To please give me your experience of Venlafaxine

[Neonprint]

I have recently started taking venlafaxine. I was prescribed 37.5 mg once per day to increase to 75mg. I felt fine on the lower dose anxiety wise although had some withdrawal /change symptoms.

So much so I just started taking half a 37.5mg tablet per day. But I was becoming irritable and overwhelmed. So I thought I'd go back to 37.5mg yesterday. Unfortunately last nighti had the worst nights sleep of my life. I'm exhausted today I got maybe 3hrs. Also the higher dose makes me constipated, make me nauseated and kills my sex drive. So feels like it's a choice of be irritable of have the other crap. But might it get better?

Anyway I'm posting to ask about others experience of venlafaxine. Particularly dose related. I've got an appointment with my GP on Monday. But just want to hear from others with actual experience. Did your side effects get better in time? Particularly any insomnia. As I can't function on this much sleep.

It was one of the only things I regret in life. I couldn't function, my mind was mush, I swear I haven't got all of it back, I was suicidal, and the withdrawal was horrendous.
I wish I had never taken it.

I font know if pp's will reply but thought it was worth asking. How would you describe the brain zaps? Do you hear a noise? What does it feel like? Just I'm not sure I'd say I'd experienced them but last night when I was dropping off to sleep I might have had one.

I slept much better last night. Despite having a medical examination this afternoon I'm a bit anxious about. So I'm hoping the insomnia isn't consistanly as bad as it was.

I was on Venlafaxine for about 4 years, one year of that was slowly reducing it down. I'm not a fan because we worked out that SSRI type things dont work on me, not because I think it's a bad medicine per se. I'm just really sensitive and everything seems to give me maximum side effects and minimum help.

Brain zaps seem to feel like an electric crackle to me, I lose vision momentarily and feel nauseous. Deeply unpleasant!

Great to hear that some people are getting relief from Venlafaxine. In my worst times I hated my doctor and felt very bitter that he'd 'hooked' me on such a horrible drug. It's more comforting to know they work and that he was just trying to help, IYKWIM.

I'm not trying to give unsolicited advice or be anti-med but just wanted to say that the best thing for me has been therapy for acceptance of my condition and limitations and all the boring things like exercise, food and fresh air. Sleep hygiene seems to be the biggest factor for me to avoid the wheels coming off. All of which can, of course, be combined with meds.

Good luck OP - keep monitoring yourself and asking questions! Hope you feel better soon.

RickJames Fri 23-Apr-21 14:13:26
I was on Venlafaxine for about 4 years, one year of that was slowly reducing it down. I'm not a fan because we worked out that SSRI type things dont work on me, not because I think it's a bad medicine per se. I'm just really sensitive and everything seems to give me maximum side effects and minimum help.
.....
Same for me, Rick.

The discontinuation symptoms were horrendous. I had what I can only describe as a horrible, fuzzy 'static' feeling constantly in my head. It was horrible. Like my brain was firing wrong. Like my head was an old, broken radio. Only slightly painful but incredibly unpleasant and uncomfortable. Was hard to focus, concentrate, relax. Honestly, coming off venlafaxine brought me way back down into another pit of depression.

One positive is that I didn't have a migraine in the 4 years I was taking it.

Brain zaps? Like lightning in your head.

I was prescribed 37.5 in the XR format for PPD. Hard to withdraw from the lowest dose! Rather than go cold turkey I spaced out taking the tablets to every other day, two days etc. I found taking Vit B complex and a high strength Omega 3 very helpful.

It can take months to taper off the high doses and should be done with GP support.

@Neonprint

I font know if pp's will reply but thought it was worth asking. How would you describe the brain zaps? Do you hear a noise? What does it feel like? Just I'm not sure I'd say I'd experienced them but last night when I was dropping off to sleep I might have had one.

I slept much better last night. Despite having a medical examination this afternoon I'm a bit anxious about. So I'm hoping the insomnia isn't consistanly as bad as it was.

I'm coming off ssris and for me brain zaps are when I move my eyes or head i feel like an electric shock is happening in my head. I get the same feeling in my chest when I breathe in deeply.

It's horrible, I felt electric shocks throughout my body, not just head. It was years ago and - never again, thank you.

I’m a bit worried about reducing my dosage now. It’s something I’d like to do in the future. Not right now. But sometime.
I accept I’ll be on antidepressants for the rest of my life, but would like to get down from 300mg (I also take pregabalin and olanzapine) as it seems a huge amount.

When do people feel the need to reduce their medication? I wonder if I am only feeling ok because of it, and if I reduce it I’ll go nuts again (like I do if I miss 2 doses)

@ConcreteUnderpants

I'm in no position to comment about whether or not you should reduce but if you did want to, water titration- where you make a solution of your tablet in water, is far more gentle and palatable than going down via the tablet sizes as you can do whatever milligrams you want. Google it as I know I'll make a hash of explaining it. Good news is that Pregablin is really easy to do this with as it's already a powder (inside the capsule). You arent crushing and grinding pills.

