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 |
| 2 | Depression/buliuma/ocd/anxiety | Low sex drive/cloudy head/unable to lose weight. | I have been completely off of Effexor for about 2 weeks now. It has been a nightmare. I would like to say to people that are thinking about taking this med. to really look at the side effects of withdrawal. for some it is different. but it has been a nightmare for me. this drug didnt really work that well for me to come off this hard. it feels like someone else is in your body. feels like you have the flu x 100 constantly for 2 weeks now I cant work, cant go to school, can't function. I have tried to take vitamins. omega 3 6 and 9..nothing is working to make me feel better you honestly feel like a walking zombie. My hair has been falling out, my under eyes are so black from being so weak. my body feels like jello. I will never ever recommend this drug to anyone..let alone take effexor again. knowing what i know now..i would have never ever put this into my body. | F | 25 | 6 years 300 mg 1X day | 2/26/2010 | 2 | GAD | real sleeply but can't go to sleep not good only day 3 | F | 30 | 3 days | 5/27/2007 | 2 | Major Depression | Brain shocks, Weight Gain, Tired, Insomnia, Depression, Constipation | I lowered my dosage. I was taking 300 mg. More seems better, right? But I was sooooooo tired all the time. And I was gaining weight since the last dosage increase. I cut back to 150. The daytime tiredness wasnt as bad...but about a MONTH after I cut the dosage back...I started getting brain shocks. REALLY bad. If I turned my head to the side fast or even my eyes, my brain would 'shock' or reverberate. Bright light also caused it to be a lot worse. Loud sounds. Etc. Has my search for a depression cure damaged my brain? At this point, I dont know if the 150 is helping with the depression...and I am afraid to go off it any further for fear of worse brain shocks. I read one post that someone is having brain shocks TWELVE YEARS LATER after taking Effexor | F | 39 | 8 months | 11/15/2005 | 2 | chronic pain, panic attacks | Weigh gain, 1lb per week, nightmares, night sweats, no emotions orther than anger. | I never put on weight, and I have gained up to 10 lbs in 12 weeks. Makes me feel numb to all feelings and no sexual feeling whatso ever! I feel mad all the time. I am slowly trying to wean off...did help panic though. took 150 mg | F | 39 | 3 days | 12/6/2005 | 2 | Depression | Excessive sweating. No sex drive. Dissociation. | The withdrawal symptoms are the worst! | F | 21 | 3 years 75 mg 1X day | 5/13/2012 | 2 | depression | made me angry- and cry, cry, cry, and angry, angry, angry! | The moment I quit taking it, the anger stopped! | F | 42 | 1 weeks 1X day | 9/4/2011 | 2 | depression | Hospitalized with serotonin syndrome. Suicidal. | F | 56 | 30 days 75 mg 1X day | 8/10/2011 | 2 | adjunct to Wellbutrin | This is an update to my previous post, but still have no appetite and have lost 12 pounds. I have been on 150mg for two days so we'll see how that goes. I take it in the morning, but have trouble sleeping (although that could be the Lamictal I take at night). Muscles ache like crazy, headaches, can't seem to keep on task at work. I hope that's temporary because I can deal with everything else | I had been off Effexor for two weeks when my cat accidentally knocked my bottle down my drain and my insurance wouldn't override and give me two weeks' worth. The withdrawal was such intense hell that I hope my doc knows what he's doing when the time comes for me to come off. Yes, the stories are true - withdrawal is hell and if you can, take time off work while you do it. I won't have that option. | F | 48 | 30 days 75 mg 1X day | 2/19/2012 | 2 | Depression / Anxiety | Weight gain, blurry vision, constipation, bizzare dreams, insomnia, loss of sex drive | After being on Zoloft for many years, Dr talked me into changing to help with my anxiety. I wish I never had. It did help with my anxiety, but my depression is back with a vengance. Weight gain and loss of sex drive is enough to depress me anyway. Drs thoughts - go and get some exercise! I am wanting to get off it but I am scared to from hearing all the bad experiences | F | 42 | 5 months 150 