Hello All,
Firstly im shocked to see how many people take and feel the need to comment on venlafaxine so I might as well add my 10 cents!
im 23 and ive suffered from depression for around 5/6 years and have only ever taken venlafaxine. The main side effects that ive experienced are:
Sweating - only usually in situations where you would sweat anyway, but definitely a hell of alot worse!
Memory Loss - oh my god! I didn't realise this was a common side effect til I found this site. What a weight off my soliders. I thought I was losing my mind. Its quite good though cause I can watch a film and then enjoy it again a few weeks later!
Hair Thinning - Anyone else? I know this could be down to stress and im pretty sure its not normal male baldness! but the sides of my hair are so thin now!
Dreams - goodness me I have some of the weirdest dreams!
Before I found this site I was unaware of typical doses and it seems I take less than a majority of people. I am only prescribed 37.5mgs and at the moment I am changing on a daily basis from 1 tablet to half a tablet so im only taking 18.75>37.5>18.75 and so on, in the past I think I was taking 75 maybe a little more each day. Dont let this fool you my depression was literally numbingly bad to begin with, I was bed ridden for a couple of months and found it hard to even speak to family members.
From all of your expeiences is this a low dose to be taking? I still feel stressed but also feel I may be able to manage it now without the medication so am trying to slowly lower my dose further.
I am worried about the side effects of stopping and in the past when I have some how missed a dose like other people here have mentioned I have experienced some of them, mainly the \"turn your head and your brain flows a second later\" effect.
I will try and keep you updated on how coming off goes for me!
If anyone reading this has managed to completely stop taking venlafaxine in the past, if your memory was bad whilst taking the medicine did you experience any improvement after stopping
Thanks Alot, Good to know im not alone
Hi
Yes you are taking a low dose compared to lots of people (in the uK the max dose is 375mg and in the US it's even higher), but different people require different amounts so the dose isn't really important. Also, it depends on the type of depression you had - at low doses venlafaxine can act as a good anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) which can be enough to resolve some people's depression.
The withdrawl symtoms can be horrible and some docs recommend an even slower reduction than yours, but play it by ear and watch out for any warning signs for you (ie. symptoms that tell you you might be getting depressed again).
As a psychiatrist who also takes venlafaxine i can understand both your wish to 'try without it' and also the view of many professionals of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'! Do what feels right and keep an open mind about the outcome, don't judge or berate yourself if you need the medication to feel well, you have the right to feel well if you can!
Good luck!
Hi
I am currently on 150mg a day. I've been taking this dose for about 3 months. I had really bad depression over the summer and have been making a recovery and I am beginning to feel like my old self. I still can't read or think too deeply though, which I find frustrating.
On my last visit to the GP, I was describing that I still find that I have implusive silly ideas, nothing like comitting suicide (well not directly). It is things like, smoking weed, or running through the streets naked or injecting myself with heroin. I am not a person who has ever (and I mean ever, not even tabacco) taken any form of illegal drugs. I have not been able to find anything on the internet to describe these silly ideas or is this an aspect of my depression? When I was very ill I did have very complusive ideas and did carry them through, which was very stupid and could have been the end.
Does anyone else share any of these complusive ideas? 90% of the time I am fine and do find this a little worrying and I know that I never would do anything completely stupid, but the thoughts do worry me.
Should I really see someone and talk this through, rather than pumping myself with more drugs?!!?
Thanks for reading
thanks for the replies.
Jenny id definitely speak to a Doctor, maybe you need to change medication. I have impulsive thoughts now and then but nothing damaging and I was quite an impulsive person before I was \"ill\" anyway.
Also your concentration hopefully will get better soon. I remember when I couldn't watch tv/read/listen to music and it was horrible. My concentration and memory still arent right but they dont get in the way of anything now!
I guess the main reasons I want to completely stop taking it are so I high I can live without it (I was convinced for along time I'd never stop taking it) and also its just a real annoyance. At the moment if I lost my bag at the start of a 2 week holiday for example I have no idea if I'd survive it or how my mental state would be at the end. Basically it's just a burden
I changed almost immediately after writing my first post to only half a 37.5g tablet a day (18.75) and so far its ok, the only side effects/withdrawal I've experienced is that im finding it harder to sleep and at times I'm feeling more stressed than before, on the positive I feel slightly more human and am experiencing more natural highs.
Right now i'm feeling like I could do with another tablet but I'm going to try and stick it out!