Effexor and Headaches: What Users Say

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 8, 2019

For Autism "I took this about 3 weeks ago. I started on 75 mg. I felt nausea the first day. Then the second day was easier, just a headache and a little nausea and panic. But as the week went on, the symptoms went away and I felt a lot better. The reason why I don't give it a full 10 is that if you take it late, after the 24-hour period since your last dose, you start to experience withdrawal. It is different for everyone, but I was fine. I'm autistic, suffer from acute anxiety, PTSD, and severe depression. It has saved my life so far. I am scared of horror stories, but as an autistic adult, I look at it as an opportunity."

• Ban...
• October 25, 2019

For Major Depressive Disorder "I started this medication, Effexor, in combination with therapy for major depressive disorder, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder. I worked up to 150 mg from 37.5 mg. It has helped me immensely. I’m less irritable, I have energy again, I stopped sleeping 14 hours a day, my anxiety is better, and I feel happier than I have in a long time. I have forgotten to take it for a day and didn’t notice any symptoms at that point. I had a bit of a headache and maybe some nausea at first and with the dosage increase, but it was mild and went away after a day or so."

• las...
• June 2, 2009

For Depression "I am 24 years old, female, 5'1, 130 lbs. Treated for major depression and anxiety. I have aversions to junk food (I am normally health-conscious unless I am really depressed), weight loss (12 lbs), dry mouth, lighter mood, easier to focus, more motivated, mountains turn into anthills, lower sex drive, sometimes get headaches. For me, the pros overwrite the cons - I went off of this for 6 months with no problems. No addiction or sickness. I am back on it, and boy am I glad to feel happy again."

• Anonymous
• July 29, 2014

For Depression "I took Effexor for three years due to depression. I loved the fact that I was no longer depressed, but I was tired all the time. I could sleep for 10 hours, get up, and two hours later I was ready to sleep again. If I missed taking a dose, I would get a horrible headache. The only reason I stopped taking Effexor was due to being tired all the time. Getting off of the medication was awful. I have never been so sick in my life. If you are going to take this medicine the rest of your life, I highly recommend it. It did wonders for my depression."

• jdo...
• June 24, 2013

For Depression "Effexor might have saved my life because at the time I was given it, I had damn near given up hope. Paxil and Zoloft did nothing. Depakote attacked my liver. Lexapro made me numb. Then Effexor was given to me. Two weeks after taking it, I felt better. Four weeks later, I was back doing things again. Within a year, I had all my interests and hobbies back. Cons: 1. Withdrawal is terrible. When I miss a dose, I feel it. Neck pain. Headache. 2. I've found that I had to increase the dose after two years of usage. Seventy-five mg three times a day holds me. 3. Not really a con, but when more stress than usual, I relapse for a few days with depression, but it goes back to normal if you increase the dose for a while."

• My...
• August 23, 2015

For Depression "I just started about two weeks ago. I completely see a difference in myself for the better. My children are even noticing the difference in my reactions to basic things. I won't say I don't feel anything, but this is a period in my life... feeling nothing is what I need. I am able to react to situations with logic. Instead of being on the emotional roller coaster all the time! I was suicidal two weeks ago. I took my kids zip-lining yesterday. I needed this. I'll deal with the withdrawals later, this medication saved my life. I work out 4 days a week, so no energy loss. I don't feel a change in my appetite yet. I did have headaches yesterday briefly. Dreams... falling dream a few times. No weight gain so far. Sex. I don't have a desire yet."

• Dar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 5, 2013

For Depression "I've been on 75 mg for two months now, started at a baby dose of 37.5 about 3 months ago. I can honestly say I woke up feeling the difference and the burst of energy. Only complaints are if you forget to take a dose, you're not in for a good day until you take your next dose. I vomit and have a terrible headache, and also with the medication I found that I had a couple of bad lows while getting used to it. But as long as you keep up with your dose and don't mess around with taking it, you should be very satisfied with the result."

• DFV...
• July 28, 2020

For Major Depressive Disorder "I have many labels: depression, anxiety, tinnitus, chronic pain, insomnia, dissociation, anorexia ... 16 years ago. I was a single mother and broke. All meds led to weight gain, taking forever to lose. I realized 'you can't medicate a crappy life away.' I moved to the ocean, reconnected with nature, and found a trauma psychologist. EMDR and exposure therapy helped me manage symptoms. I was pharmaceutical-free until a minor relapse and was prescribed Effexor (105 mg/day). In 2 months, I stopped being active, social, had headaches, dry mouth, constipation, and gained 20 pounds! I went off cold turkey. Within a few days, I felt like myself again (minus weight gain depression). Now, a week off Effexor, sleep better, eat less, and returned to beach walks to increase dopamine. I hope that it's not going to take long to lose the weight. I'm more depressed and have lower self-esteem when I lose touch with my body. This was my experience."

