User Reviews for venlafaxine oral

Life-changing, life-saving. I was prescribed 150 mg a day of the regular (not XR) form 18 years ago. I started feeling much better right away -- far less anxious and sad. The only downside is I can space out just enjoying my random happy thoughts so I need to remind myself to get back to getting things done -- but that's not too hard and way better than being sad and scared all the time. Once when I was sick (for other reasons) I couldn't keep the venlafaxine pills down which made me unintentionally go off it cold turkey, which gave me nightmares until I could get it to stay down again. That scared me so I weaned myself -- VERY SLOWLY! IMPORTANT! -- down to 75 mg a day, so now if I forget to take them I only get really sad and anxious ( no nightmares) until I get back on it. I also went off it on purpose -- VERY SLOWLY -- and stayed off for a year to see if maybe I didn't need it anymore. It was a horribly anxious year. I felt a million percent better when I went back on it. Because I take the regular form, I have never had the "brain zaps" or other weirdness associated with the XR form. A relative takes venlafaxine with results like mine; I think we have a genetic brain wiring issue that it mends. I am infinitely grateful this medicine exists and sad for all the people with this condition who were sad and scared every day before this was invented -- or who still are because they can't afford it. It is not for every depressed or anxious person -- I read that each medication only helps a small percent (but a different group usually) of all patients, but at least this helps some of us.Read More Read Less

I started out with a dose of 37.5 mg for my severe peripheral neuropathy in my toes and upper feet. When that didn't make much of a difference - my Gabapentin/Neurontin had basically become ineffective - they raised my dose to 75 mg. I couldn't tolerate it, and both the higher and lower doses gave me chronic constipation and nausea, along with undesired weight loss. So every couple of days I take 37.5 mg, along with 600 mg of Gabapentin in the morning and 6-900 mg at night. I am about to try a formula made up of several ingredients, including Gabapentin, that I have to have made at a compounding pharmacy that will be topical. Hopefully that gives more relief, because currently I can hardly drive a car due to the extreme pain. Read More Read Less

This was prescribed for me when I was diagnosed with a fatal, incurable disease and expected to live no more than a few months. I have been taking it these few months and it has really helped. I actually feel happier and more upbeat than before my diagnosis! Which is kind of crazy, but I'm grateful to spend this time enjoying my remaining life. I hope it helps you as well. :)

I've been on this RX for about 2 years. I do experience sweating more than I would like but I can live with it. Overall it has helped stabilize my mood. What I am experiencing more recently which is concerning and I'm trying to figure out if it's related to this RX is complete loss of bladder control. I'm 38 and literally cannot hold my urge to urinate longer than a minute or two. Has anyone had this same experience? Over the last 6 months it went from moderate to severe. I have a follow up to discuss but curious what others know. Read More Read Less

I was on this drug for almost 5 years and over the last 6 months or so I decided to switch. I realized I was extremely fatigued, would get random dizzy spells, more frequent anxiety (crazy right), and just didn't feel like myself. Maybe the drug just stopped working, who knows. I was on only 75 mg but not willing to increase my dose!!! Also transitioning off the drug was NOT fun... pretty much two weeks of hell. However I am off the drug now and would not recommend it to anyone else. Also if you miss a dose - brain zaps!!!! Gross.Read More Read Less

Venlafaxine helped my depression at first. But when I lost my job, it actually made my depression worse. I couldnâ??t do anything but sleep all day. I had brain fog and increased negative self-talk. I became suicidal a couple of times. Thankfully I reported this to my doctor and she is now in the process of weaning me off. OMG itâ??s like night and day. The fog has lifted, I can think clearly, I have a much more positive outlook, I have way more energy. My recommendation is that if this drug works for you, great. But the minute it stops working, tell your doctor immediately because it could make it worse to the point of suicide. Read More Read Less

Horrible experience for me. I took ONE PILL, the 37.5 mg dose as prescribed, for depression. Through the day I felt ok, maybe a little loopy, with some tension in the neck, slight headache, grinding of teeth. Went to sleep, then woke up in the middle of the night sweating profusely, extremely nauseas and hallucinating!! I had horrible, vivid thoughts, felt completely out of body and "compelled" to kill myself. It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced. I was not suicidal before taking this drug. The little sane part left in me stashed all sharp objects into a drawer and flushed the meds. I crawled into bed, shaking all over, sweating buckets and terrified. I won't even speak to my doctor again after this experience. Lifestyle changes and eastern herbal supplements have been far more effective. It was my first experience with antidepressants and hopefully my last.Read More Read Less

I took one pill and experienced hallucinations and trouble breathing. I woke up exhausted with fixed pupils, throughout the day I had chest pain, heart palpitations, nausea and high blood pressure. The following day I am having severe migraine in right side of scull and vision issues.

I've been depressed for about 10 years trying several different types of antidepressants. One night I got so low I tried to commit suicide and was then placed in a mental health facility for about 2 weeks. They took me off my Zoloft and put me on this. After everything I just have to say you can't wait expecting it to not work. I looked forward to it and I finally feel happy!

