Effexor will make you very sleepy. I take it at night around 8:30 I just started taking it about 2 week ago. I asked my mom why it makes me so tired. I never was sleepy on Effexor, but Zoloft used to make me tired, although it seems to energize the majority of people. I had to stop taking it in the morning, and took it before bedtime instead. Venlafaxine, formerly sold as Effexor, is a prescription drug used to treat depression, anxiety, social phobia, and panic disorder. The brand name Effexor has been discontinued in the United. I can only tell you my own experience with Effexor. Yes I'm so tired on them at times I could fall asleep standing up. I've been taking them for nearly five years and I'm now on 300mg a day. Does anyone take effexor xr and get spells of being tired throughout the day? I take 225 mgs all at once and i have been taking for several months. Effexor has made me tired for a spell both times I started on it, but it eased up. I figure it's kind of all that stored anxiety about depression letting loose until I got more balanced out. I figure it's kind of all that stored anxiety about depression letting loose until I got more balanced out. Hi Marie, I also take Effexor XR but I take 187,5 mg a day (150 mg in the am and 37,5 mg at diner). I did take 37,5 mg a few years back and I was more sleepy although not as much as now. I just started the Effexor starter pack today and was wondering what people think of it. I had previously been on Lexapro 20mg but I was still having panic attacks and generalized anxiety. i had a serious side effect with effexor, almost like siezures. It was strange and I had strange and terrible body twitches. When I started taking effexor I also was very tired and clumsy and felt very disoriented. I am currently on FXR XR 37.5. Tomorrow I am supposed to bump up to 75mg. I was on effexor before. So this is my second go around with it. I am so tired all the time, no energy at all.