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 | Anxiety, depression | Strange itchy rash on my skin-scared for life now.. swelling of legs and ankles, eventually entire body, bloating, constipation, loss of "caring".. no sex drive, insane sweating.. dizzyness, heart palpatations. These all occurred gradually as the dose was upp'd and when I complained to the dr's (three) they didnt know what to do and at first denied it was the effexor- eventually weaned me down- and all smptoms disappeared. | Cost hundreds of dollars to find out this medicine was CRAP! | F | 36 | 1 years 150 MG 1X day | 7/3/2010 | 1 | depression | after missing 2 days of dosage (forgot to fill it): nausea, dizziness, MASSIVE headache, "brain surges", blurred vision, inability to concentrate. I went through this twice. The second time I began researching the drug online and seeing how so many others were having issues with it. I know you are suppose to come off the drug slowly, but by that time it was almost out of my system completely, so I just dealt with the side effects and felt completely different after a week. That week was hell, but to get off this drug was heaven. | Don't take! Stick with the older drug combinations such as Wellbutrin & Zoloft. | F | 28 | 4 months 1X day | 7/9/2010 | 1 | Depression and OCD | I tried to overdose on 1375mg of this drug. | F | 16 | 1X day | 12/5/2010 | 1 | more depressed and aggitated. All I wanted to do was sleep and I had to have help taking care of my children because I was too tired to. =( | 2nd worst med I've ever tried. Topamax was the worst. | F | 33 | 2 weeks 37.5 1X day | 11/23/2010 | 1 | anxiety slight depresstion social a | After a few hours of taking effexr xr generic form became very disoreinted cconfused dizzy swimmy headed. Felt like I was not in my head very odd strange undesciable feeling. By next morning was having seizures had never had seizures prior to this. Could not walk on my own and it was a blessing that I was at home and not out in public alone somewhere. Single mother of 4 teenage kids scared my kids to death. I took effexor a few yrs back but didn't remember how it effected me untill my ex husband reminded me that it done the same thing last time. | I don't recommend anyone try this medication, after only one dose I experienced what could have been life threating effects. I'm on day 2 of not taking it and am still loopy feeling. Seizures have slowed down. Extreme hot flashes then cold chills. My brain is still swimmy and my dr says that this can continue for an unkown amount of time even though I only took one dose.everybodys body reacts differently to this med and it stays in some peoples system longer than others. I am now being ordered by my dr to be under "watch" by family or friends untill this passes or go into the hospital. It scares me to think how bad this could have turned out if I had continued to take this medication one day longer. It may work for some but make sure you do your research before taking. More bad effects with this medicine than good. | F | 35 | 1 days 75mg 1X day | 11/11/2010 | 1 | Migraines | Extremely tired...sleeping 15 hours a day sometimes. Migraines continued. Numb. | I needed to get off this medication to do a sleep study. I got VERY ill. Within 2 days of going off 37.5 mg I was vomitting and had nausea. It has been 15 days and I still feel awful. Migraines, muscle aches, tired, gastrointeritis, bloated, dizzy, shocks, hard to concentrate, brain doesn't track, this has been a NIGHTMARE. My doctor did say that Paxil and Effexor do have many withdrawl effects...however, they should be gone by now and aren't. I do not want to start taking this drug again. This is scary..I am not able to work and get things done. | F | 49 | 7 years 300 1X day | 7/16/2010 | 1 | dysthymia; Borderline Personality | Weight doubled from 150 to 300 lbs. Freakish sweating. I was NEVER suicidal or self-harming until I took this drug. I was sober when I began taking this drug; I began drinking. Then they diagnosed me with Bipolar Disorder I mixed episode. Then also on Wellbutrin 225 mg and Abilify 30 mg. I AM NOT BIPOLAR. Currently off all meds except 37.5 mg Effexor XR and soon will go off of that. WITHDRAWAL HAS BEEN HELL. Effexor XR is a stimulant. So is Wellbutrin and also Abilify. If I really had Bipolar Disorder, why would the docs prescribe 3 stimulants. I am mad about this. | I had to go on disability. I lost 14 years of product adult working and living. Read "Prozac Backlash" It was written in the early 90's by a Harvard Medical Doctor. I wish I had read it before I took those meds. | F | 48 | 14 years 300 mg 1X day | 2/20/2011 | 1 | depression | I tried to kill myself witch mad no sense since I LOVE MY LIFE! The effexor worked great at first and then slowly i started to sleep more and feel more and more depressed, I also started having weird behavior. I never tried to hurt myself before this drug. | F | 23 | 3 weeks 37.5mg 1X day | 3/9/2011 | 1 | hot flashes | F | 48 | 4 years 75mg 1X day | 3/11/2011 Patient History | 1 | Panic Disorder, Depression, Anxiety | agitation, insomnia, increased anxiety/panic attacks, feeling as if I wanted to crawl out of my own skin, loss of libido | Terrible drug. I feel sorry for others who have endured the withdrawal symptoms after taking it long term. I quit after 6 weeks because I couldn't take the constant agitation/anxiety/restlessness it caused. I had hoped those side-effects would abate with time but they did not. | F | 27 | 6 weeks 75 mg 1X day | 3/24/2011 | 1 | Depression, anxiety | Lowered libido, dizziness, nausea, feeling as though I was outside of myself, strange appetite, headaches, restlessness (couldn't stop tapping my feet), possible vision changes? (severe difficulty driving at night), frequent yawning, bizarre dreams and nightmares, tiredness, difficulty concentrating | Effexor made me feel as though I was constantly drugged, as though I was outside of myself and looking in or in some twilight zone (very difficult to describe). I went off the medication cold turkey, and the withdrawal was brutal - I missed four days of school because I couldn't stand up for more than a few minutes at a time without feeling an intense dizziness, almost as though my brain was sloshing