Reviewer: 35-44 Female on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)

Comment:
I took this medicine for about 7 years with great results, and quit taking it 9 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. Recently I was put back on it and had terrible side effects. My eyes dilated and swelled. They became very red after only 2 doses. I was extremely jittery. I felt nothing at all. My family said I was a zombie. I couldn't think or function.

Comment:
I took this medicine for about 7 years with great results, and quit taking it 9 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. Recently I was put back on it and had terrible side effects. My eyes dilated and swelled. They became very red after only 2 doses. I was extremely jittery. I felt nothing at all. My family said I was a zombie. I couldn't think or function.
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Reviewer: nzgirl, 25-34 Female on Treatment for 1 to 6 months (Patient)

Comment:
I have taken this for 3 months at 150 mg (started on 75 mg and worked up). I have felt a tiny bit better mood wise but the side effects are horrible and not worth it. I wake up 3-4 times a night absolutely drenched in sweat, my bedding is soaked, but I am freezing cold. I feel like I only get about 2 hours sleep with all the waking up and uncomfortableness of sweating. When I do sleep I have terri ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
I have taken this for 3 months at 150 mg (started on 75 mg and worked up). I have felt a tiny bit better mood wise but the side effects are horrible and not worth it. I wake up 3-4 times a night absolutely drenched in sweat, my bedding is soaked, but I am freezing cold. I feel like I only get about 2 hours sleep with all the waking up and uncomfortableness of sweating. When I do sleep I have terrible nightmares. This is getting worse not better. I have trouble with body temperature during the day too - I get really hot and feel like I will pass out. Or really cold and just can't get warm for several hours. I also have terrible nausea that is getting worse, some days it's pretty much constant. Other side effects include constipation, headaches, blurred vision and loss of appetite. At the start I also bruised really easily and was pretty much covered in bruises for a few weeks. Side effects are so awful I am trying to get off this drug, and even after only 3 months, it is proving difficult. I am back down to 75 mg but the side effects are getting worse. I am living on anti-nausea pills!
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Reviewer: brimonnie, 65-74 on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)

Comment:
Need exercise. No energy on Lexapro and Wellbutrin. Switched Wellbutrin to Effexor. Started at one 37.5 mg cap and now taking 3 caps. I see doc in two weeks. I have some trouble sleeping, but still more awake during day and getting stuff done. Blood pressure was a little higher than normal a few days ago. Constipated for past 2 months so won't know if Effexor contributes to it. Increased exer ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
Need exercise. No energy on Lexapro and Wellbutrin. Switched Wellbutrin to Effexor. Started at one 37.5 mg cap and now taking 3 caps. I see doc in two weeks. I have some trouble sleeping, but still more awake during day and getting stuff done. Blood pressure was a little higher than normal a few days ago. Constipated for past 2 months so won't know if Effexor contributes to it. Increased exercise should take care of it and help me lose weight and I'm getting my energy back to do that.
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Reviewer: Deb, 55-64 on Treatment for less than 1 month (Patient)

Comment:
I was on this drug for less than 25 days at 75mg.I was doing just ok. It wasn't really doing anything for my depression, except I turned into a raving crazy person. I am a teacher, never yelled at my kids until I took this drug! Told my doctor, she doubled the dose! Also, my blood pressure has been consistently high since I started this medication ( 175/89 to over 210/99). Needless to say I ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
I was on this drug for less than 25 days at 75mg.I was doing just ok. It wasn't really doing anything for my depression, except I turned into a raving crazy person. I am a teacher, never yelled at my kids until I took this drug! Told my doctor, she doubled the dose! Also, my blood pressure has been consistently high since I started this medication ( 175/89 to over 210/99). Needless to say I stopped taking it 6 days ago and I feel much better, except for my blood pressure. Now I'm worried about having a stroke.
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Reviewer:

Comment:
There's a reason this doctors refer to this drug as "side effexor." My Dr. didn't advise me of the significant side effects, including flu-like symptoms if you miss as little as one or two doses. You can feel seriously ill. I took it for years, and experienced this pretty much every time I forgot a dose. When I went to a doctor (a different one than the one who prescribed it, ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
There's a reason this doctors refer to this drug as "side effexor." My Dr. didn't advise me of the significant side effects, including flu-like symptoms if you miss as little as one or two doses. You can feel seriously ill. I took it for years, and experienced this pretty much every time I forgot a dose. When I went to a doctor (a different one than the one who prescribed it, since I lost trust in her due to her failure to inform me about the downsides of Effexor) to get off this Rx, I asked her what the worse case scenario would be if I was traveling in a remote area and the Rx was lost/stolen, as I was planning a trip in Africa. She said I'd be hospitalized. It took SIX WEEKS to slowly reduce the dosage and gradually get off this Rx. I needed the doctor's supervision to do it safely. I would caution anyone considering taking it to research it thoroughly in advance. If there are other effective options, I would certainly recommend those instead of Effexor, and consider it a drug of last resort.
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