User Reviews for Effexor XR

I have been on this medication for 12 mths now. The only side effect is being extremely tired. However this is much better than the depression I was experiencing. I've always had moments however after having a traumatic child birth, and various other family issues it quickly increased. It has basically saved my marriage and allows me to now enjoy the time with my beautiful children. I have struggled to lose weight (still from my second child), however I am also using the Mirena which seems to have negative reviews in this area. So I'm looking to remove it. I'm glad I have read the other posts, as I'm more confident that the removal of the Mirena will allow me to lose the few kilo's that I have, as I need to stay on the Effexor a little longer.

18 year old female and have been on it for 5 months. Just recently quit taking it and had horrid withdrawal symptoms. I don't recommend quitting cold turkey. Talk to the doctor and formulate a titration schedule to wean yourself off. Worked to help lessen my depression, though I am not sure it helped as much as Prozac did.

I suffer from depression and anxiety. For the last 20 years, I've had counseling and been on many antidepressants; Prozac, wellbutrin, Paxil, etc. Effexor is the first medication that has noticeably helped. I was worried after reading all the negative reviews, but tried it anyway. I noticed a change after the first week, and it has gotten better ever since. Been on it for two years now and all is good in the world. Very rarely get sad, unless there is a reason for it (death, break up, pet dying) also I used to have anxiety talking to more than one person at a time, now I can talk to a room full of people with little to no anxiety.

This medication has been life changing for me. Suffering from depression and extreme anxiety I have much more control now and the black moods are not so dark. I no longer feel suicidal and am so relieved to have some relief from the constant pressure of being depressed / moody / anxious. It is important I remember to take it every day or I start to withdraw pretty much straight away with dizziness and a strange sensation in my throat plus rather severe radical dreams. Other than that I am grateful to have something that works with minimal side effects.

I'm not sure if it is too early too speak but I'm 18 years old and have had crippling depression for 2 years now and have been suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder since I was 8 years old. A year and a half ago my GAD decided to plague my relationship with my wonderful boyfriend of two and a half years. It's a pretty rare condition but I have self-diagnosed myself with ROCD (relationship obsessive compulsive disorder) I have now been on Effexor for 2 months now. My G.P put me on it after crippling depression. It began working right away and I am now a much happier person. Although my anxiety is not gone, I am able to have a healthy relationship with my boyfriend. This is a miracle.

Effexor XR changed my life. Before I was on it, I suffered from constant unremitting generalized anxiety and deep, dark depressive episodes. 150mg Effexor XR gave me my life back. over the years I had to increase my dose, ultimately ending up at 450mg. Unfortunately after year 9 it pooped out on me altogether. How I wish it would come back! A great antidepressant. All side effects for me went away within the first few weeks. Now giving Pristiq a try.

For me this is better than Paxil simply because I feel more alert and have more energy.

It's not a bad medicine; works wonderfully for many others, but not so much for me. Effexor XR gave me some energy and got rid of my insomnia. That's about it. I think if I was on another medication, I would have more energy than Effexor has to offer. It worked better the third and forth week of taking it.

It seemed to help my depression and anxiety but the trade off was the side effects I experienced. If I was a few hours late I would experience significant withdraws that made my anxiety worse than it was. I had sexual side effects such as lack of sex drive and inability to ejaculate during intercourse.

I've been taking Effexor XR for about two months now. I was in the hospital after a suicide attempt when the psychiatrist there put me on it. At first I had the worst side effects. I was super tired, couldn't concentrate on anything, and got dizzy all the time. After about two weeks those went away. I have moderate anxiety and it's helped a lot with that. I still get nervous a lot but I haven't had an anxiety attack since I started taking Effexor. For my depression though it hasn't helped at all. I still find it hard to get out of bed, can't sleep at nights. Also, I missed a dose once and it was not good at all. I was miserable. I was tired, had the worst headache, and I was about ready to jump in front of a train.

This medicine did boost my mood but the side effects were awful. I gained 20 lbs. and became forgetful. I began to experience DIZZINESS while on this medicine, and when I missed a dose, the dizziness got worse so I figured Effexor reduced rather than caused it. The dizziness progressed to VERTIGO. I couldn't even drive. The doc tried everything to figure out what was making me dizzy: ENT, Audiologist, Physical Therapy, brain MRI. Nothing showed up. I decided to quit the medicine on my own. I had the most horrible withdrawals- extreme irritability, worse vertigo (I was even dizzy in my dreams!. But after a few weeks, ALL SYMPTOMS DISAPPEARED! I'm on Wellbutrin now, lost the 20 lbs and I feel fantastic!

