Venlafaxine for Anxiety User Reviews (Page 3)

• Tor...
• September 27, 2018

Venlafaxine "I was taking Celexa for anxiety, and when that stopped working effectively after three years, my doctor put me on Effexor. I cannot express enough how much I disliked this drug. I took it at a high dose for a while and decided to cut the dose in half because I just felt “numb.” And then I crashed. I felt so many emotions in one day, I felt like a different person. All of my personal relationships were failing because I was just pushing people away. I’ve never felt depression before, and I constantly felt alone in the dark with no light in sight. I honestly had no care in the world if I lived or died. So I stopped altogether. I would rather feel my old anxiety than any of the negative emotions I felt on Effexor. By day three with no meds, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m now at a week clean, and I’m starting to feel like me again. I will never touch this medication again."

• CA...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 8, 2018

Venlafaxine "My doctor prescribed this for ongoing anxiety, and it was horrible! I took one 37.5 mg dose at around 9:30 p.m. At 2:30 a.m., I was jolted awake from a bad dream. I never have any trouble sleeping before, but I suddenly had an overwhelming feeling that I needed to get up and go somewhere. I paced around my house, not understanding why I couldn't stop moving. My heart was pounding, and my body felt electrified. I had this cold sensation that felt like ice water in my veins, but I was sweating profusely. My mind was racing, but I felt confused over what was happening. I finally woke my husband up, and he had to sit up with me for over an hour until the worst of it passed. The next morning, I had nausea and felt like I had the flu, shaking and chilled. This was probably the worst I've felt in my life, and although I've never done meth, I imagine it feels somewhat similar to how I felt. Please beware when trying this medication for the first time!"

• Nat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 16, 2018

"I took it for 2 days and felt like I was having a constant panic attack. My pupils were like saucers, and I was having shivers all over my body and covered in sweat whenever I closed my eyes. I had to take two days off work and get my prescription changed. My GP increased the Mirtazapine I was on previously instead. I felt immediately better after I stopped taking it. Unfortunately, I have taken it again by accident after getting my pills mixed up and have been up all night! For me personally, the most powerful drug I've taken, and with the most side effects. May work for you, but I'd try other ADs first."

• Tea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 13, 2018

"Terrible drug, stay away. It heightened my anxiety symptoms tenfold. Just awful."

• Dan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 31, 2018

Venlafaxine "Gave me hypoglycemia upon waking and panic attacks... at the lowest dosage of 37.5 mg when added on to Lexapro. Never again."

• Foo...
• March 1, 2018

"I can't 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 doctor that was prescribing this medication. 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" 215 lb 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 you're on it, the harder that gets. Everyone is different, but scour the internet, you pretty much can't find ANYONE that stopped this stuff and didn't have issues."

• whi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 29, 2017

"When I finally had the courage to seek professional help for my depression and anxiety, I was given this drug to try. I'd never been on antidepressants before and was hesitant about it. I took this and straight away I felt very sick. I was always crying when I had no one present with me, dizzy, needing to vomit, etc. Ended up in the ER. I went straight off this med and tried something else. Don't be put off from trying this drug from my comment. It affects people differently, and for me, this drug just didn't work out, but another one did."

• WTF...
• October 18, 2017

"HELP! I don't know what to do... I recently was prescribed venlafaxine 37.5 and am afraid to take it. I am male, 54, recently divorced, and have been struggling with severe anxiety/panic attacks. The attacks come on so strong I have physically 'blacked out' and fell to the floor. I have been in an 'emotional hurricane' for almost 1 year since the divorce. I originally was prescribed buspirone (sp) and escitalopram (sp). Severe suicidal thoughts and a suicide attempt. I am at my wit's end. I have job pressure, life struggles, relationship issues. If there are any men out there who can advise... please help!"

• Par...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 2, 2017

"My son was prescribed 75 mg venlafaxine by his physician for anxiety and depression. He had many of the side effects for 18 months without realizing it was from the drug: excessive burping, yawning, insomnia, mood swings, and tremors. He stopped taking them, and after 8 days, had a manic episode from the withdrawals. He was hospitalized in ICU for 4 days. It almost killed him. Do not take an antipsychotic or antidepressant drug without a diagnosis from a psychiatrist. This type of drug must be monitored weekly by a professional. After follow-up care with a psychiatrist, he said he has probably never been depressed but had situational anxiety disorder from the pressure of college. He now has PTSD from the experience getting off the drug."

• jsc...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 30, 2017

"As soon as I started on this drug, I experienced an inability to ejaculate. I tried to come off it once, and it landed me in the hospital. That was with a period of weaning me off venlafaxine 75 mg ER. I would not advise any active male to take this drug."

• AB9...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 13, 2017

Venlafaxine "Only take Effexor if you want to be on it for life. The withdrawal lasted 3 months for me. I think my body and mind are permanently damaged from this drug. It helped anxiety by numbing me, but at the same time, made me more depressed at times."

• Tar...
• April 30, 2017

Venlafaxine "I took this pill once at 37.5 mg to start my regimen. I got serotonin syndrome and was hospitalized. Steer clear of this medicine."

• Bis...
• March 28, 2017

"This drug causes fluid retention in breasts in men. Also, it gave me serious constipation, it was terrible. Bloated belly. Maybe it gave me a slight hangover-like feeling the next day after I took it. This drug gave me manic episodes, and withdrawal was terrible. I would never recommend this drug to anyone. Went to my doctor, he prescribed some medicine for constipation. I used it for a week, and it was a terrible week. After that, I stopped taking it. Docs cannot do much, but self-learning can."