around in my head. I suffered from paranoia in which I thought people were going to come through the window and shoot me. I was able to finally make it to school on a combination of Dramamine, Motrin, and Xanax. I would not wish the withdrawal on anyone. | F | 17 | 1 months 37.5 1X day | 12/22/2010 | 1 | depression/mood disorder | WORST WITHDRAWAL EVER. I've been on anti-depressants for at least 5years, and I've tried multiple ones but by far effexor was the worst. Yea it helped during the time I took it. But if I missed a dose I got those "brain zaps", and I just felt in a fog not myself at all. But when I came off it was the WORST experience I felt like I was in withdrawal from a hardcore drug. Brain zaps constantly, the shakes, sweating, nightmares, anxiety, muscle spasms, and crying spells. | Don't take effexor its not worth the risk of a horrible withdrawal. It has a half life of 5hours, that's why you feel so crummy after missing one dose. awful awful medication. | F | 18 | 1 years 350 1X day | 1/9/2011 | 1 | PTSD | Horrible, visual interuptions, feeling like i was having electric shocks in my head which lasted a year after getting off, horrific nightmares,suicidial fantasys (i'd never been suicidal before!) night sweats-PJ's soaked through!, angry/violent outburst, took 3 years to get off it, terrible terrible withdrawals | I lost my job & 4 years of my life to this drug it should be illegal and I'd like compensation!!!! I still suffer from the nightmares although not as vivid, I think this drug does irriversable damage! | F | 37 | 4 years 300mg 1X day | 1/14/2011 | 5 | cfs | dry mouth, night sweats, nervousness | I heard about this med after listening to a talk on CFS. I tried it and it has helped so much. I dont know where I would be without it. It clears the 'brain fog' completely, and gives me the strength to deal with everything in a positive light. I have tried to ween myself off this med (for 6 months) but I found that the benefits outweigh all else. At the end of the day---its about quality of life ! | M | 50 | 13 years 150 1X day | 1/23/2011 | 5 | serious depression + anxiety | some constipation and very brief period of occasional night terrors for about first 6 weeks, but since then, none | Initially tried Celexa, which only caused symptoms to worsen. Then tried Effexor at 150 mg/day, which helped almost immediately. Dr. later increased dose to 300 mg/day which, along with cognitive behavior therapy, helped me get back to healthy mental state within about 3 months from start of my symptoms and I have been doing well ever since. I have thought about trying dose reduction, but really don't want to risk withdrawal symptoms. Taking this drug is really no different than taking my daily cholesterol and blood pressure meds that I'll be taking for the rest of my life. Patients should realize that: 1) each person reacts differently to each anti-depressant, so unfortunately finding the right drug is a trial & error process and 2) drugs ALONE are not the answer to mental health issues - you have to be willing to work with a therapist to change your negative thoughts. | M | 62 | 10 years 300 1X day | 2/6/2011 | 5 | Depression, Anxiety | At first, nausea and headaches similar to what I experienced with Zoloft and Celexa in the past. After a couple weeks, nothing. | This drug made a huge difference for me. I gradually have worked up to 225 mg (37.5 mg for 6 days, 75 mg for about a month, 150 mg for a couple weeks, and now 225 mg the last three weeks). People complain a lot about withdrawal on this med, but a lot of them don't taper like they should. A lot of family practice docs don't have enough experience with antidepressants to know exactly how quickly to taper the dose. At first this was a concern for me too, but my psychiatrist assured me that by tapering correctly, most people avoid major withdrawal symptoms. I'm a second year medical student, so I think I a reasonable amount of knowledge to know that he isn't just trying to make me feel better for the time being. Anxiety ruled my life before Effexor, and my latest episode of depression was the worst of many. I was having almost constant GI problems, which have been attributed to my mental health struggles. I came closer than ever to killing myself. THANKS TO EFFEXOR I feel like I have my life back again. | M | 24 | 3 months 225 mg 1X day | 11/3/2010 | 5 | Major Depression/Anxiety | Initially erectile dysfuncion, used Viagra, then didn't need it anymore. ED went away after a few months. Through the entire time I was on Effexor skipping a dose was a real problem-- disjointed thoughts, anger, truly strange dreams. | I switched to Effexor XR after a couple of years on Paxil. Paxil saved my life from obsessive suicidal thoughts, but after a couple of years I started abusing my son's Ritalin (he has ADHD). My doctor switched me to Effexor XR. It worked beautifully. I was on for about 5 years and felt so good I titrated off it with help from Prozac. I've been off Effexor (and all anti-depressants) for almost a year with no negative effects. I feel like the Paxil, the Effexor and staying busy, focused and positive "changed my mind" from tending to depression, drug/alcohol abuse and anxiety to health. | M | 48 | 5 years 225 MG 1X day | 11/22/2010 | 5 | Psychosis | No side effects at all. | Lifesaver drug. | M | 23 | 2 weeks 150mg 1X day | 10/24/2010 | 5 | Depression | For the first few months I had sexual side effects but they went away. Some weight gain | The only drug that ever helped me. Others did not work or had bad effects. The "brain jitters" everyone talks about are very true when missing a dose. They are really no biggie, to me anyway. Over all my mood is good, I am much more productive generally. I tried the new generic version and it does not work the same. BEWARE. Even though it's cheaper, the wreth brand works different and much better. I am waiting to talk to my doctor as to why but this is in the literature. There is a difference in this generic. If you are starting out I would defently suggest the name brand to see if it helps. Once stable, then test out the generic for yourself. | M | 34 | 1 years 150 MG 1X day | 7/11/2010 | 5 | Social Phobia | Delayed ejaculation | M | 18 | 2 months 75 1X day | 3/12/2010 |