Generic Name: venlafaxine
Brand Name: Effexor oral
Drug Reviews Drug and Medication User Reviews
I started taking this medication after a relapse of depression. The first few days I had horrible sleep and a dry mouth. Week 2 I noticed I was having less anxious/compulsive thoughts. After a month I was no longer having fits of panic due to anxiety. I felt in control of my thoughts and feelings. I became much happier and cried significantly less. No longer having any side effects. I have my life and personality back.
I was put on this medication to treat Bipolar and anxious distress. I took a gene sight test that said i would metabolize this medication normally/safely. While I have not had any bad side effects, I have experienced a decrease in motivation to do anything, significantly more than I did before I was put on this medication. For the first three or four days I woke up every two hours. Week two of taking the medication I found myself taking two hour naps every day. I have small children who need my attention and this has not been helpful to my daily schedule.
I have anxiety, migraines, possible fibromyalgia, and some hormonal issues. I'd taken Prozac, Buspar, and Cymbalta at different times in my life before and had some mild side effects like upset stomach, feeling tired, more anxiety, etc but nothing major at all. My neurologist and psychiatrist both suggested Effexor since it can help with migraines and chronic pain. I was scared of the withdrawal and possible side effects and all these reviews but the headaches were so frequent I needed to do something. Big mistake! Day one I felt nauseous, my visions floaters/migraine aura disappeared, but I felt the worst brain fog and disorientation of my life. I got lost in an elevator. By the evening I felt a lot better and more upbeat. Day two I got so nauseous I puked, and I could not turn my eyes to the side without feeling violently ill. I got this weird feeling the medicine was something really heavy and altering my brain so quick. Day three I dumped out half the beads from the 37.5 capsule to see if that would be any better. More puking, and a panic attack followed by the WORST ocular migraine of my life. I could not see virtually anything for three hours and had a splitting headache all night. Days after I had a mild headache and was too tired to function. Also it made my back pain worse, not better. 10/10 guaranteed to make your headache worse not better.
My son after coming back from Afganistan had major depression problems. The VA doctor prescribed Effexor and kept increasing the dosage. My son could not function due to the side effects which kept him from holding down a job. Which made him feel even more inadequate and severly depressed. In September 2019 when I stopped by to see him, I found he had taken his life. Maybe this will help somone else who is dealing with a person with mental illness, don't let doctors ever tell you that there is a majic pill that will help cure mental illness, it only made my son worse in the long run.
I have been on every depression med in the book it feels like and I was very skeptical of Effexor because of the side effects. But in such a bad time in my life, I decided to try it and i’m so glad I did. My depression has been so much more manageable than before and I don’t even have episodes any more. It does not work for everyone but it has been my actual LIFESAVER!!
This is the fourth anti-anxiety/depression medication I've tried and it's been the best -- by far. Not only is it helping with my constant anxiety and regular depression, it seems to have the least side effects. I also finally have my sex drive back.
I was prescribed this medication and it induced hypo mania. Bipolar doesn't run in my family, and I've not had any episodes prior to starting treatment with Effexor.
This medicine did not help my bipolar disorder at all. It set off my mania and I hard trouble in my daily life because of it
I got on Effexor while going through a divorce. I had been suffering with anxiety, without truly understanding what it was for years and when I was going through a divorce, it heightened pretty severely. I first tried Zoloft but it caused stomach pain, so the doctor put me on Effexor. I felt results pretty quickly which was great. I only ended up needing 37.5 mg/day. It's now 6 1/2 years later and I'm weaning off it because I want to get pregnant and you aren't supposed to take Effexor while pregnant. Getting off Effexor is tough! I get dizzy waves, and it's taken 4 months to get off the very small dose, so just be patient and be in regular touch with your doctor if you go off of it. My doctor said it isn't dangerous to have the dizziness but it's just really uncomfortable and doesn't feel good.
