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, anxiety, bulimia,ocd. | Teeth grinding, extreme fatigue, lack of motivation, 'angry face',thoughts of self loathing and self harm. | When i first started taking this medication two years ago i cut my arms with a razor and now have permanent and embarassing scars all over my arms. I went off this medication and back on it a year later i felt very energetic and was constantly going to the gym. Now for some reason i feel like shit i cannot get out of bed in the morning all i think about is how much i hate myself i cannot feel any emotion other than anger my face is always looking miserable without me even realising is like i have a permanent 'i want to kill you' look in my eyes. I find it hard to muster up the energy and motivation to get dressed after ive gotten out of the shower its like im in slo mo all the time. I take 300mg a day i think i want to go back on zoloft that worked well for me. | F | 24 | | 6/23/2009 | 2 | Depression,Anxiety & Panic Disorder | Initially, euphoria, restless, yawning, sweating, loss of appetite, then a feeling of disconnection, i felt fake &would smile & laugh inappropriately, unable to orgasm(though libido seemed much higher) Came off cold turkey 3 months later as i couldnt afford the prescription. SEVERE brain zaps,shock like sensations to my extremities, headache, i'd turn my head & my brain would follow 10 seconds later, return of severe depression & anxiety, unable to organise my thoughts, partaking in extremely risky behaviour including a return to casual drug use. Recommenced on 150mgs after 3 months, with only a few days of yawning & jittering, now if i miss a dose the withdrawal symtoms are severe & debilitating, so i make sure to take it at the same time every day.. having said that, i'm currently experiencing symptoms of severe withdrawals(for over 48hours)even though i know for a fact that i have taken my medication, depression has returned, severe brain zaps & headache, | I was started on this drug after severe depression, anxiety and a suicide attempt. It seems to help with the depression and anxiety, and motivation is definately higher, but at the moment there are some extremely weird things going on in my body and it just feels so wrong. I'm producing breast milk, which makes my breast hurt and is embarrasing when it happens out in public.. i feel like im going through severe withdrawals even tho ive taken the med religiously.. I hate this medication at the moment. I fear i am severely addicted to it, and even though it worked for my depression and anxiety, i wish i'd never started it.. I'm at my wits end and seriously considering calling the mental health team. | F | 36 | 14 months | 8/31/2008 | 2 | depression/anxiety | Panic attacks, severe anxiety, paranoia, suicidal thoughts. After taking this for two weeks I became housebound and couldn't even answer my door without having severe panic attacks. I'd rather be dead than go through that again! | I do not recommend this drug. I wanted to commit suicide when I was on it. I'm very grateful that I am alive today to warn others about it. | F | 37 | 1 months | 9/17/2008 | 2 | Anxiety and Depression | Overall stoned feeling, tingly sensations, confused, could not stop crying, dizzy and disoriented | I would never try another anti-depressant again in my life. These drugs really change a person, from their mood, to their personality. They alter your thinking, and basically just mask the problem. I have tried many different drugs, Effexor being the most recent. I tried it for 7 weeks, and basically had no benefits over that time. Every time I mentioned this to the doctors their only advice was to up the dose. I was near 300 mg a day, and made the decision about a week ago to discontinue this drug, it was not worth all the side effects. I would rather feel myself, and have anxiety than to feel like a zombie. So now I begin the fun ride of withdrawal. So far its been one week, and I have been cutting down the doses accordingly, and I am having terrible dreams, am really dizzy and wake up sweating in bed. I just can't wait for this drug to be out of my system so I can feel like myself again. Apparently Effexor has the highest percentage of withdrawal effects, higher than Paxil, the effe | F | 28 | 7 weeks | 7/27/2008 | 2 | Bipolar Disorder | vertigo, brain zaps, tingly fingers, crying, irritability, very strange dreams, twitches, acne, felt like i could have a seizure at any time, cannot concentrate, weight gain - raging appetite. | DO NOT MISS A DOSE!! TAKE THIS MEDICATION AT THE SAME TIME EACH DAY! I had to go on this because my dose of prozac was at the max and