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 and GAD | Effexor XR always worked for me very well. After trying it again at 75mg a day for a third time, I have experienced multiple ER visits due to chest pain, heart fluttering, and pulse rates of 160bpm, as well as heart palpitations something FIERCE! Nausea in the beginning, passed, little if any weight gain, insomnia in the beginning, but the anxiety I experienced this time around almost killed me. Panic Mode FULL FORCE! I stopped it today. (March 11, 2004) | Not sure why Effexor XR didn't work for me this time around, it always made my life fantastic, bearable, helped me through CBT, and helped my social anxiety, helped me to at least function. It helped me tremendously with depression AND anxiety a few years ago, but this time around, it is one antidepressant I will NEVER take again, the heart palpitations/anxiety/speeding pulse rate scared the living daylights out of me and I have been taking Effexor XR for 3 months at 75mg a day. More power to those who can and are tolerating Effexor XR, just not the med for me any longer. Best wishes everyone. | F | 34 | 3 months | 3/11/2005 | 2 | Anxiety;night terrors | This drug works great as long as you don't plan on getting off of it...EVER. As soon as you try, you experience nothing like you have ever felt before. The tremmors in my opinion were the worse thing. | I think I will stick with being scared in cars and the night terrors. This is an extremly addictive drug and I feel like an addict trying to get off of it. They can keep it. Oh yea, and sex? HA! forget it. | F | 36 | 1 years | 5/31/2005 | 2 | Depression | I had a terrible allergic reaction to something in the medication. Severe gastrointestinal problems. Lost 12 lbs. in 4-5 days. Had hives and respiratory issues. | I loved how it helped me feel normal again; disappointed that I'm one of the hypersensitive people who can't take meds. without something being a problem. I felt so happy the first week. | F | 42 | 11 days | 3/1/2007 | 2 | Depression | severe headaches, dry mouth at the beginning | Was on 75 mg of Effexor for about 2 months before I developed severe daily headaches. Only side effect before that was dry mouth which was minor. Doctor thought the Effexor was causing the headaches and switched me to Paxil (headaches went away, then came back daily again after 2 months of taking Paxil - have been on Paxil for 5 months and am tapering off it now). Effexor did improve my mood but the headaches were so dibilating that, for me, the side effect outweighed the benefit. | F | 30 | 2 months | 6/19/2007 | 2 | depression and anxiety | Headaches; sleeplessness; teeth chattering; tremors; restlessness; loss of appetite; eyes hurt; yawning; tired mentally but physically restless | I took one 75mg XR and for 2 days did not feel myself. I think it was too strong for me but maybe I just need to work on issues instead of taking a pill. It's not for me, this medicine. | F | 37 | 1 days | 6/4/2007 | 2 | depression | i continued to feel more and more depressed and suicidal as my dose was increased | i have been coming off it for last two weeks, from 225mg, down now to 75mg, and i am feeling like my old self. i am waiting for these dreadful side effects i have read about to kick in, but at the moment i feel so much better than i did two weeks ago. | F | 53 | 8 months | 6/4/2007 | 2 | GAD,Depression,panic attacks | GAS,no energy,felt numb sometimes | so far i am not liking effexor xr.. im on 150mg day and if anything i feel like im getting worse..and im still have some panic attacks...i feel the same as before but no i have gas problems..it has not helped me reach personal goals due to anxiety and my life is still on pause , im not sure if id remcomend it ... everyone is different | F | 19 | 3 months | 3/7/2007 | 2 | PTSD, social anxiety and depression | I found it effective initially but then, uneffective after a years and a half or so, even though I was eventually bumped up to a doseage of 225 mg of the medication, and the withdrawal has been absolute HELL. If I had known how awful the symptoms of withdrawal would be, I would NEVER have taken the drug. MY doctor told me it wouldn't be a problem, as did my pharmacist. Obviously, THEY were not informed of this possiblity either! | F | 58 | 3 years | 11/6/2007 | 2 | Severe Panic Attacks | Very tired, but not able to sleep at night. Moody, NO interest in sex, VERY BAD HEADACHES. | I don't know if this is the right medicine for me. I have only been taking it for 2 weeks, but I feel worse than before I started this. I was on Lexapro and I was happier, but still very nervous and BAD panic attacks. My husband thinks I am crazy and that Effexor is making me that way. I think I should stop taking it but I am afraid to since reading all the withdrawal symptoms on here. Please email if you have any advice. I am going to talk to my Dr though, but I don't have much confidence in him. I just wanted him to up my dose of Lexapro to see if that would help, but he wouldn't and put me on the Effexor......I am so confused no though...... | F | 27 | 2 weeks | 10/30/2007 | 2 | bipolar depression | migraines and other brief headaches throughout the day, feeling feverish and flu-like, fatigue and sleepiness, apathy, nausea and lack of appetite which led to weight loss, no libido, and a kind of emotional numbness which isn't considered ok usually, but was welcome after having the intense feelings of a long depression | I was on this drug before and it helped me a lot, and i only got off it because of bad night sweats. This time it hardly helped at all and brought out dep. symptoms I'd never had plus soooo many other side effects! And I've withdrawn from every other antidepressant on the market, but this is awful! I haven't been able to work for a week and a half because I'm dizzy and have the "flu" everyday! | F | 47 | 4 months | 11/11/2007 | 2 | anxiety, mild depression | lack of sex drive, trouble concentrating | seemed to quit working, dr. changed me to cymbalta | F | 31 | 10 months | 7/19/2007 | 2 | depression & anxiety | Increased anxiety, OCD, weight gain. | I did not like it at all. My husband takes it and it works for him. But if he is late missing a dose, he gets sicker then a dog. | F | 37 | 3 weeks | 5/22/2007 | 2 | depression, anxiety | This drug