EFFEXOR XR Reviews (VENLAFAXINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 3.0 (2225 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare EFFEXOR XR 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 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 |
| 2 | Depression, Anxiety | Night sweats, loss of appetite(at first)sex? what's that, I don't even care anymore. muscle aches, awful "slushing" in the brain, zaps? numbness,void of emotion, irritable, angry,impatient,all in all, I don't KNOW how I feel, nothingness. | I guess I would have to say it did help the anxiety(however,I do take lorazepam sometimes)and the depression lifted somewhat, I think. I know it sounds insane, but I really, really don't know how I feel.I take 150mg per day, I ran out yesterday, had such horrible brain zaps, and fear I thought I was going to die. The real clencher came, when I cried over a song I heard on the radio, The song? "The streak"(folks from the 70's will know what I am talking about)Now, we know the streak is a funny song, not sad, why then was I crying? I went home, took a paxil, and it stopped the zaps. Yes, everyone, This is highly addictive, even if it works. I have been on zoloft, paxil, prozac,wellbutrin, lexapro, now what, is there any hope? I also suffer from ocd, I do not drink anymore(6 years), I am at the end of the rope, Can I ever be content? | F | 41 | 8 months | 3/19/2007 | 4 | anxiety/depression | First week on 37.5 mg: major yawning, insomnia (could have been carry-over from before taking med), dry mouth, sleepiness, nausea if I didn't eat first. Taking 75 mg: increased depression, started yawning again, dry mouth, malaise. Back on 37.5 mg: night sweats, decreased sex drive, increased and vivid dreams, flat feeling (less emotions, like I'm in a dream when I'm awake), need more sleep, and decreased motivation and concentration (different than anxiety though). | I don't take a high dose but it seems to work. I can now study for exams without freaking out and having insomnia. Was thinking of trying to increase the dosage because my concentration is diminishing and anxiety is increasing but after reading others' comments, maybe not. Didn't know why I was sweating at night and needing more sleep, but because of this website, now I know. Not going off though; need to get through school. This is my first antidepressant. | F | 25 | 8 months | 3/17/2007 | 5 | anxiety and severe depression | No side effects unless too high a dose then I am a zombie | I have been depressed and anxious all of my life. I had to start at a high dose of Effexor XR due to being emotionally abused on a job in 1997, where I was forced to have a breakdown at work. Later I was forced to quit that job and my back collapsed. As the time has passed Effexor XR has kept me alive for this long time because I have been able to keep myself productive and caring for my 3 boys...my oldest has paranoid schizophrenia and my middle son is severely autistic. Both are teens. | F | 49 | 9 years | 3/16/2007 | 5 | Anxiety | Groggy feeling during the day, restlessness in early morning hours while trying to sleep, slight constipation, teeth grining, lower sex drive | I had a problem with anxiety for several years before I finally decided to get it treated. Effexor has been wonderful. I am on 150mg per day. For me, the side effects (although they are annoying) do not out weigh the good this drug has done for me. There was a period that I went off of Effexor and tried Cymbalta. For me, Cymbalta was terrible. It made me realize how great Effexor worked! | F | 27 | 2 years | 3/15/2007 | 5 | anxiety, depression | Extremely hyper active. I also take Seroquel which stops the hyperness but I take it for mild Schizophrenia. | Very good drug. | M | 34 | 1 years | 3/15/2007 | 1 | Depression | Weight gain (30 pounds) Irrational, impulsive behavior Suididal thoughts Alcoholism (landed in rehab--never had a drinking problem before) | Terrible, debilitating side effects. Doctors act like they've never heard of them. Teeth chills, pressure in brain, dizziness, nausea. Interested in getting a petition started about dangers of this drug. | F | 36 | 2 years | 3/15/2007 | 3 | severe depression | wild vivid dreams, extreme irritability at times, fatigue, loss of motivation, loss of appetite, happiness | Havent been taking the medicine that long so Im sort of indifferent about if I think its working. At times I feel amazing. Life is great. Then before I know it I feel like I used to: extremely depressed,suidical thoughts, just really not being my "old" self. The medicine has eliminated the radical thoughts for the most part. I have