Venlafaxine hydrochloride: adverse event reports filed with FDA

19,464

reports as suspect product

0.1% of all reports · about 865 a year

1,026

reports, 12 months to June 2026

1,212 in the 12 months before

80%

marked serious by the reporter

66.4% across the class

11.8%

record death among outcomes, as reported

2,289 reports · not verified by FDA

Reports by month, five years

Reports by the month FDA received them. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases.

By year received

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Venlafaxine hydrochloride reports recording the termmedian drug in serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor

1. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected12%2,341
2. Nauseafeeling sick8.9%1,733
3. Headachehead pain8.1%1,579
4. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label7.8%1,525
5. Hyperhidrosisexcessive sweating6.6%1,288
6. Drug interactionan interaction between medicines6%1,171
7. Dizzinesslight-headedness or unsteadiness6%1,162
8. Fatiguetiredness5.7%1,111
9. Depressionlow mood5.4%1,044
10. Drug hypersensitivityan allergic-type reaction to a medicine5.2%1,007
11. Anxietyanxiety5.1%997
12. Overdosea dose above the recommended amount5%977
13. Suicide attempta suicide attempt4.8%935
14. Suicidal ideationthoughts of suicide4.6%898
15. Toxicity to various agentspoisoning or toxic effect of one or more substances4.5%881
16. Insomniadifficulty sleeping4.5%877
17. Somnolencedrowsiness4.4%859
18. Malaisegeneral feeling of being unwell4.3%839
19. Drug withdrawal syndromesymptoms on stopping a medicine4.3%829
20. Vomitingbeing sick4.1%789
21. Hypertensionhigh blood pressure4%770
22. Dyspnoeashortness of breath4%769
23. Intentional overdosea deliberate overdose3.9%760
24. Painpain, site not specified3.9%750
25. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools3.8%740
26. Completed suicidedeath by suicide3.7%717
27. Feeling abnormalfeeling odd or not right3.6%707
28. Drug intolerancethe medicine was not tolerated3.6%695
29. Pyrexiafever3.5%684
30. Condition aggravatedthe condition being treated got worse3.5%675

Top 30 of 2,219 MedDRA preferred terms recorded across these reports, with a plain-language gloss where one is available. One report can record several terms. The hollow bar is the median share across the 12 drugs in the serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor class; it describes the reports, not the patients. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Outcomes recorded

Outcome flags as the reporter set them; a report can carry several, and "other serious" is FDA's own category for serious reports outside the named outcomes. Grey bar: all 171,115 reports in the class. FDA has not verified any outcome and states that the reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence of these events."

Patients and reporters

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 41.1% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 19,464 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Other products listed in reports where Venlafaxine hydrochloride is a suspect product, whatever their own role. Co-listing means the two were recorded together; it says nothing about either product's part in the event. Only the 2,500 most-reported names are counted here.

In context

Shares are of reports, not of patients treated. The number of people taking a product is not in the data, so none of these figures is a rate, and differences between columns reflect who takes a product, who reports and how long it has been sold. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Other drugs in the serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor class

Ordered by report count for navigation only. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic." A brand and its generic are separate rows because reporters name them separately.

Where this comes from. Counts are built from the openFDA Drug Adverse Event (FAERS) bulk export released 28 Sep 2026, which holds reports FDA received through 30 Jun 2026. Drug names are as reported, resolved to the brand or generic name on the FDA label where openFDA's harmonisation matched them; classes are the pharmacologic class (EPC) from the label and the National Drug Code Directory of 17 Sep 2026. A report counts here when it lists Venlafaxine hydrochloride as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (36,930) are excluded. No report narrative, lot number, patient detail or reporter identity is published. See the methodology and sources; FDA's record is authoritative, and corrections are handled within five working days.