was wonderful in the beginning. It worked that way for approx 4 months and slowly started to lose its effectiveness. | WITHDRAWING FROM THIS DRUG IS AWFUL. I feel sorry for those in the future that choose to do so. I am an intelligent woman and I am not kidding when I say how sick I feel coming off this drug. I take 150 mg and my doctor advised me to take it every other day for 1 week and then every 3rd day the second. He advised to continue the 150 mg, which amazed me conidering every testimony I read claimed docs insist on cutting dosage down by half each week. The worst side effect I am experiencing is these so called "brain shocks" or better known as the worst possibly dizziness you can feel, x1000!!! Other withdrawals include and not limited to: frequent bowel movements, constant nausea, blurry vision (I was wrong when I thought mine could not get any worse), severe depression (worse than before I started taking the drug for depression!), etc.... I would really consider NOT taking this drug ever, no matter how bad you feel. It is only a quick fix and the withdrawal hell is not worth th | F | 30 | 6 months | 6/6/2007 | 2 | Anxiety | Dry mouth,nausea,insomnia or sometimes too much sleepiness ,Extreme headache, difficulty concentrating.... | After reading all these comments i am worried if i should even continue it and also the withdrawal symptoms,,, and seeing all the side effects i would say i was better off anxious.! | F | 23 | 8 days | 9/3/2007 | 2 | Depression, anxiety | Dizziness, nauseousness, confusion, forgetfulness. | I took EffexorXR 75 mg. for 5 months and started having bad confusion and forgetfulness. My doctor said it was the EffexorXR and if I wanted to get off of it and try something else I could. I wanted to try life without relying on antidpressants so dr. said to take Effexor every other day for a week and then quit. That landed me in the ER. I was so dizzy I couldn't see straight. I was having massive hot flashes too. Thought something was horribly wrong with me but they said Effexor is very hard to get off of and the symptoms were most likely from it. Dr. said I needed to come off Effexor slower. I dropped down to 37.5 mg. and I've been taking it every 36 hrs. for 5 days and now I'm doing it every 48 hrs. for 5 days and then quit completely. I am still so dizzy it is almost impossible to function, hot all the time, and nauseous. The withdrawal symptoms have been horrible. I'm really angry that my Dr. would prescribe a medication that ultimately would be so hard to get off of. I pretty mu | F | 35 | 5 months | 6/8/2007 | 2 | depression/anxiety | weight gain/ lack of desire for sex , loss of intrest | I would like to get off this - and am trying but I think its way too hard - I hate it. | F | 39 | 1 days | 2/13/2008 | 2 | Panic Disorder/ Anxiety/ Depression | Increased fatigue, insomnia accompanied by increased nighttime anxiety, brain zaps, crying spells. | I am going to stick it out and hope that it starts to work soon. The side effects have been manageable compared to lexapro and celexa. | F | 21 | 3 weeks | 2/20/2008 | 2 | depression | - night sweats - intense nightmares - rapid heartbeat - weight loss - loss of appetite - loss of sexual desire - waves of dizziness / brain weirdness - severe hives over my entire body | It's really too bad about this. I was thinking the other day that it was working out okay, despite the side effects. I was willing to put up with everything except the hives. I'm about to stop taking it because apparently once you get the hives, they don't necessarily go away for months or even years after you go off Effexor. And let me explain why the hives are so awful - it's not just a few itchy patches. It is all down my arms, legs, and sides. They are worse at night, and I've even started getting them on my face. Last night, I had so many hives on my face that it looked like I was wearing a misshapen lumpy mask. It's itchy and embarrassing. I was on the drugs for about 6 months before the hives showed up. | F | 29 | 6 months | 2/5/2008 | 2 | depression | Loss of basic survival skills. Yes, I was depressed prior to the med, but at least prior to takin Effexor XR I was taking reasonalbe steps to look for work (am between jobs) and keep my house in OK - altho not immaculate - condition. I was told by doc that this drug would not cause wt gain as I made it clear if I gained wt that would depress me even further. I was told this drug might even depress the appetite. I did NOT find that to be the case and proceeded to put on 7 pounds due to the effects of this drug: an increased appetite and lethargy toward working out and increased time sitting around doing nothing. | Like other observations on this site - which I wish I'd read prior to taking the drug! -- withdrawing from this drug is VERY dangerous. I'd foolishly thought a few days at half dose would be OK. NOT. I was weeping uncontrollably and experienced racing anxiety -- severe symptoms I have NEVER experienced. I also had thoughts of suicide. When all this is happening, you're not sure if it's withdrawal or if you really are going off the deep end. That's why these testimonials are so critically important and why the doc and drug manufacturer should go out of their way to tell you NEVER NEVER go off the drug too quickly. Here's how I've done it: My "normal" dose was 37.5 per day - taken for about 3 months. I scaled back to half that amount daily and stayed there for almost 3 weeks. I've now scaled back to 12 mg per day and will stay at that dose for the next week. So far so good: My brain function has improved; I'm motivated to work out more; the impossible hunger drive h | F | 54 | 3 months | 12/20/2007 | 2 | alcohol dependence | wasn't on it long but quit as soon as I realised it was like he other 2 I tried ie inability to orgasm. | I am sure it's a great medication. Along with other trials (Lovan & Luvox) it helped me reduce my emotional dependence on alcohol. Except for the sexual side-effects I would've given it a better try. Today is day 4 off it (and I stupidly didn't reduce it slowly) so I feel like I am at the start of a severe fever. Dizzy, nausea ... make sure you TAPER OFF IT when the time comes! I have now been referred to a clinical psychologist - my preferred option. Good luck everyone :) | F | 36 | 12 days | 12/11/2007 |