Effexor and Sweating: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Cri...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 14, 2021

For Depression "I love Effexor!!!! I have had bipolar depression, extreme depression, CPTSD, and a lot of anxiety for as long as I can remember. Within a few weeks (I had to start a low dose and gradually increase due to bad reactions to most bipolar drugs). So when I got to about 175 mg, I started to have no suicidal thoughts AT ALL!! I am so happy to have those thoughts out of my head. I still have some issues, but this drug gave me my life back - with no side effects except extreme fatigue until I got used to it. Now I have no tiredness at all. HOWEVER, HUGE DISCLAIMER. DO NOT STOP TAKING THIS DRUG EVEN FOR A DAY!!!!! You must wean off this. I actually thought it was the end of me when I couldn't get my meds for 2 days. I vomited the entire time, like I couldn't stop. Extreme sweating, hallucinations, not severe, but still scary. Nightmares and the most painful headache that would not stop. The vomiting was the worst. I wasn't able to hold anything down, and I mean extreme cramping of the stomach area. Please be careful."

• bro...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 5, 2017

For Depression "I am a female senior and started taking this drug about 8 months ago. So far, it works well for the depression at 150 mg. I missed taking the drug for 2 days, and as a result, I had terrible symptoms when I went to bed. My muscles felt like they were tensed and shaking, could not go to sleep but must have at some point, and had terrible dreams. Now I feel quite ill: stomach upset, gut upset, sweating, horrible. Had to take some Pepto-Bismol tabs to try to settle my stomach. Took my pill at lunch today, waiting to see if I start to feel better. Surely there must be a drug that can do the same job without the necessity to take it with food and won't send your body into a tizzy if you miss a dose or two."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 15, 2016

For Depression "I was angry all the time and miserable. The doctor prescribed Effexor 75s. The first few days I felt wonderful, better than I'd felt for years. After that, it was the same old, same old, but I wasn't angry anymore. I started getting really bad sweats, I would be just sitting there, and sweat would start rolling down my face. I also started grinding my teeth and picking at sores on my arms and back. I went back to the doctor, she upped the medication to 150. The sweating has stopped. I am working on the teeth grinding and the picking. I was hoping to feel as good as I did when I first started taking the pills, but I don't. Insurance only covers the price of generic, the pharmacist has me on a program that has Effexor makers pay part too."

• Anonymous
• February 1, 2011

For Depression "I feel so much better reading all the feedback. I am in the pits of despair from my 2-month break from Effexor. For 7 years, I have been on 75-150 mg. My life was saved thanks to this medicine. Tried everything. But after seeing some friends get pregnant and lose it due to stopping medicines, I thought I'd wean myself off to see if I was 'cured.' No luck, I feel like things were really good for a month or so, but now I can hardly work and feel antisocial. I need to get back on ASAP, although I never was really happy with the sexual numbness and sweating. It was good to give it a shot, but I will need to be on Effexor for life."

• Eri...
• November 22, 2016

For Depression "If you are thinking about taking this, do not do it. Ask your doctor for something else, anything else. Effexor is horrible. I was put on it due to depression and generalized anxiety. Within the first few weeks, I was emotionally numb, I wasn't sad anymore, but I couldn't feel happiness. Six months later, while still on this, I became suicidal and self-harming, my heart rate started increasing due to my anxiety to the point where I was hospitalized. After that, it was decided I was to come off it, now coming off it is even worse than being on it: shaking, dizziness, headaches, puking, sweating. I've only been off it a week, and already I can feel my mental health calming down. Avoid this drug. Please. For your own safety."

• Anonymous
• October 24, 2011

For Anxiety and Stress "I've been on this medication for almost a month. My doctor told me it could easily take a month to get used to it. I started out with headaches, extreme tiredness, and excessive sweating. The tiredness was gone after about 10 days. The sweating is the worst side effect, and I still suffer with it daily, though I am no longer dripping with sweat like I was when I began the medication. I get occasional headaches, but nothing more than a slight headache to remind me that I have one. I do feel better and am less stressed."

• Dep...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 6, 2017

For Depression "This medication was by far the worst antidepressant I have taken. The first month I seemed to do very well on it, after a year on it, I hit rock bottom mentally. It caused more terrible symptoms than what was beneficial to me. I had weird brain zaps that left me in bed for days, sleep disturbances, attention-seeking behavior, as well as OCD that I had never experienced previously. It took forever to get off this terrible drug, and I call it a terrible drug because your brain and body get physically addicted the way a street drug would. You miss one day, and you start having severe withdrawals, sweats, extreme brain zaps, feeling out of touch with reality, and strange thoughts. After a month of being off Effexor, all of the bad stuff stopped."

