User Reviews for Effexor oral

My mother committed suicide 10 days after coming off of this medication. Please be careful when coming off effexor.

i was on effexor for the first time in 2003. i got dizzy spells i think withdrawls, def brain shocks. like a seizure i couldnt move. i dealt with that for 6 years. it was withdrawls cuz now i am back on it and i dont have any of that. after 6 yrs i went bak 2 my doc cuz i couldnt handle it anymore. he gave me pristiq.(samples) that stuff is krazy. didnt work for me. rite now im on the lowest dose bcuz i kno im hooked on it but it is helping w my anxiety. i would consider a dif drug sumthin less addictive if u r diagnosed w anxiety. hope i helped sum1Read More Read Less

I take 3 caps of 75mg every day and have for a few years now. I like Effexor, haven't had any side effects. If I miss a day for some reason, I have serious side effects such as severe headache, loss of appetite, nervousness and a feeling of electrical shocks going through my body. Sounds weird I know. My psych told me that the electrical shocks are the main complaints with Effexor.

I've been taking this medication for about one month now and somethings this medication is good at and others not. Recently, I've been having severe anxiety attacks and my doctor decided to use this in order to help with the anxiety. The first couple of weeks were torture but after that the side effects did subside. Now I've been having terrible and weird nightmares. It didn't really help with the anxiety but however it does work with my IBS and my compulsions. For myself, it really was kind of a hit and miss; it treats one thing but not the other. Read More Read Less

I've been a antidepressants for 10 years. I recently switched to Effexor (low dose)and it has been awesome. I suffered from severe pain due to GERD issues and it would get worse as my anxiety level went higher. Now with that under control I am feeling so much better. I did lose 5 lbs and worry about gaining weight, but I need to be responsible for what goes in my mouth and not blame the meds. :-)

I started taking this med for a mild depression. I have been a long term pain person, taking ten meds a day, and getting damn tired of doing it. The chore itself was dragging me down, heading to the med chest over and over and over. Combined with low testosterone and having to slather myself with gel daily to get that up, also became part of this nuiscence. So, I asked for something and this was it. Now, I am la di da over most things, while my wife weighs the pros and cons of various things, I simply just go about it all with out too much of a care. I am taking 37.5 2x a day. Is this worth the garbage you must endur to get off of it? I guess I will let you know, as I already have an issue with dizzyness and a whooshing as I turn my head quickly, like to see if a car is coming as I enter the highway. That is being teated by a CT scan of my head and a neurologist and Prednosone. Ho, will he be surprised this could be the culprit! So I will go with half the drug for two weeks, then off we go. I will try to deal with these, albeit minor problems, compared to some of you with major situations. I have always relied on the kindness of.... no just kidding I have always relied on myself for keeping ME on an even keil, its back to taking responsiblilty for me. Ciao!Read More Read Less

I have suffered with panic/anxiety disorder all of my life. The paic attacks started at a very young age and over the years, I developed many phobias as a result. I was given many drugs over the years, but never took them. My life became "smaller" and "smaller", and in desperation, after many years of therapy that never really helped, I agreed to take Effexor. For two weeks, I had every reaction listed. But at the end of the two weeks, my life began. All of the fear and anxiety was gone! All the things I couldn't do for years, or would do with incredible fear, was not a problem. I consider it a miracle! Yes, I don't like to think I will have to take it always, but I know that my disorder is genetic and won't go away because it is a chemical imbalance. Many of my family members and children have the same issues. I know I was lucky, and on the first try, got the right medication for me. Life is good.Read More Read Less

It has been very effective with my social anxiety. After the initial week of side effects, I had 6 months where it worked. The last three months I've become mentally slower, physically weaker, I feel shakey and my hand is starting to shake. My sister who started taking it about the same time I did also complained of feeling off when she needed to take a test for a job and only got 1/2 of the questions done. That's when I recognized that it may be the medication that we both take.

Effexor or its generic is a "good and bad" story for me: good, in that it did a great job at managing my A.D.D. (and the depression that can come from it); bad, because I gained 75 POUNDS while on it! My family doctor thought I had something wrong metabolically. She ran all kinds of tests on liver function, blood sugars, etc. Nothing. No matter how much I exercised or dieted, the weight kept piling on. The clincher was when my wife and I did the South Beach diet. She lost about 15 pounds; I gained about 10 (and no cheating at all). While researching Effexor on the internet, I kept seeing comments about weight gain over and over again. When I asked my psychiatrist about it, he seemed not to know! So we moved me off of Effexor and on to Wellbutrin and a small dose of Prozac. BINGO! I've already lost about 30 pounds in the six months since then, without any change in diet or exercise. In fact, with my crazy schedule (I'm a pastor), I've exercised LESS in the past six months than I usually do. No doubt - it was the Effexor. I have one warning for anyone reading this who wants to get off: the withdrawal period is going to be really WEIRD! I had some strange effects during the about three weeks it took for the Effexor to filter out of my body. Things like your head feeling like it's whooshing around in a breeze, sudden surges of "voltage" through your body (no pain), occasional minor twitches of muscles for short periods of time. None of it was enough to impair me - it just wasn't very pleasant. If you've gained a bunch of weight while taking Effexor, I'd venture to say: it's the drug. Your psychiatrist can prescribe some combination of other things that will work well for you. My combo of Wellbutrin and Prozac is doing the job admirably for me. Hang in there! Read More Read Less

I initially was put on 225mgs of Effexor XR but reduced the mgs. to 175 since to take the dosage at 225 I had to seperate bottles since the dosage was do high. This made it difficult for me to remember to take the medication. I am not satisfied with the amount of pain relief and the effectiveness as an antidepressant. I am experiencing several episodes of suicidal thoughts and PTSD flashbacks. I have noticed my mood swings and depression to be increasing. I have Fibromyalgia which also does not seem to be helped with this drug.Read More Read Less

I have been on Effexor for 2 years, it works great, but if you miss a dose you go crazy and have "withdraw". I was told you don't get addicted to it, but it seems like you do. It works really good for my anxiety & depression. I can't take many other anti-depressants due to the fact they don't work.

my experience was really good for the firstwhile.then after ward i stared feeling worse or heavily meducated and was just taking 37.5 so i came off them on my own .

My experience with Effexor changed after the first six months. I take 75 mg daily. The first six months were great. I had some side effects at first, but after a week, they went away almost completely. It really helped with my anxiety and I was very satisfied. After about 6 months on Effexor, things started to change and I started feeling pretty bad. Now I feel a little dizzy and "drunk" all of the time. I also have a minor headache all the time, which occasionally escalates into a debilitating migraine. I've also noticed I'm more compulsive than I used to be. For example, I feel a compulsion to do the same things after work every day. Or, if I start a task (cleaning or gardening for example), I can't stop until I have finished every single possible related job. Has anyone else noticed this? My first instinct is to stop taking it. Has anyone else had a similar experience? I don't really know what to do now. I don't want to feel anxious any more, but I also don't want to feel the way I feel right now. Any comments would be appreciated!Read More Read Less

I have been on effexor for about 14 months and still have my attacks, but not as many as before

I've been on Effexor for 2 years, and I honestly can't tell you that I've really seen a difference. O course, I'm on so many other medications, I can't tell whether I'm coming or going!

I was prescribed effexor for hot flashes.