EFFEXOR XR Reviews (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 3.0 (2225 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare EFFEXOR XR 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 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 |
More on EFFEXOR XR: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR EFFEXOR XR | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 1 | severe post natal depression | Initially insomnia, needing sleeping meds, initial weight loss, 10lb, constant headache,feelings of desperation wanting to be violent towards others,sweating excessively,heat intolerence dampening of emotions- not happy or sad, just don't care- sexual side effects: inability to orgasm wears off eventually but stuck with low libido. Later side effects: memory problems, weight gain of 40lb+, want to sleep all day. | Started effexor as alternative to old trycyclic meds.First 2 years were a nightmare, couldn't tolerate 225mg so self reduced to 150mg and felt much better (didn't experience any of reported withdrawl side effects)I couldn't work during this time. Doctor just wanted to increase meds - no way! Need Zxprexa and imovane to help me stay on effexor and reduce side effects. Weight gain is a nighmare also has lead to high blood pressure, high cholestrol, diabetes and gastric problems. I was definately better of on my old meds but I am scared to get off this drug after reading about withdrawl problems. Has helped with anxiety but no effect on depression. | F | 40 | 3 years | 1/7/2008 | 5 | Anxiety and Depression | When I was on 300mg/day I had night sweats and if I was late on a dose I would feel the "brain shivers". I am now at 37.5 mg/day and I don't feel any side effects and it helps my anxiety and depression and irritability a lot. | F | 33 | 10 years | 1/6/2008 | 1 | Anxiety | Bruising = Unexplained Bruises came up all over my body. | When I was taken off this medication, I was warned that I may feel lightheaded and a little bit dizzy. I constantly felt weak, tired and lightheaded. I also experienced alot of nausea. It was/is very frustrating as I havent been able to do anything, no work absolutely nothing. | F | 20 | 2 months | 1/6/2008 | 4 | anxiety | serious digestive problems at first but they disappeared within 5 days | I know stopping it will be difficult but I'll take the necessary time whether it's 3, 6 or 12 months. The drug is the only thing that allowed me to function for the past few years. | F | 41 | 1000 days | 1/5/2008 | 4 | depression/chemical inbalance | dont remember the initial ones but now it's lack of sex drive, sweats, weight gain terrible headaches when i forget a dose | it's only recently that i have put it together that the weight gain i've experienced could be from this medication and also the total lack of sex drive could be as well! i'm on a mission to switch from this med. I have been on for a few years and been up to 225mg. it has helped me with my mood and keeping me on an even level but if i would forget that dosage by the end of the day i was worthless and in bed to sleep off the major headache and dizziness that was happening. i have had my dosage reduced to 150 and so far so good but i'm trying to be more aware of my body and how i react to things now. i want to change to wellbutrin to try and get some sex drive back before my husband leaves me | F | 32 | 5 years | 1/4/2008 | 4 | depression and anxiety | I had a few side effects in the beginning such as less of an appetite and some sleepless nights but after about two months my body must have adjusted to the medicine and now I am doing just fine and the side effects are gone. | F | 27 | 11 months | 1/2/2008 | 4 | Depression | Yawning at first, no appetite, fatigue, no sex drive. Now that I've been on it for a while, I get random tics when at rest that aren't severe enough to really bother me. My knees shake a bit and my dexterity seem a little impacted going down stairs, but it's worth feeling normal again. | I had pretty mild side effects at first, nothing severe enough to make me want to quit taking it and nothing out of the ordinary. I used to panic while driving, worried about what other drivers thought of me, I couldn't function at work or with my coworkers, I didn't want to get out of bed in the morning. I'm back to feeling totally normal and it's wonderful. Totally worth any of the minor side effects I feel now. My appetite is back and the sexual side effects and fatigue are gone. | F | 22 | 5 months | 1/2/2008 | 3 | Bi-Polar, Anxiety, OCD thinking | chronic constipation, dry mouth, severe weight gain, pituitary tumor, low sex drive | Effexor changed my life for the better and I would recommend it for someone for short term as long as they understand about withdrawals and to taper off of it ever so slowly. I just would not have taken it for 11 years if I had known it causes pituitary tumors. This has not been "officially" determined yet... but I have absolutely no doubt about it. I believe that Effexor unbalanced my endocrine system and that soon we will start hearing about how Effexor causes pituitary tumors. | F | 41 | 11 years | 1/2/2008 | 1 | Gen. Anx. Dissorder, depression | first couple of weeks I had no cares at all, nothing felt good, nothing bothered me, no motivation to even do routine chores..almost no energy...but very different feeling then being depressed and not wanting to do anything. Stomach aches, head aches, loss of appetite,dry mouth | I usually take 225mgs in the A.M.When I missed one day I awoke the next morning and soon had the "head Zaps" mentioned here. Driving to work i realized it had to be that I missed a dose (this is at 4:30 am) I took my dose at 10 a.m.,I had to leave work sick and was in bed by 1pm CRYING, brain zaps, sens. to light, legs and hands zapping, sick to my stomach. THIS MED IS BAD, I hope tapering will go well for me. Thank all for your comments here, good and bad | M | 39 | 10 weeks | 1/2/2008 | 1 | Depression | Sexual Side Effects