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 |
| 4 | Depression & anxiety | Blunted affect, apathy, initial weight loss, followed by weight gain, drowsiness, severe withdrawal symptoms,increase in blood pressure | Effexor worked really well for me when I was in the pit of law school despair. It pulled me up and made me feel like living again. It curbed my anxiety, but it also made me pretty apathetic about things that would have normally excited me didn't get a reaction -- like having an entire glass of wine spilled on me. I initially lost about 30 lbs, but regained about 50 over the course of a couple of years. I tended to be sleepy on Effexor in the beginning, but that tapered off. The worst side effect of Effexor is the withdrawal symptoms -- brain shivers, irritability, inability to focus, nausea, you name it. My advice is take it very slow -- I found that opening capsules, counting out X number of specks and licking them off my hand (and gradually decreasing them) greatly reduced the symptoms. Granted, you'll feel like a junkie as you do that, but you'll manage to get through the day. Overall, if you're in a deep depression or very ridden with anxiety, Effexor will probably pull you | F | 28 | 2 years | 12/3/2006 | 5 | Insomnia/Fatigue d/t dysthymia | Vivid dreams in first week. | Tremendous and wonderful except for the part about my health insurance not covering it. | F | 50 | 2 months | 11/30/2006 | 5 | SEVERE DEPRESSION/ANXIETY | F | 39 | 3 years | 11/30/2006 | 2 | depression/anxiety | I took one pill and never again. In about 45 minutes I felt like someone lite a fire inside my body is was scarry. I had heart palpitations where I thought my heart was gonna pop out of my chest. I had a slight constant headache, I got the munchies for everything and at night I suddenly got sick and did not sleep a wink. I feel like crap. Although I will say yesterday I did not cry. And oh yes my pupils were dilated. To me I would never like to experience that again. I just thought I would share my thoughts. I hope it helps others and I hope I can find something to work for me. | F | 35 | 1 days | 11/30/2006 | 3 | Mild depression & anxiety | I was 245 pounds at 6'2". I started at 75mg. The first couple of weeks I felt jittery. I have had a cycle off and on of diarrhea for a few days and then constapation for a day or two since I have been on the drug. My rage got worse. I felt like I really wanted to hurt someone when they did something that was not that offensive or disrespectfull. It was hard to control. | I am currently taking 150mg dose. The rage has not shown itself in about 2 weeks. About the withdrawal talk. I have missed two days in a row sometimes and the only side effect was increased diarrhea. I have lost weight but I think it's due to a change in position at work. A much more active job. But the drug could have something to do with it. Not sure. | M | 27 | 5 months | 11/29/2006 | 3 | headaches, anixety | sexual dysfunction, and sleepness, dry mouth | M | 41 | 3 days | 11/28/2006 | 3 | Depression | Early on, naseau and sleeplessness. After a year and now on 225 mg I am sweating like crazy all the time, I get tingles in my hands and if I miss a dose I get dizzy and foggy and brain shivers. I am not able to leave the house until the meds kick in because I am physically just very sick. I have developed an ulcer given the medication is very hard on your stomach and recently had my eyes checked and now I have developed glaucoma (another lovely side effect of this drug) Never did get my sex drive back. Gained 40 pounds. | This drug has changed my life but it has now become so problematic given all the negative side effects that I am not so sure it has changed my life for all the better. From what I understand getting off this drug is horrible. I am very worried about this. | F | 35 | 1 years | 11/27/2006 | 3 | Anxiety (MS related) | Fatigue. Decreased sexual drive. It's better than being crazy though. | M | 27 | 4 years | 11/25/2006 | 2 | Depression | First 2 weeks were tough but most side effects went away after that. Only major problem: I always needed to sleep... | M | 25 | 90 days | 11/25/2006 | 3 | depression/anxiety attacks | loss of appetite and slight headache once it was increased to 112.5mg but nothing serious. | still waiting for it to kick in - still feeling very anxious but it's only been 3 weeks. | F | 39 | 29 days | 11/22/2006 | 3 | Pre-Menopausal Depression and other | Sweating!! And I thought hot flashes were bad!! The worse side effects are from withdrawing. My head spins and I cannot sleep. | If you are considering this drug...STOP!! Don't do it! It helped for a while, then pooped out. The doctors wanted to just keep increasing the dose. I increased a couple of times. Now, getting off this stuff is AWFUL!! These drugs may bee good for some people, but think twice and get all the information you can BEFORE you start it! Try accupuncture or other alternative things first! I wish I had. | F | 49 | 6 months | 11/21/2006 | 3 | Anxiety and Depression | Constant low grade horniness, non-specific increase in sexual appetite; decrease in anxiety ( that is a good thing); prolonged time to orgasm; weight gain. If I miss a dose I getextremely bad headache. Some minor loss of memory for details in everyday stuff. I am prone to daydreaming on this drug....but I am happier and less edgy overall. Everything has a cost. | It works well for me in regard to anxiety and depression; sleep is better now, but I dont dream very much at all that I can remember. | F | 49 | 3 years | 11/19/2006 | 5 | GAD ,social anxiety, panic attacks | withdrawl(nervousness,insecure), dilated