Venlafaxine for Hot Flashes User Reviews (Page 4)

• Kay...
• July 31, 2017

"Took 75mg approx 2 years. Began to to have hair loss and decided to stop med. Titrated dose over 2 week period. Severe withdrawal symptoms but determined to come off med. Had extreme headaches, walked on tip toes almost 2 weeks because brain felt like it was bouncing against skull with every step I took. Got better with time but now 6 months without med and I am having headaches and phantom smells. Smelling cigarette smoke and we are smoke free family. The smell wakes me sometimes and yesterday during church service was smelling smoke. It seems more noticeable when air conditioning is running. Doctor wanted to have head MRI done but insurance denied. Anyone else experience this? Wish I had never swallowed the first capsule."

• Pammy
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 10, 2019

"I was experiencing not just hot flashes, but what I called flu flashes because it felt like I had the worst flu ever when they happened. I was getting more than 20 a day and it was obviously greatly affecting my life. I sucked it up for almost 5 years because I didn't want to do HRT. Effexor saved my life. 75 mg and they have almost totally disappeared. I can handle 1 or 2 in the evening."

• Luppe...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 9, 2017

"My experience? I've been on many meds since age 16. Then at age 48, they gave me Effexor. It was the end of the life I knew. I constantly hallucinated. I yelled at my husband almost daily and when I could no longer feel the loving bond between my son and I and just wanted to scream at him until he cried, I stopped it cold-turkey and I was on ONLY 37.5 mg! I will NEVER take this medication again and for me, it brought out my mother in me and that's when I knew there was a HUGE PROBLEM with this medication in my body because to act like the very person who abused me showed me that I needed to get off of it or turn my son into me - broken and afraid."

• Diano
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 22, 2019

"I was having major irritability issues and lots of menopausal side effects. I’ve been menopausal for 5 years. The hot flushes weren’t a big issue though. Doc gave me venlafaxine saying it takes effect in 46 days. The first 46 days however my mood had GREATLY improved, but now, after the initial 46 day period my hot flushes are coming regularly now, not just at night. Almost constant. I’m wondering if I’d be better off without it."

• Men...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 21, 2019

"I started Venlafaxine last summer for hot flashes. By day 2 I thought I had found a wonder drug. Flashes greatly reduced and sleep improved. One year later, it completely stopped working. Doctor said to increase to 2 pills daily. I have even gone up to 3 and I still have flashes. But now the weight gain is insane. I can diet, work out, do everything I normally would but the pounds keep increasing. I don't know what is worse, hot flashes and no sleep or weight gain that doesn't seem to want to stop? I am up 25 lbs on a small frame. Wasn't this heavy even when I was pregnant. Need help to find something else as I am about to quit cold turkey just to see if the weight reduces."

• suzqok
• March 11, 2010

Effexor XR (venlafaxine) "I was prescribed Effexor for fibromyalgia. Not only did it not help the fibromyalgia, but it restarted the menopausal hot flashes that had been under control. In doing research for fibromyalgia, I discovered that it can cause hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms to be more intense in women with fibromyalgia. "

• Sandy
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 28, 2019

"I have been taking Efexor XR 75mg daily at night for a week. I previously was being woken at least every 2 hours with severe night sweats. After 2 days I noticed a big improvement, and the last 2 nights no sweats at all! However I am feeling lethargic and I have to make an effort to get up and move. I hope this feeling passes as I am normally very active. I take the capsule about 8pm. I also noticed dry mouth and nausea but these symptoms are improving."

• Melinda
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 17, 2019

"I took my first 37.5mg venlafaxine yesterday. My hot flashes vanished... I took low dose of HRT to manage hot flashes but had to stop last year due to breast cancer. The hot flashes returned. The venlafaxine made me super nauseous. Appreciate these reviews because several people seem to have had nausea with the first dose or so. Thanks for sharing info. I will stick with it for a few more days and see how it goes."

