Conclusion: All antidepressants were more efficacious than placebo in adults with major depressive disorder. Smaller differences between active drugs were found when placebo-controlled trials were included in the analysis, whereas there was more variability in efficacy and acceptability in head-to-head trials. These results should serve evidence-based practice and inform patients, physicians, guideline developers, and policy makers on the relative merits of the different antidepressants.
PubMed 29477251 ↗Venlafaxine
People mainly take Venlafaxine for anxiety, focus. Based on 17 first-hand reports and 314 meta-analyses & systematic reviews in the medical literature. Ranked #758 of 1,974 overall.
Of reports that state an outcome, 28% are positive.
What Venlafaxine does, according to users
Of the people who reported each effect, the share who said it got better.
4 more with fewer than 3 reports
What the research says
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses from PubMed, with their published conclusions.
3+ meta-analyses or systematic reviews and 10+ randomized controlled trials in humans. The grade measures how much human research exists — read the conclusions below for what it found.
Conclusion: According to the available evidence, the combination of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and a second-generation antipsychotic-and particularly of fluoxetine and olanzapine-could be the optimal treatment choice for psychotic depression. These findings should be taken into account in the development of clinical practice guidelines. However, these conclusions should be interpreted cautiously in view of the low number of included studies and the limitations of these studies.
PubMed 38360024 ↗Conclusion: Compared to placebo, venlafaxine was associated with a lower incidence of dizziness, while desvenlafaxine, sertraline, and vortioxetine were associated with a higher incidence of nausea/vomiting. In conclusion, desvenlafaxine, paroxetine, venlafaxine, and vortioxetine had reasonable efficacy, acceptability, and tolerability in the treatment of adults with stable MDD.
PubMed 36253442 ↗Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the largest contemporary review of pharmacological agents for the treatment of generalised anxiety disorder by use of network analysis. There are several effective treatment choices for generalised anxiety disorder across classes of medication. The failure of initial pharmacological therapy might not be a reason to abandon a pharmacological treatment strategy.
PubMed 30712879 ↗Dosage people report
As stated by users — not a recommendation. Follow the label or your doctor.
Reported side effects
How often each side effect came up across all reports.
What users say
Verbatim quotes, shortened only — each links to the original discussion.
“Norebox, Duloxetine, Venlafaxine, Topiramate, Stablon, Lexapro”
“at 19 I got mayor depression and got prescribed Venlafaxine”
“He also takes venlafaxin.”
“Effexor... Fuck. That. Shit.”
“venlafaxine/Effexor is perhaps a better first move here”
Top discussions (5)
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Other options for anxiety
User data from public discussions; research from PubMed. Information only, not medical advice — talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. Data updated October 2, 2026. How we rate