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 |
| 4 | Clinical Depression | The first 2 weeks were horrid! Nausea, itchy skin and exessive sweating (this have now almost disappeared). First incredibly sleepy all the time during the first week, then unable to sleep at all during the second week. I still have no sex drive!!! | Effexor has completely zapped my libido, I have NO sex drive what so ever, and when I do I have trouble even experiencing pleasure not to mention complete inability to orgasm. I have never had heart burn before, and I now experience that daily. I find repetitive things boring quicker than usual and I find it hard to get motivated. I have gained considerable weight on Effexor, and seem unable to shed weight despite periodic loss of appetite. I have incredibly vivid and sometimes exhausting dreams, trouble falling a sleep 3-4 times per week. The reason I still take it is because this is the only thing I have tried that has made me able to function again, something Prozac, Paxil, or Celexa could not accomplish. I no longer hyperventilate on my way to work, I manage to get up in the morning, I can now control and avert panic attacks and no longer feel suicidal... however I still feel increasingly depressed again - can you develop a tolerance to these drugs? I take 150/day, maybe I should try a higher doze, but I fear side effects plus my doctor has left the country so I would have to find a new one... | F | 30 | 1 years | 11/15/2004 | 3 | depression and anxiety | Initially, gastrointestinal symptoms were bad - gas, diarrhea, then constipation, burning from stomach through intestines. Also some dizziness. Wild dreams. After 7 weeks, my stomach seems okay, and the dizziness is gone. | The verdict is still out on whether it is helpful. I also started taking the birth control pill Yasmin around the same time, so I'm not sure if the weight gain and IBS symptoms are related to the Yasmin or the Effexor... | F | 48 | 7 weeks | 11/15/2004 | 1 | depression | while on, horrible dreams (boarderline night terrors), EXTREME night sweats, weight gain of about 15 pounds DISPITE intense exercise and normal diet prior to using Effexor. | NEVER EVER EVER GO OFF COLD-TURKEY, the worst i've ever felt in my life, i would imagine these w/d symptoms with major narcotic, but not with a perscription drug, so nauseous and dizzy i almost wrecked the car a few times and such emotional w/d driving off a bridge seemed conceivable. | F | 26 | 4 months | 11/15/2004 | 5 | Clinical Depression | delay in orgasm, clinched jaws at night, when changing dosages up/down or delay in taking the drug I have horridly vivid nightmares as well as visual disturbances upon waking. I describe them as being Kaleidoscopic. Some muscle twitching and hotflashes. I take it at night and do better with it if I take my BCP in the mornings. | At 300 mg a day, I have no more depression, unlike when I was on Celexa (made me hard hearted and left me depressed) and Wellbutrin (HORRID stuff). Antidepressants have all increased my libido and sexual pleasure but delay the orgasm (which is ok). At this dosage of Effexor I feel much more normal and stable emotionally because I can cry, feel empathy, happiness etc. Never did make me sick to stomach. | F | 41 | 1.5 years | 11/14/2004 | 3 | Major depression; panic; anxiety | Large weight gain; bouts of overeating; interrupted sleep; dizziness; dry mouth; sweating; nausea and vomiting; weakness; extreme fatigue; serious difficulty focusing on work; inability to complete tasks. | Taking for three years. Currently withdrawing myself slowly, with increasingly smaller doses. Currently down from 225 mg/day to 112.5 mg/day. Effexor was more effective than other drug in treating my depression with suicidal thought and panic, but not anxiety. It did not have the emotionally flattening effect of Prozac, which is good. However, I have felt physically ill the entire time I've been on it -- and in fact did have breast cancer during this period. But the physical symptoms/effects are very disturbing -- weakness, nausea on exertion, sweating, constant fatigue, inability to complete tasks, slowness, lack of clarity, extraordinary weight gain. The physical side effects have interfered with my ability to make a living, and so I am trying to withdraw. | F | 55 | 3 years | 11/13/2004 | 2 | | 11/13/2004 | 1 | depression | weight gain 30 lbs. on 12000 calories a day and lifting weights, walking 30 minutes 3 times a day, and swimming the length of three football fields 3 times a week. Debilitating fatigue. Stayed in bed most of the time, except when using shear will power to exercise because I knew I should in order to not gain weight. Gained weight anyway. Headaches, bad neck painn radiating up back of head. rhinitis (nose hurt like a headache, shortness of breath ( I developed asthma), flu like stmptoms every 2 or three weeks, lower back and hip pain from muscle spasms, and hurting muscles and joints. Also gastro - intestonal acid from large intestime to esophogus, pains in ears, and swollen lymph node lower left side of body. | F | 62 | 4 days | 11/13/2004 | 2 | depression | F | 31 | 2 years | 11/12/2004 | 5 | severe depression, bipolar | dry mouth, lethergy, mild night sweats | Effexor was the third anti-depressant I tried. My symptoms were high anxiety, uncontrollable moods & inability to think clearly. After a week or two there was a significant improvement - back to my old self. I started on a high dose (300mg) and am now down to 150mg daily. If I miss a dose I feel shaky and anxious, but take a half dose to get rid of