• Anonymous
• July 17, 2019

For Depression "I have finally had the courage to go through withdrawal symptoms, agitation. Headaches, nausea, electric shock in my head. I am free of this drug, and for the first time in years, I feel like a human being. I am alert and feel a range of emotions. I was feeling nothing, numb for many years. This drug should be taken with great caution. I feel it is dangerous."

• Nat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 26, 2013

For Depression "I've been on many antidepressants. I experienced a few side effects from this one. The major one I experienced was headaches. However, within less than one week, the side effects were gone. I also experienced night sweats in the first few weeks. This has stopped me from crying a lot, which is good."

• Gre...
• August 10, 2019

For Depression "It ruined my life. Was on it for 13 years and tapered off it in March 2018. Every day intense cognitive problems, intense headaches, and stomach problems. Even if I missed a dose, I felt incredibly sick. I am disabled because of it. I'm 29."

• Sta...
• April 1, 2021

For Major Depressive Disorder "Please research this drug extensively before beginning! 26-year-old female and have been suffering with severe depression since childhood. Have tried various types of medications for my depression over the years, and can honestly say, Effexor was by far and large the worst antidepressant I've ever taken. The side effects were horrible: severe headaches, nausea, dizziness, nightmares, waking up in pools of sweat, hit my lowest of lows, and had frequent suicidal thoughts. If I forgot to take my medicine within a couple of hours of my dosage time, I couldn't function with work, chores, etc. Tapering off this drug very slowly was an absolute miserable experience. I'm someone that tries to find some good in even bad experiences, however, I have not a single positive thing to say about this drug. I wouldn't even want my worst enemy to feel a minute of the side effects I did on this drug. If I could give a '0' rating for this drug, I would. Will never touch this medication another day of my life!"

• Dru...
• January 17, 2020

For Depression "I've been on Effexor for 3 or 4 months. So far, I've noticed things are more pleasurable, and I have a tiny bit more energy. Still have depressed days, though. As for the anxiety... still there, and hasn't improved much. Panic attacks aren't as frequent or intense, but I still get them. My anxiety is so bad it's to the point I can barely leave the house unless I really have to. If you're on this drug, you're going to want to stay on it and make sure you don't skip doses. I get major withdrawal symptoms like extreme dizziness and headaches. Make sure you wean off it. Overall, still depressed and definitely still anxious. The effects of relief are mild and sometimes hard to notice. I still rate it a 7 because if it has helped anything, it's the panic attacks, which are easily the worst mental experience you can go through aside from being tortured to death. It's very tormenting. But because Effexor hasn't relieved much else, I'd consider trying something new."

• Anonymous
• May 11, 2012

For Depression "I was on this medication for about 3 years for depression/anxiety. During the time I took this medication, it completely numbed any emotion that a normal person would get. About six months ago, I decided that I was ready to discontinue my use of this medication and slowly reduced my doses. Coming down from this was extremely difficult and painful. I would have the craziest/scariest dreams, intense night sweats, severe headaches, uncontrollable body shaking and muscle twitching, some nausea/vomiting, but the worst of all the side effects was when my heart would race so fast it felt like it was going to break out of my chest, and my heart would feel like it was skipping beats, and each time that happened, I would get an intense head rush."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 7, 2016

For Major Depressive Disorder "I had been off all meds for 10 years when I had a major relapse and knew it was time to medicate again. Effexor is hard to get on, lots of dizziness and exhaustion. Also, if I am late taking it, I feel awful. Headaches, anxiety, mood swings. Don't ever miss a dose! I can't stress this enough. Withdrawal hits hard and fast, even within 12 hours. Sweats, chills, headache, dreams, whole-body pain. HOWEVER, it does help me get through the day. I have suicidal depression and clinical anxiety, so for me, it is worth some struggle to stay with Effexor because it does give me relief. It calms my brain, allows me to get moving with my day, and not have the threat of my own self-destructive tendencies."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 7, 2016

