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 | mood disorder | extreme fatigue, weight gain, lethargy and general disconnect for most anything, "numb" emotions. Mean headaches and crazy dreams. | I feel its efficient at atabilizing my moods, but I am always sooooo tired and have lost motivation for most things that used to come naturally! I went to the Dr. to ask about the side effects like my brain pulsating, and the fact that I am so tired, and she wanted to double my dose to 300mg a day!! Seems crazy! I need to get off this stuff and find some kind of stabilizer that is as effective ut withiut these massive side effects :( | F | 29 | 3 years | 8/21/2009 | 3 | Major Depression / Anxiety | SEVERE Lethargy (could sleep 10 hours, get up and eat then sleep 6 more), constant yawning,word loss. While the med did help get me through the most severe portion of my depression I was in physical pain if I missed a single dose. My head felt so odd. I can't put it into words. Add in nausea and irritability. I feel I was kept on this med much too long. I do need 'long term management' but this is a hard core SSRI. I just started taking Celexa and feel much better - awake! | THE WITHDRAWAL - I now have a new understanding for drug addicts / alchoholics. Damn! I was 'forced' into withdrwal. I had tapered down to 75mg/day (from 225) and was out of town w/o my Effexor. Long story short it was a hell of a week1 I was tapering because I eventually wanted to get off but not like that. TAPER SLOWLY PEOPLE!!! If I new somebody around me had Effexor I would have sold my body to 'get my fix'. Nausea, vomitting, irritability, tearfullness, the funny head feeling, on and on. What a rollercoaster ride! Glad to be off! Again, I did need it during the mosr severe part of my depression but there are so many other options that do not have such withdrawl symptoms. USE THIS DRUG WITH CAUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | F | 39 | 3 years | 10/30/2009 | 3 | Depression, OCD, PTS | Shaking, Irritable, Energy, later fatigue, constipation, anxiousness, anxiety attacks, craving sweets, flu like symptoms, ear ache, weak, as if my heart was overly stressed if I done the least little thing | My experience with effexor has been a mess. I'd have days on 75 mg 1 a day that I'd wake up early and be n a cleaning jolly mood until someone else stepped n that space whether by phone or n person. Well except for my boyfriend. But by the end of the day I'd b tired and easliy irritated. I was also on 200 mg wellbutrin sr 2x day. My pshyc. Lowered my wellbutrin to 150 mg 2x day after one mth of the 400 mg my regular doc had prescribed and raised my effexor xr to 225 mg a day 3 75mg pills n the morning. Things ain't so good. Can't tolerate much. My man touching me, my child talking in a loud tone, or someone even just interrupting me with myself time which I want all the time it seems. Think I'm gonna call my pshyc. Monday before I hurt someone, myself, or just their feelings | F | 28 | 1.5 months | 12/6/2009 | 3 | Depression and Anxiety | Jittery when missed a dose, horrible withdrawal symptoms (shaking, vomiting, etc.) LOSS OF LIBIDO! | This drug really helped me with my anxiety, but I had to get another medication to help with my depression. I took it all throughout high school, and through that time barely any sex drive. Overall I would not recommend this antidepressant. | F | 19 | 4 years | 12/7/2009 | 3 | Migraine prevention | Decreased libido. Not sad, not happy, just there. I went through some tragic times in the last 2 years, and I know I coped better because of being on it. But now I am coming off of it and I HAVE FOUND THE WAY TO DO IT! | After realizing that Effexor was not controlling my migraines any better than without it, I found a way to come off it without any side effects. Very simply there are approx. 180 little beads in each capsule (I'm on 75 mg). Starting by taking out 3 beads and each day after taking out another 3, it has only taken me about 8 weeks to effectivly "kick my Effexor" habit. There have been a few days of blurry vision and I know I'm more on edge but it is worth it. Just make sure you write down each day how many you are removing, easy to forget! | F | 42 | 2 years | 10/19/2009 | 3 | Depression/Anxiety Mood Swings | nausea, constant headaches, tired, dreams, possible tremor or seizure episode when trying to fall asleep or waking up | I just started this medication 4 days ago. I am on the lowest dose, but in another week go to 75mg a day. The side effects aren't awful for me but I am worried about possibly having a seizure at night. I was dreaming the other night and woke up shaking all over, this is per my husband. I thought I just jolted awake from the dream, but he said I woke him up and was shaking all over. I had just been awake so it seems to be right when I am almost asleep. I haven't contacted my doctor because I am not 100% that is was a seizure and I want to keep trying to take this to see if it works for me. I have really found it difficult to exercise also because I have headaches and they are worse when I exercise. | F | 27 | 4 days | 1/11/2010 | 3 | gad | weight gain increased pressure behind my eyes | F | 45 | 395 days | 1/24/2010 | 3 | clinical depression | After 16 years of anti-depressants it was time to stop. There comes the time in one's life when you realize you need to get on with your life and figure it out. This was the time. After a while it doesn't matter which pill you take--they're all bad for you and your body. They become habitual and you can't imagine what your life will be like if you don't take your meds. Don't worry, walk a lot and enjoy the world around you; your life will be just fine and your liver and kidneys will thank you. | You cannot stop abruptly; weaning slowly is the key until your finally down to 37.5 every other day for a month and then you can finally STOP. And stop the madness that comes from taking these terrible drugs. We need to take control of our lives without these meds. It takes time and patience but it must be done. | F | 63 | 6 years | 1/24/2010 | 3 | Anxiety, depression, rage fits | Complete loss of sex drive, hyposomnia (sleeping 14-18 hours a day), SEVERE withdrawal symptoms (effexor shocks) if taken only a few hours late, foggy memory, diarrhea when not taken on a full stomach | I've had chronic depression my entire life, which became coupled with black-out rages around age 14. Initially (after 4-6 wks) the medicine helped level out my violent (literally) mood swings as well as decrease suicidal thoughts. However, my doctor & I kept increasing the dosage (150 mg became the cap, & I'm about 100 lbs) until I essentially became so sedated that virtually all I did for the past 2 yrs was sleep. I became apathetic & completely lost my sex drive, which eventually ended my 5 yr relationship (we didn't have sex for 2.5 years). Getting off the medicine was very hard - I had too much withdrawal sickness on just lowering the dosage, so had to break open the capsules & count out the beads for about 3 months (the only way it was possible to get off). I had a dramatic increase in energy almost immediately after getting off Effexor, but after being drug-free for about 3 months & feeling just as bad as I did before I started the medicine, am now trying Wellbutrin instead. I did not have any counseling while on Effexor, but I would recommend it with any medication like this, as I feel like all I did was live in a drug-induced denial for the past 4 yrs. If you're thinking about starting this medicine, keep in mind that all antidepressants have bad side effects as well as benefits - it's up to you to try for yourself & figure out if it's worth it. | F | 19 | 4 years | 1/16/2010 | 3 | Depression and Anxiety | loss of libido, weight gain (25 lbs), very poor memory | I have been on this drug for over 3 years, I believed the drug to be a life saver. I felt alive, happy and definitely had more energy, but in the last year, I am beginning to feel differently about this medication. My memory is so poor it is beginning to impact my job. I have difficulty sequencing events properly and at times I have much difficulty focusing long enough to complete a task. I want off this medication, but fear the withdrawal. | F | 44 | 3 years | 7/1/2008 | 3 | Bipolar disorder - type II | initially: huge amounts of sweating, having an appetite but not wanting any food in particular; currently: decreased sex drive, inability to climax, fatigue 24/7, 'brain zaps' (as people refer to them), very fidgety/always moving, slight weight loss | effexor xr was the 1st drug i was ever tried on for depression/possible bipolar back when i was 19...yeah. i recently learned from a neurologist at thomas jefferson university in philadelphia that md's put patients on this drug as a LAST RESORT, not as their first pick! (one of the reasons i have switched primary care docs) initially, it worked to balance my mood swings and depression + the pros outweighed the cons (the sweating has gone back to my normal level), but i've had 2 separate spells of a decrease/loss of sex drive and inability to climax and i didn't think it was related to effexor until i started flipping through my medication pamphlets and reading the side effects and found 'sexual side effects' and went online and found all of the other people who share in my frustration when it comes to this!! i am engaged and my fiance thinks i am not even attracted to him anymore and i am considering switching meds, but i am scared b/c i have only ever been on this one. i take 225 | F | 24 | 4.5 years | 6/29/2008 | 3 | BPD, depression | This is a great drug if you never ever go off it or miss a dose. Withdrwal is HELL. I wanted to kill myself. I also gained 10 lbs. | The withdrawal and weight gain from this drug were awful . Ask for a different drug instead. I had to be hospitalized three times while on effexor. Be careful to make sure any other drugs you are taking do not counteract. THIS IS A DANGEROUS DANGEROUS DRUG. | F | 33 | 2 years | 2/23/2009 | 3 | anxiety, panic and agoraphobia | well i have been taking it for two days, and yes i know that i need a few more days for the medication to work but so far I feel like a zombie it's a feeling like Iam here but Iam not {delerazation} feeling. I still have my panic and agoraphobia I have to take clonazepam with it. | Like I said so far Iam not feeling the greatest I have been sitting home for