I asked my doctor to prescribe me antidepressants and he prescribed me venlafaxine. I did experience insomnia, headaches, and small appetite in the beginning when taking this medicine. I started off with the minimum 37.5mg dose and increased it to 75mg after a month. The sudden increase led to suicidal thoughts and intense physical side effects. Though my doctor insisted that I take the drug for longer, I decided to get off the drug after 2 months after reading some reviews online. I just felt so tired and washed out all the time. The withdrawal was terrible. I couldn't go to school for a week. Constant migraines, nausea, dizziness, and no willpower. I was fortunate enough to only be taking the medicine for 2 months before I got off. I don't know how the withdrawals are for those who have been taking the drug for over a year. Now that I'm off, I feel like my mood has soared in the opposite direction and I'm a lot more awake/aware of my surroundings. REALLY don't recommend taking venlafaxine. It is not worth the side effects.Read More Read Less

I have been taking this for 4 months. My issues were constant anxiety that resulted in insomnia, anger and frustration, and often confusion and disorientation. It has helped the most with anxiety stemming from social situations, and calming the constant anxious thoughts that were causing a lot of my confusion and stress. It has not helped as much as I had hoped with anger and frustration during stressful situations. The first 2 weeks were awful, I was exhausted all day but had brain "zaps" and restless legs at night that kept me awake. Thankfully that went away. Read More Read Less

I can stress enough that this drug should be a LAST RESORT. The withdrawals are horrible, and the multitude of people stating such are not lying. I was warned about the withdrawals by my psychologist, so I asked my Dr that was prescribing this med. She said the withdrawal horror stories were not true - WRONG. She has never taken this drug - the stories are true. I was only on it for 2 months (it made me much much worse, not better) and am currently going through the withdrawal (day 4). It's absolutely awful, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, wanting to cry for no reason out of nowhere (I'm a 6'1" 215lb man!). Some people may have no other choice but I would exhaust ALL OTHER OPTIONS before allowing yourself to be put on this stuff. Eventually you will need to get off, and the longer your on it the harder that gets. I am only posting this to hopefully save a few other people from what I am going through. Everyone is different, but scour the internet, you pretty much can't find ANYONE that stopped this stuff and didn't have issues. And you can always find someone that says they didn't have a problem coming off a med, I have yet to find one with Venlafaxine (Effexor).Read More Read Less

I had to be hospitalized for 2 weeks in an mental health facility. The Psychiatrist switched my depression drug I had been taking from a Prozac derivative to Venlafaxine (Efexor} because she had had such positive results in patients than any other depression medication. Within a week I could tell a huge difference in relief from depression and anxiety. I truly feel great now and highly recommend this drug. It has renewed my joy in life!!!

works ok. Caused me to have chest tightness. Dr's thought it was asthma that was uncontrolled and have been treated with steroids. Has the worst ever withdrawals coming off of it. Cold sweats, body aches, horrible headache. Its not worth it . You miss one days and you will regret it.

Have been using this medication for 9 months. Over this time frame,I have experienced,heart flutter,erratic heart rate,erratic blood pressure,trouble breathing,weight gain,constantly focused on thinking of past Tramatic experiences, hallucinations.

I began this med because my panic attacks/panic disorder was getting worse, and I needed a change. I certainly got that. Within the first week, I basically lost my appetite. By the fourth week, I was constantly nauseated, had started hearing/seeing things that weren't there, talking full volume in my sleep all night long, kicking and twitching legs in my sleep, and was in a foul mood pretty much all the time. By the fifth week I decided to stop taking this after a two-day marathon of vomiting every hour. Legs jumping/shaking uncontrollably. I went two days without being able to keep food or liquids down at all. Which meant I couldn't keep any pills down...which lead to starting withdrawal. With panic attacks I'm pretty used to feeling crummy, but this drug...felt like poison. I'm thrilled for people that it worked for but that wasn't me, not by a long shot. I know I'm probably an outlier but wow. Never been that sick in my life. If you DO decide to take this medication, make sure if you're feeling lousy you're keeping in touch with your doctor. I probably should have gone to the ER, in retrospect. Make sure you start this drug sloooowly and if you come off it, come off it the same way. Be careful out there, kids. Good luck to you all and God Bless.Read More Read Less

This is one of the few anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medications I have been able to tolerate after 30 years of feeling like a guinea pig and mostly not taking medications due to side effects. A genetic test revealed I should not be taking SSRIs or many other medications. Everybody is different, but this has been the most effective I have ever tried, with no obvious side effects.

Four years ago I injured my hamstring and pretty much every near-by body part on my left middle quadrant (hip, ALL my glute muscles, IT band, hamstring, etc) and fell into what my Doctor referred to as "pain induced depression". He explained that if I were not in pain, I would not be depressed. My injury caused permanent nerve and muscle damage, so I had to make drastic life-style changes that I was not use to. (I went from overly active, to just getting by.) I tried Cymbalta and after just one pill, it was a no-go for me (bad reactions.) I was hesitant to try another brand, but thought I had nothing to loose. My Doc put me on the lowest possible does of Venlafaxine (25mg 3xday) and after just 1 week, I started to notice a difference. He wanted to increase me after 3 months, but I have never asked for it, as the minimal dose is just enough to get me wanting to live life again. It also helped reduce my pain just enough that I have not had to go from my regular Tramadol to the dreaded Percocet. I know this is not for everyone, but if you have nerve pain AND are depressed, this just may work for you. NEVER GIVE UP, sometimes you have to be your own advocate. (I saw 15 docs, had 9 MRIs, 7 various injections, 2CTs, 2 surgeries, 1 ultra sound, 1 PRP injection all in 4 years before I found something that works for me.Read More Read Less

my mood is so much better and I am taking it for hot flashes .

I've only been on this medication (37.5mg) for a week and my family can tell a GREAT improvement. I no longer fly off the handle. I have energy and have even lost 5 lbs. Can't beat that. I take it in the morning, tried the afternoon but had problems getting to sleep come night time.