insomnia and severe anxiety and that also helps. | F | 27 | 7 weeks | 5/24/2007 | 4 | depression | nausea at first | effective | F | 47 | 5 years | 8/3/2007 | 4 | Anxiety/mild depression | horrible taste in mouth in mornings, dizziness,nausea, weakness and easily bruised..INSOMNIA at the beginning | 37.5mg Effexor helped me! it has given me my life back within a week...After my firs pill i almost gave up, the side effects were terrible , my mouth felt numb;i didnt want to eat. I lost 10 pounds in a week. Now, im growing more accustomed to it, and it seems to be doing the job. | F | 23 | 10 days | 9/26/2007 | 4 | bipolar disorder | bitchiness, lack of energy, weight gain | it got rid of my depression, but it makes me very irritated at people for no real reason. | F | 17 | 2 months | 8/9/2007 | 4 | depression | none | it has been the best medication i have taken for my deppresion, i also have ect with it. | F | 43 | | 8/10/2007 | 4 | major depressive disorder | While starting I had strange dreams, frequent headaches, anxiety, restlessness, decrease in appetite, teeth grinding, insomnia. After my body got used to it I no longer had these side effects other than the decrease in appitite. I have better concentration and memory, am able to communicate better with people and am starting to enjoy things again that I used to enjoy. Still don't feel %100 yet but definite improvement than how I felt pre-drug. | I have been plaqued with constant migraines and headaches since I was three. After a few weeks on this I haven't even had so much as the slightest headache(other than perhaps one caused by a hangover) So strange but most welcome side effect. | F | 26 | 11 months | 7/27/2007 | 4 | dysthymia to severe depression | Unable to climax, weight loss at first but then 15lb weight gain, drowsiness, IBS for the first month. If you miss a dose you start to get discontinuation syndrome. | I was on this medication for about 7 months. It worked, nothing else ever did. I'm normally a dysthymic person, but I went through some pretty rought times and ended up in a severe depression. This medication pulled me out of that, it was slightly effective against dysthymia but not a cure for it. The "discontinuation syndrome" aka WITHDRAWL, lasts for about 3 weeks, and during the first week you are extremely sick. Weigh the pros and cons against your own situation, but if you are desperate - like I was - anything is better than being severely depressed. Also, don't plan on taking this medication for life as people seem to build a tolerance to it. For the long term - try alternative forms of medicine and make sure your doctor tests you for EVERYTHING that could be causing your depression - it is not normal to feel depressed all the time - no one will take the bull by the horns except yourself. Unfortunately you have to fight for the help that you need in our current | F | 27 | 7 months | 7/14/2007 | 4 | GAD/OCD | Yawning for first two weeks, decreased sex drive (improving with time) inablity to orgasm (also getting better) | I have to say Effexor has changed my life for the better. When I was suffering it was very bad. I would return to my house 5+ times and on lunch breaks from work to be sure the door was looked and the oven was off ect. Often had troble leaving places with out returning to check for somthing,I had frequent panic attaks while driving.During a time of high stress things got a lot worse, being afaraid I may have hit someone with a car an not realized it, would see a news story or TV commercial and go into a sprial of worry EFFEXOR changed all that! I will say when I had to stop cold turkey because of a insurence mix up it was bad. I have also gained weight but I think that has more to do with being happy and calm (maybe a little to happy. i think with the side effects dont begin to outweigh my increased quality of life. I do worry about going off it to have a baby ect. But I have also learned I need to live for to day and cross that brindge when i come to it | F | 27 | 1 years | 7/17/2007 | 4 | SAD/GAD | headaches, neck aches, tiredness and night sweats | I'm taking 75 mg once daily. It has helped with my GAD and SAD but find the side effects to be too much some days when I need to get going. I can be sluggish one day and on the go the next. sometimes I feel I can't rest my legs at night and have night sweats. | F | 49 | 5 weeks | 8/12/2007 | 4 | anxiety / OCD | I have been off and on this medication a few times over the past 6 years. I definitely gain about 10-15 pounds on it (but not as much as I did on the SSRIs). The weight comes off rather quickly when I go off it. It also dulls my sex drive, making it much harder to orgasm. Other side effects include dry / less vibrant skin, some fatigue (although managable), and dry mouth. (My dose has been anywhere from 37.5 mg for several months to 225 mg for several months -- even the lowest dose is somewhat effective but the higher dose is even more effective - but the side effects are more pronounced at higher doses). | I've tried almost all of the antidepressants for anxiety and some minor OCD tendencies and in my opinion, effexor is the best of its kind. It really changed my life for the better in many ways. I am extremely upbeat and positive when I'm on it and also a lot more productive and focused. It does not affect my ability to think straight at work. In fact, it increases my ability to focus. On the flip side, I hate the weight gain and the other side effects. They are definitely from the medication as I've