Horrible. Major Weight gain 35+ lbs. Always tired, never wanted to do anything. Still Depressed. Only in 75mg, couldn't imaging being on a bigger dose. Dizziness, crazy dreams, hard to go to sleep. | This drug is not one I would recommend to anyone. When I stopped taking it, the side effects were devastating. Severe chest pains, mood swings, dizziness, brain zaps, feel like fainting, nervousness, and many more. I will never take this again. I was on it for 10 months. | M | 36 | 10 months | 1/2/2008 | 5 | Depression | Occasional insomnia, jittery or finger tip numbness when a dose is skipped, need to increase dosage over time | This has been a great drug for my depression. I've had no decrease in my sex drive, I've gained no weight, I feel more positive in general and less irritable when on it. Whenever I've missed a dose I know it, but I always associated it with my depression and Effexor as the remedy. It takes a few days to work, but miss once and it hits you hard. As for getting off. I quit cold turkey when I wanted to get pregnant again (I experienced dizziness, numbness in arms and fingers, over all scattered brainness..but it only lasted a few days ) and stayed off it for a year...within weeks of birth I was back on it again and am very happy with the results | F | 35 | 3 years | 1/1/2008 | 1 | mild depression | insomnia/erratic sleep schedule, feelings of exhaustion, extremely vivid/abnormal dreams, weight gain (20+#), feelings of surrealism/disassociation, and brain "zaps" | If at all possible, avoid this treatment!!!! It is very invasive, and has been very difficult to quit. For me, the side affects do not justify any benefits that could be gained. Do yourself a favor, and get several opinions before committing to this potential nightmare! | M | 50 | 3 months | 12/31/2007 | 1 | menstrual irregularities | Eventually put in total arm braces and this KNOWN side effect of Effexor (myalgia) was misdiagnosed as Fibromyalgia. I eventually had ALL the symptoms of Fibromyalgia while taking EFFEXOR and was convinced I had it and would never get better. | When I realized, myself, that the EFFEXOR was causing my illness, under my Dr.'s advice, I stopped it cold turkey. If the drug was not bad enough, the cessation was hell. I lost touch with reality, quit a job I loved, was thrown into bankruptcy. I am convinced Wyeth knows this can happen and has effectively hidden it to continue profits. Today I am off ALL drugs, do not have Fibromyalgia and think Wyeth Labs should be held accountable for the hell this drug has put good people through. | F | 54 | 2 days | 12/30/2007 | 1 | anxiety | Severe depression, suicidal, lightheaded, brain fuzz, almost ruined our family life! | My husband took this and these comments are about him. This drug was a disaster for my husband! He said that it helped his anxiety slightly, but at a huge huge cost, He has never seriously considered suicide except while on this drug. He was lightheaded and had a "fuzzy" mind often, especially if he was late or missed a dose. Any drug that could cause this much depression and does so frequently, and is so hard and dangerous to come off of is dangerous. I would recommend close supervision for anyone taking this, and only take it as a late resort, too much risk. I personally wanted to try to get it off of the market! | M | 28 | 6 months | 12/30/2007 | 1 | Depression | Severe night sweats,3-4 times a night,Major lack of interest in anything, no energy at all,no sex drive, | Don't do it,find something else | F | 38 | 2 years | 12/30/2007 | 5 | Depression/Anxiety | When I first began to take this medication, I experienced insomnia. Thankfully that faded and I am back to normal. No weight gain, no change in appetite, overall I like this medicine. Everyone is different though, I am just thankful that I found something that worked. | Trying to get off of Effexor was a pain though. I had to get back on it. I have heard this from several people. Hopefully I can slowly wean off of it, but I'm still waiting. Right now it is vital that I take it. | F | 25 | 2 years | 12/29/2007 | 4 | Depression | Vivid dreams/nightmares, possibly some tiredness. Some mild effects on discontinuation but nothing too severe, although I did come off it slowly over two or three months. | Greatly improved my depression in a month or so after fluoxetine only gave a slight improvement. Effectiveness seemed to level off after a while and further improvement was slower - another six months until I could start working effectively again. | M | 25 | 9 months | 12/29/2007 | 1 | depression | Night sweats, inability to focus or concentrate, high blood pressure, the worst side effect are the sensory disturbances (best described as feeling like electrical shocks/impulses in brain, ears, and extremities) | The medicine seemed to help with my depression. HOWEVER due to several factors (developed inability to concentrate/focus while taking drug and blood pressure increased from normal to stage 2 hypertension) my doc and I decided to stop Effexor and try something else. I am on day 6 of weaning off Effexor, and feel terrible!! I can not sleep, the "brain shocks" are terrible, I'm very irritable, and talk like I've had 3 pots of coffee. I would VERY highly recommend researching EFFEXOR WITHDRAWL before taking this drug. Start with the FDA's medwatch, then check out the Effexor Petition for "testimonials" on how good this drug works! | M | 4 | 4 years | 12/28/2007 | 1 | Anxiety | Weight gain >60lbs, seizures, muscle tension, internal bleeding, high blood pressure, worsened anxiety, long-term withdrawal symptoms, took SIX MONTHS to taper. | ********* WORST DRUG EVER!!! NEVER TAKE IT!!!************ | F | 34 | 2 years | 12/28/2007 | 1 | depression | Sleepy, constipated, unable to orgasm, felt "out of body" most of the time. Some improvement in mood but not worth it, at all. Withdrawal is difficult and unpleasant. | Would not recommend this drug to anyone. | F | 48 | 2 months | 12/28/2007 |