it stopped working. I loooovvved prozac, HATED effexor. I'm scared as hell to go off from it, yet hate being on it. My bf and kids get the blunt end of my irritability. I'd be fine if I didn't have to work and lived in a cave all alone! I'm a happy, go getter but not on this stuff. I pray that God doesn't let me wake up in the morning. I'm anxiously waiting from a call from my doctor to tell me what to do. I'm miserable and am afraid I'm going to destroy my job/family/relationships with the uncontrollable side effects I've been experiencing. DO NOT GO ON THIS MEDICATION. | F | 28 | 4 months | 6/11/2009 | 2 | Menopause | Since I wasnt taking this for depression I was concerned right away with how it made me feel anxious and had palpitations and just weird... After my dose was increased from 37.5 to 75 those symptoms went away but they came back. I was taking this because of early menopause because I have my ovaries removed because of BRCA 1 cancer mutation. | So I went cold turkey and this has been the worst week of my life. I cant not name the amount of side effects i have. Blurred vision, headaches, nausea, IBS systems, vomiting, tired, fever, night sweats, etc... all on top of the usual menopause symptoms. I feel really sorry for my kids this week. I have heard it can do wonder for those with depression and other issues but would never recommend for menopause. I will take hot flashes and moodiness over the effects of this drug! Good luck and many prayers to all other suffering from withdraw symptoms! | F | 34 | 8 months | 9/1/2008 | 2 | Depression, anxiety | Weight gain, dizziness, vertigo | This is a great drug, it helped tremendously with my anxiety. I was the happiest I had ever been while on it. BUT!! The side effects were HORRIBLE. I gained 60+ pounds while on it. This was without changing my diet or exercise habits at all. When I would miss a dose or was a couple hours late taking it I would almost fall to the ground from being so dizzy. Plus, who knows what it did to my brain chemistry long term :( | F | 27 | 2 years | 7/19/2008 | 2 | Major depression | More depression but after several weeks I had a 2 week period of time where I felt normal again! I was so excited! It went away! I am trying to wean off by using celexa I am telling you that depression like this that suffocates u where u can hardly do anything is worst then anything I have gone thru! | F | 58 | 6 months 225 mg | 9/9/2014 | 2 | depression | Mania, terrible withdrawal | Worked great at first, then started feeling manic/anxious/irritable. Was talking really fast and interrupting people and not getting much sleep. Decided to get off of it and am still slowly withdrawing. It is hell, brain zaps, shaking, extreme restlessness, physical pain in hands and feet, heart palpitations. I have been on many different antidepressants and never experienced such miserable withdrawal symptoms. Wish I had been warned. | F | 25 | 3 months 75 1X day | 4/12/2015 | 2 | Major Depression, General Anxiety | Drowsy throughout the day, sleeping for a long time, weird dreams, heart palpitations, minor muscle spasms, lower libido, skipped periods often, heavy periods when I did get them, migraines, feeling slightly more aggressive, lowered mental capacity. | It at least did something, but the amount of side effects speaks for itself. It helped anxiety slightly, but made my depression worse in my eyes. Despite the slight amount of energy I had, I felt even less motivation to direct it towards anything productive. My inability to think correctly lead me to get frustrated when I tried to get work done, and also lead me to being more rash with decision making. Sleeping more did not affect my sleep schedule. In other words; I was up for less hours at a time. Weird dreams is honestly the only good thing about this drug for me. The amount of side effects sure made life even less fun than it already was. Quitting this drug was horrible. Constantly felt like I was about to faint, felt like my brain was being zapped with an electrical discharge. These were strong feelings, even though I was gradually reducing the amount. I heard taking an SSRI while weaning off helped, since withdrawal from SSRIs is not nearly as bad, but I didn't have that since it was my decision to quit. This is surprisingly strong stuff. My brain chemistry still feels different, and I wonder if I'll ever fully recover from this. This was my second in line for antidepressants, and if your doctor recommends this so soon, reject it. Try something else before you risk taking this. Getting someone addicted to this so they have to keep buying it is dangerous. It does actually affect your behaviour