• Pur...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 20, 2017

For Major Depressive Disorder "I have fibromyalgia, and the doctors also diagnosed major depressive disorder. After a few attempts, I was prescribed Effexor, but I was never warned of the side effects or the horrible withdrawal symptoms if you ever want to stop. Research it first, I wish I had. I could not get my prescription for 4 days once, and I felt like a drug addict, throwing up, sweating, headache, chest pains. It was severe. I think dying would have been a welcome option at one point. All because I had not realized I was out of refills. Anything that severe is not safe for your body. Now, I am stuck on a medication that has made me feel worse until I can slowly wean off that, it may take a year plus because it impacts your entire body when you cut back slightly."

• mcp...
• November 24, 2015

For Depression "I had been on Cipralex (Lexapro) for about a year when I noticed I was feeling too tired all the time for my liking. I asked about SNRIs because they tend to give more 'energy.' I got switched to Effexor and didn't have a good experience at all. I couldn't stop thinking about terrible things, I had bad anxiety, excessive sweating at night, and my heart would race too much too often. I had to get off after 9 weeks because it was not working for me at all. It made me really appreciate the escitalopram I was taking before. Clearly, different antidepressants work differently for others. I'm just sharing my own experience. Some may do really well on Effexor, unfortunately, I didn't."

• KC8...
• May 14, 2015

For Depression "I am a 140 lb, 29-year-old woman. I was prescribed 150 mg of Venlafaxine XR. I only took it for 5 days due to the horrendous side effects. I experienced dry mouth, excessive sweating, blurred vision, constipation, and increased heart rate. I wasn't on it long enough to determine its effectiveness; I wasn't willing to deal with the side effects. My doctor switched me to Wellbutrin, and I have not experienced any withdrawal symptoms."

• Joh...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 9, 2022

For Depression "I have been on Effexor XR 150 mg for comorbid major depressive and panic disorder. It seemed to work well for a good while - was still depressed (I don't think full remission is possible in chronic depressives, it's just something you learn to live with. Had MDD melancholic type with suicidal thoughts and attempts for 20 years now. It sucks. Suicide is still always in the back of my mind and always will be from my experience. It waxes and wanes, whether on ADs or not. Without them, though, it's intolerable. I had previously been on Prozac 40 mg, but it stopped working, had a bad episode, and ended up in the psych ward where they switched me to Effexor. It helps in severe depression but has its side effects like blunted affect, lack of emotion both positive and negative, heavy sweating, weight gain, loss of libido (moderate to extreme - only in the mood about once or twice a month at best). The withdrawal is the main negative. The symptoms are terrible, am in the midst of it now. Using Prozac bridge."

• Joy...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 26, 2021

For Major Depressive Disorder "I was prescribed Effexor after taking Prozac for anxiety and depression. Prozac made me more suicidal and depressed, hence why I switched. Effexor 30 mg is by far the worst medicine I have ever taken. I had terrible night terrors, I sweated a lot for no reason, I sleepwalked a lot, I was angry all the time for no reason, no sex drive, and when I did have sex, I could never enjoy it to completion. This medicine made me feel crazy. I'd give it a negative 10 if I could. I ended up back in the mental hospital, and the doctor suggested I take more!! I completely stopped taking it one day cold turkey, and I am finally back to feeling myself. Avoid at all costs!!"

• Anonymous
• October 10, 2009

For Anxiety and Stress "This medication helped me with panic attacks, but my anxiety was still pretty prevalent, even at 150 mg a day. In addition, it caused uncomfortable side effects of excessive sweating, especially at night, which would wake me, although I used to be a person who could sleep through a thunderstorm. I also began having severe gastrointestinal problems, which lasted for months before I switched to a different medication. We'll see how it goes."

• Anonymous
• June 8, 2009

For Depression "Improves my mood, less stressed, but nauseous and sweaty."

• Anonymous
• September 10, 2010

For Depression "I am into day 4 of taking Effexor. I have been extremely nauseous, dizzy, and sweaty. I can barely eat and have lost water weight. Mood is great otherwise. I am told the nausea goes away."

• 775...
• January 14, 2010

For Depression "I'm 15 and I just started this. So far, I've gotten nauseous, and I feel very tingly, especially in my head, and hot and sweaty."

• MDe...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 25, 2017

For Major Depressive Disorder "This drug seems to have helped. I've just gone up to 225 mg. Profuse sweating and the rapid withdrawal are the worst."