I am 62 y.o. and suffered from anxiety and depression most of my life. I've been taking a anti depressant for 18 years. Lexapro for 9 years, switched to Celexa, was better but stopped working after 7 years. My anxiety physical symptoms can be acute; I switched to Effexor 18 mos. ago and am very pleased. My anxiety issues have come down several notches and depression is much less frequent and usually manageable. No side effects but dont skip a dose, withdrawl symptons come on quick. I am extremely glad for this medicine.
This medication is a somewhat difficult medication to be on. I have been taking it for many years, the side affects are really bad sometimes. If I miss one dose I start to vomit, shake, pass out, hallucinate, get chills, and I get an electric shock feeling in my brain. It also messes with my vision so I can't drive at night as I get blinded by the lights around me. This works really well as a mood stabilizer for me, I do have to take 300 milligrams in the winter and 150 in the summer. When I go back down to the 150 I can get sick so I have to do it slowly.
I came off 2 meds to this one medicine and I have never felt so good. When I first got it the ratings scared me so bad but after 30 days I feel amazing.
Donâ??t take this medication!! Iâ??ve been on/ off antidepressants for 15 years mostly on and I can tell you that this is the worst medicine to get off of. Iâ??m currently on week 3 of no meds and Iâ??m going through hell, no appetite, crying spurts, insomnia and the damn zapping feeling is the worst! The migraines are daily but Iâ??m determined to stop it. Research the meds they prescribe before you take it!!
Back fusion, shoulder smashed and rebuilt, hip needing replacement. I have permanent nerve damage and foot drop in my right leg from spinal nerve damage. From the back surgery there has been all kinds of pain, I can manage to walk about 100 yards and I'm done for the day. All this after a very healthy and active life style naturally brought on depression as well. 75mg in AM and PM has done wonders. I feel alive, the acute and zapping pain is better/tolerable. For me, a positive all around experience...
I came off of my medications Prozac 20mg and Wellbutrin 150xr per day because of a serious heath issue that had me in a coma for about a week and a half. After recovery my doctor tried Effexor as a replacement. The medicine was so bad, I was seriously considering suicide daily and found myself actually looking for trees along the highway which would do the job. I was an avid duck hunter and one day across a pond was a tree. The tree began to move and come toward me across the pond. I immediately went to my doctor who weaned me off of the med. it took approximately 10-11 months to get off the medicine and get the suicidal thoughts out of my head. I was abusive to my family, which led to a divorce. My career was horribly affected and I lost many friends because of my ups and downs trying to get off of it. It was the worst experience of my life. I’ve heard nothing but horror stories about this medication. Please research it before you try it .
This medication will make you violently ill. It will mess with your head Search deeper! There are better alternatives out there.
At 50, I had a heart attack, bypass surgery and immediately found out I was also in the throes of menopause. I had been on the birth control pill up to the day of my heart attack and that had kept most of the hot flashes away. As soon as I went off the birth control pill, hot flashes hit. Very bad and about 15 per day. Doctor suggested Effexor 37.5mg once a day since I can not take hormones because of heart disease. It took a while (6 weeks) to start working but once it did it was a sure fix for me. Hot flashes happen about 3 times a week now! Decided to come off of it after about 6 months and hot flashes have returned. :( The worst part however is the withdrawal symptoms. Even at that low dose, coming off has given me a week's worth of dizziness when I move my head. My eyes don't seem to be processing what they see in real time and that makes me dizzy. Also have something I will just reference as the "brain zaps" mentioned by others just because I can not describe it. But helping with the hot flashes and mood swings was definitely worth going through the withdrawal !
I took Effexor for 6 months and it changed my personality. The longer I was on Effexor the worse the side effects got. On Effexor I started having insomnia that became so bad that I was lucky to get 2 hours of sleep a night. I became so irritable and impatient that I started having almost uncontrollable fits of anger and cussing when I was alone in my car. I also started cussing when I made a minor mistake. Before I started taking Effexor I DIDN�¢����T cuss. On Effexor I also became significantly more anxious and started experiencing compulsive behaviors that I had NEVER experienced prior to taking Effexor. I stopped taking Effexor a year ago, and I am still experiencing all of these negative changes in my personality except insomnia, Once again, I want to emphasize that I NEVER had any of these issues before I took Effexor.