question regarding Effexor and vision problems

I was put on effexor for about a year. I would have moments like the ones your having but only if I would forget to take a pill. I would get dizzy, have the feeling of a head full of cotton balls and my depth perception would be greatly effected. I went cold turkey when I stoped taking them and dealt with those effects for almost 2 weeks until it was all the way out of my system. I think your issues are brought on my the effexor. I'd find another anti-Depressant/anxiety medicine to take.

Oh, and I had serious sexual side effects also. In the beggining my orgasms were better than ever, but after about 4 months, I would lose sensitivity half way through and my erection would go away....right in the middle of sex!!!! If your having any issues with that, get off that stuff!!!!!

I have been taking effexor for 4 years and have blurred vision a little in left eye but bad in my right eye. I am thinking about coming off the meds because of it thats why im online right now researching it. i'm 24 years old did you decided to get off the meds?

So, did these symptoms clear up? I'm on Effexor and having hearing loss. I am waiting for my MRI results.

I would be concerned for those of you with visual disturbances...see your doctor and make sure there is nothing else going on (glaucoma, MS, etc). If everything else is ruled out, I would be interested and suspicious of the Effexor connection.

LKatt

P.S. I have gradually gone from 150 mg to 2 mg without any change in my hearing loss.

I have been taking Effexor XR for about 4 1/2 years. I am talking 75mg once a day. For the most part I have been totally fine..up until about 6 months ago. I am not sure what happened but I think my body just stopped working with the drug. Literally, One night, I began to experience dizziness, "Brain-Zaps", blurred vision, weight gain, depression, crying for no reason, emotional breakdowns, and I have been slowly climbing out of the horrible hole i was in. I was in the ER twice and saw every doctor under the sun...They all said i was fine. MRI, CAT SCAN, HEART...everything came back perfect...? Then i started doing some research on the interent and found that it seems that a lot of people are having horrible side effects while on the this drug. Currently, I went to a specialist who is going to help me step by step to get off this horrible medicine. Temporarly she has put me on Zoloft...to help while i step down with the effexor. I am very nervous about starting this but i know it is for the better. I want to feel normal again.

I am currently battling with some eye issues. This is what is bothering me the most right now. Is anyone experiencing the following symptoms:
-feels like pressure behind your eyes
-sensitivity to light
-increase night blindness
-halos around lights
-the feeling that "you can't get the whole picture" like your perephial vision isn't as clear
-trailing
-double vision (when you wake up)
-dizziness

I have been checked by the eye doctor and he said all is good, not to mention i have been checked for MS and those test came back clear too.

It sounds like you may also have Iritis. Do you have any back pain or arthritis?
Ask your doctor to check you out for ancolising Spondolitis.....I've probably misspelt that, but it sure sounds like you are a possible candidate. He'll send you off to have a blood test, and if you are diagnosied there are wonderful Non steroidal Anti Inflammatory pills that will change your life.
Please see your doctor and ask him to check for the Spondolitis. You may have a future of terrible bone pain and ruined eyesight if you dont.
Best of Luck, Dave

I know these are old posts, but maybe someone will get this. I have had vision issues on Effexor that I didn't have when I was on it before. Bad vision at night (even in the house), loss of periphery vision, dilated pupil, weird depth perception... Did anyone go OFF effexor and their vision issues went away? I just hope that when I am able to go off the drug, I will be able to see correctly again.

I was just on this site to see if anyone has had issues with Efexxor and eye issues and I read your post. I have now been off the nasty nasty drug for almost 4 weeks. While on it I had issues with my eyes and I figured well one for the other until the side effects just made me nauseous all the time because my eyes were so off. Now that I am off, I have had more issues like, the feeling of pressure behind the eyes and feeling like my eyes are dilated all the time. Those symptoms are slowly going away now . I went to my GP and he assured me that the efexxor was out of my system and i could not associate the eye symptoms with the drug but I KNOW MY SYSTEM AND MY BODY and I am very sure that I must be extra sensitive to the drug and while on it , it changed some of the way my body / eyes worked and while my body is getting reset so to speak i will see the eye thing less and less. I have made appt. for an eye exam just to be sure. If I can tell you the one thing I have learned about this drug is that it changes the bodies neurology and as you go off the drug , yes the books say 3 weeks and it is out of your system, but your system needs to basically HEAL and reset itself to the "normal" running system again. I know this to my core now that I am off it .. Good luck and really think twice about drugs like this one. I have chosen counseling and reading a wonderful book called Feeling Good by David Burns, it is NOT a quick fix book , it is taking work to reset my mental thinking but I WILL NEVER USE drugs again if I can help it. Good luck.. Judy :-)