I've read this with interest because my elderly DM has been on 150 mg for many years but recently had a spell in hospital for something unrelated. Later I found out the hospital hadn't given her any venlafaxine for over a week! I had sent her medication in with her so they knew what she was on. I'm upset reading this post thinking about what my poor mum went through. Brain zaps!! I spoke to a doctor and let him know I was upset about it but now I'm considering making a formal complaint.

You can also get a pill cutter in the chemist and use it to do a very slow taper down. I've done it before with ADs.

@RickJames genius! Thank you! What a great suggestion.

I was more asking though about when people knew when to reduce? I suppose in the future I could reduce slightly, see how I felt and always go back to my usual dose.

I have had no contact with my doctor for almost 18 months despite being on all these meds! Not too bothered though as I’ve been on stuff that long I know what to do! Just keep taking the happy pills!!

Venlafaxine actually saved my life. However, and this is a big however, everyone reacts differently to medications. Especially these type of SSRI/SSNI. Honestly, monitor YOUR reaction and don't think about how others have reacted. Before I took venlafaxine I was on fluoxetine (Prozac) and I was a jibbering wreck within 2 weeks; most people tolerate it really well! If you have any concerns please talk to your doctor about it. Good luck xx

Terrible stuff. I had all of the symptoms listed- brain zaps, body shocks, sweating, bad dreams. My jaw locked up so I could barely eat. I completely lost my libido. I had vivid suicide ideation.

I wasn’t depressed or anxious because I was numb and had no feelings at all, and no compassion either. I didn’t like myself while I was on it.

My gp took none of these complaints seriously and told me it was better than feeling depressed - it wasn’t - and she refused to even consider prescribing anything else even though I’d taken Prozac before and found that fine.

Eventually I stopped taking it myself and the withdrawal was appalling.
It took about two years to get over it - I was in a terrible state afterwards, not depressed but extremely fragile emotionally. Eventually the jaw pain eased and I had nlp to disrupt the suicide ideation.

I’ve been afraid of medication since.

@emmetgirl

Venlafaxine actually saved my life. However, and this is a big however, everyone reacts differently to medications. Especially these type of SSRI/SSNI. Honestly, monitor YOUR reaction and don't think about how others have reacted. Before I took venlafaxine I was on fluoxetine (Prozac) and I was a jibbering wreck within 2 weeks; most people tolerate it really well! If you have any concerns please talk to your doctor about it. Good luck xx

I couldn't tolerate fluoxetine either, or lofepramine, escitalopram, amitriptylene and others.

Jaw locking and popping, @thelegohooverer??
Anyone else? I thought this was just me grinding my teeth in the night! Sometimes my jaw clicks so painfully and very audibly.

I've been taking it just over a year now. The side effects were bad at first, but after 2 weeks settled down. I am on 225g, 75g in the morning and 150g at night. I am having a somewhat normal life,. though I still have some bad thoughts now & again, especially if I'm having a bad day or feeling anxious. I've tried lots of other ADs, & so far these seem to be keeping me on a even keel(mostly). I also take Pregabalin(for migraines) Trazadone and Zopiclone. The best thing for me taking Velafaxine is I get back to sleep in the morning after I take my morning dosage.
Like everyone has said, please don't mess around with your dosage, missing one dose gives me really bad side effects.
I hope they work for you or you find something that does.

I concur - don’t mess around with your dose, OP.

I have taken this for years, since I had post-partum psychosis and PND with my son. I go between 37.5mg and 75mg but usually just 37.5mg and it has always been the slow release. I need the medication to keep my brain in balance and my GP says it is the same as a diabetic needing insulin. So I don't ever think about coming off it - I have accepted that my brain chemistry was messed up by having a baby and that this one pill keeps it in balance. I take it at night as taking it in the morning makes me tired. I have never missed a dose and the time never varies between an hour or two. I think it is great!

@ConcreteUnderpants yes. Teeth grinding at night is associated with venlafaxine.

I only took it for a few weeks, but had similar side effects to what everyone here has already mentioned- brain zaps etc. But then my mood was flying on it- it turned out I bipolar. On lithium and rispiridone now and doing really well.

Please don’t mess with your doses!

It's the only one that has really worked for me. I usually sit at 75mg but sometimes I have periods where I go up to 150mg. It's great as long as you don't forget to take a dose as the withdrawal effects are brutal. I felt crap for the first 2-3 weeks but got used to it and started feeling better after that. I get no side effects at 75mg now, but 150 gives me nightmares and sweats so I only go up that high if I really have to.

Forgot to write, for me the brain zaps are like getting an electric shock in my brain every time I move my eyes.

Venlafaxine has been amazing for me! I actually had it prescribed by a neurologist for atypical migraine as lots of other meds hadn’t worked and there had been a study on it in migraines. I have been migraine free for a long time on it and it also massively helped post natal depression. The side effects can be brutal for the first 2-3 weeks while you get to a therapeutic dose in your system so you really need to stick with it if you can to get the desired dose in your system. I have weaned off it twice (pregnancy) and gone back on it when safe to afterwards. The weaning off it wasn’t great but it was well managed by my GP.