Venlafaxine - any positive stories?

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Have just been prescribed this for depression and anxiety. Has anyone found it has worked? Obviously there are a lot of scary stories on the internet

I've been on it over 5 years with no problems. I woukd say though, I was warned I would feel worse before I felt better, and thatbwas definitely true. Infelt like crap for about 6 weeks but it ended up being better for me than any other AD I've taken. I think the main problem is there isn't enough education from GPs about the amount of time it takes to settle in your system. People try for a few weeks and it doesn't appear to be working so they stop. Unfortunately the drug has already begun to settle so they also get withdrawal symptoms, and blame the Venlafaxine.

Just my experience. It's the same with many ADs. You have to give them a chance - none of them is going to make you all sunshine and flowers in a couple of days.

I wish you good luck

I am also autistic and couldn't cope with life off of antidepressants- I just wanted to balance your post out as I didn't want anyone who suspects they have autism to discount antidepressants as they can help autistic people cope with life.

I was on it for a couple of years and it worked very well for me with no real side effects

I did struggle to come off it because of the brain zaps but I did it much more quickly than is advisable, diazepam helped

I wish I had something positive to say, but I think it's a vile drug.

But antidepressants are all about the individual so it's really hard to say how it will affect you. The only thing I'd say is that if you find SSRIs make you jittery, you'll probably find this is even worse.

I have been taking it for about 10 years. It feels like it's given me my life back. I can do things that would terrify me without it.

@Universitynewbie I appreciate that but when they gave the medication to me, they just diagnosed me as a woman with depression/anxiety and I have since been told this was due to my undiagnosed autism (that wasn't recognised until my late 40s). I didn't need the actual pills. I know that's not all people with autism.Also the doctors did not advise me of the long term possible side effects of this medication on my sleep pattern nor the terrible withdrawals. They aren't your average withdrawals, it can last for months and they are horrible. I was told I might gain a bit of weight ( I gain two stone ) and have a dry mouth. The sleep thing has impacted my work and memory.

I hope you get the support you need, OP.

@WhoWants2Know do you mind saying what dose you are taking?

Best six months of my life when I first went on it. Doing things I'd never done before and felt amazing. I've become depressed again though as it's slowly lost its effect. I don't know what feels worse, to have felt so great and now depressed or would it have been better never to have known happiness as I've lost it and will probably never feel like that again? Am reluctant to increase dose as I know it'll happen all over again.

I’ve been on it for 15-20 years. I wouldn’t be alive without it.

I’ve been on others antidepressants but they stopped working after a while. I’ve had to increase the dose of this one a few times. I’m currently on 225mg per day of the extended or sustained release version (XR or SR).

There can be side effects as your body adjusts. They should ease. If they don’t then it’s probably not suitable for you.

Good luck. Hope it helps you.

When I wrote that post, I was on 225mg and had been for years. It didn't completely eliminate my anxiety, but it made it manageable. Like, if I was going to do something that would normally paralyse me with fear, I'd be able to do it and just think "Gosh, that's a bit nervy".

This week I had a meds review because my GP surgery schedules them in your birthday month. I talked about some things that I thought were side effects from a different medication and the GP said it might actually be that my body is getting used to the Venlafaxine and put me up to 300mg. So right now I'm feeling a bit winded by the increase, but hopefully I'll be back on form in a couple of days 😁

@flufferknutter talk to your doctor. Effexor stopped working for me too, and now I take Ablify to boost its effect so I’m back in the honeymoon phase.

This is my experience exactly. I think it saved my life. Weaning off is hard, but I am also at 37.5 and may actually stay here indefinitely. I think that is ok though.

It worked for me (as in made me feel ok enough to talk about my issues in therapy, which was the long term solution for me. I've not needed to go back on it or anything else) but the side effects were really horrid until I adjusted to it. I came off it when I got pregnant, which was also difficult but I reduced the dosage very slowly (by opening up the capsules and taking out some of the little balls of medicine inside) to make it less horrid so managed to get off it easier than some.

It’s been amazing for me, absolutely brilliant. I went on it as the max dose of sertraline was no longer keeping me stable.

it’s a drug you have to be careful with because if you miss a dose you will not feel well. And I did feel a bit odd when I first started it but that is the same as all the other antidepressants I e been on (and I’ve been on a lot).

If and when I need to come off it I will do so sensibly but I am not coming off it any time soon, so I don’t worry about it. In the meantime it helps me live my life! Good luck.

I’ve been on it for several years, it’s the only thing that’s ever helped my depression. I also find it quite easy to come off, which I know is unusual. The only ongoing side effects I have on it are waking up early and a bit of tiredness, but I will take that. I do have to take it on a full stomach though.

Well done on the weaning off - I am toying with dropping down to 37.5 every other day to see if I can handle it but like you I'd be relaxed about staying on it for good at this level.

For those it worked for, how long did it take to settle? I’ve been on it for about 4 weeks, up to 112.5mg now and I do see some improvement but nowhere near what I’d like. Would be interested to hear what dose people are on and when it really kicked in?

Been on it for 18 months. Works very well for me (have tried pretty much everything else!) Side effects were rough while increasing dose, and I do get side effects if I miss a dose but otherwise it's good. I'm nervous about coming off it but, alongside therapy, it's given me my life back.

I always think that, if you're drowning, meds are the life jacket and therapy/life changes/practical habits are the swimming back to shore. In my case I need a decent life jacket before I can start swimming to shore.

On 225mg. Took 3 months to increase to that point, then I'd say another 6 weeks or so to feel the full benefit. But I'd been depressed for a long time!

On and I also take it on a ful stomach, straight after breakfast.

Hi OP, I haven't read the whole thread because the posts I read were very anti venlafaxine.

I've been pretty much on it for over 30 years. I've been off it for lengthy periods and subsequently tried others that didn't help at all. It definitely needs tapering to come off if you need to but it's the only thing that keeps me stable and functioning.

Trust your instincts 💐

Hi OP. I am sorry to hear that you are struggling so much atm. I have to say, only a positive response from me about Venlafaxine. I have been on it about seven years and it was life changing. I was at my lowest until I started on it. Take one day at a time, allow yourself time to get accustomed to it. Sending you some positive hugs ❣️❣️

@Ihaveaquestionn i have been told that the minimum therapeutic dose is 150mg per day, so you’d need to be on that for 4 to 6 weeks. In RL I felt the benefit much quicker than that.

Good way of describing it. Meds help you cope while you find longer term solutions, might take years though, think it was about 4 years for me but I wouldn't have even thought to try coming off venlafaxine if I hadn't got pregnant, was surprised to find how ok I was once I got past the withdrawal stage.