1X day | 10/27/2011 | 2 | Anxiety and depression | This drug ruined my personality and made me emotionally apathetic and disconnected. Side effects include significant weight gain, gas, severe sweating, headache, risk taking behaviours, sleep disturbance and significant memory loss (i cant remember much while taking it, like the 2 years were a patchily recalled dream) and upon discontinuation, severe withdrawals, physical and mental. Required meticulous tapering and psychological support to get off the drug. Am now drug free for 15 months and no longer suffer the original illness. As an RN, I would only recommend this drug to mature adult individuals with severe illness and no other option. St johns wort is a good alternative. | F | 25 | 2 years 75Mg | 1/23/2012 | 2 | Depression, Anxiety | Night sweats, loss of appetite(at first)sex? what's that, I don't even care anymore. muscle aches, awful "slushing" in the brain, zaps? numbness,void of emotion, irritable, angry,impatient,all in all, I don't KNOW how I feel, nothingness. | I guess I would have to say it did help the anxiety(however,I do take lorazepam sometimes)and the depression lifted somewhat, I think. I know it sounds insane, but I really, really don't know how I feel.I take 150mg per day, I ran out yesterday, had such horrible brain zaps, and fear I thought I was going to die. The real clencher came, when I cried over a song I heard on the radio, The song? "The streak"(folks from the 70's will know what I am talking about)Now, we know the streak is a funny song, not sad, why then was I crying? I went home, took a paxil, and it stopped the zaps. Yes, everyone, This is highly addictive, even if it works. I have been on zoloft, paxil, prozac,wellbutrin, lexapro, now what, is there any hope? I also suffer from ocd, I do not drink anymore(6 years), I am at the end of the rope, Can I ever be content? | F | 41 | 8 months | 3/19/2007 | 2 | Depression /lack of energy | Side effects MAJOR sweating, some weight gain (WHY! I run every day!) Makes ma TALK ton. In fact, too much, I find myself rammbling on to whoever will lisen. Depression is still there, but I appear happy. | Not sure this will work for me. | F | 32 | 1 months | 9/26/2006 | 2 | anxiety | Major memory loss, fearful I might forget how to drive, how to react. Can't remember words, people's names, how to do things. Becoming worse ... very frightening - I'm afraid I might put myself or somebody else in danger. My emotions are definately hiding - I didn't even cry at my sister-in-law's funeral the other day. Feel emotionless. | Have been taking it for about 3 years. Forgot to get it refilled on the weekend and couldn't get it for 2 days. BADDDDDDD - feeling of nausea, doom, like a major hangover, only worse. Now I'm afraid to go off of it, but I know I must - I want my memory back! | F | 49 | 3 days | 9/23/2006 | 2 | depression | felt like i was inside screaming and nobody could hear me, teeth grinding, sweating like mad, hot hot hot, weight gain, headaches and general feeling of tiredness | At first it was ok, and then once i got on the 75 mg a day, it really changed, nausea feeling, hadache, no sex drive, i felt as if i needed to be doing something all of the time, i lowered my own dose to everyother day and on those days i take it i can physically see the difference, my husband says i look worried, great!!! i am type A personality and am in the public eye alot, but since on this i do not want to go out anywhere and i surely don't want to do my job, so i must get off of this and try something else. | F | 38 | 2 months | 9/5/2006 | 2 | Anxiety & Depression | When I first started taking it, I confused the awful side effects for feeling more depressed & more anxious, so my doctor upped my dose. I was taking 300mg/day for about a year. Then I just couldn't handle the headaches it caused, so my doctor lowered my dose gradually over the last two years or so. Since taking Effexor, my life has been miserable. Can't sleep when I want to, can't stay awake when I want to, lethargic, dizzy, blurred vision, extreme fatigue, extreme increase in appetite. If I go more than two hours past my dose, I can't even see straight! My lips become numb. It's horrifying! | I hate Effexor