pupils, | if you dont know how to make friends and you want to just relax in a social setting effexorXR 75mg helped me more than zoloft, prozac, lexapro, welbutrin, or any of the the other SSRI anti depressents, effexor also releived my symptoms of withdrawl from clonazapam 1mg, effexor gave me the confidence to "be myself" when taking it, and that lead to popularity at school. when i stoped taking effexor i had to learn BE NICE, AND love OTHERS BEFORE YOUR SELF AND ANYONE WILL LIKE YOU IN DUE TIME... i hope this will help you. jesus loves you no matter what you do. | M | 17 | 1 years | 11/18/2006 | 4 | Anxiety, Aggression | Slight feeling that I might vomit during the first several days starting at 37.5 Mg (feels like a lump or fullness in the throat), but it never progresses to significant nausea. Undeniable improvement in mood and ability to concentrate, but reaction times seemed to have slowed a bit(such as when driving). Spouse reports intense dreams but I don't experience or remember them. Slight increase in time it takes to ejaculate, but this is actually a side effect I was hoping for. | I was not depressed yet, but very high stress with my job was causing my thoughts to race and temper to flare noticeably more often than normal. I was drinking more than is healthy and starting to lose interest in some aspects of life. Almost immediately, I am much more patient with my kids and wife which, along with the need to focus better on my job, are the main reasons I'm taking this. I am hoping not to need this long term, so some of the posts about withdrawal are a little scary. | M | 32 | 3 days | 11/18/2006 | 4 | depression, anxiety , crying | WEIGHT GAIN would have to be the worst no matter what i do i keep getting fatter, in the beginning i was yawning a lot and loss of sex drive but those have gone away now. But if i miss a dose its bad | I started taking effexor for mild depression, and my crying all the time. I have found this has worked for me i only cry when i should i dont get as mad as i used to and i feel a lot better in social situations. I have only a few problems and it is mostly the weight gain its kind of a catch 22 fat and happy or slim and miserable. I have also found that my headaches have gotten a lot better. If I miss a dose I get dizzy and cant think and I have very vived and weird dreams. My doctor has said I only have to be on it for a year and I will be better no more depression. | F | 29 | 5 months | 11/17/2006 | 1 | chronic depression | I am one of those rare people who experienced a full blown manic episode with psychosis (detachment from reality, auditory hallucinations) requiring nightmarish week's stay in local psych ward. Followed by months of crushing depression so severe my psych was considering electroshock treatments which I would never agree to. "Normal" life and occupation completely trashed, but now almost fully recovered after 3 years. | I had taken the drug for years, but when my depression intensified, my psych upped the dose to 300 mg. Felt MUCH better and lamented that I had not taken the higher dose before. Actually, I was experiencing hypomania. My psych screwed up and missed several warning signs over 3-4 months (including rapid cycling) that I was heading for mania. The psych, though, has excellent credentials which shows that all docs are fallible. Beware. Now Dx of bipolar type 1 even though I'm 62 and never had mania before, nor has anyone in my family been bipolar. Due to mania, taken off Effexor cold turkey. Because I dropped into severe depression, I have no idea how much of the horrible experience was due to withdrawal. Effexor is notorious for causing mania. | M | 62 | 12 years | 11/17/2006 | 4 | Depression | Decreased libido, dry mouth, sleepiness | I had been taking Paxil & Welbutrin with moderately good effects, switched to this & Welbutrin with much better effect. Current dosage is 225 mg. I feel much more in control of my emotions, impulsive behavior is essentially gone. My family and I are much happier. At the same time as the drug switch I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome; the diagnosis itself has helped me understand myself and accept myself a lot. | M | 57 | 9 months | 11/16/2006 | 1 | depression | My dad killed himself on the third day on effexor. | PLEASE BE CAREFUL!! The Wyeth company will only give the warnings that the FDA requires them to and they will continue to try and silence the idea that SSRI's can lead to an increased risk of SUICIDE in some patients, because the longer this drug can stay on the market without bad publicity the more money wyeth will make. | M | 51 | 3 days | 11/15/2006 | 1 | depression | EXTREME fatigue, terrible headaches,nausea,dizziness,crying,no interest in sex ,more difficulties than I had before starting this wicked drug | EFFEXOR is a brutal drug,then try and go off of it!!!! You should absolutely check it ALL out before filling your scrip at least you would know what could be possible ahead!!Doctors do not know how bad,or they would not give this to you,look after your own research!!! | F | 58 | 3 years | 11/15/2006 | 4 | Depression/anxiety | Tiredness, and weight gain -- 8lbs when increased to 150mg, then 8lbs more when increased to 225 mg. | This is the ONLY antidepressant that I've been able to take that doesn't act like I've poured cement into my GI tract. It has been helpful, but I've just decreased the dose back to 150mg because my life is in a better way now and the weight gain is really bothering me. Good drug for ADD types, as it certainly reminds you if you miss a dose by zapping you good! | F | 43 | 1 years | 11/10/2006 |