r/Effexor

Hi! I started taking Effexor on June 6th, 75mg a day (split into 37.5mg am and pm). Had bad side effects for 2 weeks but they’ve now passed. Spoke to Dr today and they’ve told me to continue to take the 75mg dose. Tbh I was surprised, I thought it would be increased (as it’s doing nothing for my depression/anxiety atm). They said they’ll review it again in a month. I know it’s early days but was just wondering if others had to wait a while before increasing the dosage. Thank you! 😊

Hey guys,

I've been tapering down for quite some time now and got to 18 mg.

Unfortunately, my psychiatrist doesn't support my tapering, and I need to do it on my own,

No Prozac bridge for me.

We only have tablets in my country, so I can't count beads from a capsule.

The smallest tablet is 37.5 mg, not XR, and needs to be taken twice a day.

I managed to split the pill into 4 parts, 9mg each.

Now I'm going to take 9mg a day and thought of taking it once in the morning, meaning I won't take any pill in the evening, and the tablet is supposed to be taken twice a day.

I know you guys are not a psychiatrist, but I would love to hear from your experience how should I tackle the tapering from now on.

Thanks.

Hi everyone, I’m on 112.5 mg of Effexor and I’ve just started a semaglutide, I’m on day 3 of my shot and I’ve noticed an increase in anxiety. i’m wondering if anyone else is on a semaglutide while taking Effexor and if u are have u noticed a difference in med absorption? It could just be a one off because I started a new medication, but I’ve lost some reading about delayed absorption because of the semaglutide.

Has anyone on here had success with their Gp for adding medication on to stop the sweating? I’ve been on this drug for about ten years and every year my reaction to heat worsens.
I’m in NI so it’s not even as hot as the mainland but it’s unbearable. I’ve started a placement for uni and every morning in handover someone is worried I’m going to faint because I’m fanning myself, red, sweating insanely. I walked from my car to a coffee shop about 300 yards away yesterday and was dripping sweat off my face.
My Gp did hormone checks recently and they’re all clear so I’m really hoping it’s possible to get glycopyrrolate or something added on - just wondering if there’s anyone else from the UK who’s had any luck!

Thank you in advance!

hi all! i’ve been on venlafaxine since summer of 2022, and just recently as in a few days ago gotten off of it. every time i would miss a dose, i would have horrendous vertigo. for the last few days i’ve had insane vertigo, it’s now to the point i can barely move my eyes around without the room spinning. i had to no show today at my job, and im worried ill have to do it the rest of the week too. i can’t lose my job, but i can’t go in if im barely able to get up and go to the washroom. any remedies you might be able to recommend?

So for context, I've been on Effexor since 2022, and recently decided with my psychiatrist to taper down and get off of it. So on the 3rd I stopped taking it after tapering down to 25% of my regular dose (lowest possible, 37.5). The thing is, last night I started having suicidal ideation and needed to have my partner stay with me most of the night to make sure I was okay. When I was on Effexor I didn't have these kind of thoughts often, and when it happened it was never serious. Does anyone have experience with the same thing? And any advice? I was also prescribed bupropion and was instructed to start taking it a day after the withdrawals started and I'm not sure whether that's amplified the withdrawal side effects or not (I've also been on vraylar for about a month, and lamotrigine for a couple years, but I'm not sure if that matters or not). Any response is greatly appreciated, I'm feeling desperate for help with this

For those of you who have been on both; how do they compare? Is Effexor stronger than Paxil? Is Effexor also good for anxiety or only for pure depression?

What differences do they have? Side effects?

