Venlafaxine - Scared of Side Effects

[girlwiththegruffalotattoo]

My gp just started me on venlafaxine yesterday. I took one (75mg) yesterday and very quickly started feeling side effects. Excessive yawning and swallowing, jumpy, tired but unable to sleep, I tossed and turned all night and woke up very early, now I feel sort of wired, as though I'd drunk 100 cups of coffee. I can't eat and feel simultaneously exhausted and manic. I haven't had today's dose as I needed to drive my daughter to nursery and I was scared I'd be unsafe to drive. The gp didn't tell me I had to be careful driving but the leaflet says that I shouldn't unless I'm sure how it affects me. I feel like everything is sort of not real.

I've tried several other antidepressants to no effect so did expect some side effects but from what I've read on the internet (I know, Dr Google), they might not settle down after a week or so? I can't cope with insomnia, I just can't.

I'm waiting on a call back from the GP to discuss this but I was wondering if anyone has any experience?

Also, what are the time release ones? How do they differ?

Anyone?

Personally I had awful side effects going onto venlaflaxine, on both types, and dreadful time coming off the. Slow release ones. So much so had to go back onto 75mg ones for another year and try again to come off. I had a seretonin reaction sadly, or whatever it's proper name is.

Gp have you tried other AD's before and any work - if so would ou have those again?

Main thing I found was if I missed a dose it made me ill.

I've tried sertraline, fluoxetine, citalopram and mirtazipine. None made a difference

I would really, really advise against Venlafaxine, speaking from personal experience. To cut a long and horrible story short, I pretty much lost 18 months of my life and almost destroyed myself in the process.

I'm sorry to hear that, Regina. I can understand if you don't wish to talk about it but would you be able to give a brief outline of what happened?

Sorry, was busy for a while! Yes, in a nutshell, stressful personality changes, compulsion to steal (horrendous! I never did do it!), alcohol addiction (1-2 bottles of wine in an evening, hiding drink round the house, sneaking to pubs on way home etc), memory loss, brain freezes... I came off them a year ago and I've read so much about similar things happening to others so many times. In the USA there are people filing lawsuits against the manufacturers, apparently! Please don't take them - my biggest regret.

I should have added, I very quickly was put up to 300mg per day as they 'weren't working'; bearing in mind I'm only 5'1" and size 8-10, a huge amount of the drug to tolerate each day. Missing a dose was like hell, even a couple of hours late was enough to give those electric shock-type brain freezes.

Have you got a diagnosis or seen a psychiatrist for advice?

Sometimes takes awhile to find a medication to help - or needa different type, such as antipsychotic adding in or two together or lower dose etc.

Sometimes the only thing that helps is making changes in life - if it is life factors that causes some of the symptoms - but that is not the case for everyone.

Wow that sounds horrendous, Regina so sorry.

silver, no I'm just seeing my gp. I don't know how I would get to see a psychiatrist? I saw one when I was a teenager but that was in a different country. I do feel as though I've told me gp what's wrong rather than her making any diagnosis! I think life factors definitely affect me but at the same time, I've never been happy. I feel I've been depressed my whole life. I have no happy memories of childhood. I think there is something deep seated wrong with me, like I don't actually produce normal amounts of serotonin, or something, as opposed to it being a temporary imbalance.

Ask your dr to refer you to a psychiatrist for medication review if you think it will help.

I take the slow release tablets, 2 75mg a day and had the brain freezes and some illness for the first week or so but it did wear off. You sound very similar to me in that you have always had depression and it is not a short term thing. I have tried all the same drugs as you and they would work short term, then nothing so my psychiatrist actually put me on to these tablets as they are in a different family of drugs.

The good news is that the effects do wear off and the drug can be very effective for long term depression. It works a different way so I don't get the highs and lows or even the short term euphoria of a new medication, just a slow coming back to the normal me if that makes sense.

I do find though that if I am more than a few hours late taking the tablets is really knocks me and I get the side effects for a day or two so it's really important to take them regularly and on time.

I would give them 3 weeks or so and if you have no improvement ask for a referral to a psychiatrist (should be no problem if you have had a long history of untreatable depression) and they can talk you through your different options and what drugs are available.

It's a horrible illness, but please stick with it as there is a treatment that will work, even if it takes time to work. PM me if you ever want to chat.

Thank you, pumpkins, that's really helpful. I'm glad they helped you :)