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 |
| 4 | depression after heart surgery | Virtually no sex drive whatsoever. I do believe that I am addicted. | I have been taking effexor & now xr for 15 years. Although it has stabilized my mental outlook for quite some time, I have developed several types of unnecessary frustrations that are very difficult to live with. | M | 67 | 15 years | 8/14/2007 | 4 | Severe Depression & Anxiety | Delayed ejaculation(not necessarily bad); increased libido; night sweats; dry mouth; occasional dizziness; waves of fatigue every few hours until night time; periods of constipation alternating with diarrhea; short-term memory issues | I'm currently taking 300mg/day. My depression and anxiety are much better with "crash" bouts lasting only a day or two every few weeks versus being depressed for weeks on end. I've taken Prozac, Wellbutrin XL, and Lexapro in the past; the side effects are far more tolerable than those drugs. I may see if my psychiatrist will up my dose to 450 to avoid the "crashes" altogether. It'd be nice to get this "energizing" effect he keeps talking about. | M | 31 | 3 months | 8/4/2007 | 4 | GAD, depression | Weight gain, loss of libido, some fuzzy thinking and lethargy. | Initially on 37.5mg and now taking 225mg. I don't like the weight gain and loss of libido but I must admit this drug worked wonders for me. To be fair about the weigh gain I have to admit I have always enjoyed good food and drink. So I am back on Weight Watchers and heading back to health club. I sleep better and don't constantly worry about every little thing. Overall I feel much better on this drug than I did before. No plans to get off it yet. Perhaps if I can't control the weight gain I might. Another thing, this drug does not mix well with booze, especially hard stuff. I am okay with a few beers or some wine but if I drink to too much I can't remember what I did or said! Whole chunks of time are erased from my memory! | M | 57 | 18 months | 9/17/2007 | 4 | 1-Depression;2-Post Chemo Fatigue | After 1 yr of surgery, chemo, radiation side effects, anything that Effexor might throw at me is NOTHING by comparison. Its benefits far outweigh anything I've exp. as SideFx & exceeds efficacy of previous Lexapro or zoloft regimens. Once, had a zap. A few times, difficulty going to sleep. Miss a dose, some slight anxiety - but again, nothing like the daily diet of SideFX from chemo, etc. Counteract anything with exercise, yoga, long walk/talk with husband & the Westie. | Far more efficacious than Lexapro &/or Zoloft re: Menopause-enhanced depression & other symptoms. Actually went thru clinical drug trial to determine Zoloft as better alternative to Lexapro. Effexor wasn't offered. Wish it had been. 75 mg day/taken at night. Experienced IMMEDIATE relief with change of med. Like my old, happy energetic self. Where has she been all this time? | M | 53 | 2 months | 9/19/2007 | 4 | anxiety | Immedieatly, it has helped and I feel much more in control of what I do and am far more focused. The side effect is it has completely doused my limbido. I have tried to get off of it a few times but get severe headaches. | If someone has successfully been able to ween themselves off of this drug, I would love to hear from you! | M | 44 | 1 years | 7/20/2007 | 4 | Depression/Anxiety | Headaches at first, delayed ejaculation (a very good thing in my case!), vivid dreams, slight brain zaps if I miss even one dose. | Switched to effexor after I hit a brick wall with Paxil after only one year. Slowly tapered off Paxil while ramping up to Effexor 150 mg. No problems during the transition, except for a bit of agitation. (Took Klonopin during that time). So far, so good, but who knows? My depression is gone, I feel normal, but everyone is different. Hopefully this will work for a long time, and I don't experience some of the horror stories other people here have described. At any rate, almost anything is better than being in the depths of despair I sink to without medication. | M | 51 | 2 months | 9/10/2007 | 4 | anxiety | Decreased quality of sex life. Insomnia. Tinnitus. | M | 59 | 3 years | 10/28/2007 | 4 | depression, anxiety | depression, anxiety nausea, decreased libido, a little trippy though most side effects decreased over time. | i had absolutely crippling anxiety with anyone who wasnt in my close family. nightmare. this made me depressed but it was mainly the anxiety causing it. i am worried about the long term side effects as this drug hasnt been long around, no one knows what decades of use will have on people. & im sure itll effect all the long term users differently too so its a chunky gamble. all this said, this did save me at a most awful time so im very thankful for it. the side effects on it were tolerable for the benefits reaped. after a year of using i felt ready to get off this drug. jesus h christ. horrendous just like many others have said. the zaps, rage, depersonalisation & some return of prior symptoms. several months later i was ok & for a while i was ok agian with no drugs. in the last six months all of my awful problems have returned & i am very seriously considering getting back on this stuff. the long term concerns & horriific withdrawal problems scare the hell out of m | M | 23 | 1 years | 2/13/2007 | 4 | depression | my pupils are gigantic and i cant get an orgasm... hard time lossing wood after not getting an orgasm, but whatever. Very Slaphappy all the time which is nice. | nah | M | 18 | 1 days | 2/15/2007 | 4 | Depression and Anxiety | I am 22yo and no longer have short term memory. And in the beginning, when I occasionally drank or smoked, i would be in a comma state for at least 24hrs afterwards, no matter how much i drank (this included taking NyQuil). I also have the Brain-Zaps, and the numbness, and the fainting side effects. Its horrible. I have gone cold turkey several times, and weaning off the medication is the exact same. It takes so much strength and determination to go through this...... | M | 22 | 3 years | 6/10/2007 | 4 | Depression | First few weeks only: yawning all the time and just felt "weird". Other: difficulty urinating, anorgasmia, slightly increased appetite with minor weight gain. | On 75mg, started feeling better about four weeks after start of treatment | M | 48 | 2 months | 6/11/2007 | 4 | Depression | I dont feal any side effects from this drug except i notice a masive differance when im drinking hard booze.beers alright to an extent and weed is a o.k. iv done most chems and organics on this stuff and the worst mixture is booze! | this dose work for depression i have 5 more months to go and im fealing 70% | M | 17 | 7 months | 5/4/2007 | 4 | general anxiety disorder | Vivid dreams (not scary, but great for story telling), extensive drowsiness, odd ejaculations, slight weight gain, and vertigo for about the first 2 weeks. If I miss ONE dose: extreme dizziness and shaking. | Overall I would recommend this drug. Everything has happened at 150 mg/day and all in all I am pleased with it. The strange ejaculations stopped after about 3-4 months and unfortunately the vivid dreams subsided around the same time (for the most part;)). If I had to say a few negative things about this drug they would be that I feel dependent upon the drug, but being dependent upon the drug is WAY better than experiencing anxiety. The other thing would be that missing a single dose ruins my day because I am incapable of doing anything productive while I am dizzy and shaking. But all in all I am lightyears better with this drug than I was before without it. | M | 19 | 8 months | 5/5/2007 | 4 | depression/panic attacks | dry mouth, insomnia, grinding teeth, bad dreams (when missing a dose) I also kick in my sleep. | I was on effexor XR 150mg for 6 years, then stopped cold turkey. The withdrawal was not as bad as I expected, but 6 months later the depression is back and I'm restarting the medication at 75 mg. It's already helping, though it's making it harder to sleep. The benefits far outweigh the drawbacks for me. | M | 28 | 1 weeks | 4/11/2007 | 4 | anxiety/slight depression | dry mouth;sexual dysfunction | effexor xr worked very well for me... i loved it .. if it wasnt for the sexual side effects i would still be on it. might be different for you, i would definately give it a try ..its not as scary as people say it is. | M | 21 | 1 weeks | 4/11/2007 | 4 | Depression and anxiety | Libido reduction, delayed orgasm, increased sweating, dry mouth,some sleep disturbance. | Effexor has helped lift the depressive illness that was getting worse. I am no longer anxious, and the pain in my head from feeling down has gone too. My appetite has returned (and that is because I am feeling happier) and so far no weight gain. That surprised me considering I am eating ALOT more. I am sleeping somewhat better, but not as good as I expected to be. The only thing I really dislike about the drug is the increased sweating which occurs at various intervals during the day. I can live with the sexual side effects because when I Was depressed I didnt feel like sex anyway. Overall, Effexor is effective for lifting depression and is one of the best I have tried. | M | 40 | 6 weeks | 8/24/2007 | 4 | Depression and anxiety | Sedation (had to start taking it at night); decreased libido | Effexor alone was only somewhat helpful for me for anxiety and depression. I had to stop taking it in the morning and start taking it at night because it makes me sleeply. Now, I take 300 mg. daily in combo with 30 mg. of Remeron. The combination is a godsend. It ended an adult lifetime of torturous anxiety and periodic bouts of morbid depression. I sleep like a baby, wake up feeling fine, experience a normal range of emotion during the day, have good concentration and mental clarity, and am loving life clean, sober, and awake. Effexor and remeron together are powerful medecine, if you can make peace with them. The only drawback to remeron is a battle against weight gain (see remeron ratings for more info.) And, the decreased libido with effexor is a hassel. But, living virtually free of fear and depression is worth the effort to compensate for the side effects, in my experience. | M | 41 | 14 months | 4/4/2007 | 4 | migraine control (prevention) | IF EFFEXOR CAUSED YOU EXTREME FATIGUE, PLEASE EMAIL ME! HOW LONG DID IT TAKE AFTER STOPPING for this side effect to abate? In combination with Inderal, Effexor (up to 112mg daily, but usually 75mg daily) reduced my headaches from 16 to 8 a month. But I was so sleepy I could barely function. Since I can usually get rid of a migraine in an hour with Zomig, I decided headaches were preferable 24/7 fatigue. I weaned slowly off the Effexor & Inderal. I’ve been completely off Effexor for about 2 wks (Inderal for over 3), yet I’m still plagued with awful sleepiness by midmorning. I fight the urge to nap, & I take Provigil, prescribed to counteract the tiredness. My blood work is normal, so causes like iron, thyroid, or infection were ruled. I’m not depressed & am otherwise healthy. I called both Wyeth Pharmaceuticals & a psychiatrist friend of mine--neither had ever heard of it taking this long to get back to normal after stopping Effexor. As the Wyeth l | Incredibly effective for me as an appetite suppressant(I lost 15 lbs!), although my sister, who takes a much higher dose for depression, did not have that experience. | M | 47 | 3 months | 3/30/2007 | 4 | Manic Depression and Anxiety | Difficulty achieving orgasm. Increased heart rate and yawning taking 225/mg a day | I have noticed that i am more outgoing and that my depression still hits hard some days but not everyday. I am so glad i have found this medication through my doctor. I had tried lexapro, zoloft, prozac,etc before this. | M | 26 | 9 months | 3/24/2005 | 4 | depression/anxiety | Typical with effexor XR- Dizzy, jaw tight, teeth grinding. By the way withdrawing is A BAAAAAD. | I have been very satisfied. I have noticed that alcohol has a stronger effect on me now. But please be careful when stopping! | M | 32 | 5 years | 3/22/2005 |