been on 225 mg venlafaxine but have been going up and down at the moment very down
has any one been on venlafaxine and another antidepresent at the same time
if i go to dr and tell him i wish to come off venlafaxine and try another anti depresent do i have to totaly come of venlafaxine before getting another antidepresent
Hi Tony. I have been taking 300 mg venlafaxine and 15 mg mirtazapine since July 2015 and they work great for me. You may react differently to the meds than I do, but I now have my life back. Keep in touch and take care.
Hi Tony how long have you been on the meds. If it's been a long time they may have stopped working. This is why most go off. And I believe u can be on two depression meds at same time. Whatever the doctor does say please do not go cold turkey off the effexor. I should of known better being almost 50. I was on 300mg for 10plus years. I went cold turkey. She did replace it with 35mg of cymbalta. I have been sick for months and have horrible swelling and nerve pain. She then took me off cymbalta. I almost had a nervous breakdown. Back on a higher dosage of cymbalta mentally I'm better physically I'm horrible. Theycsnt figure out what is wrong. Of course the psych Nurse practitioner said it has nothing to do with the effexor. However she did not remember I was on 300 mg. She actually said to me phi did not "titrate"you. Yes really so I'm finding a new psych doctor. Carpel tunnel is so bad at all hours can't sleep or drive. Going for an emg test. I hope u start feeling better call your doctor right away. This is an awful illness. Take care
Hi Tony
Sorry your combo isn't working too well. Like Phyllis, I'm on a combo and feeling great. It did take some time getting the right dose but for me 75 of venlafaxine and 15mg of mirtazipine has made me well after having treatment resistant depression.
It may be worth asking your gp to review your meds/dosage.
Wishing you well xx
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I know exactly how you feel I started venlafaxine 75mg for anxiety and depression on the 12/5/17 and from the start I had the most awful side effects the doc doubled the dose to 150 mg after three weeks and told me to persevere as this was a very good antidepressant I must say it did help me sleep but I was in a very dark place mentally and the panic attacks I had were awful two weeks ago doc increased the dose by 37.5 which meant I was now taking 185.5 mg again I was told to persevere , I was okay in the security of my own home with familiar surroundings , but we had planned to go on a cruise , which we had to cancel due to the severe anxiety and very low mood , we decided to go away for five days to see how I would get on , I had to leave the shops as I just could not cope with the panic and eventually we came home after four days it was a living hell . I have not taken anymore venlafaxine since Thursday when I just took 150 mg , I have had no withdrawal symptoms and I feel an awful lot better , I go back to my GP next Friday so will see what she says , I know that venlafaxine is a SNRI drug and you have to wait a few days until it's out of your system before commencing SSRI but I have read on this site that you can have Fluoxetine as a bridging tablet if you are changing antidepressants , I do hope you will be okay .
HI Cathrine, since you have not been on it for very long you may not have side effects. It did work for me but it stops working after a prolonged period of time. If you don't mind me asking what were you on prior to this. Your anxiety seems debilitating were u can't go into stores. Mine was more I worried that something would happen to my children and have a panic attack. I highly recommend
A psych doctor. I need to take my own advice I saw a nurse practitioner psych and she screwed me up bad. I never had there problems before stoping abruptly 300 mg effexor. Never. It's hard to drive and text lol and sleep. I am a manager at a school cafeteria so I have two more days to get through. Please let me know what you decide to go on. Take care.