crazy dreams every single night. Which can be pretty cool but also pretty alarming. | M | 20 | 2 months | 3/12/2007 | 3 | depression/social anxiety | weight gain, sweating, loss of libido, crave carbs - see additonal comments. | effexor xr works well for my depression & anxiety. However, beware! I experienced loss of good judgement and loss of guilt when I started taking effexor xr. I quit my long-time job, divorced my husband of 17 years and moved out of state all in that first year! I highly recommend that you do not make any life changing decisions until you and your doctor see how this medication affects you at the onset of taking this drug. This adversely affected every aspect of my life - personal & financial. Never had thoughts of "suicide" only thoughts of "suing" the pharmaceutical company. Note that this happened at the onset of taking effexor and I had no warning of this type of side effect. I take effexor xr 75mg daily - truely do not know if I still need it. I am so afraid of the withdrawal & aftermath that I may be taking it the rest of my life. Very scarey thought. | F | 57 | 10 years | 3/11/2007 | 5 | severe depression disorder | If you don't take the medication around the same time each day then your sleeping patterns can be disturbed. Give the medicine time to work. Nothing happens overnight. If you are severely depressed as I was and still would be if I was off meds than look into this drug, please. | I take 300mg a day. This is the perfect amount to take with my diagnosis. I have tried many anti dpressants and this is the ONLY one that makes me feel NORMAL and OUTGOING as I used to be. I feel like myself and not some babbling idiot or zombie like I was on some other medications. This drug has saved my life. Literally. | F | 26 | 2 years | 3/10/2007 | 5 | anxiety | First day or so, nausea; lost a couple pounds in the beginning until I got used to the medication; I get the infamous "brain shivers" if I miss only one dose. | This medicine has been a Godsend for me. I started on 150 mg and have now tapered down to 37.5. Nothing bothers me anymore, like it used to....it's wonderful. Just remember, everyone is different and not all medicines will work the same for everyone...it's trial and error. You WILL find something that's right for you. Just make sure you have a doctor you trust and feel comfortable with. | F | 38 | 2 days | 3/9/2007 | 5 | Anxiety/Depression | A few minor side effects for the first couple of weeks (insomnia, headache, edgy), but those passed. At this point, I still get a little sleepy from it, but nothing major. | This medication has given me my life back. I had gotten so bad with my anxiety and depression that I didn't even want to leave my house. I cried a lot, was unproductive, and generally felt miserable. Now, I have a lot more energy, am productive at work, and a happy person. I feel like me again. | F | 36 | 3 months | 3/9/2007 | 2 | depression, anxiety | the first day : depression, mild chest pain, suicidal thoughts; the second day : difficulty breathing or swallowing. | In a half an hour when I took the medicine, I got difficulty breathing and swallowing. I went online and read that I have these side effects I need to stop the medicine, so I went to the toilet, induced vomiting, and after that took Xanax. After that I felt better. This medicine didn't work for me. I'm staying on Remeron. | F | 21 | 2 days | 3/9/2007 | 1 | depression | euphoria followed by the inability to feel any emotions. increase in depressive symptoms. | Initially I loved this medication. I thought my depression was cured. After being on the medication for a year, I was sad one day, and had a good reason to be sad, and could not cry. That was when I realized I could not feel emotions anymore. This medication turned me into a zombie, which made my depression worse. The inital euphoria experienced when taking this medication is short lived and this medication made me numb to everything. Feeling depressed is better than feeling nothing at all and I do not recommend taking Effexor. | F | 19 | 16 months | 3/9/2007 | 2 | GAD,Depression,panic attacks | GAS,no energy,felt numb sometimes | so far i am not liking effexor xr.. im on 150mg day and if anything i feel like im getting worse..and im still have some panic attacks...i feel the same as before but no i have gas problems..it has not helped me reach personal goals due to anxiety and my life is still on pause , im not sure if id remcomend it ... everyone is different | F | 19 | 3 months | 3/7/2007 | 4 | Depression | Jaw clenching; extreme irritability | After having tried a number of anti-depressants, I was thrilled that