EFFEXOR Reviews (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 3.0 (925 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare EFFEXOR with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
|
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 |
| 3 | Depression/Anxiety | It helped somewhat with my anxiety however the side effects were horrible. The night sweats (having to change clothes in the middle of night because it was so bad) became embarrassing. I started jerking and kicking in my sleep to the point where i would wake myself up. Coming off the effexor was even worse. | When I decided to come off the effexor, i reduced the amount I was taking much slower than the doctor recommended. However, the dizziness and what they call brain tremors (severe and shocking periods of imbalance or dizzy spells) were so bad i would never go back on it or recommend it to anyone. it took about 4 or 5 months to completely get rid of the withdrawals. the withdrawals do go away, but the tradeoff is not worth it. i would NOT recommend it to anyone. Though it acts differently for everyone, it was not worth it to me. | F | 30 | 1 years | 2/7/2006 | 3 | Long term depression, some anxiety | Increased blood pressure. Increased heart rate. Ringing in ears. Sexual dysfunction. | I took this 5 years ago with no bad side effects. It has assisted with depression. Constant ringing in ears is disturbing. First time in my life I have high blood pressure. Improved mood has increased sex drive. Unfortunately it has taken away the ability to climax. Doctor states side effects go down with increased dosage. Doubtful. I was having problems sleeping. I need Ambien to get more than 3 hours sleep. Not sure if Effexor makes this worse. | M | 52 | 5 weeks | 2/5/2006 | 1 | major depression | I take 300mgs of effexor. I soon began having problems with orgasm, mental fog, forgetfullness, yawning, fatigue and falling asleep. My pdoc added 300 mgs of Wellbutrin to help. It helped a little but not enough so he added 300 mgs of Provigil. Soon, I began to realize I was no longer cold natured. I am always hot and begin sweating after very little physical activity. I attributed this to premenapause and my sleep apnea, which had been under control for 2 years with CPAP. Next, I began having severe symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome. My legs twitch and jerk all night in spite of the fact that my sleep doctor gave me Mirapex to help. I also began talking in my sleep. I still don't remember many dreams. Next, I began having brain zaps that radiate into my hands. These begin about mid afternoon. I told my pdoc that it felt like withdrawal symptoms so he had me split my dose, taking 150 a.m. and 150 p.m. For about a month the brain zaps stopped but now they are back. | In addition to all the other negative side effects, I am having ringing in my ears that just doesn't stop. I am religious about my meds---7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Although I haven't consulted my pdoc, last night I began weaning. I opened my 150 mg capsule and poured out a few grains. I plan to continue this weaning VERY slowly over a few months because I can't live like this. I will tell my pdoc when I go on Feb. 22 but I can't wait that long. | F | 47 | 1 years | 1/27/2006 | 1 | major depression | I take 300mgs of effexor. I soon began having problems with orgasm, mental fog, forgetfullness, yawning, fatigue and falling asleep. My pdoc added 300 mgs of Wellbutrin to help. It helped a little but not enough so he added 300 mgs of Provigil. Soon, I began to realize I was no longer cold natured. I am always hot and begin sweating after very little physical activity. I attributed this to premenapause and my sleep apnea, which had been under control for 2 years with CPAP. Next, I began having severe symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome. My legs twitch and jerk all night in spite of the fact that my sleep doctor gave me Mirapex to help. I also began talking in my sleep. I still don't remember many dreams. Next, I began having brain zaps that radiate into my hands. These begin about mid afternoon. I told my pdoc that it felt like withdrawal symptoms so he had me split my dose, taking 150 a.m. and 150 p.m. For about a month the brain zaps stopped but now they are back. Now, | F | 47 | 1 years | 1/27/2006 | 1 | panic attacks/irritability | obsessive skin picking, unsociable/reclusive, sleepy, cold sweats at night, freezing cold during day, hungry, no libido, daydreaming, not taking care of self,home/responsibilities, constipation, irregular heartbeat. | I quit 37.5mgs/2x day after 2 weeks of HELL, took ONE 20mg PROZAC & ALL SIDE EFFECTS/WITHDRAWL SYMPTOMS STOPPED