XR. The only good thing that's happened from taking it is now I realize my anxiety & depression are not as insurmountable as I thought - being on Effexor IS! I am down to 37.5mg/day and hope to be completely off in about a month. ONE WEEK since I decided to go off Effexor and I realize what it has done to my life! I see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. Don't take it - it's very nasty and you will regret it. Go for a run at the park - it feels great! You can't do that after being on Effexor a while, it makes you fat, exhausted & feel hopeless! | F | 28 | 3 years | 3/5/2007 | 2 | Anxiety | Upon start up: vivid & almost hallucinogenic dreams that drew the line between reality and fantasy, i.e, I felt I was in my waking life watching everything. Kind of like lucid dreaming. Sometimes they were quite entertaining. Other times they were absolutely terrifying. Either way, I was waking up at 4am every morning like clockwork and would wake up every subsequent hour. This left me extremely tired and, with a full time job and a four year old, unfunctional at times. Oh yes, I took this for anxiety...the feelings in my stomach went away but I found myself getting very paranoid and very angry where at one point I felt like running as fast as possible into a wall to stop it all. For a brief moment I felt like ending it all. Other than that, upon reading other comments, I think I did experience a lack of interest in sex and it was more difficult to have an orgasm. No weight gain but loss of appetite | I took effexor once before for anxiety and post partum depression. After 3 weeks of crazy dreams and all the rest, as above, I stopped it cold turkey and experienced 'withdrawal' (they call it 'cessation symptoms' how nice), which was the same as the start up but the dreams were very very negative and the lethargy was and still is an issue. I am not waking up in the middle of the night anymore, I dont feel any symptoms of anxiety which is why i took it in the first place, no paranoia, but I'm still dealing with the feelings of utter anger. I talked to my doctor and she said I should never had taken it for anxiety. My mother took it for depression and anxiety and she had a really hard time getting off it. My final comment? Talk to others who feel as you do as a support network...I don't think this drug is good at all. | F | 32 | 45 days | 12/16/2006 | 2 | depression | Jitteriness, can't concentrate, no ambition, decrease in sex drive, increased anxiety, feel 'flat' | Initially helped my depression-been at 225mg for almost 2 years. I increased to 300 but became extremely jumpy. Worked OK for a while but have been feeling 'zombie-like'. I am not depressed, feel 'detached' and no feelings. | F | 51 | 2 years | 6/28/2005 | 2 | anxiety | extreme sweating, very sleepy, lots of yawning esp. while active, | F | 21 | 8 weeks | 2/20/2007 | 2 | depression | sweating,couging,insomnia,heavy headed,extreme hunger I think due to the strange feeling mostly in my mouth. | F | 42 | 7 days | 10/14/2005 | 2 | Depression & anxiety | Nausea, Headaches, Dry mouth, Dizziness, Vivid/weird/disturbing dreams, Constipation, Very groggy during the day, "Flat" emotionally, Strange feelings in brain/head | I took Effexor for almost 2 years for chronic depression and anxiety. When going on the drug, I was sick/nauseous/dizzy for about 2 weeks straight. Once I was used to the drug, I felt okay, but everytime I got the dosage bumped up I went through the same thing. Seemed to help with depression for about a year, but I noticed that my "lows" were MUCH lower. My doctor bumped up my dosage a few times, but I started getting dizzy spells a lot and these very strange "zaps" in my brain - like electricity going through and slowing everything down. It was very weird, and rather disturbing when you're driving. Also, as my dosage went up, I was groggy ALL the time - had a lot of problems concentrating at work cause all I wanted to do was go home and take a nap. My doctor forgot to call in my prescription over a three-day weekend, so I went through severe withdrawal symptoms and decided that I'd had enough. Took about 4 weeks to stop feeling all the withdrawal symptoms... and st | F | 34 | 2 years | 10/16/2005 |