Thank you very much Denise I really appreciate you taking the time to reply . I hadn't been taking any antidepressants at all for about three years , but I was taking the odd 2mg of diazepam now and again when I felt stressed at work ( I am part of a management team of four in a care home ) we have had a terrible two years of constant stress between work and home , we were five months without a care home manager and a year with no admin and all the work fell on the three of us , two full time workers and one part time , looking back it was a nightmare 76 staff 38 residents and none of us qualified to do payroll we managed with help from HR but the stress was awful , we got a new manager 6 months ago and things were much better but then all of a sudden I just could not cope , panic after panic , the fight or flight syndrome, I couldn't think straight or remember people's names it was a nightmare , I went to the doc and she put me on Lofepramine !! Well I lasted a week on that as the anxiety was worse then she put me on venlafaxine , I was on venlafaxine for four days when I had to leave work with the panic , it's like a terrible fear of the unknown and I had this years ago , I'm glad you said I probably would not have withdrawals as I haven't been on venlafaxine very long , I don't know what the next step will be Denise but I have an appointment with the Psychiatrist in July the first time ever in my life and I'm 65 so will wait and see what the doc says on Friday , thanks
Hi oh good I'm glad you go on July, do research make sure it's a good one. What really stinks is I'm speaking for mass. Is the really good ones take no insurance or a very select plan. I pay 320 for a 40 minute visit for my son once a month. He has a mood disorder he wanted to kill himself at nine so I scrape up the money every month. I'm afraid if he went to my lady she could of killed him. She could of killed me. I'm just telling you this is because I wish I did my research on her first. Hopefully the GP can give you something for panic attacks to hold you over.
Thank you Denise I'm going to ask for more diazepam from my GP next week , and this Psychiatrist comes highly recommended by my Gp who herself has had depression in the past , I hope your son gets better, that in itself is a great worry for you and can cause so much stress , take care and I will let you know how I get in with my GP on Friday .
Ok please do.
Hi Tony,
i was on venlafaxine 225mg for 7 years and came off it cold turkey last July.
it made me numb, in every sense. I couldn't "feel" anything. Happiness or sadness. The worst side effect was the constipation. I could go 3 weeks without going to the toilet. I could only go with the use of laxatives.
when I came off it, I went through hell. It was awful. The brain zaps were the worst.
i was ok for about 3-4 months, but I then went downhill very badly. I was full of anger, not something I'd experienced before. I could have literally killed someone. It was bad, very bad.
i rang the mental health crisis team one day, after trying to take my life with pills.
i am now on 4 meds.
Sertraline, quetiapine, pregabolim and Zolpidem.
i feel ok. But not good. The sleeping tablets are the best thing ever. I look forward to going to bed every day. It's the only thing I think about. That oblivion of sleep.
when I asked my psychiatrist about venlafaxine and going back on it, she was very reluctant to re prescribe it. That says a lot about that medication. It's not good. And I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
hope that helps.
i can envision a lot of medical malpractice cases involving venlafaxine.
liz
So sorry Liz I meant glad you are ok now. This an awful thing to live with. Take care of yourself and thank you
My deprssion was treatment resistant too. My psychiatrist hospitalized me for 8 days to monitor my progress until he found the drugs and dosages that worked for me.
So glad you are feeling better Phyllis. Have you gained any weight? I have put on 28lbs!
I gained a few about 25 pounds and have now lost about 5 pounds of the extra weight. My appetite has seems to have settled down a bit now and I'm trying to lise another 10 to 15 pounds.
Wow that is great. I struggle to lose a single 1lb! I need to try harder as you are proof that it's achievable ♥♥♥
Hi. Just to add further info. I put on 28lbs on venlafaxine and no matter what I did I couldn't lose it. That in itself made me depressed and is o e of the reasons I came off it. No diet or exercise helped at all. It was as if my body had completely slowed down in every way.
Since coming off it, I've lost all the weight, and more, without trying. So I def think the venkafaxine was the cause.
When I went back on meds, sertraline to start, my anxiety went through the roof. I couldn't leave the house at all. I was convinced something bad would happen. So I was prescribed diazepam, which to be honest didn't make much difference. And the doctor only let me have it for 2 weeks because it's so addictive. I've now been given pregabolim instead, which has helped enormously.
I am sure everyone is different and people react to diff sets of meds. But my combination is working for me now. I feel more alert than when I was on venlafaxine and more alive, if that makes sense?
Still have bad days but I'm getting there.
Hope this helps
Liz x