For Major Depressive Disorder "I had been off all meds for 10 years when I had a major relapse and knew it was time to medicate again. Effexor is hard to get on, lots of dizziness and exhaustion. Also, if I am late taking it, I feel awful. Headaches, anxiety, mood swings. Don't ever miss a dose! I can't stress this enough. Withdrawal hits hard and fast, even within 12 hours. Sweats, chills, headache, dreams, whole-body pain. HOWEVER, it does help me get through the day. I have suicidal depression and clinical anxiety, so for me, it is worth some struggle to stay with Effexor because it does give me relief. It calms my brain, allows me to get moving with my day, and not have the threat of my own self-destructive tendencies."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 11, 2015

For Depression "I was switched from Prozac to this (150 mg), and it is amazing! It really helped me, but I will say, DO NOT FORGET TO TAKE IT! My side effects of missing one day were these really weird dreams and a horrible headache, but if I was off of it for more than a day, I felt super dizzy."

• N2H...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 7, 2018

For Depression "I dreaded taking Effexor. It put me into a darker mood, outlook was foggy, nausea, headache, loss of libido, incapacitating loss of motivation, and extreme/intolerable drowsiness. I was in an important meeting with engineers, and I couldn't keep my eyes open no matter how desperately hard I tried. For me, there was no upside to the medication. It was an entirely negative experience. Had to discontinue and will never take it again. Yikes!"

• Fed...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 8, 2018

For Depression "I was given a dosage of 75 mg for a month, then up to 150 mg. It has been the worst experience I've had with any medication. After 10 weeks, my new psychologist has started weaning me off. It will take 4 months in order to avoid the worse effects. Anxiety, suicidal thoughts, headaches, stomach problems... just a few of my side effects."

• Anonymous
• March 26, 2012

For Anxiety and Stress "I've suffered from anxiety my whole life. I've been on and off so many different medicines I can't even count. At first, Effexor seemed like a heaven send. Recently, though, I've realized that if I merely skip a day or more, the withdrawals are indescribable. I shake constantly. I throw up. I sweat. I get headaches."

• Anonymous
• October 14, 2009

For Depression "I just started a few weeks ago, and it has helped stabilize my mood, give me energy. Not noticing any major side effects. I've had some headaches, some light nausea, and some crazy dreams. But I've always had crazy dreams. Other medications gave me much worse side effects. Effexor seems to be working for me. My daughter says that I'm 'funny' again. I love that!"

• swe...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 5, 2012

For Depression "This medicine was WAY too strong for me. I'm 5'8" and 135 pounds, but the minimum dose knocked me out the first night I started taking it. I had twitchy, bizarre dreams, woke up the next morning feeling 'stoned', had a headache and stomachache, shaky hands, and the jitters all day, and my pupils were hugely dilated. This was all just after 1 dose of the timed-release tabs. Not a good choice for me."

• Anonymous
• October 18, 2009

For Anxiety and Stress "I have been on Effexor XR for approximately 7 years now. I was started off at 75 mg and have since been raised to 225 mg over the years. I have had good results on this medication. One downfall is the terrible withdrawals that I experience if I miss a dose. These effects happen within the first couple of hours of not taking it. Terrible headache, foggy feeling, and extreme eye sensitivity. Within a day of a skipped dose, I become agitated, argumentative, and defiant. I do not look forward to switching from this medicine to a different one, which my doctor has suggested, due to the withdrawal symptoms."

• THE...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 10, 2016

For Depression "thought it was a miracle drug at first until I ceased feeling emotions, and I was only ever on a low dose of 75 mg. Been trying to wean off this drug for 3 months now, and I had brain zaps (feels like an electrical impulse going through my head), no appetite, diarrhea, headaches, dysphoria, aches and pains throughout my muscles and joints, dissociation (feels like I'm watching myself watch paint dry), tremors, and sweats. I feel hopeless and like this drug has taken my life from me for the past few months. I would NEVER recommend this to anyone ever."

• Anonymous
• July 8, 2011

For Depression "I was on Effexor XR for about 4 years (started at age 18, weaned off at 22). Over the years, my dosage fluctuated between 37.5 and 300 mgs. It helped immensely throughout the first year. I was still feeling lethargic and such, but no longer had suicidal thoughts. The only side effects I had were ones that appeared when I'd miss a dose: night sweats, weird dreams, headaches. Annoying, but basically harmless. After three years of being on this medicine, I realized it was no longer doing things for me that I couldn't do myself. I was supposed to be taking 37.5 mgs daily, but weaned myself off of it over a course of several months (check with your doctor first). I had little to no withdrawal symptoms and no major signs of returning depression."