I have been on effexor and it seems almost around the time I started, I have been getting painful acne lumps on my chin area. They stay forever and are often painful and itchy. When one finally goes, it seems another appears and they are leaving scars/discoloration on my skin. UGLY!
Is this medication related???
Is this medication related???
I've been taking Effexor for five days now, and almost immediately after taking the medicine I developed several blemishes. They are cystic and quite painful to the touch, and my skin seems to be healing much slower than usual. I also developed some ulcers in my mouth. I don't know if Effexor is the cause, but this all began the day following my first dose--i'm still a bit hesitant to blame this on the medication. I'll have to wait and see if it clears up. Also experiencing the muscle spasms everyone speaks of and my appetite is nil. I've been reading patient reviews of Effexor and I'm quite anxious now--i've read a fair amount of horror stories, particularly regarding the withdrawal period. I hope my experience is nothing of the sort.
hi there....
it probably is an allergic reaction....i have been on Effexor for about a month (along with Anafranil ) for OCD/anxiety/depression...THAT and i have had terrible acne since i was a teen (i am 36 now!) i am also getting more severe acne...just what i need!! AHHKK!
I just got a rash and i didn't want to believe it was the effexor (or the anafranil) b/c i haven't felt this great in a long time....
it is now on my arms, back, neck, face, legs, everywhere! it started on my legs..i thought i was itching b/c of weight gain and skin stretching..( LOL i read so much about the weight gain on both drugs that i am freaked about it now! LOL!)
The itching is driving me crazy..it has to be an allergic reaction....i am just so mad..i just paid for 2 new 3 month perscriptions of both medicines....!!!!!!!! I guess i just wasted my money!
it probably is an allergic reaction....i have been on Effexor for about a month (along with Anafranil ) for OCD/anxiety/depression...THAT and i have had terrible acne since i was a teen (i am 36 now!) i am also getting more severe acne...just what i need!! AHHKK!
I just got a rash and i didn't want to believe it was the effexor (or the anafranil) b/c i haven't felt this great in a long time....
it is now on my arms, back, neck, face, legs, everywhere! it started on my legs..i thought i was itching b/c of weight gain and skin stretching..( LOL i read so much about the weight gain on both drugs that i am freaked about it now! LOL!)
The itching is driving me crazy..it has to be an allergic reaction....i am just so mad..i just paid for 2 new 3 month perscriptions of both medicines....!!!!!!!! I guess i just wasted my money!
I have searched high and low for 8 years trying to find something that says Effexor causes painful and itching acne/sores. I have always suspected it because it was an almost immediate reaction when I started it 8 years ago, but nowhere does it say anything about this in the side effects. (I also developed a ringing in my ears that I've gotten used to - especially notice it when things are perfectly quiet- but haven't been able to find anything that says that's a side effect either.)
About 2 years ago when the acne on my face got so bad, I went to a dermotologist who put me on 2 meds (spironolactone and dynacin) and 2 topicals (Differin and Duac) which helped. However, if I get a blemish anywhere and do any sort of picking at it, it will get cystic, hurts and itches, so it's still there.
All I can say is thank you for sharing about this - I knew I was right about this, yet could not get any answers anywhere or from anyone!
About 2 years ago when the acne on my face got so bad, I went to a dermotologist who put me on 2 meds (spironolactone and dynacin) and 2 topicals (Differin and Duac) which helped. However, if I get a blemish anywhere and do any sort of picking at it, it will get cystic, hurts and itches, so it's still there.
All I can say is thank you for sharing about this - I knew I was right about this, yet could not get any answers anywhere or from anyone!
i just was put on effexor and i have the same thing! i have never had a pimple in my life and now they are all over my chin and only my chin! i tappered off the effexor with out my doctor knowing and the acne went away and stayed away for 2 weeks. then i started taking the drug again and what do ya know the pimples came back on my chin so yes effexor causes acne i can prove it!!! and i am only on 75 mg.
wowo I have had the same problem...I started effexor and never in my life have i had zits until now and its on my chin! and they hurt...and it takes forever to clear up! so yah i guess it must cause acne! and i wish i knew what i could do?? any help??
Bizarrely, I have never had acne in my life (only one or two tiny pimples around that time of the month) until I started coming OFF the Effexor. I was on 75mg for about 8 months, no probs, felt heaps better... discovered the horrendous withdrawal effects when I accidentally missed a couple of doses. Decided there and then that I wanted to get off it. I reduced my dose to 37.5mg and within a week I have broken out in masses of acne all over my forehead and my skin feels like someone tipped a bucket of oil over it. I have no idea what to do about it except wait it out and hope it clears up...
