I’m sorry I keep posting but I’m scared. I just want to feel better. 225mg gave me some relief but not enough so increased to 300mgs. Now I’m tired, low and anxious. It’s been 3 weeks on 300mgs. Do you think I should give the increase longer?
im going through the same with anxiety. i think you need the increase. can you go to your doctor, to see if you can have a low dose of diazepam for 2 weeks, to get you through the initial anxiety from the increase? alternatively, drop to 267.5mg, or back down to 225mg, then wait and see how you feel, and try 267.5 again in future. best to speak to your doctor. i think the diazepam option would work best.
im going through the same with anxiety. i think you need the increase. can you go to your doctor, to see if you can have a low dose of diazepam for 2 weeks, to get you through the initial anxiety from the increase? alternatively, drop to 267.5mg, or back down to 225mg, then wait and see how you feel, and try 267.5 again in future. best to speak to your doctor. i think the diazepam option would work best.
the initial higher anxiety should start to drop in a couple of weeks. if it gets unbearable, then drop. you do need to speak to your doctor for best advice
I don't think any of these medications work. in my opinion counselling is the best avenue to pursue
thanks nigel. i spoke to pysch who said to persevere if i can as last increase took 8 weeks before i felt slightly better, but he said if its unbearable to let him know. i have a few valium so will take them when anxiety spikes. im just worried incase the increase doesnt help. as im still feeling low and lost my interest and drive since the increase plus im constantly tired. i guess this is side effects? and i need to give it chance to settle? how are you doing today? any better? hows your mood?
hello, yes, your pysch is right. i just posted something on another thread, that might help explain things. still finding it difficult after increase. just have to wait
i read your other reply and it makes alot of sense what you say. and patience is sure running thin. i know your anxiety is up like mine but i wad wondering how your mood is? do you have energy and interest? as im struggling with those right now and alway feel flat and tired. i have to lay down most afternoons. im nearly 3.5weeks on ven. do you think im adjusting and once it kicks in i will feel better? im scared 300mg is to much and i should go back to 225mgs but for now i will persevere.
you did your increase to 300 much sooner than i did. i think you would have felt better sooner by staying on 225mg, but that you would have been delaying the inevitable move to 300mg. youve done it now, so no point in dropping back to 225mg, unless you cant tolerate it. my mood is okay at the momemt, not great. it was better during periods on 225, but as time went on, my mood very slowly dropped, although it also became stable. i made good but safe use of diazepam, throughout diazepam, which meant although extremely depressed, i wssnt that anxious. with your increase to 300, your mood should improve over the next 3 or 4 weeks. signs of anxiety dropping will come first
thanks nigel. its just weird as at about 8 weeks on 225mg i started pushing myself more, i had some interest in things back and started not napping in the day. then pysch increased and ive gone backwards. lost interest, feel tired and foggy all the time. and back to napping in the afternoon. thats why i keep thinking should i reduce back or will i start improving if i stay on 300mgs longer. what would you do? how are you today?
that improvement on 225mg, was encouraging, especially coming from you. it might have been better to have stayed at 225 for longer. having gone up, i wouldnt go back down, because youve already changed your brain chemistry for want of better words. if you drop, i dont think you will quickly go back to your previous better state. my anxiety is now coming down, so i know im going to feel better in a few weeks. the same happend when i went to 225mg. after a few weeks on 225, my anxiety was really bad, came so close to dropping. went on to have 10 good weeks. the increase has set you back, but long term, you should be better for it. on sunday after 2 weeks of continual anxiety increases, felt id over done it, and i should go back down. due to it happening before, stuck with it, and its falling. i know it will take another 2 weeks, to come back down, its so slow, before i start to feel better. right now, im tired and a little out of it. with your improvements at 225, you just have to wait, to settle back down
thankyou for your reasurance nigel. im sorry i keep asking but this struggle hasneen going on a long time. to feel a couple of weeks small improvments to then go backwards feels scary. i guess also my anxiety is up so makes the worrying worse! i will hold tight a few more weeks and hope for improvements. the anxiety doesnt feel like real anxiety with palpitations and butterflies. it feels more like stress, tense muscles and worried. i also feel tired and out of it. you have helped reassure me so thankyou. i get very panicked and keep thinking i want to feel improvements like i did on 225, then question the increase. so sorry i panic and ask, its all very scary to me.
what you are experiencing is exactly what i am now, and what happened at 225mg. dose increases mean 1 step back for 4 or so weeks, then 2 forwards. you would have been worried about it going too slowly if you hadnt. my anxiety has very slowly started to come down, so on track for improvements in a few weeks, same for yourself. it was lois on the citalopram forum that told me not to go down at 225, which i almost did. glad i didnt, as it would have wasted time, again same for you.
