User Reviews for Effexor XR

It gave me my life back. I would have panic attacks that lasted for hours, always anxious, work was crippling. After one year no side effects. Now I feel normal, confident - it's something I've waited on for 26 years!

I went from being to severely depressed and so lethargic I couldn't get out of bed, to taking the lowest dose of Effexor and suddenly having more energy than I knew what to do with.

I started taking 75 mg Effexor XR four weeks ago. I used to be extremely manic, impulsive, restless, aggressive, destructive, and all-around volatile. I'm back to being a bubbly, happy, normal twenty-year-old girl. I sleep soundly every night for 8-10 hours and wake to the alarm the first time it goes off (both are firsts in my life). I can concentrate in school, and I have hardly any anxiety. I do tire easily, and I have lost about 20 lb (I was a normal weight to begin with).

I think this medication works well for anxiety. It only works average for depression.

I can't believe how much this medicine helps. Something tramatic happened to me last May which made me very anxious and my doctor tried to prescribe this but my insurance company is notorious for turning down any medicine that does not have a generic. Finally in October (after trying many other medicines) I was prescribed Effexor. Although the underlying issues are still there for me, I am myself again.

The generic venlafaxine is not comparable to EFFEXOR XR at all . You have to take them 1 every so many hours you have to figure it out to take during your waking hours. Therefore you crash daily and more than once a day. The bad news is my insurance won't pay for the EFFEXOR I have to pay out of pocket for it.

This medication has helped me out very much. I used to get anxiety attacks often about school or work, a couple times a week but now I rarely get them at all. I also used to just "blow up" in arguments with my wife but now I feel in control of my actions and speech.

Effexor XR did it's job in balancing me out. I had a significant anxiety and depression problem. I started out with 75mgs, moved up to 150mgs and tried 300mgs. In the end, I settled with 150mgs. At 300mgs, my dreams at night were very, very vivid and real like. They were too much to deal with. And mentally I felt bogged down. I did too with 150mgs but not as much. I didn't notice much in side effects when I started taking it. However, it is true it does affect your sexual drive and experience. The prescription is fine if you have health and prescription insurance. The drug itself for a 30 day supply is about $180. The company does not offer you any helpful programs to try to reduce the cost. The company no longer offers free samples to my doctor so if and when I might need it due to a lack of funds, I can't get it from them. I'm trying to come off it and have buzzing zaps dominating my head. As time goes on without the medicine the body feels like it's shriveling up and deals with other irritable side effects. During the time of coming off it, you are very irritable. I have followed my doctors orders of dropping the mgs down to 75 for two weeks. And then taking one capsule every other day after that for two weeks. It's the day in between that is awful, if I don't have one a day.

I am 26 years old and I have been on Effexor for anxiety. When first starting the medication I had severe nausea for about 2 weeks but I stuck with it. Thankfully the nausea went away and now I feel so much better. I feel smarter, more grounded and able to make appropriate decisions. Before going on Effexor it was like I was always working hyper vigilantly to ensure nothing bad happened. Now I am able to relax and go with the flow. The only draw back is the severe withdrawal symptoms of dizziness and "brain jolts." I notice these beginning even if I am just a hour late taking my pill.

I have been taking Effexor XR for about 8 years after suffering a serious mental breakdown. This medicine has given me back my life. Having said that the UK government have recently told all doctors to prescribe the generic version. THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE, I began suffering terrible headaches, and anxiety again. After speaking to my Consultant Psychiatrist I am now back on Effexor with all the nasty symptoms gone. There really is no substitute for the real thing.

I took Effexor for 10 years and found it highly effective controlling anxiety/panic attacks. After deciding to stop [with Doctor's approval], I reduced my dosage gradually, and am discontinuing it. Withdrawal has been rough - like the worst hangover - and I'm into the 5th day but getting better. However, my mood is still good compared to 10 years ago, and I would like to be medication-free. Effexor allowed me to control my anxiety/moods through some tough times and through it, I learned new ways to deal with such. I highly recommend it.

I was switched to Effexor XR after 2 years of Paxil. It worked wonderful for about 3 years. I was on 75mg and started to have uncontrollable movement with my one arm. Talked to my doctor who said it was not the medicine. Well after another year I was having the problem in my legs and both arms and could no longer sit or walk without frequent jerking. My doctor finally realized that it was a rare side effect of the medication from long term use and switched me to another. I still have the jerking at least 2 to 3 times a week. If you notice this problem at all you need to talk to your doctor immediately.

It worked for about a year and then the panic and anxiety came back. Even being weaned off of the drug I had the most horrible side effects, mood swings, 40lb weight gain in only one month to name just a few. I have been off of it now for about 6 months and still experience the brain jolts.

I was on 150mg Effexor XR for about 4 years and it helped me with anxiety and panic attacks. I still had them, but not as often or as extreme. At the same time my doctor also prescribed 0.25mg Xanax for me to take as needed. Just knowing I had them available to help me almost instantly, was more of a panic and anxiety deterrent.

I started taking Effexor about a year ago. It has made an incredible difference to my life. I was extremely anxious, waking at night in a sweat (possible also the onset of menopause) and struggling to go back to sleep. I was also depressed and found myself often crying for no reason at all. I started very slowly, increasing dose every 2 months. I cannot recommend Effexor enough. I feel that it has turned my life around. I did not gain weight at all which was a big concern. I did feel quite lethargic at first and it took a while to get any sex drive back. I am still not back to my usual sex drive, and reaching orgasm is harder. I still feel my decision to stay on Effexor has been the right one. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Continual weight gain, sexual disfunction, lack of normal emotions, stomach problems.

I have found Effexor and therapy to be a fantastic combination. The Effexor alone has kept me from feeling like I'm going to climb the walls. I didn't lose any weight on Effexor. I actually gained some (in part due to my own lack of exercise). I weened off for about a year while I was pregnant. Withdrawals can be rough but not impossible. My advise is to ween VERY slowly. I went from 75 mg daily to 37.5 daily. Then to 37.5 every other day, then every two days, then every three days, etc. until I was taking it once a week then stopped.

I was prescribed Effexor XR for anxiety and it has worked wonderfully. I have NO panic attacks, my constant level of anxiety is gone. However, I think it has worsened my depression slightly. Everyone responds to this medicine differently I guess, and I am more than willing to deal with minor depression if it means my anxiety is gone. This medicine has been great.

I have taken this medication for over 4 years and my life has changed dramatically since then. I take 75mg doses 3 times a day and my days are so much better now compared to over 4 years ago when I would have panic attacks and anxiety attacks. I would recommend this to anyone who has depression or anxiety/social anxiety disorders. The only downfall is if you run out of your prescription the withdrawal symptoms can be intense after about 2 days. Make sure your refills are ready and not about to expire because it can cause you a lot of problems such as it has been in my case. Other than that it is a great medication to help you get back to your normal self again.

I was prescribed this for chronic pain. It did relieve the pain but made me groggy and nauseated, so I did not continue it.

I have been on Effexor XR 75mg for almost 4 years now. It really has been the best thing for me. I tried almost everything and this has definitely been the best. On the downside if you begin taking Effexor just plan on taking it the rest of your life. Doctors fail to tell you about the withdrawals and horrible discontinuation syndrome. I am pregnant now and having an extremely hard time getting off.