How long does venlafaxine take to work - still no improvement :(

Treatment and medication
1

Hello,

I was just wondering if anyone can tell me of any experience / side effects / time scale with this drug.

I have been on it for 6 weeks with no improvement at all. I also suffer very badly with tension headaches & they feel so bad at the moment.

Please any answers or help & advice or even someone to chat to would be great.

Many thanks in advance

Butterfly x

2

Hi there when I first started taking this medication I was on 75mg and after 6 weeks I didn't feel any different so the doctor advised me to double up on this medication which was 150mg and within a week I started to feel a little like me again I know we want to feel better quickly but any medication like this takes a while to start to work we are used to taking medication and feel the pain lifting quickly but antidepressants take much longer, have you spoken to your doctor yet to see what they advise, I have been taking these meds for six years and at the moment I feel fine but still do have low periods you will see on here that people have different experiences with venlafaxine but at the time it was the only thing that eventually picked me up and enabled me to feel better so good luck

love sue

3

Hi butterfly what mg are u on?

4

Hello,

Thank you for you're replies. I started on 37.5 twice a day & now my gp has upped it to 3 times a day. I feel very low and flat & no interest in anything & i've not been dressed for days, i did feel this way before but no better at all. Also i feel very anxious & on edge.

I do hope this one works for me as i have tried others in the past with no effect. x

5

I've been on venlafaxine for two weeks now so it's too early for me to comment on it lifting my mood. The only side effects I have is feeling a bit dull and tired through the day I'm hoping this will wear off? 

6

Yes Liam i also have that & i just feel so tired all the time & have no energy.

Do you feel any less depressed at all? 

7

I don't feel too depressed atm but that could because I've been on another AD before venlafaxine but I had to stop because of side effects. I've heard it does take a while for venlafaxine to start working and the results can be very good, I've just been increased from 75mg to 112.5mg, 75mg + 37.5mg, took my first dose today. i have been on venlafaxine in the past with good results it just takes time & patience to get there, you should be seeing something after 6 weeks maybe you should tell your Dr you feel no better? 

8

That's good to hear that it has worked for you in the past, it makes me more hopeful. What were you on before. I was on sertraline before this one. 

9

Yes it has worked for me in the past, so I'm hopeful this time around! I was on mirtazapine before switching to venlafaxine. 

10

I've not tried that one myself.

Well i hope it does help you this time around & thanks for replying to my post.

Good luck & keep in touch x

11

Hi Butterfly, Venlafaxine worked wonders for me but only at high doses - I think the max is 225mg. I remember reading that high doses change the effect of the drug to work mildly on dopamine as well as serotonin and norepinephrine. May be rubbish but for sure you may want to be on extended release and high dosage.

12

Hello Ross,

Thank you for you're reply. And that's very good to hear. I'm on 37.5 3times a day. The gp did try to give me the s/r ones but there seems to be a manuf problem with them so i can't have them everytime i go back and ask he says there is still a problem with them.

13

What strength are you on and are you on the S/R ones? 

14

I take a prolonged release 75mg and a normal 37.5mg together, venlafaxine has a very short half life and the long release ones give you a steady dose over 24 hours so you can take one dose per day and don't have to keep taking the normal release pills in divided doses throughout the day like you do, shame you can't get hold of any. 

15

I know they really do sould like they will help me more, is my dose an unusual one?

16

Hi, im on 75mg once per day, slow release for last two weeks and in main feel very tired and if anything more "down".

Here's hoping things get better.

I switched to these from trying two different SSRI's but their side effects were too bad, at least side effects with these seem less, for me anyway

17

Hello,

I know exactly what you mean. I too feel more down & so so tired.

What have you tried in the past?

I really do hope this one works for us both x

18

was on venlafxine for about 10 years with varrying results, but with hindsight,mostly good. At Xmas i managed to convince my gp to let me try something else to see if i could get permanent better results, he agreed, at tried Prozac for 6 weeks, then citalopram for 10, both gave me terrible side effects, so he has suggested to go back to the ven, started week past friday on 75mg slow release, hope they kick in again as the time since i started the SSRi's has been hellish!