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 😌💐

Been on it for 20 years it's helped with my anxiety and to lead a normal life and lead a busy career. Don't miss a dose tho as it makes you feel very strange. X

This is interesting- I have been in it for years and now have had high blood pressure. Do you think it's linked?

Hi all,

My doctor has recommended that I try Venlafaxine. I had one pill of Sertraline and had the craziest side effects (dilated pupils, feeling drunk/high, insomnia, grinning/laughing at everything, shakes, cognitive dysfunction). So I’m now really scared of trying Venlafaxine in case I get another bad bout of side effects. Did anyone else have terrible side effects with an SSRI but milder ones with Venlafaxine? And am I likely to have bad side effects with all SNRIs and SSRIs if I did with Sertraline?

thanks!

I thought Ven was for people who didn’t respond well to normal ad’s. It has a higher success rate.

Yoir team sound out of touch. I’ve been on practically every AD. Venlafaxine is the best.

I didn't have side effects with SSRIs as bad as you describe but the effects were bad enough that I couldn't make myself take them for any length of time. Venlafaxine wasn't bad to start with, but didn't do anything to help for some time, and it took building up to a very high dose. The trouble for me is that it took the ups and downs and cancelled them out to a nothingless, no interest or joy in anything.

Update.

9 days in now. Palpitations are bad. Constipation is really bad. Insomnia still there, maybe not as bad as last week.

apart from that no real change in mood. Suppose I won’t feel no change for a few weeks. Still so so anxious am I doing the right thing taking them. But like one of the PP said, it’s not that high of a dose and should be easy to come up. I am meant to double the dose from next week but don’t think I will?

I would take advice from your MH team on dosage. Constipation you can use laxatives. I would also try reading the books I suggested, not so everything is transformed, but it gives you something to do when you are feeling anxious, it explains why palpitations/anxiety occur and what to do during them. Keep going OP, it's really hard but you will get there- something has to change as you couldn't keep on as you were.

@Buteverythingsfine thank you. Yes that’s true, I couldn’t keep going on as I was. A few years back I had a breakdown and I got through it god only knows how, without ad’s, maybe i’m comparing now to then and feeling guilty. I dunno! I just don’t want to be reliant on them. I forgot to take it for 6 hours today and experienced my first brain zaps! Lol. That’s another thing, I’ve got so so forgetful as past few days…anyone else experience this?

This just isn’t working, to stay on and give it time
or come off
it now

I would speak to your GP there's others options you can try- but whatever you do don't just stop without medical consultation

@hugznotdrugz i spoke with GP on Friday but didn’t say I wanted to stop, just to continue with the 37.5 instead of moving up after 2 weeks, but now I am wondering should I just stop, maybe I’m jumping to quick and should
give it more time. I’m so confused. Plus I left house today without taking it and won’t be home
til later tonight, do
i take it then or leave todays dose?

I’m just so bloody moody and tired all the time still. Overthinking and procrastinating constantly. I need it to stop.

Personally, I moved up after 5 days and then stuck at that dose (75mg), it took another 2 weeks or so to see any effect. I am not sure the dose you are on is quite enough, but you need to discuss that with the dr. In the end I thought I need to try this properly for a few weeks, otherwise it's just mixed in with all my previous anxiety/problems. Unless it is making you much iller, of course. No anti-depressant works immediately, or at least they don't on me anyway.

They have been an ok drug for me, as in don’t cause me major side effects but in review after taking them for 2 years and now trying to come off then I wish I hadn’t started them.
they are a terrible drug to withdraw from and it is. A very slow process. I find myself so dizzy most days and have to up my dose slightly just to function.
but when I started I didn’t worry about the future I needed the fix then.

I hope they work well for you, just make sure you don’t stop taking them without gp help x

Feeling very depressed and suicidal today

It sounds like a tough day, you poor thing. you need to reach out to your MH team/crisis team or the GP and let them know that- I think you should tell them. The Samaritans are also very sympathetic, I've called them and cried a lot on occasion as well but of course they can't advise on meds which your MH team/GP will be able to do.

www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/talk-us-phone/

@Buteverythingsfine thank you. Yes just a really tough time. They are getting too regular for my liking tbh. This morning I’ve taken two 37.5 tablets so 75mg, maybe a increase will help instead of going off them. I feel so frustrated that I’ve had to resort to AD when I’ve gotten through tough times before without them

It is so tough, I really have been there. Just keep in touch with your GP (so you can get new dose tablets at some point) and your MH team as well. Don't feel bad about taking pills, there's nothing wrong with needing something to get you off the bottom and start living how you would like to again. I've never taken them til recently, but needs must. I can't tell you whether these particular ones are the answer though, which is why talking with the drs will help, as they know the range of options. you can always use other things (meditation, reading good books, exercise) alongside medication, it's just when you are really low it's hard to do those things. Hope today is better for you.

Hi everyone, desperately needing some advice again. Yes I will speak to my GP tomorrow if I can grab an appointment but Iike to speak on here to people who have experienced it.

Yesterday I doubled my dose from 37.5 to 75mg. It’s been horrendous today. The worse I’ve ever felt in my life. I’m so tired and I can not stop crying. Feeling dizzy and having brain zaps. I’m so emotional infront of everyone which is very unlike me. Is this normal with an increase?

@Crispsmakemehappy I don't want your post to go unanswered, it sounds horrendous, but I don't know if that's normal or not, so I would push for a GP appointment tomorrow- just say it's a MH emergency, I've found you need to be quite pushy to emphasize how important it is that you are seen. I think when you are anxious, you tend to panic and feel worse when anything changes, that said, you need a GP review asap.

I'd see your GP tomorrow or ASAP. I'd go back to 37.5mg in the meantime.

me personally would be getting urgent support from gp and stopping the medication, that sounds intense and worse than I have ever experienced. It would also suggest that it would be heard when it came to weaning off.

they do take time to settled but that sounds a lot x

No luck getting an appointment with GP this morning. Over an hour waiting to speak to someone. I may try tomorrow morning again. Very teary today again. I’m unsure whether to take just the 37.5 today or stick with the 75mg. Has anyone experienced this when upping their dose? Citalopram didn’t agree with me and fluxotine was shockingly bad. But they were SSRI’s and doctor said Venlafaxine is an SNRI. They are apparently same family of meds but more like a far out cousin according to doctor.

Lifted my new prescription today. This is a totally different box from my previous from up thread. Does that matter?

If it's a different brand then I think some of the non active ingredients could differ? I have heard of people not able to take a generic medication because of this.