EFFEXOR Reviews (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 3.0 (925 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare EFFEXOR with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Date added. 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 |
More on EFFEXOR: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR EFFEXOR | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 5 | anxiety/panic attacks | gained 10lbs; increased blood pressure (that is why I'm switching to lexapro) Hot flashes went away (nice bonus) | The effexor was exceptional in attacking my anxiety. Immediately, fears of claustrophobia were eliminated; my insomnia which I've had for 30 years disappeared. The negatives were the side effects of the bp and the weight gain. | F | 51 | 2 years | 6/1/2006 | 5 | Depression and Anxiety | dry mouth, vivid dreams,break outs, weight loss!!! Decrease in sex drive and more energy! | I love effexor, it has changed my life. I actually am normal for the first time in my life. I noticed a change within the first 7days. | F | 21 | 3 weeks | 5/30/2006 | 4 | GAD -panic attacks- | Not much, the electric buzz in my head, no libido. | After 4-5 months on Effexor XR I started to lower the dose(150 I guess), slowly, psychotherapy,St. Johns, busy at work etc...After 6 months I was back to normal, no drug whatsoever. 1 year later, my anxiety was back with a vengeance, I try to go back on it, the doc gave my regular 25 mg, not XR, don't know why. Also taking Ambien and Valium at the time. | M | 38 | 8 days | 5/24/2006 | 4 | anxiety attack/obsessive compulsive | Weight Gain Loss of interest in sex Sleepiness when raising or lowering dose | Effexor XR 150 has put my life back on track. Although I originally took it for anxiety attacks what it really did was quiet my obsessive-compulsive thoughts. I developed an I don't care attitude but not to the point that I would walk out in traffic or such. I could stop an unfinished job and take a break or leave work on time without feeling guilty if something wasn't finished. Dreams are so vivid I'd wonder all day if they were real or not. Missing a daily dose can lead to brain shocks, headache or a deep feeling to sleep. Dentist bills are up due to gringing teeth. Weigh gain has been continuous and a real sore point. With all these negatives I still take it because the freedom from obsessive thoughs and the anxiety they caused is worth it to me. | M | 54 | 3 years | 5/21/2006 | 5 | Depression, Anxiety | This is my 4th week on Effexor, I am at 150MG but I take one 75MG AM and one 75AM PM as splitting the dose seems to work better for me. It has really helped relieve my anxiety and depression. I am not done yet, and I don't know what the end milligram will be for me, but Effexor has worked better for me than anything else. I was on Lexapro, have taken Celexa and others in the past, but this seems to be helping me better than the others. I am willing to stay with this and see what happens. I plan to follow my doctors instructions, eat right, exercise and try to get my life back on track. If anyone wants to share his/her experiences I would welcome the emails as I am new to this drug and am not sure what to expect. Reading some of these posts is scarey! | F | 45 | 4 weeks | 5/16/2006 | 5 | anxiety/ depression/ odd phobias | Side effects that only lasted 3 days are dry mouth, clinching jaw, dilated pupils, hand shakes, and yawning.(75 mg) None were too bad and did not trouble me in my work or at home. Now I have no side effects at all besides vivid dreams | Only been on it for a week and made a tremendous difference. Before I wouldn't sleep at night worrying about my life and had suicidal thoughts. I've had anxiety disorder since I was 5 or 6 years old and with Effexor I've never felt this confidence in my life. Before when I was put into uncomfortable situations I would lock up, get hot flashes, and was so nervous I couldn't talk. These were probably 20 times a day. Now I'm clear headed and have no problem coming up with a solution. My girlfriend notices that I'm in a good overall mood and not trying to avoid everything. My depression (which I think is caused by anxiety) has gone away totally. And my phobia has lessened drastically to the point where I can function around what I was scared of. I can sleep through the night besides only a few crazy dreams the pull me out of a sleep, but I fall right back asleep. I was never able to eat breakfast until now either. | M | 29 | 1 weeks | 5/14/2006 | 4 | Severe Depression | Sweats both day and night. Vivid strange dreams. Decreased Sex Drive, but once having sex it is fine. A "double orgasm" if that mkes sense. I will have one orgasm without feeling like I have, and than am able to have