Patient information leaflet (20.10.04) includes the following:

"EfexorXL sometimes causes......slight changes in blood levels of liver enzymes"

my liver enzyme level came back first at 220 then at 325. I had an ultra sound and now have the beginnings of non alcoholic cirrosous of the liver. All this has been cause by taking effexor for eleven and half years.

Sold Out

6/30/09 6:16pm

 

yes took the poison for 4 years. Started to fall asleep at dinner and was getting real

disoriented. Did not know what I was doing. Its a powerful drug and we were not warned. Its the bottom line no more no less. Liver may or may not heal who knows

any sold out biochemists or were they all bought off. Who knows.

Christy

2/15/11 10:38pm

I aslo take Effexor Xr. I recently had a liver panel done. My enzymes and iron level was off the chart. I was diagnosed with Hemochromatosis. It is an inheirted disease, which also causes depression. Google it. You will be surprised.  Hopes this helps.

On Effexor for 3 years enlarged liver. of course it gotta be Im fat. 50 over weight. Been 100 over my whole life. Lost 50 years ago. Do not believe them. Bunch of liars. Pain in side so bad cannot even sleep at night. And I exercise and walk. so Do not believe that fat thing. If that was so 70 percent of America would have liver damage.

Enzymes up way high. These Docs just want to lie and push there drugs. Could care less about you. And believe me, there will look you in the eye and lie till there pants are in flames!

Yes, I have also recently been found to have elevated liver readings. An ultrasound was done last week to see if it was weight related as I'm a big girl, but it all came back clear. No lesions, no fat & no nasty stuff. My doctor has only now admitted that it is most likely related to all the medication I take and primarily the result of being on Effexor. I have researched on the web but although there is a ton of various doctor reports I have yet to find one that clearly states "Effexor can cause Liver impairment". I am concerned for the long term prognosis and wonder if I change anti-depressants will I still have the same problems?

Hi I have been taking effexor 75 for about a three years.  Today I took a blood test and they say that they saw elevated liver enzymes and the Dr. has asked me to do additional blood tests.

I've been on Effexor for 5 yrs. Today my doctor told me my liver enzymes are 2-3 times what they should be. I can not even imagine going off of Effexor. First, because I need it and secondly because of the withdrawals. I've been there and it was horrible. 

Hi,

I have been on Effexor for nearly 6 years and my Doctors ‘never' tried to help me get off them - even when I begged. They just give a stock standard response. I should never have been put on them - but it was a quick fix for the Doctor rather than giving me the psychological counselling I needed.

I feel more depressed on Effexor than off it. I feel like I walk through a fog all day, I have problems sleeping, I am always tired, no sex drive, light headiness, bloating, sore eyes, tinnitus, migraines etc. My vertigo and tinnitus were so bad I was tested for Meniere's disease. I also lacked emotion for any occasion (happiness or sadness - I became numb).

My Liver enzymes were really high and I was told this was probably because I was overweight (as I do not drink alcohol). Mind you, I have gained 55 kilos' (120 pounds) since being on Effexor and I don't really eat that much. It could be that ever since being put on Effexor my energy levels depleted rapidly and I never went a day without napping. I had no more energy to exercise everyday like I use to.

Because of the horrible symptoms and lack of support from my doctor; I tried to come off them by myself and experienced the worse withdrawals. I fainted as I could not even hold my head up. I found it hard to communicate or think. It was like the most horrible attack of vertigo I have ever experienced. I felt terrible, and to top it off I felt nauseated. It was so bad I collapsed in the bathroom one day and woke up with 4 broken toes and a now damaged lumbar sector. So I quickly went back on full dose.

Years later I walked into the room of a new Doctor and I feel blessed. He is the first Doctor to even suggest a new Mental Health Care Plan designed to help people come off anti-depressants. Now with my Doctor and Psychologist I am being slowly weaned off Effexor. I went home and cried because this was the first time a Doctor seemed to ‘listen' to me and help me do what I wanted.

It is hard each time I go down a dose or routine (i.e. alternating days) but it is so worth it. Just from being on lesser dose I feel so much clearer, happier and have more of a sexual appetite. I can't wait until I am off them completely (goal of by Christmas this year). I can't wait to see what a normal sex drive feels like, and to be my happy self again. My partner won't recognise the new me. I already have more energy and am not too tired to go to the gym or spend time outdoors. The withdrawals are not as bad when decreasing doses slowly and gradually - the first few days are tough but it gets easier.

Being placed on those med's was the worst thing. I wish I never were on them. I have encouraged all my family and friends to say no to anti-depressants and to work with psychologists or counsellors to get through the hard times. So much of my reading has shown that regular exercise and eating clean actually boosts your natural serotonin levels.

The Doctors and scientists can say whatever they like in their articles and papers - but unless you are a person who has actually been on and tried to come off Effexor - you will never know how damaging it really is. Most of our symptoms cannot be seen or show up in blood tests - so the medical world just doesn't see it as a ‘real' side effect (because there is no supporting scientific data).

Any chemicals will damage our physical and mental body over time - try not to stay on medication for long and value your natural bodies instead. Trust that you CAN survive without Effexor - because YOU CAN...

Lisa

2/21/12 2:33pm

Effexor XR is for weight loss it does not make you gain weight. Effexor is made to be taken in the morning because if you take it later it will keep you awake. I love it and it has balanced my hormones out. I still get in the sexual mood and I am more active now then I have ever been. I'm sorry but I don't agree with the side effects you are having is from Effexor XR.

R7007`

2/24/12 11:12am

What too many people forget is that everyone has a slightly different biochemical makeup.  That is why what works for some may not work for others.  What may help one loose weight and have more energy, may cause another to feel apathy toward physical activities, including sex, or feel the need to munch, leading to increased weight.  That is why it is always a good idea to read about the different effects of a drug on different people, but not to tell someone that they have to be wrong because that is not they way the drug worked for you. 

 

Effexor can help many with respect to depression and anxiety, but for some, it is well documented, even in the medical literature, that it does reduce the sex drive and the general enertgy level.  What I read one layperson once say was that in many people, it increased apathy.  Apathy toward suicide and negative depressing thoughts, but also apathy toward pretty much everything else as well.  They just "floated through life".  That is also why you will often see posts of people coming off of Effexor stating that they feel joy, happiness and excitement again.  Of course, this also means they can suffer from bouts of depression again.  It is not simple for everyone.

I just had a very similar experance. I applied for life insurance after my son was born and I just found that my AST, ALT, & GGT are 3x the norm, and I was denied coverage. My doctor also had me take a hepatitis test and I came back clean. The only thing that we could pin it on was the Effexor XR which I have been taking for the past 6 years. This extended use of the drug has casued cirrhosis (scarring of the liver). If I hadn't have had the test for life insurance I wouldn't have known till my liver actually failed.