Venlafaxine, anyone on it, im worried & confused??

[melsy]

Doc thinks I should be on something right now.

Ive been coming back to the screen for the last 2 hours as I hummed and haaaaaaaaard about telling everyone this. Ive been posting in here under a sudonym for a while and dont really want to own up on those threads. I spose I feel vulnrable as quite a few know me in RL and dont want to be seen as weak and a mental case.

Just need to be heard I suppose , at the end of the day its a decision I have to make myself, but wanted to know a bit more about it.

Ive been on seroxat anhd citalopram before over the last 5 years and they havent really helped. Think thats why hes susuggested these. I have 2 weeks to think about it b4 follow up appt, to discuss trying to get some for of cbt somewere , but hes not hopeful and thinkx the pills are the best thing for me right here right now. Im not so happy about the pill side of things.

hi melsy
sorry you are so depressed. spotted this thread coz my dh was on venlaflaxine for a year - hes bipolar - and it did no good at all and had some rather unpleasant side effects to do with sex drive and weight gain and sweaty hot flushes and er, basically ejaculating when he passed water, sorry if to much info but there you are. at least that last on wouldnt be a prob for you! its pretty potent stuff though, and seems quite a blunt instrument for complex problem. hes now unmedicated, had CBT therapy for ages and is 'well' you really can recover from depression , i know it seems like you will always feel shi**y but with support and sometimes the right medication with good counselling (i really believe after living with dh and his depression for so long that you need therapy with medication for it to work) there can be a light at the end of the tunnel...sorry if waffly x hth!

Is that what its for mainly ; bi polar manic depression ???

Im quite scared by it all.
Ive had counselling for over a year a couple of years back and hypnotherapy for a long term period but hasnt got me fully recovered. Thats why Im hoping CBT would help as its more focused and structured and less about all your past stuff , just how to live forward. I think I was quite shocked that he felt I needed this kind of medication, wasnt expecting him to take me seriouly at all.

hi melsy, sorry you have been ahving a tough time lately.

never been on venlafaxine. hopefully someone will come along soon who has. AFAIK it's an anti-depressant rather than mainly used for bi-polar. Had a quick look at info about it on the Mind website - just seemed to list the potential side effects (which like all the ADs is as long as your arm!) Problem with all the ADs is that you don't know what'll suit until you try it - what works for one person without much side effects can give another person loads of side effects.

do you mind me asking if it's a psych or GP that you are seeing - just I imagine a psych will have a better idea than a GP as to exactly which AD would be most appropriate.

I think that even if you and your doc decide that you should try ADs, it would still be an excellent idea to go for CBT additionally. If you can't get it on the NHS would you be in a position to go private (CBT tends to be time limited so would probably be, say, £500 in total say for 10-12 sessions). I have had CBT and found it very useful - both for OCD and for general depression.

hi hun
i was on venlaflaxine for a while after having been on a few other ads...the main thing is that it better helps with anxiety etc. I
was upped to 225mg a day but stopped when i got pg. They didnt get rid of panic etc but certainly made it less frequent..hope this helps as im babbling with ds climbing all over me will try to get back to thread later

Hi Melsy,
I was on Venlafaxine,after trying seroxat and citalopram,and various others. I found Venlafaxine worked for me. I took my last one about 4 weeks ago,after taking them for about ummmm...7-8months.
That was for PND

Its good to know Venlafaxine has worked for others , and that CBT has also been good for helping recovery. Doc asked me if I knew anyone who had had successful CBT and I said I wasnt sure. Hes not convinced CBT works , I think he feels its just another source for people to spend money on wacko therapies. But having seen now this evening that some people are finding it v beneficial. Im very interested in it, but its only available privately in my area, so I suggested to him can we look at other areas/councils. postcode lottery as dh says. He says my only case is that after a phschye consult feb last year.The pychiatrist I saw sent a letter to GP suggesting that I do have some form CBT , so if they have suggested it my Gp says he has a case to argue that I should be having it. But he says a campaign and what I want are all ideal world scenarios and that I should do what is available and take the pills. Personally find that upsetting as why can I only have the right help if I live in the right area.Why should I or anyone have half the life Im supposed to.

I have already spent over £4k,(cant believe its that much , I just worked it out roughly), on therapy over the last 5 years and I think Dh says we have emptieed the pot, I think my family think enough is enough and why try another unknown thing.

Hi Melsy My dh is on Venlafaxine - His side effects have been headaches

if you do get accepted for NHS CBT, waiting list is quite likely to be in the region of 18 months, unfortunately.

what I had by way of CBT was for two separate things
1)CBT for OCD
2)CBT for depression/anxiety/low self-esteem

For OCD, it was cognitive in terms of getting me to look at attitudes towards risk and responsibility more realistically, and behavioural in terms of me reducing compulsive handwashing

For Depression etc, it was something called Schema Therapy. I only really did that specific therapy as I wanted to carry on with the same guy I saw for the OCD, (apparently it is usually longer term, for people worse off than me). I found it very helpful as it focussed on how you had an unrealistic view of yourself, and have developed unhealthy thoughts/behaviour patterns due to that, and how to break out of the pattern. One of the things I did with my therapist was looking at things on a "continuum" - i.e. rating certain statements about myself between 1 and 100, like how good a mother I was, and then working through why I felt I was doing stuff wrong, what I should be expecting of myself etc.