I have never written or posted to a page in my life. However this time I must. in 1994 I began being prescribed anti-depressants for anxiety/depression. I now know that my fear and issues were actually caused by a misdiagnosed reaction to steroid Prednisone. (sp) For ten years I feel that I was an "experiment" for drug companies "evolving" these drugs. On several occasions, I resolved to "get off" whatever the drug was and attempts were debilitating and filled with withdrawal symptoms. Back to the doctor I would go to be told," Well your anxiety is back. You need these". Never a mention of  possible withdrawal complications. And on..and on.. this went. I am an artist/photographer. I could not think a creative thought and tried in counseling to describe this. They said nothing. Nothing. No sex drive, no ambition, weight gain,  excessive sleeping, night sweats etc. Finally in early 2006 I found a book, "Your drug may be your problem."  Effexor xl was, by this time, the chosen one for almost two years. The book gave me an online connection and what I found there made me sick,  afraid, excited and resolute. For four months I slowly went through this terrible withdrawal process. Anorexic, hands shaking, sweating, panic every minute. Finally, after about a year, I felt myself. However, I went through menipause five years too soon for my family history, at 47, I was done. Now I am told by the eye doctor that although I do pass the pressure test, she still wants me to be evaluated for glaucoma because she sees a strange shape (instead of round) and I have depth perception problems. Interesting, because this does not have any heredity tie. I have told everyone I know how dangerous and difficult this drug is. I have helped others go through withdrawal. Now, I wonder if this is ever going to be over.

Hi Alison, I was put on effexor xr. Shortly after I stopped taking it, I got eye problems. My vision also changed after I went thru the Effexor WITHDRAWL. I absolutely think Effexor damages your eyes.
And as for weight gain, I gained about 30 plus pounds from Effexor XR.
All my life I was thin, NEVER had a weight problem until I took Effexor XR.

I have also been having the same side effect. My vision is rapidly deteriorating ,Im a 32 yr old female and ive been takinf Effexor XR 150MG FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS OF WHICH I CANT REMEMBER because memoryloss is one of the many side of effects that im also having. Im so scared and ashamed of myself. Im crying even as i type this. But there is one this thing that I do Know is 'weeping May endure for a night but joy comes in the morning light' to God Be The Glory

quit this drug now. I started out with minor eye problems also and now I havglede had five eye surgerys this year. The blackness came and did not go away. One eye at a time. All tests for medical reasons negative. Problems were from increased eye pressures. I had no idea this was one of the side effects of effexor.

I have been taking Effexor for about 5 years and this last year developed vision problems.  My vision is blurry and sometimes double vision.  I can see fine with one eye! My peripheral vision is poor and I've stopped driving (which I love) because I don't feel safe.  My psychiatrist tried me on Pristiq but after 8 days I had to quit.  I had severe head and stomach pains, vertigo and painful muscle spasms in my hands so that I couldn't even open a bottle.  I retreated to the Effexor again because I'm so concerned about depression and have an appt with my psychiatrist but I am so tired of this, trying this, trying that.  Never really feeling "normal".  My problem is really a panic disorder but they insist on giving me antidepressants because they don't want to give me tranquilizers.  I figure, who cares if I get addicted as long as my body isn't attacked like this.  If I ask for tranquilizers alone everyone looks at you like you're drug seeking.  I can't help it if the only drug that doesn't have side effects that stops my anxiety happens to be a tranquilizer.  I don't think doctors are concerned enough about these antidepressants.  I had one doctor say that she refused to attribute my symptoms to the antidepressant.  I'm fed up with this and the constant arguments and attempts to communicate with my doc.  No one's listening and in the meantime I think this drug is doing a lot of damage. 

 

I withdrew from this drug 6 years ago so I know how you feel. There was one thing that got me through it: Bowen's Technique (or Therapy). I do not know how or why it helped, but it almost instantly got rid of the brain zaps, muscle weakness, and fatigue. Please try it and watch. I tried it out based off someone else on the internet saying that it worked.The drug seemed to have caused other problems, some of which I have fixed by now, some of which I have not and am still working on (sexual side effects, dry eyes).

 

Also, it might take more than one Bowen session, but I saw huge improvements very quickly.Please email me if you need more info, as I am very dedicated to healing from this. 

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