• efl...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 15, 2017

"Prescribed 37.5 mg XR once a day for anxiety. I read about people's experiences online and decided I'd try it for a week before judging. I lasted five days before quitting due to side effects. Noticeable fatigue, no appetite, difficulty concentrating, waking up in the night and being unable to fall asleep again, constipation, gas. This is not for me, and I am glad I didn't take it long enough to experience withdrawal symptoms. My hunger came back the day I stopped taking it."

• Try...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 27, 2017

Venlafaxine "Before anyone agrees to taking Effexor (venlafaxine), please look at the withdrawal symptoms. The symptoms and experience have been likened to heroin or opiate addiction withdrawal. Please do your research and regardless of what your doctor tells you, THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES! I hope this helps someone."

• Xan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 26, 2016

Venlafaxine "I highly suggest people not try this medication. I was only on it for 8 weeks and had horrible memory problems that I am still working through. This medication has caused me to be out of work for going on 7 months now. The doctors keep telling me it is not this medication, but I know it is since this is the only anxiety med I took that caused memory problems. The prescribing doctor made no mention of memory loss as a side effect. I am on a special diet now to stimulate my memory, along with going to therapy to get my memory back. Scariest time of my life. I feel like a zombie right now."

• unh...
• September 8, 2016

Venlafaxine "Do not take this medication! There is no other medication for depression/anxiety that has withdrawal symptoms that put you in excruciating pain! You become a person without feelings, almost hard-hearted on this medication! Please, please have your doctor try other meds first! I am so angry that I trusted my psychiatrist! I feel betrayed! Thank God I have my general doctor who is spending more time with me to help me get off of this medication!"

• ByG...
• August 31, 2016

Venlafaxine "I was put on 150 mg daily of Effexor after having a mental breakdown brought on by stress and severe insomnia. I did not find the medication helped at all other than to cause weight gain. Worst of all, I experienced horrific withdrawal symptoms coming off it. I started to wean off it in May, reducing the dose to 75 mg/day. I halved it to 37.5 mg a month ago, and my Dr. said I would be good to stop it after two weeks. Within 24 hours of taking my last pill, I experienced dizziness, nausea, insomnia, and brain zaps. I could barely function. Turns out the 'half-life' of Effexor is one of the shortest out there. I had to take a short 2-week course of 10 mg Prozac (much longer short life) to come off Effexor. Horrible!!"

• Xan...
• August 29, 2016

Venlafaxine "This may be an isolated incident, but I only took this medication for 6 weeks and had horrible memory loss. I was unaware that there is a 44% chance of memory loss with this medication. I am trying to work my way back to my old self, who used to have a photographic memory. I highly suggest if you have severe anxiety like I do, do not take this medication."

• noa...
• August 28, 2016

"Kidney started to show reduced ability. Sweating so profuse during exercise or even vacuuming I have to drink so much water and finally stop, too dizzy or tired of sweating. Sweating got worse, coinciding with the doubling of the dose from 75 to 150. Subsequently, gaining 50 lbs. over 4 years of it. But only recently saw a correlation with venlafaxine. Missing one dose has a horrendous reaction of dizziness and ear and vision effects and headache. Even taking it every day, I get morning headaches, even though I was never one to get headaches before. Also, its help has worn off."

• Kai...
• August 9, 2016

"This was the worst experience of my life. I have really bad anxiety and my doctor prescribed one 37.5 mg a day. I took it for the first time and got extremely nauseous. I noticed my hands were shaking and I was clenching my jaw and neck uncontrollably. I found myself to have no appetite, and with my stomach troubles, this is an issue. Later in the day, I tried to eat and couldn't hold any food down. I did feel calm, so it helped with my anxiety, but all the side effects just aren't worth it. This med is poison for me."

• olo...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 5, 2016

"If I could give this drug a minus ... I would. The reasons are simple: - It has mild effects when it comes down to relieving anxiety - It has profound effects on my sexual function - It is extremely effective at giving me hell when trying to get off it - It could be used as an effective drug used to induce vomiting. This drug is truly deplorable in every sense and should not be fit for consumption by human beings."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 30, 2016

Venlafaxine "I took this pill one day and that was all I needed to. I took it at 5:30 pm and was fine, until I wanted to sleep. I tossed and turned all night, my heart racing, I was literally so tired, but my mind just would not shut down. Those things they call brain zaps are terrifying. DO NOT TAKE THIS."

• Mil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 27, 2016

Venlafaxine "So here is my experience with Effexor, I hope it helps you make an informed decision. I started taking it two months ago as a change from the Citalopram I have been on for over 5 years. I suffer from anxiety. The first three weeks, improvement in my mood, better temper control also. Week three, the insomnia kicked in and strange urges to have to get up and move around. Week four, serious shortness of breath on exertion, ringing ears, lip numbness, and malaise. Turns out I was allergic to it! Doc took me off it immediately, then the withdrawal began. Oh my G*#. The worst experience of my life. Paranoia, hallucinations, panic attacks (my first ever), breathing trouble, the list goes on. If you research the withdrawal, it's not worth it!"

• Sho...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 3, 2016

Venlafaxine "My experience was a waking nightmare. I was started on a low dose to treat anxiety. It didn't help at all. My doctor kept slowly increasing my dose while I suffered from extreme anxiety with no relief. I had weight gain, night sweats, oddly long menstrual cycles, cramps, the urge to drink alcohol. I went to another doctor that said the dose needed to be at least 225 to treat anxiety, I was on 125, so he increased the dosage. This made the side effects much worse and the weight gain. I didn't care about anything, I wasn't myself. I decided after 20 lb gain to stop and got tapered off. I became extremely ill, it was like having the flu every day for weeks. I've been completely off for a few weeks now. I have headaches still and extreme anger, like rage."