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 |
| 1 | depression and anxiety attacks | tremors,dizziness,headaches,anger,fits of rage, electrical shocks throughout whole body. | DONT TAKE IT!it'll ruin your life,im only 19 and i've been on it for 4 years.im gradually coming off of it now and i never wanna hear about it again. | F | 19 | 4 years | 10/20/2004 | 1 | depression | anxiety | F | 41 | 8 days | 8/24/2004 | 1 | Depression / Anxiety / Chronic Pain | Weight gain, insomnia. While weaning off: insomnia, violent mood swings, body shocks, tremmors, nausea, vomiting, vertigo, felt like a junkie, headaches, auditory and visual problems, depression, crying spells, just felt physically | DO NOT START TAKING THIS MEDICATION UNLESS YOU PLAN ON STAYING ON IT THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. I have no doubt that this medication is helpful for some people... I think the vast majority however should stay off this drug. Please do research on it before you start taking it. If you've started and want to get off of it, wean off very very slowly. Join chat groups etc online for support, because you'll need it. If your Dr tries to make you go off this cold turkey, and doesn't understand your needs, find another Dr. Some people have no problems, but most do. I started taking Effexor in March of 2004-October 2004 for depression caused by chronic pain from a car accident. I've had no prior problems with depression, and currently am taking no other medication after what I'm STILL going through with Effexor. I started out at 37.5mg, and moved up to 150mg per day. I attempted to wean myself off in June, and after a couple of days without Effexor, I began having a very strange feeling in my head, and couldn't move my eyes to the left or the right without feeling that blood was rushing past my ears in a sort of | F | 34 | 8 months | 11/27/2004 | 1 | depression | [email protected] continued | Apparently there is a limit! Guess I went on to long... I eventually weaned off by opening capsules and pouring about half out.. and reassembling the capsule. It took me about two months to get to the point where I was taking about 10 granuals every three days... then I quit altogether. People are still having problems with this medication even after being off of it for 8 months or more. Please don't take this medication. Getting off this DRUG is a living hell. | F | 34 | 8 months | 11/27/2004 | 1 | anxiety | nervous, shaking,mad,sleepy,insomnia,munchies,trembling,nausea | i took one pill , scared to take second that was 37.5mg.i havent took pill 2 and its 30hrs later and half a beer later | F | 35 | 2 days | 11/6/2004 | 1 | depression | Headaches, fatigue, emotional numbness | I had very severe withdrawl symptoms when discontinuing Effexor. Be careful and don't do it on your own - my dr. gave me a few doses of Prozac which helped me get off the Effexor. | F | 23 | 8 months | 11/8/2004 | 1 | depression (situational? hormonal?) | For the first couple of days lots of difficult side effects, but those eased. On my maintenance dose of 75 mg: weight gain (15 lbs in 2 months), difficulty achieving orgasm (never a problem before), unusually deep and long sleep, weakened vision. None of these seemed overly significant. | Withdrawal effects began within 4 hours of skipping a dose. Eight hours after missing a dose, the effects were violent: drenching sweat, blinding headache, motor-visual impairment, and, worst, violent spasmodic vomiting--violent enough to make me bellow and pee my pants with each spasm, ending with dry heaves, staggering. Withdrawal symptoms subsided within an hour of taking dose. Three separate times I went through this scenario; first two times I thought it was food poisoning. Third time it was unmistakably the missed dose (I was fasting). Since that last time, in September, I've been weaning myself successfully on my own schedule: I open the XR capsule and take out 5 (initially) or 10 (when I felt ready) more granules each day, stepping it down day by day. There are approximately 200 granules in a 75 mg capsule. Tomorrow should be my last day: yay! I've had virtually no withdrawal symptoms doing it this way. I'm also supporting withdrawal by taking good vitamins, extra B vites, extra C, l-glutamine, milk thistle, sometimes Emergen-C, and an herbal compound I've used before when physically stressed (Wellness Formula by Source Naturals). Also doing yoga. It seems to be working for me. No withdrawal symptoms whatsoever so far. | F | 50 | 7 months | 11/11/2004 | 1 | menopausal symptoms | Began cutting down on dosage about 3 weeks ago....HORIBBLE....dizzy, insomnia, nightmares.....would not recommend for ANYONE..... | Is there anything that can help with withdrawal symptoms? Please help...have been tapering down for 3 weeks....took last 37.5 dose 5 days ago....the dizziness is almost unbearable...but don't want to take one of these | F | 56 | 1 years | 10/10/2004 | 1 | Bipolar Disorder | Very sleepy or insomnia, thirsty, Urinary Incontinence, headache, light headedness, visual tracers/minor hallucinations, shock waves through the front of my body(especially my face and chest), nausea/panic attacks (if skipped dose), craziest dreams EVER!!, nerve twitches. | For the treating of my disorder, the drug has worked pretty good but I find myself having to increase my dosage every month because it starts to wear off. The higher my dosage, the more I don't like it. When I stand up or am out in the cold walking, I get these strange "shockwaves" throughout the front of my body, especially in my face and my chest and I have lost a lot of bladder control with it. When I miss or am late on a dose, I get severe nausea and panic attacks until I take it again. I am almost constantly seeing visual tracers when something moves in front of my eyes, and sometimes I even see hallucinations. I also find when increasing my dosage, I go through a few days of loss of appetite and severe light headedness to the point where it feels like my head has