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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Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
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
 
 5  anxiety disorder some weight gain I started taking Effexor after a MS diagnosis sent me into a tailspin. I had not felt my anxiety was a problem that needed treatment before this, but what a surprise. I can't remember a time in my adult life when I've felt so able to control my emotions, I can put my worries into a mental dungeon with a thought. What a wonderful thing, that I feel better after my MS diagnosis than I did before it. I will take Effexor for the forseeable future. F 45 7 months
2/1/2008
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 4  depression, anxiety Insomnia at first then chronic fatigue, loss of appetite then normal appetite, terrible nightmares then odd dreams, headaches, nausea, blurred vision, constipation, shakiness, light-headedness, dry mouth. I have been on and off the drug for 5 years. It was different each time because I started when I was 15 and I was changing so much during those years. It helped with depression and anxiety, though it does make me feel apathetic sometimes. The side effects are different each time, except for the weird dreams. I have been on 150mg for 2 months. I felt invincible at first, but now it is less effective. The worst side effect is definately the fatigue. This drug really alters your brain. It is dangerous if you are not careful. F 20 4 times
1/31/2008
 4  Anxiety, minor unipolar Depression Side effects include euphoric feeling in the morning, jaw clenching, feeling of tiredness about 6 hrs after each dose but this is mild. I do not have withdraw symptoms if I miss a dose. I did however have a craving for sweats when I first started the drug but I just resisted the urge to eat them which seemed to break the cycle of compulsions. Libido is fine, but in some instances climax takes longer, o well. Also I should say that I had trouble focusing when I started taking Venlafaxin in higher doses this persisted for a very long time, and at times I felt as if I had ADD. This however isn’t the case but I did feel as if I had to concentrate harder to both remember information and focus on completing complex comprehension task. Basically it made it hard to study psychology until I learned how to concentrate very hard on what I was doing. First off I’ve been studying psychology for about 5 years now. I’m far from a doctor but I know more than the average Joe. I started taking Venlafaxin after trying to come off Tramadol often called Ultram. Ultram gave me horrible withdraw symptoms which I had trouble getting over and this caused me a lot of anxiety, it should be noted I started taking tramadol due to a lower back injury in my L4 L5. After starting Venlafaxin it took about a month to really start working for me, Im a 175 pound healthy male. I dosed up to 225 mg over the course of 3 months. After about 5 months I noticed the efficacy of the drug was starting to fade although I didn’t need the drug as much as I normally don’t have major bouts with anxiety. The drug did “level me out” meaning I was able to think more objectively about situations before responding to them. The drug also made me flat at times but not so much that it was impeding my life. Ive been taki M 23 8 months
1/31/2008
 1  Anxiety Sleepy all the time, suicidal thoughts, irritability, don't care about anything. I started Effexor XR at the age of 18 and went up to 225 mg. During the treatment I noticed that I was tired all the time but my doctor didn't attribued this symptom to the medication. During the treatment, it was painful to go to school due to the lethargy that I was experiencing, I was continualy walking in fog. After 2.5 years of torture, I decided to taper off gradually from this medication. The withdrawal symptoms was a NIGHTMARE!!! Flu-like symptoms, fatigue, skin sensivity, sensivity to all noises, chest pain, tachycardia, very bad digestion (unable to eat without having a bad reaction). More than one year after the withdrawal, I still have all these symptoms!!! I cannot work or function at all!!! I tried many drugs after that to repair the permanent damages due to this hellish drug like: Paxil, Celexa, Cipralex, Remeron, Risperdal, Seroquel, Seroquel XR and Zyprexa and for my somach: Pariet, Pantoloc, Nexium, Prevacid, Losec, Pepcid and Zantac. None of these medications worked M 22 2.5 years
1/31/2008
 4  Post Partum Depression w history Nausea, a lil. brain "zapping" pressure, restless jaw (teeth wanting to grind) and HAPPINESS Ive only been on it for 1 day and was a little naucious this morning and my jaw has been wanting to clench down. I started 37.5mg and in a week Ill be jumping to 75mg. I was so scared to take it that I delayed it because I read all the comments on this site. So I finally made to decision to start it and hope for the best and it seems like not too many side effects are going to get me. Haha. Im excited to start this drug and pray for a normal life once again. Ive had a miscarriage with twins and full term pregnancy in the past 1 1/2 year, husband in the Marine Corps always gone and lots of moving... I pray that this helps and I can overcome my depression and anxiety. Ill make another rating in a month,,, hope this helps someone F 23 1 days
1/30/2008
 4  Depression and anxiety Initially I had dizziness and some naseau. I found taking it at breakfast reduced nausea. I have found I sweat more on Effexor. No massive weight gain yet. Most annoying side effect is delayed orgasm and sex drive reduction. While the mind is still interested the body does not have the tingling all over like it used to before sex. Often get restless legs syndrome with Effexor. Appetite has improved but not to the point were I am emptying the pantry like their is no tomorrow. That is good! Some antidepressants make you so hungry. I just wish Effexor didn't stuff around with the sex drive. M 41 6 days
1/29/2008
 1  Concentration/focus no sex drive, tired one second then feeling like I was on speed the next, can't sleep at night I was up a lot, very strange dreams, blurry vision, after about a month I got very depressed and started having suicidal thoughts I just stopped taking this medicine was on 75mg my dr put me on something different. now my face feels numb, I am VERY dizzy, Ill to my stomach, head ach, I get this shock feeling and my arms and hads feel numb for a few seconds. dr told me this could last 7 to 10 days what a nightmare to come off of this. F 35 1 months