been off it and on it enough times to be sure of this. I do think the side effects are less at lower doses so I recommend staying on the lowest dose you can. Withdrawal is not as bad as people make it out to be if you taper the medication. Yes, there are a few days at the end where you feel a bit flu-like but it's not that big of a deal. | F | 33 | 6 years | 8/13/2007 | 4 | Anxiety and depression | Loss of libido was the biggest side effect. | This did help with my anxiety since I took a low dose, but I felt like I couldn't think clearly. I also noticed that when it would rain I felt like a zombie, but I didn't have that when I was off the medicine. I was on for 4 years total, 2 years each time with 2 years in between. When I did stop taking it I felt dizzy on and off for about 2 weeks. I feel better off of it. I just have to learn to deal with my anxiety which is ok. | F | 27 | 4 years | 8/13/2007 | 4 | mild depression | None while I was on but unbelievable bad side effects when I tapered off. | This medication is very dangerous, I tapered off for over two months and then stopped because I was still feeling side effects as I was tappering off and here it is more then 4 months later and I am still feeling the effects, every part of my body aches, I am very tired all the time, hard to sleep because I ach so bad. If I go to my Dr. he will put me on another medication for the aches and I am trying alternitives at this time. I have always walked and I cannot any more because I hurt so bad, after. So now I am putting on weight. At this point I am at a loss I have been to the chroprator and he did not help. I do not know who can help me at this point. I am affaid I am doing some damage to my body because I ach so bad all the time. Please can anyone help me. | F | 66 | 3 days | 8/13/2007 | 4 | Anxiety | None bad to my knowledge. As a plus, the only side effect I am aware of is that PMS related bloating and water retention, breast tenderness, weight gain, cramps, headaches and general PMS discomfort all dissapeared. It did away with all of my adverse PMS symptoms. | My doctor had me on very low doses of Effexor for the anxiety (racing heart beat and shortness of breath mainly). My anxiety is not daily, weekly or even monthly a regular occurance for me so I do not know how well the effexor helped this problem, haven't had anxiety prolblems in a very long time. However, I went off of effexor while on vacation and had been off of effexor for about 4 months. The reoccurance of horrible PMS symptoms has made me decide to get back on effexor, it is a Godsend to be without PMS syptoms! Checking into the option of intermittent use during specific phase of menstrual cycle rather than daiy regular use. | F | 42 | 9 months | 5/19/2007 | 4 | depression | high cholesterol, sweating, decreased appetite | F | 58 | 5 years | 2/21/2008 | 4 | Clinical Depression | Initially: Euphoria, jaw clenching, irregular heart beat. Medium to long term: Restless leg syndrome, constipation, weight gain, tiredness,sweating including night sweats, loss of vocabulary, loss of concentration, disordered speech including spoonerisms and bizarre associative speech patterns, extraordinary dreams with musical accompaniment followed by highly coloured and detailed hallucinations, yawning, intermittent overwhelming tiredness, excellent multiple orgasms, increased blood pressure (from low to normal-110), nausea and stomach aches-the latter increasing in intensity and frequency, weight gain due to permanent constipation. I have recently been diagnosed with very low iron and vitamin b12 levels and wonder if the efexor inhibits the reuptake of b12 or effects the absorption of b12 and iron through its occassional disturbance of liver function. This increased the tiredness associated with the medication. Am now slowly withdrawing from Efexor through gradual reduction f | Was effective in treatment of depression over the initial period of 1 - 1.5 years,and certainly helped in managing day to day living. I sometimes forget now how deep the despair was then, but know that effexor was extremely useful. The tiredness is frustrating and prevents me from achieving some goals including return to part-time work. I think effexor has been invaluable in combination with counselling and major changes in my life, especially in breaking contact with a very disturbed person who had been extremely abusive and very detrimental to my mental health. | F | 50 | 2 years | 2/21/2008 | 4 | depression | vivid nightmares, sweating in my sleep, mental confusion and jitters when I forget a dose | Effexor has been extremely effective at treating my depression. | F | 20 | 2 years | 3/3/2008 | 4 | social anxiety/GAD/depression | When started I was agitated and more anxious for a few days, but went completely away when the dosage increased. Minor symptoms include dry mouth, maybe constipation, maybe eye dilated, maybe loss of appetite, but hard to tell if from med. nothing serious and imo worth it. | Effexor has changed my life. Nothing else I tried worked for my anxiety like it. Depression is gone, and now can function and deal w/anxiety in life like I couldn't before. Now I feel like a normal person that can interact and live life. Absolutely wonderful experience for me. I would recommend close monitoring with doctor (I had cell and it helped to be in close contact w/her) especially at start and end of treatment and not missing doses. I know it has to be tapered very gradually when getting off. | F | 21 | 2.5 years | 2/11/2008 |