detached from my body and I completely space out. I am also always really thirsty and I can never seem to quench my thirst. During the day at work I find myself falling asleep and being so tired that I can' | F | 21 | 1 years | 2/1/2007 | 1 | Depression | Weight gain (30 pounds) Irrational, impulsive behavior Suididal thoughts Alcoholism (landed in rehab--never had a drinking problem before) | Terrible, debilitating side effects. Doctors act like they've never heard of them. Teeth chills, pressure in brain, dizziness, nausea. Interested in getting a petition started about dangers of this drug. | F | 36 | 2 years | 3/15/2007 | 1 | depression/anxiety | severe "brain zaps"; memory loss; weight gain; decreased effectiveness over time; hot flashes; inability to get off medication sans severe withdrawal symptoms | I started taking this medication in late 2003. It decreased my GAD (and therefore my depression) which improved my quality of life for about a year. I had intolerable brain zaps with nausea and dizziness when I missed a dose which I found very troubling. I also noticed that my memory was seriously affected. About a year and a half after I started the med, I noticed by GAD symptoms returning, so the Dr increased my dose to 150mg which I continued for another couple of years, although it's effectiveness was still in doubt. After this time, out of fear of memory problems and increasing depression/anxiety, I attempted to get off the medication. This period is somewhat of a blur b/c the S/E's (severe brain zaps; hot flashes; confusion, irritability, light intolerance; nausea; depression) put me in a dark bedroom under the covers for more than 3 months. After that time I gave up and went back on Effexor XL. I am currently still on Effexor xl and have been trying to decrease my dose slowly fo | F | 44 | 5 years | 10/9/2008 | 1 | Depression | Decrease sex drive, dizziness, and flattening of emotions | When I tried to stop taking Effexor, the real problems started. My symptoms included: sweating, confusion, paranoia, electric shock-like sensations, nausea, exhaustion, fever, nightmares, and more. It took me over 8 months to get off this medicine and it was hell. Please, please, please take time to consider getting on Effexor or any other SSRI. | F | 27 | 7 years | 7/27/2005 | 1 | Medication Resistant Depression | Started out on 35, then 75. When the doctor moved me up to 150mg.....OMG! First, everything taste like metal. Couldn't find a glass of water anywhere. Then food started tasting funny. Headaches, leg cramps at night, being restless couldn't sleep. Stomach pain and the worest was wanting to rip my skin off. It felt like something crawling on my bones. I had trouble putting together a single thought. | I'll never take this crap again! | F | 46 | 14 days | 7/24/2005 | 1 | depression | Horrendous nightmares - death and destruction, night sweats, tingling of legs, feeling light headed, weight gain at least 8 kg,abdominal bloating (I looked 8 mths pregnant)flatulence,loose stools, not with it, not thinking clearly, loss of libido, loss of energy, menstrual irregularites | HORRIFIC withdrawals, brain shocks, mania - highs and lows, suicidal thoughts, unbelievable rage, truly a hard time getting off this stuff- frightening,would never recommend it to anyone, turned me into a fat bloated zombie, 75mg a day, horrific!!!!!SIDE- EFFEXOR!!!!! | F | 44 | 8 months | 12/10/2004 | 1 | bipolar II/Depressive | muscle tenseness, shaking, sweating, sweaty palms, headache, hard to sleep | I don't know if it's because my doctor put me on 75 mg. to start with but what I do know is that this is one of THE WORST drugs I've ever been on. I can't believe that after just ONE DOSE that I was experiencing all of these symptoms! I took ONE last night and decided I'm not using it anymore. I'm waiting until next week to talk to the doctor about putting me on something with less side effects. I'm tired of going through so many drugs :( I can't seem to find one that works without major symptoms...*sigh* | F | 42 | 1 days | 10/24/2008 | 1 | anxiety depression | this is the worst drug i ever took. at the lowest dose 37.5 i took for a week i experienced, night sweats, very tired all the time, loss of weight, i went up to 75 for only two days and i could not handle the side effects. i am trying to cut back but the withdrawls suck. at first i only missed one day and i was extemly tired, sweating, nausea. dizziness, now im taking a half tablet every other day but still experiencing side effects. i have only been on this medication for three weeks. if your starting stop now do not continue. | F | 29 | 3 weeks | 12/20/2004 | 1 | Anxiety and Depression | Early Menopause, dizziness, nausea, shaking | It screwed up my body so bad , coming off of this drug was a nightmare. | F | 44 | 1 years | 1/5/2007 | 1 | ADHD | HELL ON EARTH. Suicidal ideation, extreme hostility, tremors, sleep disorders, panic attacks, complete lack of focus. | AVOID AT ALL COSTS! Just a shakedown by shrinks. The standard line when things got worse was | F | 40 | 4 years | 11/17/2004 | 1 | Depression | Complete inability to orgasm. Feeling of | AFTER going off Effexor--slowly, as recommended by my doctor--I had brain zaps and I was unable to function for two days. I would sit and stare at one spot in space and realize, an hour later, that I had been sitting and staring. I would resolve to do something, and the same thing would occur. As that got lesser, I was unable to concentrate. I had just graduated with a BS in Physics and I was unable to do the simplest addition, and therefore, unable to do my job. This lasted for three weeks. It was slowly better, but my concentration didn't get better until three weeks after that when I realized, | F | 23 | 6 months | 11/23/2004 | 1 | Anxiety, pms... | Headaches, odd feelings when off the drug (vertigo, headaches, fuzzy feelings, irrational thinking) | I would reccomend that NO ONE Take this drug unless it is a last resort | F | 42 | 8 months | 8/20/2005 |