• ItWorks
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 23, 2019

"I'm unable to take hormonal therapy. I suffered for 2 months of nightly hot sweats that woke me up every 15 minutes to 45 minutes my Doc prescribed this I feel very fortunate the venlafaxine works for me."

• Smurf...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 16, 2019

"I have hot flashes and I have been on venlafaxine for 3 weeks now & I have had NO relief. As a matter of fact I almost feel like the hot flashes have gotten worse during the day. I feel like I am in a constant hot flash syndrome!! I am trying to decide if I should stop this medication & just try & deal with the hot flashes."

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

"Intense hot flashes were occurring every few minutes all day and night. Now at 37.5 mg I am sleeping through the night for the first time in years. No side effects. Much happier and productive. Still get warm occasionally but can live with it now."

• Deana
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 2, 2019

"I was placed on 37.5mg for hot flashes and it worked for a while. Then they returned so my Dr. changed my dose to 75mg. I am still having a few hot flashes ( not anywhere near as many as I was) but I have gained weight and cannot lose even with a strict diet. I have talked to a friend who also gained weight on this drug. I am not sure if not is worth the extra weight gain."

• teepe...
• April 23, 2017

"after reading all the comments I thought I'd asked a question, I just start taking venlafaxine yesterday, last night I notice my tummy was upset, got up this morning with a mild headache, is this normal."

• Drea
• October 5, 2019

"Had been taking Venlafaxine for about 3 years to treat hot flashes. I decided to stop taking it OH MY GOD didn’t know I needed to ween myself off this. The withdrawals are horrible you get flu like symptoms diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, body aches you name it. I called my doctor and explain to a nurse she had to check with the doctor. This was a Thursday and didn’t hear back until Monday and was told to go back on it taking one a day for 7 days then 6 the next week and so on and so on. I had been off it for 6 days and was terrified to go back on it. I made the decision to stay off and it’s been 10 days symptoms a little better but still wake up feeling yuckie. Popsicles and applesauce are my best friends. So ladies don’t do cold turkey like me - talk to your doctor first before you stop taking this even though my doctor did mention to me 3 months ago I could stop taking it after a conversation we had about my flashes. But no mention of slowly going off of this."

• Jules
• Taken for 10 years or more
• October 26, 2019

"Recently off effexor XR 150 milligrams as I just got tired of taking something that didn't work. I went into menopause in 2009 and started effexor xr for hot flashes (HF) as that seemed my only menopause symptom. Doc said to stay on it and give it a good 10 year try. That seemed excessive to me but I thought I will go ahead and try it. Well, I continued to have HF but hoped things would change. They never did. The doc had me on 150mg, until I finally told him several weeks ago, no more....that I gave it 10 years to work and that's my limit! So, he gradually reduced me to 75mg and then to 37mg and then, this week, I finally stopped. I still have HF and NOW I have terrible nightsweats!!! I never had been bothered much by them before but every night now I wake up drenched. Could it be the effexor working its way outta my system? I pray so. Anyone else have a similar tale? End of story....effexor did nothing for me."

• Joy
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 4, 2019

"I have been on Effexor 150 mg for 1 month with NO help at all for my hot flashes, in fact I am in a constant state of a hot flash all day! Miserable. I am glad so many of you have found help with this drug but its not for me. I had a total hysterectomy 25 years ago and have struggled with HRT for many years."

• Marie
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 2, 2020

"I was diagnosed with Hormone Positive, Her2 Negative breast cancer 2 1/2 years ago. I had terrible hot flushes so I was prescribed Venlafaxine. I was on 37.5 mg, and it helped a little but my doctor told me to go on 75 mg. Big mistake. She told me it would upset my stomach but stay on it. It will get better. I survived 6 months but stomach issues never went away, I had a terrible constant headache right in the area of my prefrontal cortex or sinuses, I am not sure. I feel faint and dizzy like I am an "airhead." I get sweats, I am tired and weak all of the time. Yawn constantly. I never suffered from depression before but I felt depressed after taking this, had memory issues. I am trying to wean myself off now but my head bothers me. I hope I can recover from the dizziness and "airhead" feeling. How long do these side effects last after you are off this drug?"