So that instead of when something goes wrong/someone says something critical of going off into a long fret/thinking I am crap/useles/failure etc that I am aware of what I am doing and can stop myself "wallowing" in self-criticism.

sorry for that long ramble, hope you find something useful in there

No not a long ramble at all ,its helpful to know how it actully works and what is actually done, so thankyou for being open about it. It sounds excatly right for me , as I ruminate to crazy levels and drive everyone and myself mad with it.

Regarding waiting list time , I think I may have a case to shorten it as I dont think I have been treated properly and the CBT suggestion was made in Feb 04.. What I suggested to the Gp was that what he is going to inquire about should have been done right from the get go(telling him that it wasnt him personally that failed me but the system, although he was the one that put me on citalopram then), as I had severe PND / PTSD alongside panic attacks.

Hope that doesnt sound up my bum or that im more deserving than others, but this whole 18mths has been very bad for my relationship with my dh.

melsy u may benefit more for therapy for ptsd rather than cbt as such..i have depression and ptsd with anxiety and while cbt would be an effective treatment to a certain extent it depends on what the focus of ur illness is. This prob doesnt make sense but for me cbt would have helped panic etc but would not have got to base of problems. The cause of my issues is abuse so cbt would help with going out etc but ptsd therapy helps to look at the main issues. So you need to look at what is root of your thoughts/feelings now...not easy to do i know

hadn't realised there was PTSD involved as well Melsy. like Nemo says you would probably benefit from treatment for your PTSD as well/instead of CBT.

Any chance you could get referred back to your psych - as he sounds more knowledgeable/sympathetic than your GP.

OOh the things I read on here,I feel upset for others who have to suffer. Are you having PTSD therapy Nemo??

The ptsd came about after birth of dd. Had never experienced anything like it before.Ive had the other problems of anxiety for many years since a young teen. I think the reason I got PTSD is kind of wrapped up in my self esteem issues. IKWYM , its hard to know , but I think at the mo may be CBT will be more beneficial for long term problems. At least hypnotherapy stopped the panic attacks as they are nasty nasty. I can stop them pretty much as they start and now only happen very rarely.

hi melsy yes i do have ptsd. AS MTS said i would be reffered back to psych or even if they can have a mental health nurse to come and do an assessment it would be of benefit as they can also put your refferal through as priority. I was reffered in oct for ptsd and started in jan due to being rushed through.

Im not sure but think gp may be speaking with the surgerys own pysche , but may also get back to the original pyshce who saw me last year at the mental health unit at the hospital,(one frightening night that was). I was reffered to a cpn who did a home visit just after unit assesmant last year so not sure were that letter that the gp had, came from. The cpn was quite happy to leave me and let me deal with it myself as he new I was having hypnotherapy privately then. Im not sure why they then feel they shoudnt atleast follow up and make sure things are working.

Not sure Im making sense , sitting here shakng as think Im getting flu or something. Think today shocked and upset me.

aww hun hugs to u
its frightening when things come to smack u in the face and sometimes we think we are coping but feel worse for being put on medication etc.
As for the cpn not following up it is the norm unfortunately as they will have probably deemed u as no risk.
I do hope u manage to get the help you need as its a long time to be suffering

I really thought he would just say , will thats life eh and send me away. Dont know why. I even went in unkempt , so he saw me the way I am when at home and having a bad day. feel a little like its backfired, but Im so confused i dont know

lol i know the feeling.I was still working when i first went to see gp i burst into tears told him what was wrong etc so when he sent me away with meds and signed off work for 2 weeks i found it really weird. I remember jus tbeing completely shocked as I was a mental health worker and had just been honest about stuff for him to say hmmm u have a problem was scarey

was the PTSD in relation to the way things went with the birth? If so, have you gone down the route of going through your notes with a senior hospital midwife, as some people find that helpful. i'm sure I've been to see docs in right scruff mode before - I wouldn't worry too much about how you were dressed etc. it does feel a right pain to have to be taking meds etc, and I think that "society's" views make you feel like you are being weak by letting the meds try and make you better but I think s*d the lot of em, and just do whatever it takes to get you better.

ahhhh so Im tlaking with an insider.

Not sure I can face reading them. It was very distressing. Ive thought of it , but not sure if it would make me ruminate dangerously after. It has reared up a little as dh and I talk of when and IF we plan 2nd pg.

so is that the trigger at the moment do u think...the fact u r considering another pg?

partly as problems with dh and me feeling unwell means we have put it on hold and its upsettting as it feels like Ive failed.

failed as in not getting my sh*t together and i only have one child.

hun not true at all which u prob know deep down.
I am sure u will get well and go on to have more kids...but even if u dont u r never a failure

that's the sort of thing where I think good talking therapy of whatever sort can be really helpful - if your best mate came and said I've had a few problems with depression, and I've only got one child, and feel like a failure, there's no way that you would agree with her, is there?

the problem is learning to be less hard on yourself