PlainMeds provides educational information only. This is not medical advice. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist.

Drug side effects

levomilnacipran Side Effects

The reactions most often reported to the FDA for levomilnacipran (also sold as Fetzima), with demographics, serious outcomes, and reporting trends.

Data updated 2026-05-15

1,858
FAERS reports

Data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), 2013 to 2025. A FAERS report records a temporal association, not proof of cause. See our methodology for how figures are compiled and de-duplicated.

The most commonly reported side effects of levomilnacipran come from 1,858 reports to the FDA, broken down here by frequency, patient demographics, and serious outcomes.

This page analyzes 1,858 reports to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) for levomilnacipran (Fetzima): the reactions reported most often, who reported them, serious outcomes such as hospitalization, and year-over-year trends. A FAERS report does not prove the drug caused the effect, and report volume tracks how widely a drug is used, not how likely an effect is for any one person. Educational information, not medical advice.

Total Reports

1,858

Reports Mentioning Death

154

8.3% of reports — not proof the medicine caused the death

Hospitalizations

283

15.2% of reports

Top Indication

Product Used For Unknown Indication

Most Reported Adverse Reactions

PAIN
210
VOMITING
208
MEMORY IMPAIRMENT
189
PARAESTHESIA
179
HYPOAESTHESIA
178
ABDOMINAL PAIN UPPER
175
MIGRAINE
170
GASTROOESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE
168
TASTE DISORDER
157
EPILEPSY
155
BLEPHAROSPASM
152
NAUSEA
143
CONDITION AGGRAVATED
135
DEPRESSION
114
HEADACHE
112
DIZZINESS
106
ANXIETY
100

Who Reports Side Effects

Gender Distribution

Female 1,310 (76%)
Male 407 (24%)
Unknown 2

Age Distribution

0-17 31 (3%)
18-44 469 (45%)
45-64 396 (38%)
65-74 110 (11%)
75+ 36 (3%)

Reporting Trend by Year

13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

Reactions in Death Reports

Top reactions reported in 154 reports where death was an outcome. These are voluntarily reported and do not establish causation.

Reaction Reports
MATERNAL EXPOSURE DURING PREGNANCY 91
CONDITION AGGRAVATED 89
OVERLAP SYNDROME 73
HYPOAESTHESIA 29
VOMITING 29
ABDOMINAL PAIN UPPER 27
DEATH 26
MEMORY IMPAIRMENT 26
PARAESTHESIA 26
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS 26
STOMATITIS 26
EPILEPSY 25
GASTROOESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE 25
MIGRAINE 25
PAIN 25
RHEUMATOID FACTOR POSITIVE 25

Reactions in Hospitalization Reports

Top reactions in 283 reports where hospitalization was an outcome.

Reaction Reports
VOMITING 43
PAIN 39
HYPOAESTHESIA 38
MEMORY IMPAIRMENT 35
CONDITION AGGRAVATED 34
HYPERTENSION 33
PARAESTHESIA 33
ABDOMINAL PAIN UPPER 32
CHEST PAIN 32
GASTROOESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE 32
DEPRESSION 31
DYSPNOEA 31
RASH 31
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS 31
MIGRAINE 30
STOMATITIS 30
TASTE DISORDER 30

Compare levomilnacipran vs acamprosate →

What the FAERS Data Reveals About levomilnacipran Side Effects

The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) contains 1,858 voluntary reports linked to levomilnacipran and its brand equivalents (Fetzima), spanning 2013 through 2025. Of those, 154 (8.3%) listed death as an outcome and 283 (15.2%) involved hospitalization. The most common indication reported alongside adverse events was Product Used For Unknown Indication.

Demographic breakdowns help contextualize who is being exposed to the drug. Of reports with known sex, 76% were female and 24% male; age distribution skews toward 18-44, with 469 reports in that bracket. The single most reported reaction is pain with 210 submissions, followed by vomiting and memory impairment.

How to read these numbers

FAERS is a signal-detection tool, not a scorecard. Reports are voluntary, and a single case may list multiple suspect drugs, so numbers above should not be read as incidence rates or per-patient risk. Widely prescribed drugs naturally accumulate more reports than niche therapies even when individual risk is low. These aggregates are useful for spotting patterns that merit further pharmacovigilance, not for choosing between medications. This page is for educational reference only and is not medical advice, speak with a licensed clinician about any side-effect concerns.

Drugs With a Similar FAERS Report Volume

Other medications with a total FDA adverse-event report count closest to levomilnacipran's 1,858.