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 |
| 3 | deppresion and anxiety | I have only been taking this medication for a week so i really cant comment, but I keep reading weight gain and nightmares I know you can't control nightmares, but can't you control hunger? I know alot of this medication increase appetite but can you not control it? | F | 28 | 7 days | 8/30/2007 | 3 | Fatigue/Depression | Was on for ~1 year. At a low dose of 37.5 mg, it helped reduce the number of crying apisodes associated with my depression, but I was always tired and could sleep at least 10-12 hrs a day, began to gain weight and it did not help my mood. MD upped the dose to 75 mg, but still did always tired, sleeping and more weight gain. If I missed a dose or was late, dizzy feelings and buzzes/sparks would begin. After increasing my dose again to 150 mg, I began to feel better emotionally, but weight gain continued. After less than one year I gained a total of 30 lbs. I finally told Dr. I wanted off of this drug, did the taper, and have been "Effexor Free" for 4 days now. I am left with the terrible dizziness and buzzes/sparks. I am taking Tylenol PM to get some decent sleep while these effects continue. Would never go on it again. The Pros are not worth the Cons aaociated with this drug. | F | 39 | 12 months | 6/21/2007 | 3 | Menopausal Madness | Bright Flashes in my eyes, a strange fullness in my ears | If I missed a dose it would make me miserable. When I finally decided to stop taking it I went through a 3 week withdrawal with visual hallucinations and horrible bouts of mood swings | F | 56 | 2 years | 8/12/2007 | 3 | depression | memory loss loss of appitite sweating and felling like i am loosing my ming i cant rember the movie or anythang about it that i watched last night | it dose great for my depression but i fell like my brain is in slow motion i cant sleep and i still want to sleep all day like i did before i started efexxor | F | 28 | 1 months | 7/31/2007 | 3 | Anxiety, Depression | Constipation, Sleeplessness, Vivid Dreams, Dizziness | F | 33 | 2 months | 9/27/2007 | 3 | GAD/Panic Disorder/Insomnia | Drwsy/dizzy/slight headaches sometimes/hard to orgasm/loss of libido | I am so scared after reading all these ratings. I do feel an improvement in my overall mood but am freaked out about possible more side effects and weaning someday. Any advice? | F | 25 | 2.5 weeks | 7/25/2007 | 3 | Depression & GAD | Thumb and forefinger dry & peeling, constant sleepiness, excessive sweating,loss of memory, hives on neck & chest, muscle spasms (jerkiness) in arms & legs when tired, excessive weight gain (25-30 lbs. in 4 months), constant irritability. | Effexor regulated my sleep and took away the body aches. | F | 56 | 17 months | 9/5/2007 | 3 | Depression | Lately I have been bruising very easily and I have many unexplained bruises all over my legs. I have gained a bit of weight (between 5 and 10 pounds) which is weird because I am vegan and I get a decent amount of exercise. | I was taking Prozac but it didn't seem to be working. Then I tried Wellbutrin for a while, but it gave me panic attacks. So I tried Effexor. This drug has given me more energy. Things that used to make me uncomfortable seem less intimidating now. I am able to go out of the house more often, and I have less paranoid thoughts. I have also been able to get more exercise which I used to never have the initiative to do. However, about a month or so after I started taking it, I suddenly went off of it, foolishly thinking that nothing would happen--do NOT do this! I was horribly depressed and could barely get out of bed. | F | 19 | 4 days | 7/19/2007 | 3 | Depression/Anxiety/Self-Harm | right now, what I'm dealing with is the inability to climax... never noticed that before but since going back on Effexor, I do. Can get very turned on but just no release! Bummer! | I, too, have dealt with withdrawal symptoms on several occasions (prev. took Effexor for ten or so years), and agree that missing a dose can turn one into Mr. Hyde. My current doc agrees that it's one of the hardest meds to come off of, and promises that if we taper, it will be slower than crap. He felt I'd been trying so many different meds that didn't work, and that I hadn't been on a high enough dose of Effexor in the past for it to be effective... so far, seems to be helping keep my mood