Venlafaxine and Tiredness: What Users Say (Page 3)

• Not...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 5, 2020

Venlafaxine for Depression "I don’t have any symptoms of anxiety usually - but experienced what feeling anxious was like within the first few days of taking this medication, Effexor XR. For me, this was a good sign early on, and I trusted that the anxious feeling would subside within the coming days. The anxiousness went away quite quickly, however, I began averaging around 13 hours of sleep a day. I persisted despite the extreme lethargy, taking this medication for 4 weeks. I feel like I wasted a month of my life on this medication, I didn’t feel hunger, however, I still needed food to stay awake, so I didn’t enjoy eating as much but ate the same amount - if not more sugar to try and compensate for the tiredness. I was hoping for the opposite effect, so naturally, I was disappointed. It completely got rid of my sex drive. I have since switched back to Lexapro, which has helped slightly in the past. I am hoping to find the best combo for me in the future. I am seriously considering asking for Dexedrine at this point."

• CCa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 5, 2020

For Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder "I had been on 200 mg Sertraline for 10 years, took COVID in March, and from May felt like my medication wasn't helping my anxiety/depression anymore. Then by June, my PMDD was back in full swing, and I was suicidal. Weaning from Sertraline to Venlafaxine was difficult, but at the moment, it has changed my life after being on it for 3 months. I am no longer tired, I have an underactive thyroid and always thought that was the reason I was tired! Venlafaxine has made me feel more balanced than I have in years."

• Fat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 26, 2018

Venlafaxine for Panic Disorder "I was on citalopram and propranolol after a breakdown, as I couldn't go out for 6 months. Totally given up on myself. Citalopram helped, although I gained weight, but I was always tired, everything was an effort. Another few breakdowns, and I couldn't walk over a bridge. I asked the doc to change. He gave me venlafaxine 37.5 mg, right away felt better. My doc has wanted me to go up a higher dosage, but I must say I am so happy, got a new job, going on holidays, and just happy, happy. I split the pill half in the morning, half about one in the afternoon, and I'll stick to that dose, but if I need to go higher, I will, because I will never want to feel like life’s over again. I've so much energy now and am always looking to the future."

• luc...
• August 21, 2010

Venlafaxine for Depression "I've never been so happy in my life. It's not a fake, life is strangely perfect happiness. It's not the 'I'm in my head, three feet away from everything and no one knows me' feeling I've gotten from previous antidepressants. I feel balanced and for the first time in my life (I'm 28, female), feel like I am actually coming from a well-grounded place. As others have said, when a dose is late or missed, the effects are pretty awful. The longer I've been on it, though, they are getting less intense. The first few times I was late, I became very quickly, extremely depressed, lethargic, dizzy, nauseous, and irritable. I was having shooting, lightning-like feelings in my brain that would cause me to stop dead in my tracks and look pretty crazy."

• Gem...
• November 21, 2019

For Anxiety and Stress "I have taken venlafaxine for just over a week for stress and anxiety. To start with, I felt better, I had a clearer mind. However, I was exhausted. After a few days, I started feeling very sick and getting awful headaches. I realized as soon as I was taking this tablet, within 20 minutes, I was feeling sick. My head was pounding, as well as blurred vision. This got worse. I decided to stop taking them, as I had only been on 75 mg for a week. After two days, I was off my feet, with flu-like symptoms, brain zaps, and numbness in my lips, wrists, and fingertips. I couldn’t stop eating even though I felt sick. I am on the third day of this come down and still no better. I am off work and unable to do much at all. I am now a lot worse off than I was before taking this drug, as my anxiety has returned and I have found my depression has crept back too. I would not recommend venlafaxine to anyone, it is a strong and scary drug to be on."

• Die...
• October 5, 2015

Venlafaxine for Depression "Effexor has helped me, but it took weeks for the initial side effects to go down enough for me to be comfortable. I could hardly eat and sleep for a week. It got better over time, but it was painfully slow, and after a few weeks on the stuff, I was exhausted. The side effects never went away completely, but I can manage to eat and sleep enough now. Effexor also makes me have really intense, long, complex dreams. They are usually quite interesting, and I enjoy having them for the most part. Sometimes it's hard getting back to the real world after having woken up with such interesting stories and intricate plotlines in my head, but it's worth it in my opinion. Life is more manageable now."

• Dee...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 29, 2020

For Depression "I have been on venlafaxine for a little over a month now. My first 30 days, I was on a dose of 37.5 mg daily, and I didn't have any crazy side effects, just a little more tired at night, like my body knows to shut down. One other thing I've noticed is my loss of appetite, one day I went 17 hours without eating and didn't even notice. I work in medical, so I'm always moving. I noticed on the 37.5 mg dose my anxiety was still in panic mode every once in a while, so at my 30-day follow-up, I went up to 75 mg, and so far, just my appetite is gone, and I'm calm. Like I usually can go from 0 to a million real quick, but I'm calm. I've had situations lately that could've set me off, but I remained calm. So far, on this med, pretty good for me!"