my Effexor XR 75 mg seemed to rid me of my crying jags etc. I also didn't have alot of the side effects that I experienced on other anti-depressants. However, I have always been considered a very patient person. With the effexor, I become extremely irritable very easily. I'm frustrated and embarrassed by it. | F | 35 | 11 months | 3/6/2007 | 3 | Major Depression | Huge weight gain. Craved sweets, carbs and salty foods. Easily agitated. Insomnia. Worked well at low dose but lost it's effectiveness. At higher doeses just made me more irritated and did not help with the depresion. | Weaning off was a nightmare. Felt like my brain was going thru shock therapy for weeks. Hot and cold flashes. Horrible! I took Omega 3 (Flax Seed Oil capletes) and that seemed to help out with the side effects. | F | 39 | 1 years | 3/6/2007 | 5 | anxiety | M | 48 | 2 months | 3/5/2007 | 4 | panic disorder, GAD, mild depressio | Started at 37.5 mg, first few days felt pretty gross: groggy, nauseous, "out-of-it" kinds of feelings. For the first week, pretty much stayed on the sofa all day and slept there too. Not hungry at all for a whole week. Had fitful sleep, waking up every hour. Jolting body occasionally, nervous, emotionally shaky, up and down feelings. After 2 weeks most of these disappeared, except for insomnia and some night sweats. After 3 months have gradually increased to taking 150 mg in the morning plus 37.5 at night, with a snack. Still having a bit of restless sleep, weird dreams and have also developed overactive bladder, esp noticable at night. Sexual side effects wore off. Sometimes yawn or sigh a lot, like after holding your breath without realizing it..I have to mention that 3 weeks after starting the Effexor (New Year's Resolution) my husband and I decided to start eating a lower carb, "healthy " diet, no sugar, salt or alcohol, and a 2 hr per day fitness regime, wh | I was prescribled Effexor and sublingual Ativan, during an emergency visit to a doctor's clinic, after many years of untreated panic disorder, agoraphobia and mild depression culminated in a total nervous meltdown, where I could barely function. The Effexor took about 4 weeks to start working noticibly, including weekly followups at the doctors. After 3 months I am feeling fairly good, compared to the first month of fear of what was going to become of me, plus verbal abuse from my disappointed husband, who expected me to get "better" instantly with pills. I got some great support after finally speaking to a Mental Health nurse, plus confiding in a good friend (admitting my disorder), plus other family members, then husband sort of fell in line. Advice: If you are taking antidepressents make sure someone explains the treatment process thoroghly to your "important other" so they won't take out their frustrations on you. Now I am actually driving a car by myself fo | F | 43 | 3 months | 3/5/2007 | 2 | Anxiety & Depression | When I first started taking it, I confused the awful side effects for feeling more depressed & more anxious, so my doctor upped my dose. I was taking 300mg/day for about a year. Then I just couldn't handle the headaches it caused, so my doctor lowered my dose gradually over the last two years or so. Since taking Effexor, my life has been miserable. Can't sleep when I want to, can't stay awake when I want to, lethargic, dizzy, blurred vision, extreme fatigue, extreme increase in appetite. If I go more than two hours past my dose, I can't even see straight! My lips become numb. It's horrifying! | I hate Effexor XR. The only good thing that's happened from taking it is now I realize my anxiety & depression are not as insurmountable as I thought - being on Effexor IS! I am down to 37.5mg/day and hope to be completely off in about a month. ONE WEEK since I decided to go off Effexor and I realize what it has done to my life! I see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. Don't take it - it's very nasty and you will regret it. Go for a run at the park - it feels great! You can't do that after being on Effexor a while, it makes you fat, exhausted & feel hopeless! | F | 28 | 3 years | 3/5/2007 | 5 | depression and anxiety | increased resting heart rate, loss of appetite in the beginning but went back to normal after 2 months, mild constipation, vivid dreams when dosage was increased to 150mg, difficult to wake up but more energy when awake. | the first time i used effexor was 4 years ago and it caused me to lose about 10 pounds, but i became pregnant and switched to zoloft. do not wean off effexor too soon as i had one very bad day and experienced mild halloucinations | F | 46 | 3 months | 3/4/2007 |