Effexor XR (venlafaxine)

9 Comments & Reviews: Effexor XR (venlafaxine)

1. I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2021, however it was long suspected by my therapist who could not formally make the diagnosis. I had been taking Zoloft for 8 years (prescribed by my primary care doctor) for depression and anxiety with little improvement, however he felt hesitant trying other antidepressants as he wasn’t a psychiatrist. I finally visited a psychiatrist about changing antidepressants and getting evaluated for ADHD last fall, and was switched from 200mg of zoloft to 225mg of effexor XR. Within the first week, my anxiety went from 1-2 panic attacks daily to extremely manageable. My energy levels throughout the day have improved as I have been sleeping better and throughout the night. When I start ruminating on anxious thoughts, I feel able to “snap out” of it and redirect my brain for the first time in years. While I did see a small improvement with ADHD symptoms due to decreased depression/anxiety, my core symptoms of inattentiveness and difficulty focusing still persisted. After 2 months psychiatrist and I decided to try a low dose of Adderall XR alongside Effexor, which has been a game changer for managing my ADHD.
   For anyone who experiences comorbid anxiety/depression alongside ADHD, I would definitely recommend looking into Effexor as it has greatly improved my quality of life and has been the first medication to help me manage my anxiety to where it doesn’t interfere with my daily life. I’m unsure if I would recommend it as a stand-alone treatment for ADHD, however.

   My sole two

   1) Sweat. One of the side effects of Effexor is excessive sweating, and apparently for most people it goes away after a few weeks. This side effect hasn’t gone away for me. While it isn’t unbearable nor am I drenched with sweat, it definitely is noticeable.
   2) Withdrawals. If you are someone who is not good at taking medications daily Effexor is NOT for you. I have consistently taken my dosage except for when I mistakenly left my meds at home while going out of town. The withdrawals made me unable to sleep for 4 days, have mood swings, and made me very delusional/detached from reality. These symptoms went away once I returned home and started taking my regular dosage again, however I felt it was important to note when giving my experience with effexor.

2. Decades ago I was undiagnosed ADD and I had chronic depression. Prozac was new at the time and was a life saver. I’ve always been book smart but unable to focus enough to work without excessive stress with occasional job loss. Prozac, then a combination of Effexor, Wellbutrin and Lamictal have been the best combination for me to stave off serious depression and attend well enough to work—though it is still a significant challenge. Effexor reduced uncontrollable frequent crying binges — a significant workplace problem while keeping me from near suicidal depression. On the other hand it has had a somewhat numbing effect on my emotions. While once I was too empathetic, enable to tolerate pain and suffering of others, now I feel a bit insensitive at times. Where once I was shy now I feel too blunt and a bit overbearing sometimes. So it has been a mixed bag for me. I am trying to wean myself off of it slowly — accidentally missing doses made me feel like I was about to jump out of my skin and was terrifying. Effexor has ruined my sex life—obviously a problem for relationships. All of that said I came to this site to see how much the Effexor had mattered in terms of ADHD. I am hoping Wellbutrin and Lamictal will aid in depression and attention enough on its own. It’s been about 5 days and I have been very scattered-more so than usual and if that continues I will have to reluctantly return to Effexor.

3. I’m going to be 63 this month I’ve had something wrong with me since my first memories. I kept It hidden until I couldn’t do that anymore. I was super scared all my life that someone would find out. My bosses came very close until I went selfemployed for 30 years. But when my physical health went my mental followed and I spent the next 15 years in & out of therapies! CBT & DBT! Personality Disorder.Adhd,Major Depressive Disorder,Anxiety Disorder, I’ve never told my Family or friends. Now I don’t see anyone except a few strangers & to female friends with simular problems & situation.

4. I became allergic to this medication, I felt like I was wearing a wool sweater against my skin.
   Besides that,it was prescribed as a depression medication and it was the first time in my life that I felt organized and thought more clearly. It also had a calming affect. I was taking 18 credits at college and classes fell into place. However, I gained at least 30 lbs on the medication even when I was swimming almost 2 miles a day.

5. Hello,

   Currently, I am on Effexor EX at 300 mg per day which is not really helping me combat both my Bipolar I disorder and ADHD: Inattentive Type. However, my former psychiatrist had me on Effexor at 450 mg/ day, 80 mg of Adderall/ day, and Latuda at 80 mg/day; I was functioning great and had no psychiatric symptoms, no side effects, and no manic symptoms. Because I moved to Rhode Island from Connecticut; I had no choice, but to see my current nurse- practitioner who will not allow me to be on these high doses of psychotropic agents, but it worked wonders for me. She does not believe I was on these high doses of psychotropic agents since 2012. I have not had a manic episode since 2012. Does anyone know a great psychiatrist in Rhode Island that treats both Bipolar Spectrum disorder and ADHD??
   Thanks
   Vinny
   [email protected]

6. I took this medicine to help me cope with ADHD symptoms as well as depressive symptoms. I started on 37.5 mg for 2 weeks, and then was upped to 75 mg for about 7 months. I felt like the medicine at first, was working. I felt like i could cope with my emotions better, and was therefore lest restless. The two negative experiences i had on this were a decline in sexual drive, and once i stopped this medicine, it took about two weeks of detox symptoms before i felt okay again.

7. In my experience, this is the worst antidepressant in so many ways (I’ve tried most of them). Made me feel so emotionally numb that all I would want to do is lay in bed all day, making my depression even worse. Didn’t do anything for my anxiety or racing thoughts. On top of all this, it is incredibly difficult to get off of.

8. I took for 2yrs 15 years ago, and again now for 2 years so far. The treatment was for depression with anxiety. In hindsight, I am lifelong adhd (clever but dreamy type), featuring difficulty falling asleep, plus restless legs syndrome; and usual issues of hyperfocus, forward-looking memory, etc. Occassional depressive episodes but maybe secondary to a consistent life of poor sleep and adhd bs. Male mid 50s, dose 150mg in morning.

   Both times on effexor, after 2 days treatment, the drug reset my sleep/wake cycle so I fall asleep naturally 1030pm and wake early morning rested. Procrastination bit better, anxiety greatly reduced so less adhd panic, and thinking is a bit more goal directed. So works for me.

   Withdrawl is not funny. If I miss one daily dose, I get the head zaps -a funny electric shock sensation in brain. Weaning off meant a lot of that over a couple of months. Flu like too, and sporadic panic episodes for a couple of weeks. I had some support while I did that, and lived to tell the tale. But I didn’t hurry back to try it. Plus side effects… sweating, bit of weight gain, etc.

   For me, the sleep makes it worth it. I’m not taking enough this time to have huge stimulatory effect, so not really traditional adhd med for me. Higher doses do stimulate me, and i get things done, but side effects, esp sweating, are not pretty. I still love the vivid dreams. And the way it allowed me to make insights about myself and allowed me to make changes to the way I live my life. Wouldnt want to not be adhd, but can learn to leave my baggage out of it.

9. I used Effexor for depression. I hated it. It made me feel like I was going crazy, and the withdrawal symptoms are nasty. I was in bed for 3 days as if I had the flu (nausea, dizziness, etc)