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Original poster

Starting venlafaxine for severe anxiety - hand hold!

47 replies

Sunnyscot80 · 20/02/2022 15:00

I have been struggling with severe anxiety for over a year. It started when I stopped breastfeeding my second child, when I was almost 41 (sure peri menopause has something to do with it) . Have tried a few meds which made me way worse.
My anxiety is very physical, insomnia, feeling over-adrenalised, feeling of constant worry about nothing,. Panic attacks and waking up with feelings of panic/adrenaline rushes rushes. And a constant feeling of de-realisation, which I hate.
I've got some beta blockers which take the edge off a little but obviously they don't lift my mood.
I've not very 'normal' for so long I've forgotten what it's like.
Anyone had success with venlafaxine? Looking for some positive stories. What is start up like?
Ive got 37.5 slow release tablets. Scared if this doesn't work, that there's nothing left!

OP posts:
cleowasmycat · 20/02/2022 15:01

Have you tried HRT?

Original poster
Sunnyscot80 · 20/02/2022 15:12

I haven't.. My doctor just keeps saying its Pnd and I need to try meds. Don't know where to start with hrt.

OP posts:
ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 20/02/2022 15:29

I’ve been on just about every one with a whole raft of hideous side effects.

Venlafaxine is wonderful. Happy, friendly good tempered(!), and chilled. It’s also recommended for hot flushes in menopause.

I had very few side effects. Just a bit of crying the odd afternoon.

I bloody ❤️ Venlafaxine. It reduces my appetite too which is an added bonus as all the others made me eat my head off.

sleaf · 20/02/2022 15:30

I had a very bad experience with Venlafaxine :(

Original poster
Sunnyscot80 · 20/02/2022 16:20

That's really good to know. Thank you ❤️ I tske it the crying spells passed for you?

OP posts:
ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 20/02/2022 16:23

Yeah, they were only brief. An afternoon or half a morning.

Muddlewitch · 20/02/2022 16:27

I've been on venlafaxine for a few months now and love it, it's given me, me back. I've been on it before a long time ago and started to get unwell again last year and it was the only medication I really wanted to go on, having tried others in the past that like pp gave me awful side effects.
Unlike some other meds it hasn't made me feel like someone else it's just made it easier to cope and be myself.

Original poster
Sunnyscot80 · 20/02/2022 16:38

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow did the crying spells stop altogether? I get a lot of crying spells at different times of the month and it got really really bad when I was on mirtazapine. It never stopped and my life was pretty horrible the whole 9 months I was on it.

OP posts:
mumoffloofs · 20/02/2022 16:38

It's made a massive difference to me and helped me function. Just be careful not to miss a dose if you start it. I'm on a much higher dose and missed yesterday. Suffering today!

Original poster
Sunnyscot80 · 20/02/2022 16:39

@Muddlewitch that's so great to hear! Thanks for replying ❤️

OP posts:
ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 20/02/2022 16:40

Yeah they’ve stopped altogether. All gone!!

BusterGonad · 20/02/2022 16:41

I know someone on it and it's helped her a lot. She's been on it for a few years. It took trial and error to find the right one.

paisley256 · 20/02/2022 16:43

In on the maximum dose of 300mg per day slow release and it's worked brilliantly for me. Make sure you don't miss a dose as a PP said as you'll get awful brain zaps, try and take same time every day.

I hope they work for you Flowers

cleowasmycat · 20/02/2022 17:21

Have a look at this, GPS are terrible with peri menopause.

www.balance-menopause.com/balance-app/

Original poster
Sunnyscot80 · 20/02/2022 20:16

Thank you to everyone for replying. Definitely makes me feel more confident to give it a try. Really appreciate the support!

OP posts:
Original poster
Sunnyscot80 · 20/02/2022 20:22

@cleowasmycat thank you. I'll have a look at this x

OP posts:
cleowasmycat · 20/02/2022 20:24

[quote Sunnyscot80]@cleowasmycat thank you. I'll have a look at this x[/quote]
You can print off NICE guidelines and a symptom list for your GP.

Numbersarefun · 20/02/2022 20:28

I take venlafaxine and for me it’s brilliant. The 1st 2 or 3 weeks was awful. I was even more anxious, but it settled down. I added quetiapine to it to give me an extra but if help too and I’m as well now as I’ve been in ages.

JustOneMoreStep · 20/02/2022 20:45

I'm alive because of the venlafaxine. It calmed me down enough to be able to access other support to so literally life changing for me.

It takes a week or two to build up in your system and you're on a low starting dose so it might need tweeking for it to be effective for you but it's definitely worth persevering in my experience. You may feel unwell quite quickly if you miss a dose but having said that I was able to reduce/come off it (my choice for pregnancy) with guidance from gp without too much trouble.

Original poster
Sunnyscot80 · 21/02/2022 14:12

@JustOneMoreStep I'm so glad to hear it helped you. I definitely need calming/slowing down. Did you find it increased anxiety at first? X

OP posts:
JustOneMoreStep · 21/02/2022 15:20

@sunnyscot80 no I don't think it increased my anxiety. I don't think I thought it did anything to start with, but there was a moment probably when I'd been on it about 6 weeks or so that I thought 'hang on I'm not freaking out as much as I did at the thought of doing x'.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 21/02/2022 15:40

Numbersarefun

What dose of quetiapine are you on? Does it make you eat a lot.

Elderado · 23/02/2022 19:17

I’m also on the max dose - 300mg. I really like this medication compared to the others. No problems for me.

Original poster
Sunnyscot80 · 24/02/2022 15:08

Thanks to everyone who posted above. Wondering, did it help your sleep? Early morning wakening (to massive anxiety feeling) has been an issue for me. I keep reading that ven can cause insomnia. Not what I need!

OP posts:
JoeyLin · 28/02/2022 11:31

What do people suggest is a thereputic dose on Venlafaxine for someone with major despression?
My mum is making a switch from 150mg-200mg of Sertraline which was not helping her.
She is now on 75mg of Venlafaxine - although the depression is there, and she is now back in bed more than she was on sertraline... we are noticing she is a lot less anxious, more chatty, not paniking at thought of having to bathe or cook.

I am hopeful Venlafaxine can do even better...
I assume 75mg is small dose, compared to her being on 150-200 of sertraline which was on the upper end of that scale?