these side effects and continue with my regular dosage the next day. I have had mild side effects but they're a small price to pay for control over my depression and life. The people I socialise & work with wouldn't know I regularly take meds to combat depression unless I decided to tell them. I would highly recommend trying Effexor - not a wonder drug for everybody but good luck. | F | 29 | 2 years | 11/11/2004 | 4 | anxiety/lack of focus | Gas, constipation, slight loss of sex drive, itchy skin | Trying to get off - having problems with dizziness, nausea, loss of appetite, sweats | M | 48 | 14 months | 11/11/2004 | 4 | depression | withdrawal symptoms appeared at slightest delay of taking due pill | now I am reducing dose, withdrawals are horrendous. | F | 39 | 2 years | 11/10/2004 | 5 | post partum depression | first 2 days nausea, extreme tiredness, loss of appetite | this is a wonderful drug for my condition, i've noticed a significant improvement in my emotions. i feel myself again, confident and peaceful, just as I did prior to giving birth. the bonus is i've lost weight and am eating healthy, don't need to reach for food as a comfort to depression. i've already returned to my pre-pregnancy clothes. | F | 32 | 21 days | 11/9/2004 | 5 | Depression | Dry mouth | It, in combination with | M | 55 | 180 days | 11/9/2004 | 1 | Anxiety | Dry Mouth, Night Terrors, Headache, Upset Stomach, Dizziness, Crying, Unable to Sleep, Fits of RAGE if I miss a pill, Brain Zaps, And anything else you think of. | This medication needs to be pulled off the shelf and the makers need to be SUED! | F | 37 | 7 years | 11/9/2004 | 4 | Depression Anxiety | profuse sweating, vivid/unpleasant dreams, fatigue | For a person with major depression this is a great drug. As you will see I experience many side effects ,but having my life far out weighs any of the side effects. I have been on this medication in the past after trying celexa and welbutrin with no success Effexor worked for me. I did not experience any major | F | 21 | 4 weeks | 11/8/2004 | 3 | Vulvar Pain, Depression and Anxiety | At first: nausea and dizziness, after a few months and increased dosage: lethargy, fatigue, tired in the day, wake up around 4 am every morning, nausea stopped, loss of appetite, memory loss, inability to focus on task (strange mental feeling), constipation, and dry mouth. | F | 25 | 3 months | 11/8/2004 | 1 | Anxiety, Depression, Lack of Energy | Oversensitive skin, difficulty urinating, seminal fluids in urine stream without erection or arousal, retarding of survival and responsibility instincts. Made me not care about my feelings of not caring if you can grasp that. | Dr. says non-habit forming. I trusted my Dr. Effexor didn't energize me and make me happy- it made me complacent with my depressed feelings and lack of will. It lost my job. Now after running out for several days, the Dr. is right- I don't crave more of it, but the withdrawal effects are horrendous! Head zaps,ringing of the ears,indigestion, increased thirst,aural hallucinations,paranoia,terrifying dreams,deep, strange, almost mystical dreams that make you feel like you opened a part of the universe you should not have- I'm not being sarcastic. Feel free to e-mail me, because this is a travesty and I don't recommend the drug to anyone. There has to be a better answer and someone held accountable for the deceit and damage of this drug. | M | 33 | 2 months | 11/8/2004 | 2 | Anxiety | Dilated pupils, pain in my eyes, headache, dry mouth, stomach pains, slow/cloudy feeling, teeth grinding, jaw ache, I feel like I am on a psychodelic drug or something... | F | 24 | 3 days | 11/6/2004 | 5 | extreme anxiety and OCD | Sweating and hot about 1/4 of my day, especially the back of my head, hot flushing of my face, no problem falling asleep but maintaining sleep for more than 3 hours is almost impossible. Oddly it has increased my libido. | I used to panic so easily I would lay frozen stiff at night in severe fear afraid an asteroid was heading to earth or something as devastating as that were about to happen but did not want to take anti-depressants because I was worried about the withdrawal of coming off of them. But when my OCD progressed to intrusive thoughts, I knew I had to do something right away. In the last few months the intrusive thoughts have almost gone away (I feel them trying to sneak in but they are much easier to squash), however my OCD seems to be going backwards and I am back in to the checking ritual, which is WAY better than the intrusive thoughts. I am only up to 112.50 right now and I know I will have to reach 200 before I see a great difference, but overall, this drug has taken my worry level from a 10 down to about a 2.5 which is worth everything to me. I have worried and panicked my whole life up until now. | F | 34 | 3 months | 11/4/2004 | 4 | Anxiety | Initial side effects: night sweats, dizzyness. Ongoing side effects: irritability, jaw clenching, decreased libido. | Effexor has made a huge difference in my life, freeing me from my anxiety and enabling me to do things I just couldn't before (confront people, be comfortable in social situations, etc.). The initial side effects went away after about a week, but the ongoing ones are annoying. I'm only on 35mg, but I'm going to ask my doctor if I can try decreasing the dosage, since the side effects have gotten worse as the dosage has increased. Missing even a single dose leads to very unpleasant dizzyness and unhappiness -- but I can live with that, if I can relieve the other side effects. | M | 35 | 6 months | 10/31/2004 |