Did Venlafaxine change your life for the better?

[Crispsmakemehappy]

Venlafaxine prescription sitting a few days now and I’m unsure what to do. I’m AD free as week now but scared to try these incase they make me have suicidal thoughts like others have….

Tell me your positive stories please, I know they are meant to be horrendous to come off and needs to be done at a super slow pace.

TIA 😌💐

It will be fine. Try to not worry too much (easier said than done I know!) or you'll be panicking about every little twinge or feeling.

As for timings with taking them, I am useless at that. I have tried everything including alarms and reminders on my phone, but I still manage to miss the occasional dose, or take it a few hours out of sync. Just try to be consistent and don't panic if one is slightly later or earlier than usual.

@Athenajm80 how long did u take them before ‘the crazy came back’? I am so worried that I started them and this happens and I can’t get off them. I am so adamant Adhd meds would be better for me, but chances are slim doc would prescribe them unless I’m officially diagnosed?

i feel like I’ve no one

try to avoid Mirtazapine though as in my experience, and those of anyone I know who has tried it, it causes MASSIVE weight gain. I refer to it as the lard tablet)

Interesting. I found Mirt one of the less greedy one. In rank order of scoffing

Paroxetine
Chlomipramine
Amitryptiline
Sertraline,
Venlafaxine
Fluoxetine
Mirtazapine.

What else could I try that’s not as hard to get off??

im really panicking now and regretting taking this….

I came off 375mg cold turkey. So it's not impossible. Though I was very young and stupid and also desperate not to feel how they made me feel anymore. The withdrawal effects like the brain zaps were scary, I assume it would be easier with a lower dose.

Well done Crisps and good luck! Yes you can take it in the morning tomorrow and then at the same time each day - I actually take mine last thing at night though.

re mirtazapine omg. It didn’t do that much for me mental health wise but I piled on weight immediately. I was so hungry all the time, for the most carby, high-calorie food. Everything I ate felt like it was the first thing I’d eaten in weeks and I just scarfed it down. Never again!

Crisps don’t panic. Coming off a low dose after a short time shouldn’t be a problem. Just give it a chance though!

@ThatCheeseIsMine i can’t stop panicking, what if this doesn’t work or makes me worse? I couldn’t go on

Don’t feel good at all. I don’t think I can pull myself out of it this time at all.

There’s probably no effect yet - this is your anxiety talking. Can you distract yourself with activities/work/exercise/tv etc?

@MinervaTerrathorn no wonder you struggled - tapering is much less likely to cause trouble.

OP - I think your anxiety will be exacerbating any side effects. It will be barely detectable in your system yet!

@ThatCheeseIsMine me too on Mirtazipine. I used to crave sugar and thought I was diabetic at one point. Now that IS a horrible drug imo. Apparently invented to encourage the elderly to eat. 🤷🏻‍♀️

My dad took it fir years and was skinny until he died. Horses for courses innit.

Bloody love the stuff. Not only has it improved my general well-being, a happy side-effect was that it totally stopped the break-through hot flashes that oestrogen gel didn’t quite stop entirely. WINNING!

I didn't feel like I had a choice, I couldn't go on feeling like I was. Thought about taking a lower dose to take the edge off my withdrawal once I'd quit but I couldn't make myself do it.

I can imagine that it might feel better to suffer a bit in the short term to stop using a tablet that was clearly not for you. (I sympathise - I put on a lot of timber in about a week on Mirtazapine and went cold turkey). The medical advice would always be to do it sloooooowly though, as in 37.5mg less per week (or longer if need be). During my IVF I did 35.5mg a week and didn't notice until I was down to 75mg when I got low-grade brain zaps. I actually got pregnant at that level but continued to taper when I could reduce further without noticing iykwim.

Day 3 - very emotional yesterday and ate everything in sight after barely eatting. Going to take my 3rd tablet soon.

Is weight gain a side effect? I thought it was weight loss🫤

If you’re new to Venlafaxine it does take a few weeks to settle into it. I have noticed that if I ever forget to take it, I have bloody surreal, disturbed, emotional dreams and wake up feeling exhausted and stressed, but I am fine the next night when I take it again. So weird. *I am not taking it for depression or anxiety but for menopausal symptoms.

It made me put on weight.

It made me care less about it though.

Stick with it, the first week is bloody awful. Nausea, dizziness, out of body experiences etc but settles down fast. Very important to take at the same time each day. I have been on these for over ten years for depression, anxiety and panic attacks. This was the only med that allowed me to function normally. Was on the max dose for a while and been working my way off them since last year with no adverse effects. Still stable on 37.5 a day and should be off completely by next year.

Crisps so glad to hear you're sticking with it so far. Anxiety about taking it will probably exaggerate any side effects you feel. If it doesn't work out, you'll look back on this time as just a few weeks of your life, but you could be looking back on your MH symptoms and saying goodbye to them, like me and many others on the thread, so it is worth it to try.

Day4 - my goodness, 3 hours sleep last night, insomnia and anxiety😕 after i was thinking yesterday my side effects were not too bad. Today I’m a shaking mess due to lack of sleep. This better be worth it 😳😆

@Crispsmakemehappy Do you take it in the morning or the evening? My GP advised that it can initially mess sleep up and to take it in the morning to limit it’s effects. It settles down though.

@Fraaahnces i take it at 12 noon, just stuck with that time since I first took it 4 days ago but might gradually bring it to 9am if I can.

@Crispsmakemehappy hope that helps

i found the insomnia resolved after a week or so. Took a month to do anything about the depression and anxiety. Hang in there OP.