Venlafaxine

[AnxiousAlicia]

Has anyone had any success with bad anxiety with 75mg of Venlafaxine please? If so, how long did it take to kick in? A month and I’m still feeling pretty rubbish. Thank you!

So did you start at 225? Those start up effects must have been brutal!!! What made you step down? x

I found an old prescription - 10mg does nothing but 30mg seems to give some relief from the physical symptoms so will speak to my doc about adding it in x

It’s so strange isn’t it? I had depression as a result of having debilitating anxiety for so long - it lifted my depression almost instantly but the anxiety is hanging around…yet the other way around for you, it affects people so differently! Sorry you’re still struggling with your depression xx

My doc didn’t give me the chance to see how 37.5 worked really and if it would be effective for me at that dosage as I went up to 75mg after four days, he said the 37.5 was just to see if I could tolerate it and it wasn’t a therapeutic dosage. It’s a shame because now I’ll never know if I could have had any relief on the lowest dose. But keeping hopeful for 75! x

I’ve also had cancer, stage 4 bowel, so I know the stress! My anxiety was bad before but even worse now, I find the constant surveillance really hard to handle mentally (even though technically it’s reassuring). I hope you’re doing well now. Do you need to come off it at all if it’s working? Why rock the boat? x

My adult child has taken Venlafaxine for a few years now. They find if they take accidently miss a dose or even take it a few hours later than usual they have very uncomfortable side effects, not sure what dose they are on. Another side effect which thank goodness seems to have resolved was sleeping walking and moaning and crying out in their sleep it was very disconcerting. Otherwise it seems to be working ok for them, but it took a good while.

37.5 initial dose is just to ease you through any potential side effects. 75mg is the lowest therapeutic dose. There is also a time release/slow release version of 75mg called Vencarm XL. I swapped to that after my anxiety and side effects worsened in big swings throughout the day on the straight venlafaxine, I had awful restless legs and my brain wouldn't switch off to sleep.

It's been 6 years now on the same dose of Vencarm XL and it's absolutely changed my life. Sometimes I feel anxious feelings in my stomach, but they just don't seem to reach my head if that makes sense.

Be aware that it interacts with a lot of things, alcohol and anti inflammatories and lots of other meds, so don't just take something without checking first.

Also set some kind of alarm on your phone to take it at the same time of day.

i’m on 262.5mg (225mg tablet and 37.5mg tablet) for depression and health anxiety by proxy, it’s a wonder drug for me but the occasional diazepam 2mg doesn’t go amiss when i’m stressed or mad. i have never known anyone to have success with propranolol for anxiety.

I take 225mg per day of the slow release version. I take it in two doses of 112.5mg (75 + 37.5) about 12 hours apart. I’ve been taking it for probably at least 20 years. I think I used to take about 150mg/day and increased my dose somewhere around the time I had my daughter and gained weight.

It’s life changing for me in that I’m alive and mostly functional. I wouldn’t be alive without it. I took it throughout pregnancy. If I’d breastfed I would have kept taking it throughout that too. Not taking it wasn’t an option.

I have depression and anxiety. It definitely helps with the depression. The anxiety is another beast of its own. I think it lowers it enough that I can be talked through the anxiety by my DH, a psychiatrist or a psychologist.

Glad it’s helping! Is it mainly anxiety they struggle with or depression (or both?) x

That’s interesting - I’m on the XL version but it’s still called venlafaxine, are they different? Also I’ve just been saying to my partner that my legs have started to really ache in the mornings, not restless exactly but achy - I wonder if they’re connected? What dosage works for you? x

So good to see all these positive stories! Do you remember how long it took to kick in for you? My anxiety is still so bad in the mornings and tends to ease a bit as the day goes on x

Anxiety is honestly the worst. I wake up shaking, literally. It came on about 6/7 years ago and, no matter what, has never really left me. I keep praying that the next thing I try will be ‘the one’ but it never is. So hard not to lose hope. I’m lucky with my partner too and have counselling but I just wish it would go away - sending much love to you from one who understands! x

Ah you are on the extended release version then by doing a Google, I think Vencarm XL is the brand name from a particular company perhaps. I've been on 75mg for 6 years and I can honestly say that other than the odd few times when anyone would be anxious in those situations, Ive gone from a complete non functioning mess to feeling like 'me' again. I will probably never come off it and I'm happy with that.

What time of day do you take it?
I think for a good while the time release version made me feel really out of it, drowsy and achy. It also made me sweat more and have vivid dreams. I just needed to give it more time than I thought I would initially. All the symptoms did settle completely by around 4-5m in and I'm now at the stage where I've felt okay for so long that I think I don't need it. However I know that it's not the case.