• mr...
• May 27, 2016

Venlafaxine for Depression "This medication has worked amazingly well for me, but the side effects are no joke. My mood is better, I'm less anxious, less angry, and more sociable. It works. It's great, but there are serious drawbacks. My libido and sexual performance are down. I get tired more easily. If I go outside on a hot day, my clothes are quickly drenched in sweat. Physical activity exhausts my muscles more quickly. My mouth is so dry I need to constantly sip water. And finally, if I miss a dose, I get the sensation of electric shocks in my brain. I personally find the benefits outweigh the side effects. Worth a try when more tolerable meds fail."

• San...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 28, 2019

For Hot Flashes "I have been taking Efexor XR 75 mg 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 8 pm. I also noticed dry mouth and nausea, but these symptoms are improving."

• PAU...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• May 19, 2024

Venlafaxine for Major Depressive Disorder "Effexor really helps with my depression. I tried going off of it because it makes me extremely tired, but I experienced agitation, increase in anxiety, and could feel my depression. I stayed off for 3 weeks and have now resumed taking it. I just wish I wasn't so tired and could sleep more when taking it. I will say I have less emotion when taking this medication and often feel as though I am observing life, not experiencing it."

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

For Hot Flashes "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 to 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, and I 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?"

• Nam...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 25, 2015

Venlafaxine for Depression "I can explain this drug easily. It will take away your problems, BUT...your sleep won't be effective, you will have extreme memory problems, you won't experience vibrant emotion (it's always dull). Did I mention you will be tired literally all day within minutes of waking? You will basically be a living zombie where every action you take feels forced and fake. You will gain a ton of weight. I was a bodybuilder, 200 lb, 7.5% body fat year-round. Counted calories constantly. Still did on Effexor, counted them all the way up to 4k a day along with 4-6 beers and no weight lifting. I just didn't care. I'm 215 lbs at 28% body fat. If you don't know what that means, basically I traded a 6-pack for a keg. Went from a size 32 to a size 38. In 8 months."

• Ace...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 4, 2018

Venlafaxine for Depression "I was prescribed 75 mg Effexor for my depression. Took the medication for only four days and had to stop it, as my depression deepened. I went into rolling panic attacks. I did not get an hour of sleep for four days, despite feeling completely exhausted. The world made no sense. Life made no sense. I couldn't stand my head and the thoughts in it. It is not true that the drug can cause increased suicidal thoughts only in young people. People should be very careful with this drug!"

• sta...
• November 17, 2015

Venlafaxine for Major Depressive Disorder "Effexor worsened my depression. Made me feel exhausted all the time and impossible to be able to wake up in the mornings. I was unable to concentrate. My mood worsened, and my motivation to do anything lessened. My depression got worse every time they increased my dose."

• Fre...
• February 24, 2020

For Anxiety "When I was first prescribed venlafaxine 75 mg, it zombified me, and I spent the next 2 months feeling hungover, headaches, dizziness, and wanting to sleep ALL day. During the 3rd month, I started to feel a little better. At my next check-up, my doctor upped the dose to 150 mg. Again, I spent about a month and a half feeling tired, dizziness, headaches. Now, 9 months later, I still have days where I feel emotionally exhausted, and I’ve noticed when I haven’t slept well the night before, I get the “whooshing” sound in my head, and can ‘hear’ my eyes move when I look somewhere a little too quick (so relieved to read others have experienced this too, haha). Other than those, I am honestly feeling so much better. The worst side effect for me to deal with is a nil sex drive. Yes, there are a lot of horror stories out there regarding this medication, but one person's bad experience shouldn’t discount it for you."

• dre...
• February 25, 2015

Venlafaxine for Anxiety "Been on Effexor since July 2014. I take the lower dosage 2x a day as the higher one all at once made me feel sick. I have severe anxiety to the point where I didn't want to leave the house. I am also on Ativan for moments I know when I panic... way better than Xanax. I was on Paxil, Wellbutrin... neither worked, made me feel like a zombie. The only drawback with the Effexor is that I am exhausted!!"

• She...
• November 22, 2019

For Anxiety "This medication works for me! I've had depression on and off for years and found out through therapy that the depression was a side effect of anxiety that was in the driver's seat my whole life! Therapy wasn't enough, so I was put on the generic of Effexor. It has been life-changing!!!! No anti-depression or anti-anxiety med comes without a cost, so you have to decide what side you can live with. My side effects: 1. I yawned a lot at first, but it goes away. 2. I'm a post-menopausal woman, my libido was pretty low before the drug, but non-existent now. I might have felt differently before, but now this is not a deal breaker. 4. CRAZY dreams. That's it. No scary stuff. I have not had any brain zaps if I am late with the meds. It has given me a new lease on life. I'm not tired, and it directly squashes my anxiety in a way that I still feel normal but have a clear perspective. Someday this might change, but right now it works for me."

