I began taking Effexor for depression in 1999 and took it until 2003. After several years of trying to treat my illness with different drugs prior to 1999, it turned out Effexor was the one that really worked. For a long time it seemed as though this was the perfect prescription for me.
Venlafaxine
Limited data
Limited data
Sparse data. Doses and effects may be unreliable or untested.
- 1 source
- no dose data
- PubChem toxicity data
Limited data
Sparse data. Doses and effects may be unreliable or untested.
- 1 source
- no dose data
- PubChem toxicity data
Aliases: Efexor, Effexor, Effexor xr
Summary
Venlafaxine is a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor which is used in the treatment of depression and general anxiety disorder. It is also used off-label to treat a variety of other disorders.
Tolerance
Build-up
varies by mechanism; therapeutic tolerance may develop over weeks of regular use
Reset
typically days to weeks after discontinuation
Tolerance Decay
Full tolerance
3d
Half tolerance
8d
Baseline
~14d
Acute tolerance: develops within a single session — the reset numbers above apply after sustained heavy use, not after one binge. Within-session tachyphylaxis usually resets largely overnight.
Effects
Aggregated from 155 Erowid experience reports
Positive Effects 8
Stimulation
36.8%
70%
Euphoria
17.4%
70%
Empathy
16.1%
70%
Focus Enhancement
16.1%
70%
Music Enhancement
12.9%
70%
Color Enhancement
10.3%
70%
Tactile Enhancement
7.7%
70%
Body High
3.9%
70%
Adverse Effects 14
Anxiety
55.5%
70%
Confusion
27.1%
70%
Nausea
22.6%
70%
Increased Heart Rate
9.7%
70%
Pupil Dilation
9.0%
70%
Sweating
8.4%
70%
Seizure
8.4%
70%
Muscle Tension
6.5%
70%
Appetite Suppression
5.2%
70%
Jaw Clenching
5.2%
70%
Psychosis
5.2%
70%
Memory Suppression
4.5%
70%
Headache
3.2%
70%
Motor Impairment
2.6%
70%
Community Trip Reports
Anecdotal first-person accounts from Reddit, Erowid, and Bluelight. Click a source to expand. Reports are harm-reduction context, not medical guidance.
Erowid 8 reports 1 positive 3 neutral 4 cautionary visit
My decade of drug use ended me up financially broken and in drug rehab for Heroin/OxyContin addiction. As evil as Heroin/Oxy may be, this substance did far more to me in retrospect especially since, at the time, it was far more subtle.
Let me start with a little personal history, explaining why I was given this medication. I'm for the most part a normal guy, and have good days, bad days, and days that are somewhere in between.
I thought I was alone in this, but after reading the effexor experience vaults, I realized that I am not. ... Halfway through my senior high-school year I came down with a paralyzing depression. I was at a boarding school, and one day I just couldn't get out of bed...
This is a retrospective of my experiences, but first I'd like to relate one from my ex-girlfriend. My ex-girlfriend developed terrible insomnia after a 3 month period of using methamphetamines fairly heavily. This insomnia quickly developed resistance to ANY treatment, ambien, restoril, anything.
I am currently recovering form one of the worst few days of my life, and am still in complete shock about what has happened to me. Its Sunday afternoon now but I have to keep reminding myself of that fact cause to be honest it could be any day or anytime, I am completely disorientated and have to keep telling myself re...
Since childhood I have experience mood problems, ranging from general unhappiness associated with self detachment all the way to extreme depression and hopelessness. Feelings of being isolated and incapable of experiencing a real emotion feeling fake. This peaked in my early twenties when I attempted suicide.
I consider myself to be a relatively sane and rational person. At least now. However, after faring a rather difficult time in my life I started to notice a few changes in my overall mental state. I was experiencing slight to mild paranoia, along with anxiety of a similar degree.
Bluelight 1 thread 1 neutral visit
A couple of points before I begin: 1. As far as I know taking this combination of substances is potentially dangerous and one risks serotonin syndrome. I guess this is why on the St. John's Wort bottle it warns on the back not to take with prescription anti-depressants. 2.
Pill Identifiers
32
known pill identifiers on record — view imprints, colors, shapes, and images
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Venlafaxine's nerd page
Pharmacology, chemical data, effect profiles, and more
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Helpful Links
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