Venlafaxine 300mg not helping

[whoisjoe]

Been on venlafaxine for 3yrs, initially it helped with my anxiety and depression. Over the years I’ve had to increase and now I’m at 300mg and feel like it’s not helping at all. Recently diagnosed with cancer and finished treatment- so a major impact to my MH. I’m scared to come off and try something else due to the withdrawals, but I need something that helps.
have tried sertraline and fluoxetine in the past , didn’t work for me and gained weight.
any suggestions for ADs that don’t gain weight? Is there such a wonder drug?

Duloxetine helped me a lot.

I'm sorry you're going through such an awful time, but please do speak to your doctor. You don't have to make any decisions straight away, just open up discussions.

When I switched anti depressants, we reduced my old type and as they came down slowly introduced the new type meaning there weren't any bad withdrawal effects.

Thank you
thats reassuring to know that you can bridge with a new AD to help withdrawal. I’m assuming that would be because they are both SNRIs?
im going to speak to my Gp, want to do some research first

No, I don't think my last one was actually.

There's a lot of awareness of withdrawal symptoms these days so I think GPs are pretty good at managing these and there's no guarantee you'll experience them or that, if you do, they'll be bad or lingering.

Have you been put in touch with support for your recent diagnosis, macmillan for example?

I've found mitrazepine helpful. Some gain weight with it but thankfully I haven't.

Just ensure you come off the venlafaxine very slowly to avoid the brain zaps etc

I'm on Venlafaxine but had to increase dose to 337.5mg to stop the depression, I believe you can go up to 375mg.

There are lots of good alternatives out there. Don't be afraid to try them. But be prepared to give each a good chance to get to a therapeutic level. Otherwise you are wasting your time and missing possible opportunities. Personally I take a combination of medication to get the best result for me. So there are lots of chances to find something. GL

It can be difficult to come off Venlafaxine so I added a second drug when mine pooped out after 12 years - Aripiprazole. I only take 5mg and it gives the Venlafaxine a kick in the pants. It feels like Venlafaxine did when I first started taking it (although I have gained a little weight).

Hi, I know this is an old post but I’m wondering about your combination.? I know some of them you can combine but not many. I really enjoyed the energy and focus and get up and go that I had on venlafaxine, but I’m fortunately the other side effects and the increase in adrenaline made me stop it so I’m now back on citalopram which doesn’t help me get up and go at all! I’m sleepy, and back feeling down but I still need it to curb my anxiety and irritability. It’s a minefield