• Suz
• May 10, 2019

"My Obgyn Dr. prescribed Effexor 37.5 mg once daily for hot flashes . I took the medication for two months and didn’t have good results and actually had sleep issues and restless leg syndrome as side effects. Call my MD and she told me it was ok to stop the medication without tapering. This was bad advice if you have been taking Effexor and want to stop you NEED to taper. I had headaches , nausea, fatigue, dizziness and weird dreams . I’m on day 4 of being off the Effexor. Not sure how long the discontinuation syndrome will last. I just call my Dr and left a message. I would suggest no matter how short a period of time and dosage that anyone should NOT "cold turkey “ you need to follow a tapering program. I’ll never take this medication again."

• Miranda
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 28, 2019

"My doctor prescribed me Effexor because I was taking hormone patches for menopause and wanted me to go off them. She prescribed Effexor because she said even though it was an anti depressant it would help with the sweating. I took one and an hour later I started to get severe chest pains. Later on that day the pain got worse and my fingers were tingling. I called the emergency services and was brought to hospital by ambulance. I was hospitalised for three days while tests were carried out . All my results were good and the doctors concluded that I had a severe allergic reaction to this medication and could never take it again. I had only taken one tablet."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 24, 2018

"DON’T MISS a DOSE! Severe nausea, shakes and vomiting! Yes it does help with hot flashes but the sweating, shivering, headaches and stomach issues when you miss a dose by even a few hours is terrible!"

• Dino
• February 14, 2020

"Beware! This drug is dangerous! My doctor prescribed venlafaxine for severe hot flashes. I took it for a couple years. It helped somewhat and lessened the anxiety that preceded every hot flash episode, but all I wanted to do was eat and sleep 12 hours a day. Big weight gain. And vivid crazy dreams. The worst was trying to get off the drug even though I did it very gradually over a 3 month period. It was a nightmare. It took a full year to stop having withdrawal symptoms. I was miserable, angry, agitated, and I lost friends. My brain has never been the same since. This drug should be taken off the market. I've had nasty hot flashes for 15 years. So far the only thing that worked was HRT but you can't stay on that forever. Also, evening primrose oil capsules work really well, without side effects."

• beach...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 18, 2019

"My Doctor prescribed venlafaxine for severe day and night hot flashes. It almost eliminated the hot flashes completely which was great however I constantly felt bloated, have gained a lot of weight, have become lazy/lethargic, I've become forgetful and I feel like muscles have become weak. I couldn't take the weight gain side effect ( my doctor said it shouldn't cause weight gain??) and the general overall feeling of blah so I stopped taking it. The hot flashes started back up almost immediately. Going back to Doctor to hopefully get something that wont cause weight gain."

• Sray
• December 5, 2019

"I was given this medicine to help with side effects of tamoxifen I take for cancer caused early menopause. But since being on venlafaxine I have had dreams that really scared me. I woke up crying ??? Crazy....I'm not one to react badly to a new med but I feel I may help other people who have had breast cancer. I have never taken a pill that gave me a reaction like this. I was taking 37.5 mg 2x daily....I just don't recommend it. I'm afraid to sleep because of the dreams"

• Karlp
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 9, 2020

"After 10 years on HRT I decided to try an alternative - Elaxine SR, I started on 37.5mg for 3-4 weeks, flushes did not abate so was upped to 78 not much difference after a month, going off as got side effects of vertigo, nausea and occasional vomiting. I don't recommend"

• Diva
• January 22, 2019

"I had be having hot flashes, all day and that where unbearable at night - I will be soaked, and this cause me to be very irritated. Anyway my Dr. suggested 75mg in the morning ,it really helped and my mood has improved thanks!!"