User Reviews for venlafaxine oral

I have been taking this for 2 months now, before I was taking Cymbalta which worked great for my anxiety and depression, but cost too much. The venlafaxine works too, but I have noticed that if a miss a dose,I get that brain zap. On the plus side I have lost 12 lbs and although I still remain very nauseous when I take it, after eating a small amount of food, I feel better. On the downside, I am unable to sleep as I did with the Cymbalta, and when I do sleep, I have these horrible nightmares that I never had before. It is like the medication is bringing all my fears and anxieties to life in my head each night. They are very scary, and I often awake with my heart pounding and feeling very anxious but that goes away when I see that I am safe. Has anyone else experienced this? Read More Read Less

only been taking it for three days!

My doctor started me on the generic Venlafaxine XR less than 2 weeks ago, for depression with anxiety, at the 'starter' dose of 37.5 mg/day. Other than dry throat and some loss of appetite, no side effects for me. Within 5 days I was feeling better—no longer waking up early in the morning with my heart beating out of my chest and terrified, as I have been on and off for years. I feel calmer and don't worry as much. I would like to stay at this low dosage as the results have been great and I don't like taking medications for anything anyway. I still haven't regained my full appetite, which sucks, as I am a real 'foodie', but the tradeoff is worth it. I see many comments on here regarding the expense of Effexor vs. the generic. Just to let you know that in my province in Canada, with an employers medical program, 2 weeks of Venlafaxine cost me less than $4.Read More Read Less

I've used both the XR and the generic regular release. The XR made me less sleepy and was easier to take (one each evening with a little snack). I went on the generic because of the cost. It's helped me greatly with panic disorder and depression. I've been able to deal with stress and residual depressive symptoms with exercise, relationships and eating better. I get a little more nauseous with the generic, too, but I just have to eat something when I take my meds to make that manageable. I would go back to the XR in a minute if I could afford it, but at least I can live my life with minimal side effects and no panic attacks. Read More Read Less

it works well for me however I have no insurance and it is very expensive

evering was wonderfull, hardly any panic atacks, exiety was disapating with every day, i have even been able to go back to collega, then I stoped talking the meds for to weeks dr put me back on same dose and i Over dosed or O.D.thank god i didnt go into a coma and im still alive, i still want to be on this med. it helps me that much

The first few days I started the medication I was very nauseaus. Now I am fine with it. The only side effect I'm having is losing weight(no appetite) I've lost 10 pounds. I am down to 118. I seem to have a little more energy. I'm on my second month so I haven't seen a significant change in my depression yet. I know it takes time. I missed a dose one day and the next day I was sick. Overall I'm satisfied so far.

Taking Venlafaxine is my 3rd attempt at depression medication. I started out with Celexa but had her switch me bc I gained a large amount of weight. My dr then prescribed me Wellbutrin. I was horribly allergic to it. She now has put me on Venlafaxine...it has been only 2 days and so far I've experienced ALOT of side effects. Not sure if they will continue to be bothersome, but felt compelled to let others know about them. Nausea...it is horrible. Even after eating something prior to taking it, had me on my toes for the bathroom. Didnt get sick, but the feeling was strong enough to head towards the bathroom constantly. 2nd of all, I couldnt sleep last night. I was tired, but my eyes were racing and didnt seem to want to shut. 3rd-my pupils look like cat eyes. I am also foggy, feeling somewhat numb....I hope it gets better, cuz this is only day 2Read More Read Less

has helped with my depression

As a person with an eating disorder in my background I never should have used this medication. My appetite disappeared instantly and my weight plummeted. It eventually cost me a very hard hospital stay to recover. In addition I do not feel it helped it's intended use at all.

I use effexor for both depression and anxiety. I have been scared all my life, both constant social fear and panic attacks. I was so bad that if I didn't have anything to worry over, I'd think of things that MIGHT happen to worry over. After taking this drug, I am FINALLY anxiety free and my depression is completely controlled. for someone with multiple sclerosis that's a miracle!! I love this drug and would tell anyone to try it.

I've been taking this drug for about 2 wks. And I have to say I'm a different person. It's great. There were side effects at first like trouble sleeping and unusual tiredness but those symptons passed.

I was on Wellbutrin before this and I took myself off of it because I hated it. When I started this medication I noticed that my symptoms have improved greatly and I feel like I am a totally different person. I have lost weight on this because I don't resort to food as a comfort. I also have noticed that I sweat a little more than before but overall I would not change the way I feel for something as little as that.

I WAS ON EFFEXOR XR CHANGED TO THIS ONE DUE TO THE COST,,,HAVE NOT BEEN HAPPY AT ALL WAY TOO MANY SIDE EFFECTS. I WAS TAKING 100MG OF EFFEXOR AND THEN WENT TO 100MG TWICE A DAY, EXPERIENCES CONSTIPATION, HEADACHES, VERY DRY MOUTH, IRRIBILITY WITH MY HUSBAND, STOMACH PROBLEMS. ETC ETC,,,GOING TO MY DOCTORS ON FRIDAY TO SEE IF THERE IS ANY OTHER MEDICATION I CAN TAKE,,,HAVE TO TAKE SOMETHING DUE TO STRESS LEVEL OF JOB.

I am in a Chronic Pain Management program wherein the docs are dealing specifically with pain, depression, etc. Whether it was psychosomatic or not, I felt relief immediately on taking the first 25 mg tab. Then, also with rapid onset, it began to give me hot flashes (which I left behind several years ago). I realize that Venlafaxine is sometimes prescribed to relieve hot flashes, but it had the opposite effect on me. Scrip said to increase dose by 25 mg every 5 days to max of 50 mg in AM and 50 mg in PM. I decided to stick with the extremely low 25 mg dose once/day for just over two weeks, and then increase by a half tab. I felt myself slip back into depression, and of course, the hot flashes remained. I called the doctor to report on this, and he prescribed Trazodone instead. I was on Venlafaxine for about one month. We'll see how Trazodone works...Read More Read Less

I've been taking Venlafaxine for a few weeks now for my anxiety/depression/panic attacks. I have noticed an improvement in mood and energy level. It makes me a little nauscious and light-headed when I take it so I take it with a meal to reduce those symptoms. At this point I would say the benefits outweigh those mild side effects. One other weird thing: Huge loss of appetite. I still eat healthfully, but I'm just not as obsessed with food as I used to be. I've lost a lot of weight. So far I would recommend it :)Read More Read Less