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Venlafaxine withdrawal -what did it feel like for you?

17 replies

Honeymoonmummy · 15/09/2015 20:30

I'm coming off it v slowly, am currently taking half a 75mg tablet a day, was on 75 a day no more. I can't figure out whether I feel bad cos of withdrawal symptoms or because it's not time for me to stop them. I really want to be drug-free but I need to sort out my mood swings. Apologies for brevity am on phone and CBA to type much! I just want to go to bed and sleep!

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TheImpracticalCat · 15/09/2015 20:57

I haven't come off mine but if I miss a day I get fizzy head-rushes and feel really irritable and tearful, like awful PMT. Hope you feel better soon and can carry on reducing your dose.

Honeymoonmummy · 15/09/2015 22:43

I know exactly what you mean about fizzy head rushes, I was the same. I just don't know whether to start increasing the dose again or see how i get on. Got a few big days with work coming up.

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Honeymoonmummy · 15/09/2015 22:44

I don't recall feeling the PMT symptoms you mention though. But those are the symptoms I had before starting the meds.

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TheWildRumpyPumpus · 15/09/2015 22:49

Urgh it's the absolute pits, venlaflaxine withdrawal, my sympathies.

Are you doing it with GP/psych supervision? This won't be reassuring I'm afraid but I had dizziness/vertigo, nausea, vomiting, headaches, insomnia - the list goes on. It lasted for weeks basically, until the drug was out of my system but I stuck with it and wouldn't go back if it was the last tablet on earth, knowing I'd have to go through that withdrawal again.

In short, it's the withdrawal. Stick with it - it's worth it.

Honeymoonmummy · 15/09/2015 23:16

Thank you Rumpy. I haven't had most of those symptoms (except insomnia!) but I was on a low dose, GP said I didn't need supervision as low dose (76mg), your post is reassuring, I'll keep going. Flowers

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Honeymoonmummy · 15/09/2015 23:16

75 even!

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LettuceLaughton · 15/09/2015 23:24

I felt truly dreadful coming off it too, was on 75mg (venlaxafine retard) too. It's a very low dose and I honestly don;t know how people on a higher dose mange to get off it. It's famously hard to stop.

Had the same symptoms as Impractical, also brain-zaps, dizziness, feeling very trippy, general weakness, impaired cognition. All round crap.

You say you're reducing the dose slowly, but how slowly? Being more than 12 hours late taking a dose was enough to give me withdrawal symptoms, I found. That's pretty common with venlaxafine. Have they had you halve your dose in one jump, by any chance?

My GP gave me an (allegedly) slow reduction schedule. A half dose 2 days a week and full dose one the other days to start off with, IIRC. It was dreadful, not manageable and left me unable to function properly. Was worse than the sudden halving of the dose, I think. That didn't go well either mind.
Anyway, there were various attempts to stop and none worked.

So, in the end, with her approval, I reduced my dose by extending the time between doses, in steps, giving the symptoms time to settle (5-6-7 days, I forget). It took a bit of calculating and it really was slow but I meant I was able to stop the stuff without the withdrawal symptoms messing with my mental health. Which was nice.

I was on the slow release stuff so the lowest dose available is a 37.5mg capsule. THe non-slow release stuff is available in liquid form which means a truly slow reduction in dose without all the faffing with time is easier. The withdrawals from that one are harder than from the slow release though, from what I've heard.

Waffle.

But, in any case. How bad do you feel? Is it manageable? TBH it's pretty certain to be with withdrawls rather than you. It's very hard work coming off this stuff. Day 3 after a reduction used to be the worst for me, if I remember right. Was uphill from there on in.

So. I'd say, if the withdrawls are manageable for you ATM and it's a stable daily dose (37.5mg per day?) then it'd probably be best to stick at that dose until your withdrawals are gone and the Work Thing is sorted. Then look at maybe finding a 'softer' way to reduce further.
But. If they're having you take different doses on different days or the withdrawals you're having aren't manageable then it may well be best to go back up to the original dose and start a different reduction plan later.

LettuceLaughton · 15/09/2015 23:25

Big waffly X posts Smile

Honeymoonmummy · 15/09/2015 23:42

Thanks Lettuce. I'm just having a rough day I think. I'll see how I feel tomorrow (when I can finally sleep!!) Hmm

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LettuceLaughton · 15/09/2015 23:47

Anxiety is also a common withdrawal symptom, natch. Such a lovely combination with the insomnia [tea]

Don't worry about sleeping, just make sure to rest well in the night.

LettuceLaughton · 15/09/2015 23:48

Brew, even.

Honeymoonmummy · 16/09/2015 09:08

Oh yes, I have the anxiety!

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TheWildRumpyPumpus · 16/09/2015 11:43

I've just remembered that my GP prescribed me Promethazine to get me through the worst of the withdrawal - you can get it OTC at the pharmacy as Phenergan. It's a travel-sickness/anti-histamine type thing I think but it really did help.

Honeymoonmummy · 16/09/2015 12:25

Thanks Wild. I've not got the nausea etc you had but will bear it in mind. I don't feel so bad today so will see how I get on. I do have some diazepam which I'll take for a few days if the anxiety gets too bad. Fingers crossed it is just the withdrawal!!

I think with me I have a hormone imbalance and have done since birth of my first child. I'm also wondering if I'm perimenopausal - had a blood test last week for this. I feel like giving me random tablets is just like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut - isn't there some way of monitoring my hormone levels over a month to see which one I'm deficient in??

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LettuceLaughton · 16/09/2015 13:19

My perimenopausal symptoms have been loads better since I stopped the venlafaxine.

Honeymoonmummy · 16/09/2015 20:47

Oh that's interesting!

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NotAJammyDodger · 18/09/2015 21:37

I was on 300mg (tablets not EX) and now on 75mg. I reduced very slowly over 18 months.

I didn't have any real problems at all. I am guessing that is because of them length of the withdrawal time.

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