Helped with depression but caused fatigue, dehydration and difficult urination.

I'm 22, male, with major depression, have been taking Effexor XR for over a year. Has partially helped, I still suffer from anxiety, lack of motivation, mood swings and seems like its changing my personality. The withdrawal symptoms are the worst. Missed 2 days of my dose and feeling sick.

Effexor XR 300 mg has really worked well for me. Although, I am gaining weight. I previously lost 50 lbs and now it is coming back on. My doctor thinks it has something to do with all my medicines that I am on for depression, PTSD, anxiety disorder, just to name a few. I am hesitant of trying a different medicine, but I can't keep on gaining the weight. It is too hard on my back.

I have been on Effexor XR for years. I have been on several other SSRIs through the years that eventually stopped working. Effexor has been the most successful in the long term. I take 150mg of the XR and 37.5 three times a day of the regular Effexor. The regular was recently added as my depression has worsened due to additional stress at work. I have not had any major side effects, even on this high of a dose. I do agree that withdrawal is serious. If I miss a dose, I have a buzzing feeling, crying and increase in depression almost immediately. This is one medication that I do not go without--ever. I am a bit worried about ever going off of it for these reasons. I believe that this can be done safely with the help of a physician.

Been on it for years up to 300 mg XR daily so much happier at this time!

Good results but I have hot flashes when I take it.

This is the best medication I have ever taken! I am a 18 year old College student, suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Mood Disorder, and Depression and I cannot fathom as to how much this medication has helped my life. The first two weeks of taking it I could notice differences in how I socially interacted with people (much more out-going and easy-going). Now I've been on the medicine for two months and I will NEVER stop taking it! I have absolutely no problems anymore, I still can sometimes work myself up every now and then but I'm prescribed to 0.5mg of Klonopin for onset anxiety. The only thing I can say bad about this medicine is that I crash at the end of the day for about an hour, and then have disrupted sleep.

I have used this anti-depressant at varying dosages over the past 5 years and it has proved to be very efficient at managing my depression. I do wish to highlight the intense physical withdrawal symptoms I experience if I miss even one dose (flu-like symptoms). This is an excellent medicine but when you choose to lower your dosage, only do it in conjunction with a medical professional as it can be quite physically demanding.

I would recommend always using the Extended Relief formula. It causes less side effects. Also be careful and monitor your blood pressure.

I've been on Effexor XR 150mgs for 3 weeks now and its really working for me. I've been on a few other medicines and never did the job. I was hospitalized for severe depression and suicidal thoughts. They gave me this Effexor and what a difference. I'm a different person. I have tons of energy and those things that bothered me don't anymore.

I have been on Effexor XR for 7 years now and it's awesome! I briefly went off it for awhile and it does have bad side effects when you are taken off of it so it's best to wean off slowly. I got back on it and it's really the best out of a lot antidepressants that I have tried. I can tell if I miss a dose, my moods are more irritable and I get down easier. It has helped me with social anxiety. No bad side effects.

Effexor XR treated my depression very well. It relieved me of the despair that kept me from leading a productive life. On the other hand, I felt an inability to feel strong emotion of any kind. I didn't get excited by anything, I didn't laugh in funny movies or cry in sad movies. I felt generally good, but also felt that I was missing out on something. I quit Effexor cold turkey - NOT a good idea - and experienced terrible withdrawal symptoms. Don't expect to come off this medicine easily, though it is possible. As a side note, I experienced intensely vivid dreams while taking Effexor, dreams that made absolutely no sense. I gave up telling anyone about them because they thought I was lying.

I took Effexor XL about a year ago for about 6 months. At first, it worked great. Then, I got sick and couldn't take it for a couple days, and OMG the withdrawal. I felt like I was going to pass out, and throw up. I was dizzy. It was awful, and it took two more days of taking it before those feelings went away. I finally decided to talk my doctor about getting off the Effexor. I had to step down at half dose intervals and in turn, go through the withdrawals 3 times over the time frame of three weeks. Just as the withdrawals subsided from one cut, I had to cut again.

Side effect: sexual dysfunction