Venlafaxine help - anxiety

[whoisjoe]

GAD and panic disorder with a bit of depression. Have tried Prozac and Sertraline in the past and not been helpful for my anxiety.

GP put me on Venlafaxine 75mg, 3 weeks ago. Now I want to come off them after reading all the horror stories of withdrawal. Will it be awful withdrawal if I do it sooner rather than later? I will speak to my GP next week about this but I need some experiences. Also, do all SNRI's have awful withdrawal? They are helping, so I want to try a different SNRI. Can anyone recommend ? Or am I being stupid , are they all awful to come off?

Can you tell I am panicking?! I am anxious about my anxiety medicine...

Your GP will probably tell you to drop a tablet alternative days, then leave longer between them until you finally stop. I've tried this and it doesn't work. I've gone down the route of buying a jewellery weighing scale set and I decrease by weighing the contents of the capsule three times to find the average. Then I reduce my capsules by 10% and stay on that dose for at least 4 weeks. I've been doing this now since May and have managed to reduce by a total of 40%. I still get withdrawal symptoms but they only last about a week and I can manage them. It is important that you receive the same brand for every prescription as a change in brand can cause problems for some people.

Thank you. I'm terrified of the withdrawal but hopeful because I've only been on it 3 weeks?
Anyone else have experiences with venlafaxine withdrawl over Duloxetine?

It's been a while since I came off them but I do remember even if I was an hour late with my dose I'd feel really horrible. Venlafaxine is one of the more hard core ADs. Definitely reduce your intake slowly with the docs advise.

Why are you coming off after only 3 weeks?

I am considering switching after reading about the awful withdrawls, which is giving me anxiety 😂
I'd rather come off them now rather than later. But need to find out if all SNRI's are hideous withdrawl

If I were you I'd stop focussing on the withdrawal and focus on what the drug can give you while you're on it. You'll likely be on it for some time and if it works to relieve the issues then you can formulate a plan with your GP for coming off the drug when you're ready. Trust in the process. 3 weeks isn't really enough time to gauge the effectiveness and coming off it and starting a new drug could do more harm than good.

I've been on it for 3 years now(anxiety)& have had no problems.
Take 150mg now.Think I started at 50mg.
I'm an anxious type of people.Don't think there is a problem staying on them long term.

I quit overnight after being on 375mg for months. Had brain zaps and vertigo. I was 19 and had just had enough of feeling nothing. I'd recommend coming off them as early as possible but to taper off, don't quit all at once.

Been on venlafaxine for 3 years and it's been a wonder drug for anxiety and panic attacks. Didn't make me feel numb like previous ones had.
Came off them at the beginning of this year - slowly reduced dose by half a tablet a day between January and March. Made me feel a bit queasy and some disrupted sleep but was tolerable and I was in work throughout (so not I'll enough to phone in sick)
Only went back on them because the pandemic seriously triggered some old OCD behaviour patterns.
Please don't deny yourself something that could really help for fear of feeling a bit ick for a few weeks if you ever want to come off them.