• JB7...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 22, 2019

Venlafaxine for Anxiety "On a 150 mg dose for social anxiety and depression. I take the 75 mg tablets twice a day. It works better on my depression and is somewhat effective for my social anxiety. Still too early to tell if it will work. Mild tiredness and trouble sleeping at night are the only side effects that I notice, with occasional nausea if I don't eat small meals every 4-6 hours. The only time that I got scared was when I started Effexor and stopped the Prozac. I had a major panic attack for two days, but after that, it subsided. So I'm back on my Effexor. At least now, I notice some improvements in my mood compared to taking Prozac, which didn't work for me."

• Mee...
• February 19, 2016

Venlafaxine for Depression "The side effects are NOT WORTH dealing with! I've tried this medication twice, and while it was the only drug I tried that helped my depression/anxiety, the side effects were killing me. I would feel sick for 3 hours after every dose, whether I would eat with it or not. It made me constantly hungry during the day. It caused me to be so exhausted and even angry. I finally weaned off of this medicine after gaining almost 100 lbs in 5 years (3 years on, 1 year off, 1 year on, now off). I only went back on because I thought the weight gain was my fault, and after losing so much of it, swore I'd never gain it back. Back on Effexor, back came the weight. I feel so much better off this medicine now, and wouldn't recommend this drug to my worst enemy."

• Que...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 13, 2013

Venlafaxine for Depression "I have been on this medication for 12 months 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 childbirth 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 kilos that I have, as I need to stay on the Effexor a little longer."

• tay...
• May 4, 2009

Venlafaxine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder "Was in college when I treated. At high doses (approximately 225 mg), I was lethargic, cloudy-headed, and angry. The drug caused SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction. It aggravated stress levels. But for my mom, this medication has given her life back to her, 'curing' depression, lowering anxiety, and inspiring creativity."

• Sea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 4, 2017

Venlafaxine for Depression "I just started taking Effexor XR a little over a month ago. I was extremely tired the whole month (nothing would help that either, I took a 5-hour energy and fell asleep right after), and last night was my first night where I felt like myself for the first time in a few years. I am hopeful that this lasts and the exhaustion goes away. I have a cough, but it's only really bad at night and I have a small cough in the morning. My cycle seems a little off, I had spotting and then nothing, so I'm not sure what is happening with that, but I read that's a possible side effect as well."

• del...
• March 3, 2018

For Irritable Bowel Syndrome "I was put on this medication for anxiety, ironically related to IBS-D symptoms and the pain of each flare (excruciating sometimes). The first week and a half or two weeks was hell. I was constantly tired during the day and out of it and then couldn't sleep at night. I would have awful pounding headaches and just felt like I was dying. This apparently is common when first starting the drug. Power through it. By the middle of week 2, I was starting to feel better, and now I feel nothing. If you miss a dose by more than about 4 hours (if you sleep in, for example, since I take it in the morning), you start to get a headache, but usually, it goes away once you take the medication. You're not supposed to take NSAIDs with this medication, so if you get pain, take Tylenol (acetaminophen) and try some caffeine too (this helped me the most). It has significantly improved my IBS and also helped my anxiety."

• Sle...
• April 19, 2015

Venlafaxine for Depression "I've only been on this medication for about 2 weeks. That said, I've slept almost every day since starting it. I know sleepiness is a common side effect, but this is excessive. Almost no energy throughout the day. Nonstop yawning. My depression is still there, anxiety has been better. I just feel very drained and apathetic. I'll stick with it for a while longer because I know it will take a while for the full effect to kick in, hoping for good results!"

• Mel...
• June 5, 2020

For Postpartum Depression "It’s funny because a lot of these comments below are similar to how I felt during pregnancy. I think this must do something to your hormones, however, I did not have any negative side effects from venlafaxine except constipation initially (nothing a natural calm couldn’t help). If I don’t take it on time, I don’t have any side effects either. I will say that I have tried and been allergic to multiple SSRIs, and I’m not really much of a meds person, but I’m going to stick with this for the year to re-balance myself. I do feel a lot of tiredness in this fourth month of taking it, and I bruise a bit easier. I’m not sure if my tiredness stems from the circumstances happening right now or the medicine. I am on the lowest dose of 37.5 mg. My libido has returned (after almost two years), which is a major plus, and while I only lost a few lbs, I look thinner overall."