EFFEXOR XR Reviews (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE)

Average Rating: 3.0 (2225 Ratings)

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 ANTIDEPRESSANTS

 Type: Rx Drug

  

EFFEXOR XR  (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE):  Venlafaxine is used to treat depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and social anxiety disorder (social phobia). It may improve your mood and energy level and may help restore your interest in daily living. It may also decrease fear, anxiety, unwanted thoughts, and the number of panic attacks. Venlafaxine is known as a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI). It works by helping to restore the balance of certain natural substances (serotonin and norepinephrine) in the brain.   FDA Approval Date: 1997-10-20 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

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5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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More on EFFEXOR XR: Reviews Summary  |  Drug Safety Information

RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR EFFEXOR XRCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 2  Yes Constipation, drowsy, a lot of weight gain,unbearable Heart Palpatations. This drug is that a DRUG WHICH CAUSED SERIOUS ADDICTION. I was told it was not addictive, yet it was. I took Effexor XR at half 35.7mg. per day sprinkled capsuls in applesauce daily. Was on it for 2 years, when I wanted to get off, the Doctor told me it used to be called "side-effexor" for short among the medical teams. I hated they ever started me on it for panic attacks. It helped stop the attacks when nothing else worked, but I wanted to get off of it. made my brain feel like jello, and now i've suffered with extreme depression - which i never had before. once u stop effexor, if you try to get back on it, it won't be as effective. bad medicine i say unless u stay on it for life! once u use it, never try to get off it-to damaging. sorry but true. F 38 2 years
3/5/2008
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 4  depression vivid nightmares, sweating in my sleep, mental confusion and jitters when I forget a dose Effexor has been extremely effective at treating my depression. F 20 2 years
3/3/2008
 5  depression and anxiety loss of sex drive, LOTS of energy, yawning ALOT, really wierd! but nothing else.. effexor xr changed my life, for a year and a half i've felt depressed and had horrible anxiety and the feeling of always being overwelmed.. since starting this drug i have felt so good, happy and free! i dont feel held down by my thoughts and fears anymore!! I DO NOT recomend stopping this drug with out talking to your doctor, i missed two days and i have never had a worse day in my life, crying, crying, crying, angry and hateful for no reason.. I started on 375 for one week and now i'm on 750. this drug has changed my life, and thankfuly my fiance understands my loss of sex drive, but i hope with time that will not be the case.. talk to your doctor, this drug worked for me!!! =) F 20 4 weeks
3/2/2008
 3  depresion head buzzing, balance effected, feeling of being sucked through a vortex, weight gain, loss of sex drive I was place on this med "temporarily"(HA!),due to having my ovaries out. This is not so easy! Coming off of this med feels worse than before I started taking it!!! My husband & kids I believe are afraid of me, never knowing when I will explode next! The "weaning" process is a joke...I went from 75mg to 37.5mg (not so bad), but when you are to start skipping days, that is when you find out they have made this drug so that you give up and want to stay on it! I have constant head buzzing, and my balance at times is like a drunk! The mood swings are horrible. My body aches all over. This medication was meant for permanent use, because if you were depressed before you took it look out for after! If you have not started to take this medication DON'T!!!! F 36 3 years
3/2/2008
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 4  General Anxiety If I miss a dose or more I felt very dizzy and lightheaded. If taken correctly, it works great and I have tried a few. I do like this medication and plan on staying on it. The highest dose is 150mg's. My doctor wanted to prescribe me a higher dose, but this would entail two co-pays and two pills, lame. So, I chose to stay on the 150mg's. They need to do something about that. F 29 4 years
2/28/2008
 4  depression F 21 3 months
2/27/2008
 1  Chronic back pain This medication turned me into someone that was most definitley not myself. Severe mood swings, bursting into tears for no reason, severe depression, anxiety and panic attacks, trouble sleeping, nausea, feeling hopeless, thoughts of suicide. No desire to get out of bed in the morning, wanting to quit my job(that i love), withdrawal from friends and family, lashing out at family members. Feeling completely hopeless in regard to my condition. Withdrawal feels like your going through living hell, and that it will nevr end. First I would like to state that if anyone is ever to pursue a class-action lawsuit against this drug manufacturer, I would like to be involved. I was not clinically or even slightly depressed before I started taking this medication. I was prescribed this drug to help me recover from a severe back injury that has caused me to be in bad pain for the better part of a year. My doctor told me: Pain causes depression, and depression causes pain so we'll try this out and see if it will help you get better'. When my dosage was at its highest of 150mg I developed severe anxiety, making it hard for me to continue my job, even making it hard to drive myslf places. I have since weaned myself off of this medication faster than suggested by my doctor, but I was so scared of the person that the drug had turned me into I just wanted it out of my system. I am on day 5 of not taking effexor at all, and am feeling many of the withdrawal symptoms listed on this site (i.e. 'brain surges' feeling faint, ti F 19 5 weeks
2/27/2008
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 1  Hot Flashes Blurred vision, agitation, anxiety, weight gain, leg cramps, vivid dreams. Do not go here. Drug from hell. Started out fine, progressed into bad blurred vision. Very difficult and uncomfortable detox. F 50 9 months
2/27/2008
 4  GAD Getting off the medication is a big hassle. Feeling nasuea, drained of energy, and "brain zaps". Took me almost 2 months to get off the medication. On the other hand the medication worked very well. Very little side effects occured. M 22 2 years
2/26/2008
 4  depression/anxiety really no side effects while continuing to take effexor. side effects have come whenever i try to lower dose. went from 75 to 225 over period of 6 years. works great. when trying to taper off: headache, night sweats, nightmares, and very umcomfortable dizziness and nausea. with working and taking care of children, can't see a time when i will be able to forego the side effects of lowering dose and still be able to function. its like i am stuck on it forever. very irritable when tapering also. F 32 6 years