1/29/2008
 3  anxiety nausea,don't sleep well i was on 75mg and they just upped my dosage to 150..but now for two weeks 75 plus 37.5..feeling less anxious but very dizzy and just not myself in the morning...i can't eat but today i did and ate 3 meals which I never did before. F 36 8 months
1/26/2008
 1  Anxiety I experienced severe withdrawl when trying to stop taking Effexor. I could not wean myself off of them because of the nausea, headaches and vomiting that would occur. I had to switch to another medication and then wean myself off of that. I would NEVE recommend this medication to anyone. F 24 8 months
1/26/2008
 5  Depression periodic "twitches," yawning, increased sex drive I have been on MANY antidepressants.....this is the only one that has worked. Even though I have read other people's issues with the drug; I NEED to stay on it because it has changed my life. I thought I was "cured" (have struggled with depression since age 20) and stopped taking the drug and within 2 weeks, depression returned and i remembered why I was taking meds..... F 31 6 months
1/25/2008
 5  depression sexual dysfunction, sleeplessness, vivid dreams, yawning. It has improved my mood greatly, to the point of me being cheerful and having a positive outlook. I am far more talkative. The sexual dysfunction is not terrible and the sleeplessness is managable with sleeping tablets and hopefully it subsides soon. M 25 6 weeks
1/25/2008
 4  General Anxiety Disorder, Depressio For the first 2 weeks I was very nauseated. TAKE WITH FOOD!!! The first week as AWFUL! No sex drive, delayed orgasm, dizzyness, very tired, very sick. After a few weeks it wore off and I felt better for the first time in YEARS. I have since had to increase my doseage (doctors told me this would happen) from 75mg to 125mg. Seriously, if you can get through the first few weeks (I actually had to miss a few days of work because of how sick it made me), it's well worth it. The first few days I felt 'high' - not a care in the world and had the dizzyness and blurred vision to go with it. As I said, after the fest few days, that wore off. After the first few weeks, I felt normal again. DON'T MISS A DOSE!!! Awful headaches, blurred vision, lack of coordination, etc. F 23 8 months
1/24/2008
 5  severe clinical depression dry eyes, blurry vision, unusual dreams, sleep talking This may sound extreme, but Effexor XR has saved my life. ADter trying 4 other anti-depressants, I decided to try it and had heard many horrible things about it. However after several weeks I started feeling so much better. Being suicidal and at the stage of carrying out the suicide, Effexor XR has changed my perspective on life completely and helped me to become normal again. F 21 1 years
1/23/2008
 4  Depression sweats. loss of sex drive. Really sucks when you forget a dose. Wanto to get off. Tried once. had t get back on. It does what it needs to do, but I wonder , at what expense? F 30 4 years
1/23/2008
 4  Anxiety The first 2 weeks: even more anxiety, but now, I'm just much much more sensitive to caffeine and I'm a "very cheap drunk". No other side effects. It works for me, I feel much better now (been on 150 mg/d for 6 months). F 26 8 months
1/23/2008
 5  depression/anxiety dry mouth, constipation, decreased sex drive, difficulty achieving orgasm, blurred vision F 43 3 years
1/21/2008
 5  Depression Insomnia for the first few days. Shakiness and numbness in fingers which went away after the first few days. Night sweats which I still get occasionally as well as very vivid dreams. I started on on a low dose and gradually increased to 150 mg. I feel so much better taking this drug and even my friends and family have noticed a dramatic change in my overall well-being. My Dr. started me on fluoxetine (Prozac- 10 mg) which I take in addition to the Effexor. Maybe for me it is the combination of the two but I have not experienced any of the negative side effects others have described. The ones I did experience certainly wouldn't make me stop taking it. Everyone is so unique and I'm sure this drug effects us all differently but for me it works extremely well and I plan to continue on it. F 39 3 weeks
1/21/2008
 1  depression eye sight loss, crying, liver and fluid problems . major major withdrawal symptoms a dangerous drug in the hands of doctors who do nt know its affects on a person . M 52 5 days
1/21/2008
 4  Mild Depression Initially insomnia, what felt like increased blood pressure. Incompatibility with alcohol usage, even very low amounts of alcohol. I was probably self-medicating myself with very consistent, wine drinking each night. Not a lot, maybe two or three glasses each night. Effexor worked to lift my depression, and to ease up on my alcohol usage. I'm not thrilled about using it long-term. The cost of it, outside of my health insurance, is almost 6 times the cost I pay now ($20 per 30) at Costco. I've also been seeing some insomnia lately, which I wonder if Effexor isn't responsible. I'm using 75mg of Effexor per day. I have successfully tapered and gone off the med, but it's not the easiest experience to go through. M 46 3.5 years
1/20/2008
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 4  Depression First two weeks: dry mouth, insomnia, nausea Now: weight gain I am a happy person on Effexor. (150 mg) Before taking it, I had horrible mood swings, depression, thoughts of helplessness and suicide. I now feel happy and optomistic about my future. The only complaint that I do have is weight gain. I have gained significant weight while taking effexor but cannot say it is entirely from the med. Alot is also from going from being very active to less active and a sweet tooth plus stress eating. Although I am not glad about my weight gain, it is far better than living under the black cloud of depression. I did try Welbutrin, but it did absolutely nothing for me and felt like I was not taking anti-depression medication at all, so went back on Effexor. My dr did suggest that I not take my 75 mg dose in the afternoon and see if it helps with weight loss. I thought I would have side effects from missing the dose, but so far I have not. Too soon to tell if it is helping with weight loss. F 44 7 years
1/19/2008
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