another that feels normal in a few minutes. anyone else experience that? Irritability if my dose is missed or not on schedule. Don't know if it is related, but arthritis in my hands has gotten way more noticable and painful. | Seems to be working pretty well, I am just not looking to the withdrawl that people talk about if I ever go off of it. | M | 37 | 5 months | 5/11/2006 | 5 | Depression, General anxiety | All side effects listed by other users. Early on dry mouth, increased appetite, difficult to sleep and stay asleep, fatigue, constipation, decreased sex drive (however increase duration during sex) mundane feeling and short term memory issues. Within 2 weeks of starting I didn't feel any better until Dr got more aggressive and raise my dosage. At 3 months, I was feeling like my old self. (375mg daily E-XR) After 3 years of use I weaned myself off over a 6 month period of time. (had missed some doses and felt poorly, sleepy and my brain actually felt heavier and I "felt" blah). For almost 6 months I was doing great - then I had a relapse (anxiety) following a loss of job, then move from the city life to the country and restarted after suffering for another 2 months. Have been on XR (for the 2nd time) for 23 months feeling great. | Effexor XR has definately helped me get my thoughts together, feel like my old self, become sussessful again in (sales). My body and mind have adjusted (finally) and my only issues are self-imposed. In the future I may again try to wean myself off but first plan to lower dossage from 375mg to 300mg to save $25/month. For those beginning to use Effexor XR, one should begin to feel better within 2 weeks - otherwise an increase may be warranted. By all means, communicate with your Dr. Try not to miss a dose as you will fell like a slug the day after. If you feel good - keep taking the med. It is ok to take meds to feel right again. Even the strongest willed person I know couldn't successfully overcome depression alone. Exercise is a must and vitamin b12 has helped. Don't give up - never give in. GFW (GO FIGHT WIN) | M | 51 | 5 years | 5/4/2006 | 5 | Chronic severe depression | Complete loss of libido -- especially so since menopause on top of Effexor. Excessive sweating. Fatigued always, unable to get things done I need to, chronic couch potato. I'm not constantly contemplating suicide, but my life is dull, dull, dull and I don't have the energy or gumption to change that. | I worry a lot about not having my medication since missing a dose brings on pretty severe symptoms within 12 hours or so. I get the zinging in the brain, some dizziness. If I move my head too fast, it really makes me sick to my stomach. If I miss a dose (rare), the next morning, while walking my dog, I'll usually cry the entire time. I just crash. On Nardil, that never happened. It scares me a lot. I worry if there were a natural disaster or man-made disaster and I couldn't get my meds, if I would be able to cope. I really don't think I would. I hate that feeling. The cost is INCREDIBLE. 225 mg daily. It's enabled me to have five years of pretty much depression-free living, which I am extremely thankful for, but at what future cost? | F | 50 | 5 years | 5/1/2006 | 1 | depression | THIS IS A DRUG SENT DIRECTLY FROM HELL.I NEVER FELT SO HORRIBLE IN MY LIFE. I SLEPT FOR HOURS, AND WHEN I WAS AWAKE I FELT LIKE CRAP. | COMING OFF THIS WAS A NIGHTMARE, I WAS IN THE ER TWICE, CERTAIN I HAD A BRAIN TUMOR. THE HEACHACHE LASTED FOR 3 WEEKS STRAIGHT. I WAS SO DIZZY, I COULDN'T DRIVE. I WAS NAUSATED. MY HEART RATE WAS 120 JUST LAYING ON THE COUCH. I WAS PRETTY SURE I WAS DYING. I PRAYED IT WOULD HAPPEN SOON. THE WITHDRAWAL PERIOD LASTED A GOOD 3 MONTHS. | F | 26 | 8 months | 4/28/2006 | 4 | Panic Attacks | Zero appetite, Sleepiness, Intense Dreams, Lethargy, Nauseau | My effects were felt within a few hours of starting effexor, and slowly went away (about a week). I found (---effexor.cjb.net/--no longer working site) a really helpful site describing the first few days of taking the drugs. My main advice is to stick it out -- it can and will get better. | F | 23 | 6 months | 4/27/2006 | 5 | depression, irregular heart beat | Initially, I had no energy and found it difficult to do anything but nap after my work day. Difficulty achieving orgasm but have an increased libido. | I began with 37.5 mg for a week and then doubled my dose to 75mg. My symptoms have completely disappeared. I had anxiety and depression which resulted in rapid and irregular heart beats. I have not had an event since I began taking effexor. I feel like the old "me" again. I'm very happy! | M | 59 | 2 months | 4/23/2006 | 5 | PTSD, panic attacks and depression | Decreased libido (?), night sweats, slight involuntary twitching of head