I think the generic of effexor has been causing awful, painful cystic acne ALL OVER my back and chest. I've never had acne like this. I started the Venlafaxine around the same time that the cysts developed on my back. My dermatologist has put me on antibiotics--those made me throw up--not on them anymore and now i am on spiro. it doesn't seem to be helping either! i'm glad to see that i'm not alone with this weird side effect!!! and it is valid because i looked it up and it is an "infrequent" side effect of the drug. i just wonder if the only solution is to be on a different antidepressant or to switch to the brand name??
i have also experienced this problem. i always had very slight acne. then i started using effexor 75mg and it got slightly worse. i bought some proactiv which is supposed to be a miracle acne clearing system. well... the first 2 days i used it, it WAS a miracle. skin was clear almost instantly. then a week later i had to up my effexor dose to 150mg and now, even with the proactiv, my face looks like a giant pepperoni pizza. how am i supposed to be less depressed if my face looks like this?
I just wanted to add that me and my mother both are taking effexor, in fact we both take 300mg a day each, and we both have experienced very painful acne on our chin area. Both of us are affected in this way if this does not help add to the fact that effexor causes painful acne then something is wrong. We get these huge painful knots and they stay for a week or two and then they come back again. I got on here in search of a reason for these knots and i believe this has got to be it. We will try to find another antidepressant now because this symptom has been bothering us for a very long time three years for me.
I have been on effexor for nearly 3 years now, and I never even considered my painful acne could be a reaction caused by the effoxor. but, i have to agree, i too suffer from extremely painful, longlasting acne on my face as well as other parts of my body. I now have scars on my breasts as a result of these huge painful blemishes as well. >:( I am 43 and should not be getting acne, especially to this extreme. Oddly enough I came here looking for different information regarding Effexor and found this.
Well, it seems i am not the only one who might have started breaking out due to effexor. I actually took the medication for close to 8 years, and at a very high dosage (can't remember the exact amt, but think it was 350mg/day). I have never had horrible acne in my life. In fact, my skin/scalp were pretty clean up through college, with the occasional zit, blemish, or, once in a while, a large, cyst. However, all would eventually heal and were never that bad. I began taking effexor XR when i was 22 to help treat ADD and anxiety. It was around that time I started developing more sever acne on my face and scalp. This has persisted to this day (I am now 31). For most of my early 20's i simply ignored the acne. But, by the age of 26 I became fed up and decided to try accutane. Over the last five years, I have done 3 courses of accutane, all with the same results: acne clears up while I'm on the medication, but comes back once I go off. I should also add that I stopped taking effexor about a year ago. It occurred to me that i never had acne until i started this medication, and I spent several months weaning myself off to see if it would get better. Interestingly, my skin did actually clear up for a few weeks once I completely got off the effexor, but the result was short lived. Today, I continue to suffer from both scalp and facial acne. Anyway, I do believe the effexor is the cause of my acne.
absolutely positive effexor causes acne. i have been on effexor 3 times and would still be on it if it didnt cause severe acne! effexor works great for my depression but my face breaks out so bad every time i am on it i wouldnt want to leave the house which made me more depressed. i am just now off my 3rd time being on effexor and my skin is GLOWING again. not a pimple to be found. but i am depressed again. Argh! any idea what anti-depressant doesnt cause acne? i have tried several and they all cause me to break out horribly.
I developed very painful nodular/cystic acne after being on Effexor for a few months. I took Effexor for several years. No doctor knew this could be a side effect. After many dermatology appointments over several years with different doctors, many RX's for adult acne treatment, plus special gels, ointments, face cleansers, etc prescribed by the dermatologists, I found no relief from this acne condition, I then found sites online describing this same problem among Effexor users. I weaned off the Effexor and my skin cleared rapidly! I was left with pits and scars on my face and neck from the years of severe acne caused by the Effexor. I changed nothing else in terms of medications, diet or skin care. I stopped taking the Effexor and my skin cleared. If I had known this was a side effect, I would never have taken Effexor. My face is scarred forever. Not something that easy to live with as many other medications were and are available for treatment of depression; ones that do not cause this type of severe acne in so many users.
I was on effexor for about 8 years...I had never had acne in my life...and thought I was aging...over 40 and started having night sweats, and years of acne, hot flashes, so thought I was pre menopasal. Just switched a few weeks ago to cymbalta...my skin is clearn and no more hot flashes or red flush skin. So my guess is all along it was the effexor.