After few years on venlafaxine 75mg, later increased to 150 and 187mg, im tapering down to 0. I sometimes forgot to take the meds or skipped a dose or a whole day. Hence I thought stopping would be easily achievable. As per the doctor schema I was taking 112,5mg for the first week. Then 75mg the following week. Then 37,5mg for the tried week. It was all great and side-effects free. Which led me to believe the complete tapering would be effortless and painless. The 40%, 33% and 50% reductions were nothing (I know the absolute dosage matters due minimal effective dosage etc.), but the “100%” taper from 37,5mg to 0 is badly tolerated.
After 36-48 hours without the drug, I start to feel unpleasantly nauseous. And I get weird body sensations, likely the so called brainzaps. I even had to get another prescription to delay the process. If I do take the dose, I feel normal and ok within few hours. As of now I can’t imagine doing this (stopping altogether) to myself deliberately.
I just read about omega 3. Let me know about any life hacks that worked for you. Like food/ drinks / activities.

Hi everyone! So I’ve been on this lovely pill for almost a year now. I’ve had a really busy week and since I put my meds in a weekly container I completely forgot to request my refill. Since it’s a holiday weekend (this happened on new years as well) my office is closed and won’t be able to approve the refill until tomorrow. My pharmacy is also weird about not refilling unless they get the script from my doctor regardless of refill history. That being said I’ll be out of my 75mg pill for up to 3 days at this point. Is there anyway for me to get a bridge dose until my refill is approved? How and where do I go to ask about this? The withdrawals thankfully haven’t hit me yet and won’t until tonight but I’m so scared to go too long without them.

I was on Effexor XR for 19 years, lots of that time at 225 mg.

I hyperbolic tapered slowly over the course of 2 years, the last 37.5 took about 6 months to get off.

Its been about 5 months now since I have been completely off. And about at month 2 I noticed my energy levels crashed. Brain fog, no interest in anything. Been rough.

I have finally decided to try and reinstate. I told my doctor I wanted to start slow (he recommended 37.5mg right away, but reading online I insisted on microdosing and trying to work up slowly). So I am taking 5 mg to start and see how it goes.

Has anyone had an experience like this, and what kind of success (or not) did you see with micro dose reinstating?

Missed my dose by 8 hours, went out this morning early and just completely forgot and I am absolutely drenched in sweat from head to toe, sweating from places I didn't even know could sweat from. I've just now taken my dose (I actually wanted to move it to an evening because it's drowsy for me not stimulating so it's worked out well in the long run) but how long till this withdrawal side effects goes away I'm absolutely boiling

Hi all, as the title says I had my first dose of Venlafaxine last night, I've had the boxes for some time but put off taking it till now.

I have been on Sertraline in the past and didn't like how it made me feel, slightly odd feeling, can’t describe it, lost my libido, it helped but it was strange.

Anyway after taking my first 75mg dose of Venlafaxine last night I've woke to have my usual morning routine of masturbation and couldn't hard, semi at best, unpredicted but nothing was happening.

I've also started sweating, I feel really clammy.

I'm worried that this is how I'm going to feel everyday going forward? Does the sweating stop?
Also I was under the impression that Venlafaxine had less of an effect on libido than sertraline?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I was just forced to quit Effexor this past Friday bc it was giving me full body hives and swelling of the face and lips (been on 37.5 since Jan 2026, hives randomly began in May 2026). My neurologist told me because I’m on the lowest dose 37.5, I can stop the medication right away. My last dose was Thursday. Yesterday (Saturday) was horrible. So so so nauseous is all I can say. Today I just feel strange and off balance. In your experience, how long did the withdrawal last? Specifically if you’re like me and only have gone as high as 37.5 on this med.

I did a Prozac bridge from effexor and I haven't taken any Prozac either for about four weeks. I still feel very emotionally blunted, but also regularly on the verge of tears but not able to cry. I'm also irritable.

I've taken effexor on and off for years, with quite long spells (years and years) continually. I'm worried that it has f*cked my brain up and I'll never feel really human ever again.