and left arm (not noticable THANK GOD, does not occur often, and occurs in the same areas), dizziness and headache if not taken on time or on a full stomach. | Have been on Effexor for 2 years, and at 150mg for the past 8-10 months. Previously tried Paxil and gained 20 lbs within 3 weeks! And it did not work - made me lose control over my emotions. Also tried Celexa which worked somewhat, however dosage had to be increased every 3 weeks. Wellbutrin made me aggitated (super b**ch as my boyfriend called me). Effexor has worked WONDERS. I no longer feel a huge weight of guilt, fear, and anger - it's as if someone has lifted a building off my shoulders! It took me 5 years to realize I need medication and I was worried I would be a zombie. Not true; i can still feel sadness, happiness and anger, as well as being content. I can cry and express myself soooo much better because I can think clearly! Key for me was having a diligent Psychiatrist who listened to me when I told her something wasn't working. Also very key was listening to my body and knowing when something wasn't right. I knew going into this that I did not want to just mask my problems a | F | 35 | 2.5 years | 4/20/2006 | 5 | major depression/general anxiety | Increased blood pressure. spaced our feelings at times, tiredness dizziness and irritability (if missed dose) | I took Effexor XR for about 2 years. Had previously tried Zoloft which proved to have many GI symptoms. While on Effexor, my anxiety levels were greatly reduced and depression was cured. One thing I did notice was that I sometimes felt like my brain wasn't attached to my body. Not sure if it was a tired or spacy feeling. Overall, I would recommend this medication for anybody going through major depression or anxiety. Also helped with irritable bowel, though that was probably anxiety related to begin with. | F | 24 | 2 years | 4/20/2006 | 4 | Severe depression, suicidal | Nausia, watery mouth, trembling legs, headache | It helped me alot and I feel that the side effects are "do-able" albeit annoying (but it has kept me alive and I cant argue with that) | M | 36 | 5 months | 4/20/2006 | 3 | Panic Attacks/Anxiety/Depression | None | M | 21 | 1 months | 4/18/2006 | 5 | major depression/suicidal | Freaky cool dreams; at first a decreased appetite but back to normal. | I'm on a pretty low dosage (only 75g), but I noticed a difference almost immediately. I'm not a zombie; I still feel emotions and I can still get sad and depressed, but I'm in control of it now. | F | 34 | 9 months | 4/14/2006 | 5 | Oy vey - previous post should say 75 MG !! Can you imagine 75G?? | | 4/14/2006 | 4 | Clinical Depression | Main side-effects were nausea and insomnia. I also believe my blood pressure went up a little along with my cholesterol count. | Effexor was the only antidepressant that I could semi-tolerate and it worked for me. I was able to go from 75 mg to 300 mg, increasing my dosage every 4 days. I was also able to work at a stressful executive position while increasing the medication. I felt quite good within 2 weeks @ 225 mg. Nothing in the world bothered me when I was on 300 mg. After 2 years I was put on a 75 mg maintenance dose and soon after that my doctor took me off the medicaion. Biggest mistake of my life. While not on an antidepressant, I had latent depression that would turn into full blown depression by taking various medications. It appears that I again took the wrong medication and have full blown depression. I'll probably be starting Effexor again and I hope for similar results at a lower dosage. I've tried Lexapro but I can't handle more than 5 mg without getting severe headaches, (still after 3 weeks). I believe that you have to get your dosage up to 225 mg for the norep | M | 42 | 2 years | 4/13/2006 | 4 | Major mood swings, depression | Loss of sex drive, inability to remember dreams, nervousness, sleeplessness. | I started on Effexor at 75 mg and it "woke up my mind" instantly (after years of drug abuse my mind was chemically deprived. I went to 150 mg along with 200 mg. of Lamictol; the combination has been amazing. My Dr. reduced it back to 75 mg because I was having trouble sleeping and was nervous and increased the Lamictol. At 75 mg I felt heart palpitations and was diagnosed with irregular heartbeat so I stopped two days ago, the Lamictol was increased and I have had NO side effects. I am going to 37.5 mg to help me stay stabilized. It has really helped me but the key is continuous medication management with a medication expert that discusses in length your issues and how the meds are effecting you. Also what your symptoms are compared to when you first came in. I was surprised at how depressed and hopeless I felt THEN. | F | 45 | 3.5 months | 4/12/2006 |