Venlafaxine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder User Reviews (Page 3)

• Anonymous
• April 11, 2020

Venlafaxine "The people saying they don’t get side effects maybe they just don’t notice, but there are side effects. I sweat more, sleep less, and have no sex drive, but those are all things I can live with in exchange for the positive effects I get. I started taking Effexor in high school because I was sleeping an average of 16 hours a day, likely had depression because I was anxious so much, and my quality of life was abysmal. I left the house like four or five times a week at the most as a 16-year-old. Once I started Effexor, I started to feel more energized, I didn’t need nearly as much sleep, and my depression has cleared away completely. I still have issues with anxiety attacks, but have recently lowered my Effexor dose and started taking Lexapro as well. This is a medication you cannot miss doses on because you will start to feel serious symptoms of withdrawal if doses are skipped, but it’s a great medication worth trying if you haven’t found what’s worked for you yet."

• DWC...
• April 21, 2018

Venlafaxine "I went from Dr. to Dr. for several years, but refused to take anything long term (afraid of getting 'hooked'). Finally, after about six years of suffering and down to 129 lbs, I went to see a psychiatrist. He put me on Paxil. It seemed to help a bit, but the anxiety always broke through. Finally, around 2001, my primary care physician put me on Effexor 75 mg. I had an initial side effect, but I just pushed through it. I am glad I did! I went from constant anxiety and barely able to eat to rarely, if ever, having anxiety and finally able to eat! In the years since (2018 now), the dose has been raised a couple of times, and once in a while I will have a setback. However, Effexor (I use the XR generic version) holds my very sensitive fight or flight reaction in check. I strongly recommend this medication. It may not work for everyone, but it made my life livable again!"

• Pur...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 23, 2014

Venlafaxine "Once the correct dosage was established, my anxiety and panic attacks steadily improved. I underwent prolonged treatment due to a nasty relapse after the first round, following the birth of my first child. In the last stretch, I was on this medicine for 8 years. Dosage peaked at 150 mg, and after a couple of years following complete symptoms remission, we started dropping the dose VERY gradually. I have been off it for 9 months now. I had only mild adjustment side effects when starting the medicine: headache and nausea - both transient. During treatment, I had very low libido and poor appetite. Over time, while initial symptoms positively disappeared, I became more irritable, but the doctor did not attribute this to the medicine but circumstance/nature."

• MzT...
• January 25, 2014

Venlafaxine "My body responded very negatively to this medicine, and I had to be pulled off of it. I had a lot of side effects with no relief for my generalized anxiety disorder it was prescribed for. Side effects: tremors, blurred vision, ringing in ears, constipation, irregular period, insomnia, nightmares, light-headedness, coldness in extremities, suicidal feelings, murderous feelings, cloudy head, weight gain, nausea, metallic-tasting dry mouth."

• Mul...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 4, 2017

Venlafaxine "If my comment helps anyone not to take this drug, Effexor, then I will have helped many people. I have been on and off Effexor for 10 years. I'm currently off Effexor, I weaned myself over 6 months. I have not read anywhere, and I have done a lot of research, that anyone has written if they have successfully stayed off this drug for more than 12 months. So here I am to tell you it's been 9 months, and once the side effects of the brain buzzes, nauseous, aching bones, and itchiness have gone away, life does begin to feel better. I caught myself laughing and not feeling it was fake, and crying at TV shows. Effexor gives you a fake feeling of happiness/sadness, but after being on it for too long, you just feel numb. I believe this is why people end up wanting to come off it, cause you have no emotion, that and the amount of weight you will gain. 9 months, and I'm probably back to where I began in needing this medication, but I am trying everything I possibly can to stay off it. This includes: free hypnosis apps, free meditation apps, self-help quotes, Vitamin B12, and iron tablets. The biggest one is when I mentally feel myself thinking negatively. I tell myself to stop and think of my daughter's smiling face. I'm not cured, I'm far from it, but I will never take this drug again. I was worse with it than without it. If I help one person not to take this drug, then I will be a better person. Good luck."

• Mis...
• July 12, 2017

"I am amazed by this drug. I suffer from extreme general anxiety, insomnia, as well as adult ADD. I have been on Celexa, it worked for about 6 months. Zoloft, not bad, stabilizes emotions but doesn't get rid of anxiety. Wellbutrin made me so depressed. I was actually given this drug as off-market for hot flashes while still on Zoloft. Well, I went off the Zoloft immediately because this drug worked so well. First time ever (other than taking benzos) I had no butterflies in my stomach, fear over nothing, and slept better. I can't believe the difference in finding the right drug. I don't really suffer from depression, I only get depressed because of my anxiety and chronic insomnia. This has been a miracle drug for me."