im glad its not just me experiencing this nigel. im also feeling very irritated! i had to ring my pysch today and told his i feel worse on 300mgs. i said i felt irritable, no interest and more tense. he said i could give it longer or drop back he was happy for me to do either. but the comment that really worried me was these medications normally work withing a few weeks! which maybe they do for some but ive read alot of people saying they took longer! and i felt no benefit from 225mgs until 8 weeks. im going to give it a bit longer but his comment really threw me. how are you today?
hello, the trouble with pyscs and doctors, is they have no personal experience. also, for the marjority of people, they respond a lot quicker. because the manorities depression isnt as bad. theres a generalisation that anti depressants work in 6 to 8 weeks. this probably came about from the older types, which are quicker acting, and again, most peoples states are not as bad. ive been on ven for 5 months, its taken me 4 weeks to get over increase, and im not fully over it, let alone start to improve. youve been on it 3 months, and have increased a lot quicker. i dont think you should go down, as you have already changed the chemical make up in your mind from increasing, dropping now, will take some time to get to your pre increase state. also, you arent going to be happy with how you will be doing on 225mg. i could be wrong, but your state and my own were similar to start with. if the anxiety is unbearable, then go back down. your pysc saying you can do either, is similar to what im saying. either option is okay, its what you can cope with best. this last week ive found it more difficult speaking to friends and family again. im not worried about the last shitty 4 weeks, it happend before. just something you have to go through with an increase. you arent going to suddenly feel better. what you are looking for is your anxiety to stop getting worse, and to very slowly start to go down.
just wanted to add. a mood improvement is unlikely to be the first sign its working. you are looking for your anxiety to stop increasing, and day by day, start to drop. thats the first sign you are getting over the increase.
your right nigel pyschs havent experienced it and therefore tell you textbook answers. when i know myself and others have taken alot longer than 4-6 weeks to get better. i really shouldnt take on board what these drs say as it makes me worry more. on 225mgs i had a severe tension headache until week 7, then it just went! then about week 8-9 my mood improved slightly so i could push myself to do more and even felt positive emotions for first time in a long time. if i had listened to drs advise of 4-6 weeks i would have never knew the headache would go and i would improve slightly. thats what makes me keep wanting to give 300mgs longer but at the same time want to go back to the slight improvement on 225mgs. my parents also think i should persevere otherwise id never know if 300mgs helped or not?! also thst if it doesnt i can reduce back down and stabilise on 225mgs then. ive been just the same nigel, not wanting to talk to anyone and feeling very irritable. ive lost interest in painting which i started to enjoy again, also i started going to the gym on 225mgs and now i drag myself kicking and screaming. my mind is constantly occupied with how i feel which again that reduced on 225mgs. im sure as you have said that the increase in anxiety has made me feel worse and tense. im nearly 4 weeks so maybe if i give it until 6-8 weeks i will know i tried and by then hopefully the anxiety will have died down. hows your energy and motivation? are you ever tired? im very tired all day but push myself to do things. although some days i need to have an afternoon nap.
you are thinking rationally. any side effect is due to increase anxiety. once your anxiety comes down, the side effects go. you dont have anything to worry about, the improvements on 225 show ven works on you. if youd waited another month, going up may have been easier. then again it might not. i stsyed on 225 for 10 weeks, feeling mostly good, yet i still reacted badly to the increase. you cant go down any way, it will take as long to feel like you did, as it will waiting for new dose to work. only reason to go down, is if becomes intolerable. my moods been slightly worse this week, with anxiety coming down, but picked up today. was able to talk to friends and family today, when most of this last week i didnt. when your anxiety starts dropping, your mood will drop sligjtly for a week or so, then it will steadily pick up. its the switch from anxiety to depressiin back to anxiety back to depression. each time its not so bad, until it levels out. look out for feeling less tense.
im trying yo think rationally but its hard when your anxiety is high. ive had an awful day, crying alot as i feel like ive gone backwards. im permently exhausted and got foggy head. also worried and tense. im fighting with this increase and keep thinking of reducing but im trying to hang in longer. how are you today? is your anxiety still coming down?
Hi Vicky sorry to hear your anxiety is still very high. I can sympothise. I'm now 8 weeks on venlafaxine on 18th and have been great all week! Each day feeling an improvement. Still get a little irritable but anxiety gone and mood quite good. Giving myself another few weeks and hopefully can start to look for work. I'm just apprehensive it will come back but trying to push that out of my mind. Take care x