2/26/2008
 1  depression, anxiety, irritability always tired but cannot sleep at night, i wake up every hour. have to take sleeping pills with it. no desire to have sex, cannot orgasim, currently hurts to have sex. nausea in the morning, hot all the time all day long, long very detailed dreams like watching a movie, shortness of breath, fatigue, some night sweats, not feeling happy or sad, just dont care, at first was in a good mood no irritability but currently having mood swings. F 24 6 weeks
2/26/2008
 5  OCD and Major depression Sleepiness the first month. Also a positive side effect for me is it has stopped my stress incontinence both times I have taken it. I started Effexor XR three years ago in conjunction with the 40 milligrams of Paxil I have been taking for some years. I slowly tapered off it a year ago with no problems. The depression returned with a vengeance this December and I went back on the 150 Milligrams I was taking before. It took about 4 weeks to fully take effect and I am now back to my normal self. I consider the drug a life saver for me. Along with the Paxil it gives me the feeling of being a normal person. F 66 3 years
2/25/2008
 4  social anxiety and panic attacks Flatulence, vivid dreams, and it took longer to reach orgasm Before taking Effexor XR I had panic attacks before any stressful event such a making a presentation at meetings - my mouth would start trembling, my face would turn red, my mind would go completely blank and I would start sweating. I have been taking for a month and I am much more relaxed and am able to present at meetings with very little anxiety. F 50 30 days
2/25/2008
 4  GAD/ Agoraphobia/ Depression Decrease in sexual desires of any sort, loss of emotion and ability to cry, withdraw is HELL. Brain jitters, nausea, cold sweats, vertigo... and that is with stepping down from 130 to 75mg. It stops after about a week. Treat it like the flu :) Next goal... 37.5mg I still have slight panic attacks, but after 14 years, I know how to deal with them. I want off this medication and know what I have to face. I will have to say, after 13 different meds and treatments when I first started having GAD/Depression/ and my phobias, it is the only on that worked and never failed me! I would have killed myself without it. F 31 14 years
2/25/2008
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 1  Anxiety & Depression Severe migraines, excessive sweating, dry mouth, itching on the head (as if I had dandruff), vivid dreams, loss of libido I began taking 75 mg after a year with Zoloft. After a while, the dosage was increased to 150 mg. Although it helped me a bit, I had too many side effects - some of which I couldn't relate to Effexor until I stopped it. But the worst part was withdrawing from it. I could never imagine it would be so hellish. I'd get brain shivers that seemed to last forever, dizzinness, nausea and strong feelings of unreality (depersonalization). My doctor tried to add some Prozac, but it didn't do much for me. I had to decrease the dosage painstakingly slowly over the course of four months. I pray it will be gotten off the market 'cause I know many people who had the exact same problem. M 25 1 years
2/25/2008
 4  depression no noticeable side effects unless I miss a dose I started at 75mg and increased about 2 years later to 150. It helped me so much. I have not tried to quit taking it, but I do know that if I miss a day I have a tingling sensation all over, very dry mouth, and paranoia. I left it at home when I went away for the weekend once and was extremely sick by the time I got home. Don't know how I will ever stop taking, but not sure that I would want to stop anyway because it helps so much. F 41 7 days
2/23/2008
 3  long term depression vivid dreams,thirsty, feeling hot, and when increasing dose - arthritic pain in joints (has anyone else had this). Now on 225mg per day - lot of aches in joints, back, feet etc - is this related to Effexor or just something else? I took it for about 8 months 18 months ago - have been taking it this time about 8 months. F 50 8 months
2/23/2008
 5  Depression & Insomnia At 150mg, I had difficulty urinating unless my bladder was really full which led to reduced urination and discomfort. I also had severe erectile dysfunction and tiredness in the afternoons. At 75mg, the difficulty urinating is mild and I can obtain erections a couple of days after ejaculating. Orgasms are delayed but not difficult. I'm going to try MACA and Ginkgo to assist with libido although it's not too bad on the lower dose. I've been on and off Effexor a few times in the last six years. I was recently on Remeron but it was not effective. After being back on Effexor for a month now, I feel great. My mood has improved, I have more energy and my insomnia has improved. 75mg seems like a happy medium between benefits and side effects for me. My experience with this medication has been really positive. M 31 6 years
2/21/2008
 4  Clinical Depression Initially: Euphoria, jaw clenching, irregular heart beat. Medium to long term: Restless leg syndrome, constipation, weight gain, tiredness,sweating including night sweats, loss of vocabulary, loss of concentration, disordered speech including spoonerisms and bizarre associative speech patterns, extraordinary dreams with musical accompaniment followed by highly coloured and detailed hallucinations, yawning, intermittent overwhelming tiredness, excellent multiple orgasms, increased blood pressure (from low to normal-110), nausea and stomach aches-the latter increasing in intensity and frequency, weight gain due to permanent constipation. I have recently been diagnosed with very low iron and vitamin b12 levels and wonder if the efexor inhibits the reuptake of b12 or effects the absorption of b12 and iron through its occassional disturbance of liver function. This increased the tiredness associated with the medication. Am now slowly withdrawing from Efexor through gradual reduction f Was effective in treatment of depression over the initial period of 1 - 1.5 years,and certainly helped in managing day to day living. I sometimes forget now how deep the despair was then, but know that effexor was extremely useful. The tiredness is frustrating and prevents me from achieving some goals including return to part-time work. I think effexor has been invaluable in combination with counselling and major changes in my life, especially in breaking contact with a very disturbed person who had been extremely abusive and very detrimental to my mental health. F 50 2 years
2/21/2008
 4  depression high cholesterol, sweating, decreased appetite F 58 5 years
2/21/2008

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