more stable but I do notice a kind of deadening of emotions- I know that was a concern of mine before when I took it. Better than wanting to OD, I suppose. Am using yoga and chanting to help relax as well. | F | 33 | 2 months | 8/26/2007 | 3 | Menopausal symptoms, insomnia | Slight dizziness the first few weeks. Started out at 37.5, and after a month went up to 75mg. Started gaining weight (17 lbs. in 4 months). I did sleep better at night with no night sweats,also very little joint pains, but weird strange dreams. Dreams are every night. The effexor makes me tired, no motivation, some constipation. I could sleep 15 hours if I was able to. I'm sleeping better at night,but don't feel fully functional until the middle of the day.Can't deal with the weight gain, and the lack of interest in life. | I know that you are not supposed to go off this drug cold turkey, but I am trying. It is day 2. A little head zapping now and then, but tolerable. I'll see how it goes. Reading about all the horrible side effects that some people have had, just makes me more determined to get off of this drug.Has ANYBODY been successful going off effexor cold turkey? | F | 51 | 5 months | 10/8/2007 | 3 | menopausal depression | night sweats, insomnia but when I did fall asleep vivid dreams, teeth clenching, decreased motivation, irratibility | Crying bouts improved | F | 50 | 6 days | 5/25/2007 | 3 | Anxiety, Depression | When Starting medication: Acne,dizziness, nausea, feeling 'out of it'. After taking medication for a while: No noticeable side effects. Felt Great!!!!!! After being on medication for over 3 years: ACNE,Extreme fatigue, lack of motivation, nausea, dizziness, forgetfullness, trouble speaking, agitated/fidgety, irritability, increased appetite | I think effexor may be very effective for SHORT TERM USE. It was indeed effective for me when I began taking it. After being on it for a few years and discovering the withdrawal symptoms if I missed a dose I figured I would be on this medication for life. But recently (now that I have been feeling 'normal' about life for years thanks to effexor) I am noticing side effects. At first I thought all these side effects were seperate issues. It never occured to me they could be from my precious effexor. I looked up Acne and Effexor on Google and it led me to this page and others. After reading other people's experiences I realize that my time with Effexor should be up (well it probably should have stopped 2 years ago). The side effects have outweighed the benefits and it's time for a change (hopefully no medication but we'll see how that goes!) I sure am glad I got one Effexor when I did! But I think it should only be used for approximately 2.5 years. | F | 26 | 6 years | 9/8/2007 | 3 | ANXIETY DUE TO AUTO ACCIDENTS | Been trying to get off of it for 2 years; horrible side effect for me is severe hysterical crying and when i turn my head, it feels like it takes a few seconds for my brain to follow | if you have a chance to choose another non-habit forming drug- do it before taking this one. | F | 39 | 5 years | 7/18/2007 | 3 | hot flashes/night sweats | Tenitis, headaches, and wierd visual stuff when I turn my head like the world has to catch up to it or something if I miss a dose. Also I guess you would call it anxiety. | I have taken this for several years for menopausal symptoms, even bragging to others at how effective it has been. In the past few months it seemed to have not worked as well. My gyno. increased my dosage from 75mg to 150 last month. I have been taking 112.50 mg this week and had planned on increasing next week to the 150 mg but I have been having migraines and tenitis constantly this week. I had not had many migraines on this drug (prior to Effexor would have one or two a month). I was told not to take any migraine medication (Maxalt) with Effexor and over the counter drugs do not work. After reading all of these reports, I will call my family dr. Monday and start the withdrawl process as this is too scary!! I know from missing a few doses that this will be hell!!! Also, I recently became sexually active (after 10 years) and noticed my libido, arousal, and such were very low, chalking it up to age, but now......another reason!!! Thank you everyone!! | F | 58 | 8 years | 9/14/2007 | 3 | OCD/BI-Polar/Severe Depression | Upon begining meds. Severe anxiety attacks. At times