two days just trying to adjust to this medication originally I was on clonazepam and I felt great than my doctor decreased my clonazepam and gave me zoloft, celexa luvox and so on none of them worked Iam hoping that this will. | F | 26 | 2 days | 2/4/2009 | 3 | anxiety, depression | I stayed on this antidepressant the longest I've stayed on Celexa, Paxil, Elavil, Prozac, Buspar, Tranxene, Zoloft. It was a subtle medicine, in that, I never knew if it was working or not! But, I kind of liked that, because it allowed me to conquer my anxiety and feel real, you know, be the real me, not some doped up version. I felt like me on this even though I still was a bit anxious, it allowed me to work through it. No side effects that were disabling. Even when the dose was given higher, I never noticed. My mom used it and said it did nothing for her. I kind of get that. It seemed a bit like that to me, as well, but then again, like I said, I liked that. I like to work out my problems and not rely on a pill to fix everything. And I was on this for years. It's a gentle medication. It was for me, anyway. | F | 34 | 6 years | 4/30/2008 | 3 | Social anxiety, depression | Extreme withdrawal when discontinuing usage - dizziness, electric-shock sensations, generally feeling rotten! | Very effective in treating my original symptoms, worked much better for me than prozac previously had done. I would be very reluctant to take it again though, due to extreme physical discomfort when i stopped taking it. | F | 27 | 12 months | 1/16/2009 | 3 | Clinical Depression/Anxiety/Suicide | **CONSTANT** • Dry Mouth and Throat (Thirsty) • Grinding / Clenching Teeth • Tinnitus • Vivid Dreams **FREQUENT** • Wind (Gas) / Irritable Bowls (Soft Stools) • Skin Eruptions • Apathy • Fatigue • Feeling 'Disconnected' / Dull / Flat **OCCASIONAL** • Night Sweats • Yawning / Drunk Feeling / Slurred Speech • Memory Loss / Confusion • Mood Swings (Worse with missed dose) • Insomnia / Broken Sleep (Experienced more at start) • Agitation (Worse with missed dose) • Nervousness • Obsessive **To name but a few LOL** | I started on 75gms which had gradually increased to 225gms. Compared to my initial medication, Citalopram, Venlafaxine has been a huge improvement, but not a cure. This drug has not fully eliminated my depression and still have ups and downs but is nothing compared to when I was admitted to hospital about year ago when I hit rock bottom (I tried to take an overdose). I have had a fair amount of side effects with this drug but not to the extent where I would consider stopping it. Luckily I have been able to adapt. I have to take it first thing in the morning otherwise I have problems sleeping and if I forget to take a dose then I have incredible mood swings (a really unpleasant person). I have discovered this week NOT TO TAKE WITH sudafeds (decongestants) - I felt 'out of it' almost drunk feeling with bad concentration and slurred speech. | F | 28 | 3 months | 2/14/2009 | 3 | Dysthymia, Major Depression | Loss of concentration, muddled thoughts, dizzy/light headed after exercise or standing up suddenly. Also experienced nightmares, headaches and a slight weight loss during the first two months. | Tried this after taking Prozac and Citalopram for a number of years. Started on 75mg and gradually increased to 225mg. Although it has seemed to lift my mood the initial side effects were severe and made life extremely difficult. Recently I have started feeling dizzy/light headed again and for this reason I am now considering changing to Nortriptyline. | F | 23 | 8 months | 2/17/2009 | 3 | Depression/Ansiety Attacks | 40 extra pounds; no libido, some arrithmia. | I was confined to my bedroom because I was terrified and scare of everything the whole day, one day I had my first anxiety crisis and from them on I developed some fobias. I have being on Effexor for three years, always on 75mg but I take it with Alprazolam/Xanac, together, it gets me drozzi but if not it will give me tremors or a feeling I can't describe but don't like. Since I've being with some arrithmia (associated with the Effexor) my primary doctor prescribed Cymbalta but I only took it for two days, I was feeling "weird" so at the second day she put me back to Effexor 75. I have never being allergic but from a couple of monts ago I have developed a mild sinus so I'm now on Clarinex. I also feel sometimes back and neck pains. I can't have a complete normal life yet but it is starting to look like the one I had before. From not going anywhere I started to get out for an hour, driving again, now I can go to a mall and spend hours, is a huge improvement. I will like | F | 39 | 3 years | 3/17/2008 | 3 | anxiety&depression | weight gain at 150mg,short term memory loss | coming off this drug is brutal.didnt have any idea you withdrawl like this.would never take again because of this!aside from an about 20pd weight gain,side effects were minimal for me,until weaning off. | F | 39 | 5 times | 4/7/2008 | 3 | anxiety and depression | at first my depression lifted, but i found my speech and concerntration werent as usual,im also feeling unusually hyper and feel nauseas | im hoping these side effects will subside in time. | F | 27 | 5 days | 3/16/2008 |