WITHIN AN *HOUR*. I'm continuing with Prozac. The ONLY positive things Effexor did was completely eliminate my panic attacks/irritability - but, it wasn't worth it, obviously. My 49yr old bf is physically ADDICTED to Effexor - his life is RUINED - he's completely reclusive, not going to work on a regular basis, tired all the time, has no interest in sex, inability to sleep, losing too much weight, breathing problems, nausea, headaches, body aches, odd behavior...it eliminated his irritability that he started taking it for, but, again, it isn't worth it, obviously. | F | 41 | 14 days | 1/22/2006 | 4 | Depression | Horrible nausea and dizziness when I miss a dose. I really felt fine until the dosage was upped to 150mg, and now the night sweats are unbearable. | I've taken Effexor on and off for the last 6 years, and now after the horrible night sweats, and the awful withdrawal effects, I'm weaning off of it, and will try something else. I think this medication has a time limit. It works well for awhile, then stops working and all you get are the awful side effects. | F | 32 | 6 years | 1/16/2006 | 2 | Depression | No side effects at lower dosages; severe loss of appetite, weight loss and fatigue at 150 mg | I'm not sure this drug has helped my depression at all. I recently increased my dosage from 87.5 to 150 and immediately experienced increased heart rate, loss of appetite and fatigue. I also feel sleepy during the day and have trouble sleeping soundly at night, regardless of whether I take the dose in the morning or at night. I've never noticed any effects from skipping doses. | F | 24 | 9 months | 1/16/2006 | 1 | Depression/BP2 (misdiagnosis) | Lethergy, irritability and anger. GETTING OFF OF THIS MEDICATION IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE! | As I said, my withdrawl was one of the worst experiences of my life, I thought I was going to die for nearly a week. I am currently on Seroquel (150 at night for sleeping) and 400MG of Lamictal which I am certain does nothing... I went off the Effexor and crashed hard which leads me to believe that the Lamictal is worthless. My Doc is an idiot! | F | 35 | 2 years | 1/16/2006 | 4 | Depression | First 4 weeks: Jaw clenching, profuse yawning, loss of sex drive, decreased appetite (lost nearly 10 lbs). Side effects became very minimal / tolerable after first month. | Helped reduce my crying spells tremendously. Regained my self-worth. I'm no longer irritable. I feel calm and at ease with most people / with myself. But I'm often very tired - sometimes too much so to perform many chores and tasks at home and work. Overall, this med has been worth it. I don't intend in increasing my dose. 75mg works for me. | F | 26 | 6 weeks | 1/9/2006 | 1 | anxiety | EXTREME fatigue all the time. Lethargic. Weight gain 20 lbs very quickly. It made me spacey AND it made me break out as I increased the dose. TOTALLY SUCKS! | Didn't work for me, but it does WONDERS for my best friend. Just keep trying till you find something that works for you. | F | 25 | 365 days | 1/6/2006 | 4 | Depression and Anxiety | I have problems sleeping through the night without taking Ambien. I am hungry all the time and gained 10# in the last 4 months. | I have taken several drugs for depression and this one took a long time to arrive at a theraputic dose that made me feel less anxious. That turned out to be 225 mg. Since I started at 37.5 mg and worked my way up slowly, I didn't have a lot of side effects at first. I would suggest giving it a try. | M | 48 | 4 months | 1/3/2006 | 4 | anxiety, depression | If I miss even one dose (275 mg), I experience severe dizziness, nausea, emotional lability, bizzare dreams and restless sleep; the most troublesome effect of missing a dose is that the depression seems to hit me full force again. It takes a couple of days for these symptoms to go away after I've started taking the medication again. | Effexor really changed my life. I finally feel normal, and can't imagine living with the anxiety I did before. I would rate my experience as a "5," but the awful effects associated with missing just one dose are miserable. All in all, though, being able to function on a daily basis makes the occasional feeling awful from a missed dose bearable. | F | 31 | 1 years | 1/2/2006 | 5 | depression, anxiety/panic attacks | sweating | I have tried many different antidepressants over the past 20 years. Effexor has helped my depression and eliminated my panic attacks and generalized anxiety. I've been taking 150mg for the past year but feel a need to increase my dose because of lack of motivation to do daily activities. | F | 41 | 18 months | 1/1/2006 | 3 | Depression/anixeity | Initially, felt euphoric and had huge