though, so it may be worth trying if everything else won't work. | F | 17 | 7 months 150mg 1X day | 8/11/2016 | 2 | Depression | Brain zap. Was spacey all the time.. difficulty concentrating | F | 49 | 0 months 1X day | 7/24/2020 | 2 | Depression | Extreme Sweating, no sexual drive, excessive thirst, not wanting to be around people. Still fill depression. | F | 62 | 9 days 175 mg | 6/21/2017 | 2 | Anxiety and Depression | Sweating. Weird dreams. Bad withdrawal symptoms if I miss a dose I am messed up for 24 hours - flu like symptoms, nausea and diarrhea, pain in hands and feet, even weirder dreams and more sweaty-ness. And I am on a pretty low dose. Can't tell if it works or not. Getting off slowly and it sucks. | F | 46 | 2 years 50-75 | 12/31/2019 | 2 | Gad and depression | Weight gain, brain zaps, decreased libido | For me, this drug caused brain zaps if even one dose was missed. Coming off of it was a hellish ordeal. I just felt like I couldn’t think well, was enduring brain zaps, and after several months of feeling entirely “off”, the withdrawal symptoms finally started to subside. It works for many but the side effects were ultimately not worth the minimal efficacy (for me as in individual). It did seem to “numb” me emotionally which didn’t help with close relationships. | F | 34 | 2 years 60 mg. | 12/20/2018 | 2 | Hot flashes | This medicine CAUSED more hot flashes. It has taken me more than 3 months to wean off it because it causes severe dizziness and brain zaps every time I lower the dose. | F | 43 | 100 days 75 mg 1X day | 3/23/2023 | 2 | Depression and GAD | At first: No appetite (lost half the weight I gained on Paxil!) Ongoing: Grogginess, hand tremors, worsening physical anxiety symptoms (fidgetiness, tense muscles, headaches), and severe dry mouth (caused temporary and permanent dental problems). | Worked fine for getting rid of depression, but dental problems got too severe from dry mouth and I went from a light sleeper to dozing off while driving. So if you only have depression and insomnia, this drug is for you! Trying Celexa next. | F | 30 | 5 months | 1/27/2002 | 2 | General Anxiety / Depression | WEIGHT GAIN, brain zaps, insomnia, forgetfulness, dizziness, tired after a full nights sleep, increased anxiety at times, worsened depression at other times, horrible withdrawl effects | I have been gradually moved from 75 mg to 150mg and am now at 225 mg. I have been on Lexapro and Celexa before trying effexor. I have also tried pristiq. The doctor keeps raising my dosage because I seem to become immune after a few months. If I forget a dose or do not take it until evening instead of morning it leaves me almost inopperable. Horrible brain zaps to the point that I cannot function. I tried weening myself off because I seem to be worse than before I began treatment. This like everyone else said was so bad that I went back to taking it just to avoid the withdrawl. I would make sure all other sources are exhausted before trying effexor. | F | 25 | 2 years | 8/6/2008 | 2 | no sex drive | just started. | Not sure now that I have read some of the remarks out there, why my doc put me on it. It seems to me that it will give me problems not help me. making love onece a month is not good. need a boost. As for rating it. I'm not sure... It's too soon and do I really want to be on it! | F | 42 | 1 days | 2/15/2005 | 2 | generalized anxiety disorder | Inability to have an orgasm; not able to wake up; still had anxiety attacks; nightmares; TERRIBLE withdrawl symptoms | When I first started on this drug the first day I felt high but that went away. The pill worked a little with my mood swings and I don't deny that it helps but I still continued to have the anxiety attacks which was a problem to begin with. The only way I could get up for school was when someone physically woke me up so I was late ALOT! I had really bad vivid dreams. If I missed a day I felt terrible, crying, anger, etc. If I missed 2 days you might as well not even talk to me. I became lightheaded and almost passed out, moods were so unstable. Couldn't have an orgasm during sex. When I got off the medicine it took 2 months to get to normal. Mood swings were terrible. My mother begged me to go back on it! I don't know about this pill? | F | 20 | 1 years | 3/9/2005 | 2 | Depression and Anxiety | Over the course of months I gained 20 pounds, tried to get off the meds 3 times had had such awful side effects, electric shocks through body, blurred vision, major headaches. | Discountinuation of this drug is like going on a detox, it was horrible. Finally off of it for 2 weeks now and starting to feel more like myself | F | 35 | 1 years | 3/20/2005 |