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Does Venlafaxine help with mood?

Often, yes. 62% of 21 people who reported on Venlafaxine for mood say it improved. 5% noticed no change and 33% say it got worse. That is below the typical result for mood (84% across 108 options).

Mood: what users report
62%better21 reports · medium confidence
13 better1 no change7 worse

Ranked #95 of 108 for mood.

What people say about Venlafaxine and mood

“I started Venlafaxine three months ago when I got depressed again...and it got me out of bed, but NAC was the game changer for me.”
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“venlafaxine did something...This at least helps me sleep...it just gives me that flattened serotonin effect where everything is 'fine,' apathy, emotional blunting, low libido.”
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“i had Effexor prescribed. It did not seem to help but was prone to crying fits on it and felt like crap.”
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“I have been on effexor 150mg for 1 year now which helps almost cured the depression and helped me regain mental clarity”
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What the research says

AResearch: Strong314 meta-analyses · 562 trials on PubMed
Lancet · 2018
Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

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.

Lancet Psychiatry · 2024
Pharmacological treatments for psychotic depression: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

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.

Mol Psychiatry · 2023
Antidepressants for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder in the maintenance phase: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

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.

Side effects people mention

withdrawal 10insomnia 3brain zaps 2headache 2emotional blunting 2

What else is Venlafaxine used for?

Information only — not medical advice. How we count

Does Venlafaxine help with mood? 62% of 21 users say yes — PlainPill