amounts of energy after years of feeling fatigued. Lost 10 pounds in two weeks. But after those side effects went away, starting having fatigue, gained six pounds back, no sex drive and difficulty acheiving climax, blurred vision, one brain shock after skipping one pill, dizziness, need naps during the day. I never knew this was an addictive drug or I would not have taken it. Helps my depression, but the side effects are not worth it. | F | 45 | 3 months | 1/1/2006 | 5 | severe depression | night sweats, dry mouth | so far so good..except the night sweating is really bad and I never had this on zoloft or any other SSRI..I've been on ssrI's for eight years now..I also get the "electric shock" feeling if I miss a couple doses of any of the SSRI's. what is that from? | F | 23 | 3 weeks | 12/29/2005 | 3 | Generalized Anxiety Disorder | Nausea; decreased appetite; Initially, euphoric felling with total loss of concentration. Major increase in anxiety. | This drug has some pretty hard core side effects, but due to reading this website i'm going to give it a try. Everyone seems to concur that the side effects only last a few weeks. | M | 26 | 6 days | 12/23/2005 | 5 | Depression | One vivid nightmare, not bad. Elevated blood pressure. Used to need 8-9 hrs of sleep, now can not sleep more than 2-3 hours without taking another anxiety drug(Xanax). Loss of appetite. High blood pressure is in my family so I am a little concerned since I have never had any issues with BP. Lack of sleep is pretty disruptive. | I have been depressed for 25 years and this drug has worked really well for me. I have tried not to take anything for the past 25 years and now realize that I should have started sooner. I feel like myself again. Concerned about withdrawal after reading this site. Don't want to be on this indefinately, that's why I never started to take anything sooner. Feel free to write.... | F | 40 | 2 months | 12/17/2005 | 1 | Depression | At 10 MG, side effects were minimal, except for the lack of libido and ability to have an orgasm. However, one month after raising to 20 MG, I have HORRIBLE side effects. It started with fainting and dizziness, then moved to progressively worse memory and concentration problems, difficulty finding the right words, slurred speach and tremor. The symptoms, sans the tremor, would come and go. The doctors didn't know what was going on because the manufacturer only tested at 10 MG and these side effects *aren't* listed in the literature. They were suggesting brain scans, and I feared I had a brain tumor! | Be careful about going past 15 MG and be wary of bad withdrawal symptoms. When tapering off, even slowly, I was so tired I to slept 12-15 hours a day, less each day, and was tired by 3 PM. | F | 38 | 70 days | 12/16/2005 | 5 | panic attacks night sweats | none, I do hallucinate a little if I don't take it by the next day, but it's gentle and I can handle it. It's little compared to the panic and fear that is present without it...:) :) :) | This chemical has made my life waking and sleeping much less fearful and I am much happier. I do not understand when people complain of a few days of discomfort when getting off it, when I have had 19 years of that discomfort BEFORE getting ON it. A few days is not much.... | F | 56 | 3 years | 12/12/2005 | 2 | For aching lymph nodes | Effexor was prescribed by my doctor when I had simply gone to her for enlarged lymph nodes under my arm. I was perplexed as to why she would prescribe what I later learned to be an ADDICTIVE ANTI-DEPRESSANT. Inability to sleep after only 3 pills @ 37mg each/1 per day. Tingling in hands, sleeplessness, 5 pound weight gain during the week, and increased anxiety while taking this drug. | At age 54, I cannot in integrity and personal ethical reasons take this EXTREME DESIGNER DRUG. After only 3 seperate ingestions, I feel like I am on something that DOES NOT BELONG IN MY BODY. I have quit taking these pills (flushed down the toilet) against my doctor knowing. Reasons? Began to feel "lightning parasthesia"; jerking in my legs and numbing and tingling in my fingers. But the worst was-- the electrical shootings of increased anxiety when I had previously been at peace and able to sleep. BEWARE!! This drug from hell will rob you of sleep..it hit me just after my second ingesting of a 37mg capsule. I was lying wide awake. No more of this..I am quitting and will get another doctor's opinion. ALWAYS BE WISE WITH WHATEVE YOU ARE PUTTING INTO YOUR BODY. READ THE TESTIMONIALS! ! ! ! ! My heart goes out to those of you with terrible withdrawing symptoms. I still need to be diagnosed for enlarged lymph glands. Doctors who addict rather heal should have their licenses | F | 54 | 3 days | 12/6/2005 |