I just live my normal life again, I don't feel 'numbed', I laugh lots, cry at sad films and haven't lost the personality I had before depression and anxiety (according to my family unlike previous meds). As long as I absolutely don't miss one or take it late, then no one would ever know what I've been through.

Keep at it, get your GP to adjust the dose if necessary and keep talking to those who are watching out for you. Sometimes others see improvements before we do.

This is honestly so encouraging to read! I’ve had a super panicky morning because I woke up shaking and that always triggers me as it means the anxiety is there - I guess I was naively hoping that, suddenly at the four week mark, I would feel no anxiety 🙈😂 Like you I’m basically non functioning at the moment and used to be very high functioning so I’m finding this incredibly hard, it’s definitely got worse over the last year as well. I’m happy to take it forever if it works, it’s just the question of ‘will it work for me?’

I take it with breakfast in the morning - or sometimes before breakfast. I’m not sure if that means that the next morning when I wake up it’s practically worn off as my anxiety is always worse when I wake up. Do you find that? When do you take it?

I’m there with the drowsy, achy and sweating and I had a really vivid dream yesterday. When you say you needed to give it more time than you thought you would initially do you mean for the drug itself to work its magic or for the side effects to wear off (or both)? When did it kick in properly for you?

Thanks so much for your positivity, it’s really made a difference for me today x

Trying to answer your questions:
Take it EXACTLY the same time every day with food to help the tablet go down properly. That way the time release version will have consistency of its impact. If you feel shaky/anxious in the morning, perhaps take it with a mid-morning snack, so that the taper down point is a bit later (that's not medical advice, just an observation).

I take mine at 9am with a bowl of cereal which works for me.

Ahhh one thing I do remember is that caffeine does have a real impact on the side effects. I drink multiple cups of tea a day so even though it's not coffee, I didn't realise how that interacted. I slowly swapped to decaf tea with just one normal cup of tea in the morning. Made a huge difference to the aches, restless legs, being able to sleep etc on this. Gave me a headache cutting down on the caffeine but it definitely worked and I can tell if I've been at a friend's and had normal tea as I can't sleep.

It took more time than I thought it would for it to kick in and side effects to wear off. I was back to work but still sometimes hyper vigilant at 5m, but I was in a real mess (work related too 🙄)

I’m the same with the tea but already swapped to decaf so that’s a tick :) and will take it at the same time each day, thank you.
Do you mean it took 5 months for it to fully kick in? It’s crazy isn’t it? I’m so glad you’re feeling good now though and I hope the mess has resolved itself. I will keep going, one day at a time xx

No it didn't take 5m for it to full kick in, it took just under 3.5m, but by 5m I was a fully functioning human being again and no side effects at all.
I then changed job!

@AnxiousAlicia You might need to change the time you take it. You might be better off taking it at bedtime so that when you wake up you’ve already got the medication working. Taking it at night also means that you’ll sleep through the drowsy side effects. Once a day just wasn’t enough for me despite the extended release version. It’s known as XR not XL in my country. Once a day the dose was too high and I was getting too many side effects and not enough beneficial effects. It was worn off by the time I had the next dose. Twice a day means a lower dose, less side effects and way more beneficial effects. I try to have the doses about 12 hours apart. First at breakfast and the second after dinner/before bed.

Amazing!! Actually even 3.5 months makes me feel better that there’s still hope for me after a month 🙏🏼 x

Ah that’s a good idea. So maybe split the pills and have 37.5 in the morning and 37.5 at night? I was hoping that, over time as it built up in your system, it would kind of regulate as the morning anxiety is just awful. Happy to try it at night instead, I know some people say it causes insomnia but I’ve found it makes me tired x

Don't muck around with the dosage/splitting pills whatsoever without proper medical advice 🙏🏻

i felt better almost immediately, although that was down to being pleased that the dr allowed me to try the one i thought was best for me and looking forward to it kicking in… it fully kicked in around the 4 week mark. i really hope it gets better for you x

i’ve always taken it in the “morning” (well when i wake up - my sleep schedule is terrible for a few complex reasons.) absolutely do not split the pills yourself, ask to be prescribed 37.5mg to take one twice a day if that’s the direction you want to go in, it’s a dangerous game especially where slow release is concerned. i actually think 37.5mg 2x daily is perfect because you won’t have the problem of the well running dry, so to speak.

I cant stop eating though. I thought venlafaxine was better than SSRIs for weight, as in it didnt make you put on weight and Ive ballooned on it.