when I traveled and happened to forget meds with me I had extreme dizziness, nausia, fatigue, ringing in ears, & sleeplessness. After a time (1 year), effectiveness seems to have lessened -- raised dose from 75 mg to 150 mg. | I don't know if I will ever have the courage to go off of effexor due to the extreme withdrawl symptoms. Please speak with a professional specializing in mental health about all the side effects before begining effexor xr | F | 26 | 1 years | 10/23/2007 | 3 | depression/anxiety | HOW I AM WITHDRAWING FROM EFFEXOR - THANK GOD! | My heart is breaking after reading all these posts about terrible withdrawls. I've had so many similar side effects. It did help at first, but then I went into the worst depression of my life @ 150MG. Didn't leave house, talk to friends, pay bills, clean house or clothes- I was devoid of emotion-like a zombie. THE KEY TO TAPERING OFF- TAKE YOUR TIME- VERY, VERY SLOWLY. I couldn't live like this any more. I started tapering 2/2007 with 150/75 alternating day 1/day2 etc. When I got thru side effects of that change I went to 75/37.5 alternating same way. It is 10/2007 & I'm on 37.5 per day. Soon I will go to 37.5/0 alternating until the side effects are gone & then I will stop. GOOD LUCK-THIS MAY WORK FOR YOU. | F | 55 | 6.5 years | 10/20/2007 | 3 | GAD | Loss of appetite, "sweats", jittery feelings first week | Current dose of 150mg daily (taking 75mg twice daily), generally calmer according to family, not as likely to fly off the handle about relatively small things, no medicine is a cure all but this med seems to be taking the edge off daily anxiety. I work for a family practitioner and no longer feel the increased anxiety as get closer to work each day. Must take same time every day! | F | 34 | 1 months | 10/17/2007 | 3 | depression and severe stress | slight nausea, shaking, shivering, lost of appetite, drowsiness, slow reaction. | usually it takes me a few hours in bed to fall asleep,i took the medicine at night before I sleep it helped me to sleep but I kept waking every few hours so that wasn't so great. I felt the side effects the morning I woke up. Was very thirsty and my hands were shaking. While drinking water, my jaw was also trembling and I found it hard to swollow. I remained drowsy the whole day and I never took naps but then I had to. I slept most of the day with a few waking period of 1-2 hours. I felt rather comfortable not talking with anyone whereas before, I felt the need to make pple see that I'm very happy when I wasn't. Now if I dont want to smile, then I feel comfortable not smiling. I didn't feel uncomfortable in silence or the need the break the silence. So all in all, it relaxed me a bit. I'm not happy. But. I'm not upset and haven't cried for 2 days since starting the med. So that is a good thing. | F | 28 | 2 days | 11/8/2007 | 3 | depression | I took 75 mg. a day right after breakfast. Taking it at night made me sleepy during the day and sleepless at night. At first, my vision was doing funny things, but that quickly passed. It worked for the depression without me losing the ability to feel my emotions, but in retrospect, it also dulled my impulses. My ambition, desire to keep a neat house, and urge to succeed were overcome by my lackadaisical attitude. I also experienced an almost total loss of sexual desire (that may be the result of menopause, too).I found myself repeatedly kicking and moving my foot and leg whenever I was sitting down—and I developed "nervous leg"syndrome when I was sleeping. | When I weaned myself off of Effexor XR, I took it slowly, even though I was only on 75 mg. each day. Even then, for the first 3 days or so, I was very weepy. I felt fleeting suicidal urges for the first week, but after that I was fine. If you're coming off it, do it as slowly as you can, allowing a week or preferably more at each lowered dose before moving on to the next. | F | 59 | 6 years | 11/7/2007 | 3 | depression, anxiety, binge eating | sweating, vivid dreams, needing lots of sleep, dry mouth | it worked well for awhile, but i feel like now that the seasons are changing into winter months that it is starting to crap out on me. i'm taking 150mg/day. i've had a relapse in depression over the last week. curious if i should try a different drug. (i've tried lexapro, which just made me super sleepy...) | F | 22 | 5 months | 10/31/2007 |