• Mis...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 2, 2017

"Every day I take this drug, I feel better and better. So calm, my ADD is in check and I sleep through the night. I have been on Zoloft, Celexa, Vyvanse, and Wellbutrin. Nothing other than benzos have taken away my generalized anxiety and made me feel calm and happy. No menopause symptoms either. The only thing that scares me now is I hear how hard it is to come off of. At this point, I don't want to come off of it. But I have come off Zoloft, Vyvanse, and Wellbutrin. Why would it be so much harder to come off than those medications? I don't suffer from depression, just debilitating anxiety, and it has literally improved my quality of life 100 percent. All I hear are horror stories, and I don't get it. Love to hear from other good experiences."

• Gra...
• August 18, 2015

"Great feeling so far. Been on it almost two weeks for anxiety. Other than feeling a little jittery, it's been the best experience on meds thus far. I started being treated for major depression and was put on Celexa, which had horrible side effects and eventually stopped working. Then came Lexapro, which was considerably better, but I gained 45 lbs while taking it and had very low energy. Effexor makes me feel like I have energy again! So far, I'm in love."

• Kaw...
• March 9, 2011

Venlafaxine "Well, I've been on it for 2 days, and I noticed the difference the first day. I'm also taking 1/2 an Adderall for ADHD. The only side effect I have noticed is that I yawn a lot. I feel so much better in general. I didn't expect it to work so fast, however, I feel so much freaking better. I've apparently suffered from GAD my whole life, and I'm currently 37. Will it work for everyone? Who knows, but for me, it's been my knight in shining armor as far as feeling normal."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 29, 2016

Venlafaxine "I have been on Effexor XR 150 mg for 3 months, it has helped me face social interaction at work and calmed my negative thoughts. I am the happiest I can ever remember, totally changed my outlook on life. Mild side effects of constipation, and I noticed I have gained about 7 lbs, but I also recently quit smoking, so I don't know how much to attribute to the med."

• Ind...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 11, 2013

Venlafaxine "I've been on Effexor XR going on 3 years. I started at 37.5 mg and am now on 150 mg. I find that the body builds a tolerance to it, and the dose needs to be increased. It does help my social anxiety almost completely, but I still get moments of general anxiety, not anything like they used to be premedication. The only side effect I get is hot flashes. Also, when you come down with a cold or flu, there's really nothing you can take except Tylenol for fever and pain due to drug interactions."

• ano...
• September 4, 2015

"I've tried Citalopram and Cymbalta, and they don't work for me. Citalopram makes me loopy all day and not able to think. Cymbalta just does nothing, period. Effexor works well for both my anxiety and depression and racing thoughts. I can now think more clearly and not clench my jaw so much anymore. I'm taking a 75 mg dosage."

• gem...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 29, 2015

"I was prescribed Effexor for GAD with severe mood swings. I'm a busy person and have always said a 'slow you down' type of antidepressant would not work for me. I've tried ones that have left me feeling like a zombie (numb and lethargic). Effexor is not like that, it really lifts my mood and keeps me stable. I experience little to no side effects. I have a good insight into my moods and work with my GP, changing the dosage when required. I can be on anything from 75 mg to 225 mg. I've also worked out I cannot take any dosage later in the day, as I would go to bed feeling wired and not tired, so I take them in the morning only. The only negative is if I miss one dose, I'm okay, miss two and the withdrawals are so shocking! If you come off Effexor, it must be controlled."

• Ann...
• August 29, 2018

"23 years old. Been on this for 1 month. I absolutely love this medication. I haven't felt this happy for 3-4 years. I have a depression/anxiety disorder that slowly got worse and worse until I finally realized that I was in a deep hole that I feel like I could not get out of this bad place by myself. This medication is helping me so much. I am so grateful to my doctor for recommending this. I think that exercising, eating right, sleeping well, socializing, keeping alcohol to a limit, and doing healthy stuff altogether might also be playing a part along with this medication for me."

• EDa...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 30, 2020

Venlafaxine "Took Effexor XR for 3 years for Generalized Anxiety Disorder, started at 150 mg and ended up on the lowest dose available after 3 years. Pros: was finally able to go places, work, make friends. It was hard to actually have a panic attack, which was great. I was able to function! Combined with psychotherapy, it got me to a good place mentally. Cons: weaning off Effexor was a month of real awfulness. Withdrawal was horrific, felt like I had tentacles inside my brain, migraines, extreme sensitivity to sound/light, even when changing dosages I would experience withdrawal and sleep paralysis. Emotionally, it made me feel like a zombie, no longer feel anything above a ‘grey’ daily baseline, relationships suffered, I had zero libido or joy. The biggest thing - it’s permanently affected my memory. I struggle to remember things from those 3 years, and on it I struggled a lot with brain fog, losing my train of thought, and not being able to retain information. It makes me sad that I’ve lost memories of travel and milestones."