I know I’m supposed to take it with food but i took my first dose of it on an empty stomach this morning. A couple hours later i experienced two bouts of diarrhea and clamminess/sweating and nausea. That’s all subsided now and I’ll do my best to take it with food tomorrow, but does that sound normal for starting out on this med or should I talk to the dr?

i've been on effexor for about 3 months now and before starting, i was warned by doctor to absolutely not drink or smoke weed in ANY amount, otherwise there will be consequences. however, i went to a party more recently, snuck in four shots of a buzzball, and smoked a little weed, and was perfectly fine. no hangover, just a little buzzed for an hour or two...

i know effexor and other anti-depressants affect people differently, and everyone will have different side effects, but in my case would y'all say it's safe to drink/smoke occasionally and recreationally with friends or should i avoid it entirely because it might hurt my body or something? i've always been extremely heavyweight and rarely get hangovers or even super tipsy easily, so i feel safe to have a little bit of something to drink without getting totally wasted or hurt... I just want to be sure and know if it is actually dangerous and I should stop,

i just feel bad disobeying my doctor, even though i feel perfectly fine. i just know doctors tend to suggest not doing anything of the sort because they're legally required to give warnings, even if side effects don't affect everyone who takes a prescribed medication. i'm on 225mg and am still a bit weary about things.

EDIT: thanks for the tips and information. i will speak to my doctor before smoking or drinking again, and will be careful when i do.

This has been going on for about two weeks and I have found no answers googling.

I have been on 225mg of Effexor for 7-8 years. I know the exact feelings of withdrawal and experience withdrawal symptoms if I take my dose more than a few hours late. I specifically get the pulsing in my ears with eye movement (a semi-common withdrawal symptom).
Because of this, I take my medication as on time as possible and NEVER miss a dose.

Nothing has changed recently except for a manufacturer change of my 150mg effexor (I take a 150mg capsule and 75mg capsule). After a week of the new capsules, I realized I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms. I immediately switched to taking 3 capsules of my 75mg dose and thought my symptoms improved this week. Now today and yesterday I am having withdrawal symptoms AGAIN. I don’t know what’s wrong or what’s triggering it. My irritability is noticeably worse as well in the last two weeks as well. I will be speaking with my pharmacist next week, but the pharmacy is generally unhelpful.

I am also on lamotrigine and buspirone, as well as Vyvanse. I take those consistently and have had no changes with them.

Anybody else randomly experience increases in brain zaps and/or withdrawal symptoms?

Sooo i started Effexor today

(using this name i have a diffrent one with the same main ingredient )

I went to ask my doctor how if I should be worried about withdrawal symptoms from the Lexamil that I was supposed to be taking but stoped because it was just making me numb

He strongly recommended that I dont go off of lexamil because im completing grade 12 and so gave me the option between getting back on it or going on to another anti depressant

He assured me that this has less side effects than other anti depressants though from a Google search he seems to be wrong?

I dont wanna be that guy trusting some random reditor over an actual doctor but it dosent seem like the side effects are mild even on 37mg

Regardless I wanted to get off of antidepressants entirely cause I feel like they arent helping me and im better off fending off my depression on my own

What is your experience is Effexor worth trying out or is it what you take when nothing else works and you committed for life?

He seid its prescribed when other drugs dont work so im curious

Thank you to anyone who responds it really helps me out

I’ve been taking Effexor ER 150 mg for about 6 months it has worked amazing for my anxiety and depression. But I have the absolute worst insomnia. I have tried taking it in the morning, in the afternoon and night and every time I cannot sleep. It is to the point where I will be up at 4-5 AM if I don’t take trazodone. I ran out of my trazodone for 1 day and was up until 6 AM. My body doesn’t feel tiredness anymore.

It’s getting to the point where I’ve had to up the dose of the trazodone and now I feel like I need something different or stronger. Effexor is the one drug that has really improved my anxiety and depression. I have tried so many and this is a miracle. But I have had this type of insomnia where I am just never tired until I take a sleeping pill. Does anyone have any advice? Or has this happened to anyone else? Am I having a weird reaction to it?