Hi Everyone.
Really need advice. Being treated for bipolar. Have just lowered venlafaxine (shouldn't have been on it). Also on 200mg of quetiapine. Woke today with racing thots and really worried. Having thots of hurting people and feel detached from dveryfhing can anyone tell me what's happening to me and if I need other meds?
It could be ven withdrawals.
You have mived your meds up and down alot this can really mess with your brain chemistry.
You can be on ven with bp2 but you need a mois stabaliser as well.
I suggest to don t change your doses again and get stable.
Maybe a benzo shortterm to help.
I learnt the hard way meds are not the immediate go to solution first you have to let things play out.
Dropping from 150 to 75 of ven will cause withdrawal. No med.....except upping ven to 150 again....will resolve that
Hi Sarah. Thank you for your reply. Have been taking the quetiapine for a few weeks now. My CPN told me that if it wasn't successful there were other meds they could consider. Have felt detached from everyone for about 13 weeks now. Do you know of what other meds they could try other than quetiapine?
Hi Sarah.
Have followed all the instructions given by psychiatrist and CPN's so far and feeling a bit desperate. I'm a very loving person and feeling like this scares me. Hate feeling detached but the horrible thots I can't control.
Hello, you are going through withdrawal from the ven withdrawal, and the quetiapine takes 4 to 6 weeks to work, like an anti depressant, which means it could take longer. You need to give your current meds at least 4 weeks for things to settle down, before the side effects to lessen. Its a matter of waiting, they arent going to work any quicker from changing them. If your thoughts and anxiety become unbearable, your doctor and pysc may pescribe a benzo to calm you down, which will work immediately.
Thanks Nigel. Will just grit my teeth and get on with it! Panicked this morning and that doesn't help anything. Keeping busy and telling myself I can handle it.
There are other meds if you bp2 but right now you need to stay on the dose and meds you are on and give them time to work. Changing meds should not be done lightly. You are withdrawing from the ven. That is why you feel this bad try and remind yourself that is the reason. Try and get a benzo. How long since the reducef ven dose ?
Hi Sarah. It's 6 days since ven reduced.
Then very likely withdrawals. 50% is a very big drop.