long term side effects

[nohelany]

do effexor have a long term side effect that i am not aware of...

[nohelany]

continue:gain lost of weight... i have been getting strange cramps on my toes, or muscle spasm.. not sure if is related to the medication.

[Mark]

Been on Effexor XR for 7 months. No side effects. Honestly none. Was on Paxil, Lexapro, Celexa, and others with lots of problems but effexor has been really really great. Saved my life. Forums on the internet are generally negative because people with success stories don't generally read effexor forums. If you need it, I would recommend it.

[jeric]

I have muscle spasms in my shoulders and am glad to see others on Effexor have this. It pins down which medication is causing this. I learn more from these forums than from any book, PDR, doctor, pharmacist or whatever. Keep up the good chats.

[cdp]

trying to get off effexor and having an awful experience. I've tapered back very gradually over a month's time--still nausea, headache, electric shocks, insomnia, sweats, etc. Anyone else out there with suggestions as to how long I should expect this? Last pill (75 mg) taken a week ago...

[cdp]

just an additional note referncing my note of Monday Apr 17: Today is Thursday Apr 20, and although I'm not absolutely symptom free (still some nausea and slight headache), I am better. I'm beginning to feel confident that by the weekend I'll be "normal."

[jeff]

cdp wrote:

trying to get off effexor and having an awful experience. I've tapered back very gradually over a month's time--still nausea, headache, electric shocks, insomnia, sweats, etc. Anyone else out there with suggestions as to how long I should expect this? Last pill (75 mg) taken a week ago...

about a month at least...

[Spark]

Hello. I had a question, mostly geared towards men, but women please feel free to answer as well.
My boyfriend takes Effexor- has been for over 4 years now- and the only major side effect he has is a low sex drive. He recently has started a new medication to help with his depression/mood swings. Since it has been working well, he is weening off of Effexor and will eventually stop taking it. Have any of you had this happen? I am wondering (well, hoping) that his libido will kick into gear again! If so, how long might it take? Thanks for any input.

[Page]

I have been on Effexor XR 150mg for about 5 years now and in the past 6 months have begun to have trouble concentrating, I see black dots and have blurry vision and feel like I am not as mentally sharp as I used to be. Has anyone else experienced this and is it an effect of the effexor or am I starting to lose my vision?

[Frank]

Page wrote:

I have been on Effexor XR 150mg for about 5 years now and in the past 6 months have begun to have trouble concentrating, I see black dots and have blurry vision and feel like I am not as mentally sharp as I used to be. Has anyone else experienced this and is it an effect of the effexor or am I starting to lose my vision?

Hey, I've been on Effexor 75mg for about a year and half. I have noticed that I can't concentrate as well and remain mentally sharp. I get blurry vision sometimes and night sweats, but I have definitely noticed a decline in my ability to concentrate. This has a huge impact on me as I'm a University student. I've tried getting off of Effexor but the withdrawl is horrible!

[Kathy R]

I've been on efexor for years and it's great. 150mg per day.

[Melanie]

cdp wrote:

just an additional note referncing my note of Monday Apr 17: Today is Thursday Apr 20, and although I'm not absolutely symptom free (still some nausea and slight headache), I am better. I'm beginning to feel confident that by the weekend I'll be "normal."

Are you feeling better yet? Feel like I'm never going to get off this stuff.

[wendy]

When are the doctors going to tell us what we're really in for when starting or stopping this drug? i've been on this for 12 months & i've never one day since felt right! still every time i cut my dosage down i know i'm in for at least 4 weeks of headaches,muscle aches sore throat,diarrhoea,diziness & insomnia.
I feel trapped!

[Rudy]

Mark wrote:

Been on Effexor XR for 7 months. No side effects. Honestly none. Was on Paxil, Lexapro, Celexa, and others with lots of problems but effexor has been really really great. Saved my life. Forums on the internet are generally negative because people with success stories don't generally read effexor forums. If you need it, I would recommend it.

Thanks for your positive comment. I really needed that.

[Donna]

Mark wrote:

Been on Effexor XR for 7 months. No side effects. Honestly none. Was on Paxil, Lexapro, Celexa, and others with lots of problems but effexor has been really really great. Saved my life. Forums on the internet are generally negative because people with success stories don't generally read effexor forums. If you need it, I would recommend it.

Mark no one is saying that Effexor doesn't work. But boy oh boy just wait till you decide to discontinue taking it. It is a nighmare. I hope you don't experience what thousands of us are going through right now. It is horrible. Don't believe me? Stop taking it and see for yourself. You won't be singing the praises of Effexor anymore!!!!!!!!!!

[Donna]

Kathy R wrote:

I've been on efexor for years and it's great. 150mg per day.

Kathy, Kathy, Kathy, just wait till you try to stop taking Effexor. It won't be great then!!!

[Beth]

Hi - new to this forum. I've been on Effexor for abt. 8 years. It was incredible initially for depression/anxiety. I'd been on 150 mg/day. I only went on it after about 40 years of untreated depression; I reacheda huge crisis point in my life and couldn't stand it any more - so Effexor. I lost about half my hair, which until now I thought was due to the crisis itself, but it never grew back. Then, about 31/2 years ago I started becoming anemic. I'd take lots of iron (which a woman my age is not supposed to have to take) and get almost healthy again, then back into anemia. No one could find the cause. Until about 2 months ago, after my last severe anemia bout, when I realized anemia is an uncommon side effect of... Effexor. So, now I'm wading through the withdrawal nightmare. After reading some of your posts, I realize I've had the blurry vision thing, too. My sleep patterns were terribly disrupted. Ugh. This drug is one of the big guns, and shouldn't be prescribed lightly!!

[jessica]

i'v been taking effexor for about 4 years and it has really helped me, but i have been thinking of getting off, because i'm worried about the long term effects. so when you get off the effexor do your simptoms come back?

[James]

Ive been on it for probably 5 months now and it has been great and lifted my mood and reduced my anxiety.. reading this Im really worried about coming off it now (on 150MG now). Im going to Docs tomorrow to go down to 75mg... I have lost me libido though and my GF has noticed.. I used it to get through a stage in my life and it has been great...

[jamie]

Hi there, I've been taking effexor for almost 2 years now and every once in a while i'll feel terrible symptoms come on, nausea, fatigue, worsening anxiety, vision impairment, headache. It feels like a relapse. The feelings usually go away after a week or so and I feel completely better again. I attribute those symptoms to not taking the medication on time everyday and not being consistent, over time this must cause confusion for your body and nervous system alike. I've seen doctors about this and they offer no alternative suggestions as to why i'm feeing this way! Good luck.