Did Venlafaxine change your life for the better?

I'm on low dose 75mg and it took a good while to kick in, like 4/6 weeks but I preferred to wait than increase the dose due to sweating, fear, I started on 37.5 and moved up. Been great for me, I'm so much happier and anxiety and depression almost gone.

Well I already had been having to cope, with the added side effects from SSRIs on top. Then the venlafaxine nothingless being worse. No other option than to ride them out really. I was more having good days and bad days rather than being stuck in an endless black cloud like some people, so I knew the bad days were a temporary thing.

I take one 250 mg slow release capsule a day
Not any obvious side effects ...

I gave up on trying anything else at that point. That was almost 20 years ago. I couldn't risk losing more of my life to it all.

@Crispsmakemehappy I’ve been on Effexor (venlafaxine) for 15 years! It literally saved my life. I’ve had no issues with side effects at all and managed to stop Effexor while pregnant easily. Got depressed again while not on it!

I felt nothing, I couldn't feel happy or sad, just flat. I couldn't cope with feeling like a zombie, it was worse than the ups and downs. Then there are the significant memory gaps, things friends and family tried to remind me that I have no memory of.

I tried several SSRIs but couldn't get on them because of the anxiety side effect.

Tried ‘em all. The this stuff came
along and was like a another world. Felt sparkly and happy. And anxiety gone.
I'm glad it worked for you. I just wish there was a way to know before taking it! I couldn't feel happy at all on it, just numb or zombie like. It would be good to know what causes such different effects for different people.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow me too! <high five>

I feel sad that I wasted so many years before taking it. It’s been life-changing for me.

My love for Venlafaxine has no bounds❤️❤️

Tried ‘em all. The this stuff came
along and was like a another world. Felt sparkly and happy. And anxiety gone.

75mg prescribed by psych. Life changing. I would like to be on a higher dose, but it messes my sleep up if l do

Fluoxetine was amazing for me at first, but then the crazy came back so I've tried other ones, most recently Venlafaxine. I probably stayed on that the longest and was on 300mg at the end. The crazy came back again so the GP suggested trying something else so I had to gradually come off the Venlafaxibe. The last weekend was cold turkey due to the horrible woman I spoke to at the surgery who refused to let me speak to a GP and said I'd been taking the wrong dose so it was my own fault I had run out. When I mentioned this to the GP (who happened to be the senior partner) on Monday, she was very angry bless her.

I'm now back on Fluoxetine having apparently "had at least one from all the different families".

I suppose my point, there is one honestly!, is that even though we may all have the same diagnosis, brain chemistry or whatever means that what is good for me might be terrible for you. It's all so "trial and error" with MH. Just give it time as none seem to work overnight IME, and try to not panic about any side effects at first. They generally, as you know, wear off within 4 weeks ish, so unless things get really bad, try to work through it and see how things are once the beginning awfulness settles down.

Good luck and I hope you find something that works for you, whether that's Venlafaxine or another (try to avoid Mirtazapine though as in my experience, and those of anyone I know who has tried it, it causes MASSIVE weight gain. I refer to it as the lard tablet)

I’m not a psychiatrist but I was told that a therapeutic dose is from 150mg and there is not much benefit to a lower dose. It really is horses for courses unfortunately. I tried everything my GP could prescribe - it did nothing but make me grind my teeth and give me horrific dreams. Seroxat made me actively suicidal.

There are a number of atypical AD’s that are prescribed as second-line. Vortioxetine is a relatively new one you might want to enquire about.

Maybe I should just try this one and not go any higher than the initial dose?
You may be lucky and that does something, but it did nothing for my depression or anxiety until I was on a high dose, which also had the bad effects too.

Are there any other treatments available to you?

Venlafaxine was the third AD I tried after paroxetine and citalopram. Paroxetine made me feel suicidal and citalopram did nothing. The first week on venlafaxine was a bit rough - I felt drunk, like the floor was on a slope, and absolutely exhausted. After that, it really helped. I don't know how I'll ever get off it though. I've been on it for 7 years and feel utterly crap if I miss a dose.

20 years on Effexor for me. (The generics are less effective because the ex. release is generally not as good and I’ve had much of my GI tract removed). They will prise my Effexor from my cold, dead hands. It’s a miracle drug afai am concerned.

I came off it without any problem while pregnant with DS. Reducing by 37.5 mg every week or so was easy. Cold turkey is not.

I was also on 375mg venlafaxine, at only 19. Luckily I was only on them six months or so, but I have huge gaps in my memory from that period as well. They made me like a zombie, I couldn't feel happy or sad. I quit cold turkey as I decided I'd had enough.

For me, no.

dose was increased up to a high dose. Felt numb, but could not enjoy anything. Took 3 attempts to come off them. Eventually had to take the little bits out of the capsules and wean off over 6 months.

Hi OP, yes I tried all sorts of others over the years- sertraline, citalopram, fluoxetine. They made me feel awful. Venlafaxine is the only one that has ever worked for me. Like the previous poster, it's helped me so much with the anxiety and intrusive thoughts, and what I call "thought" OCD.