• Al8...
• April 9, 2016

Venlafaxine "I took this for six months. I felt great, then my doctor took me off it because he said I shouldn't take it for too long. This was 4 years ago. Now, for the past year, my anxiety is horrible. I wish he hadn't taken me off it, and now I'm going to talk to my new doctor about it."

• Anx...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 9, 2016

Venlafaxine "Started on Zydus Pharm generic venlafaxine ER 37.5 mg for 1 week, then on to 75 mg. Been about 6 weeks on medication. First 3 days I felt amazing, immediate relief of anxiety. After that, the side effects were very difficult. Everything in me told me this was not the right medication for me: constant mood swings, anxiety, insomnia. I stuck through after reading positive reviews, hoping when side effects cleared up, it would work well for me based on first few days' experience. Side effects disappeared suddenly right on the 3-week mark, and the medication really started to work. After reading reviews on generic vs. brand name, I switched to the name brand. Name brand definitely feels cleaner and more effective. Generic side effects went away immediately."

• Jus...
• July 2, 2014

"I have been on this medicine since I was 13. I'm 17 now. I'm on 225 mg, it helps my generalized anxiety disorder the most, my other disorders not so much. I like this medicine more than any other. I have been on all of the ones you can be on under the age of 18. I say 6 out of 10, I would tell anyone to try this first, it will help."

• Sul...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 15, 2016

"I started taking this medication about eight weeks ago for increased anxiety (likely aggravated by menopause). It was affecting my life greatly. Side effects of blurred vision, low sex drive, and sweats were extreme. I kept questioning whether or not I would get past the side effects, especially the sweating, as I was starting to feel better. Thankfully, they all passed except for the low sex drive. That bothers me a bit, but not enough to change meds, and I feel amazing. Heading back to work next week and actually looking forward to it. I also realized I probably should have been on this medication a long time ago. Hang in there for at least eight weeks before giving up due to side effects."

• Bet...
• September 18, 2016

Venlafaxine "I was diagnosed with GAD, with symptoms including general fatigue, anxiety, panic, and insomnia. Started off at 35 mg, but now on 150 mg in the morning and 75 mg at night, which seems to be keeping me pretty stable. However, the withdrawal is horrendous. If I miss a couple of doses, I get brain zaps, I can hear my eyeballs moving in my head, very anxious and panic. It works, but this is some seriously messed up stuff... I can see I may have to be on this forever, whereas I gave up Prozac cold turkey with no problems at all."

• Anonymous
• October 20, 2012

Venlafaxine "I have been taking Effexor XR for about 3 weeks now for depression and generalized anxiety disorder. For the first three days, I felt a little dizzy but continued with the medication, and the dizziness went away once my body got used to it. I get a dry mouth and have lost interest in sex and cannot reach orgasm. I do feel a lot more focused at work and can think more clearly. I do find if I don't take the medication right on time around 9 a.m. every morning, I get a headache and agitated, so I try to take it at the same time every day. Despite the dry mouth and loss of sex drive, I will continue with it for another month or two and see what happens when I see my doc again."

• Geo...
• September 23, 2019

"Have been on venlafaxine for at least 15 years. Started with 75 mg and after the first year, cut down to 37.5 mg. I have nothing but good things to say about my experience. My depression/anxiety are virtually non-existent, no side effects that I can point to. I can even miss a day or two without problems, but a third day will find me a little antsy. Great stuff for me..."

• Anonymous
• May 5, 2009

"Suffered depression, panic, and general anxiety in my thirties, tried several other SSRIs, and they made me feel worse. Venlafaxine was the one that really improved things for me, take 150 mg a day in the morning, and life is just much easier to deal with now."

• Pat...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 15, 2019

"I have taken this medication for about 10 years now. I take 75 mg extended release once a day. I tried so many other drugs, nothing worked for me besides this. The only side effect I have is some mild sweating and feeling a little warmer than normal. It’s stimulating, definitely gives you energy. Every drug works differently for everyone. I would give this a try and try talk therapy. I do better on the lower dose than the 150 mg. Good luck, everyone."

• JAa...
• September 2, 2016

"Effexor XR didn't change my life... as much as it made me 'me' again. Previously, I was on Paxil, which 'kind of' worked, but not enough. I started small on the Effexor, and I gradually worked my way up to the point where I take 300 mg a day, and I've been taking that dose now for years. I can now drive a car, hold down a job, hold a conversation, be in a relationship, etc. I was scared of everything... living really. Not a drug to stop taking suddenly. Bad, bad, bad idea. I get 'the sleeps' still, and if I am lucky enough to get them when I don't have to do anything else... best sleep I ever had. I'm a 37-year-old male, sex drive is still pretty decent. Only side effects that I feel are vivid dreams, and the sleeps."