Venlafaxine

Treatment and medication
1

Hi, I've had a year of severe depression and have been on venlafaxine 75 for 8 weeks and 150 for 6 weeks. The 75 didn't do a thing but ever since I went to 150 I feel drugged, I can do things that need doing like work but when I sit down I just want to sleep. I'm also on concerta and take Modifanil for tiredness, neither of these are helping. My mood is still low and I have a 'can't be bothered ' attitude to everything

2

Hi Geraldine,

Maybe talk to your doc about getting on a stabilizer med with the ven. Like Abilify or wellbutrin. Or you may need a totally different depression med all together. Hope this helps!

3

Thanks for replying. I was on venlafaxine for about 20 years until last year when my GP mistakenly did a taper to Sertraline. It was a nightmare and I haven't feel right since. The GP keeps saying Venlafaxine is ok for me as I was on it but it was only when I came off I realised how tired and unmotivated it had made me. I hate myself for going back on. In the uk docs will not prescribe two AD's. I saw a psychiatrist who increased me to 150 and said she didn't need to see me again. Would 225 ease the tiredness or do you think I need to lower the dose? Thanks

4

Hi Geraldine.

Depression and tiredness go hand-in-hand. The unhappier you are the more the need for sleep.

It's exhausting I know..

5

I just feel like it's a 'drugged' tiredness if that makes sense. I'm so fed up, I've had a year of been handed a new prescription and told to come back in a month. Not sure if going up to 225 will lift my mood or it will be another 2 months wasted. It's so frustrating

6

I am in the UK and the psychiatrist gave me venlafaxine (225mg) with mirtazapine (30mg) and the combination has been very successful for me. I also have had very few side-effects, but I do appreciate how lucky I am!

7

I was surprised when the psychiatrist said she wouldn't need to see me again. My GP said there's nothing else to try which isn't what I want to hear!

8

Sad thing is we are governed by what our doctors tell us.

I've come to the realisation antidepressants have stopped working for me now. I need to find other solutions to help lift my mood. Small steps.. Diet and exercise for one thing. Ridding the negative out of my life. X

9

Perhaps you can go back to your GP with some recommendations from people on the forum. I know how frustrating and disheartening it can be trying to pull yourself out of depression. I've also had counselling and CBT which has helped. It's enabled me to find my own coping mechanisms, but I know I wouldn't have been able to it without the medication.

10

I've had about 6 weeks of psychotherapy which I hate as he doesn't speak. He's been off sick since beginning of August and I'm so glad! My current mood is that I don't want to do anything and just don't care.

11

Up to a year ago I exercised about 5 nights a week. Haven't done a thing this year but don't have the energy or the will. I feel as though I'm waiting to die

12

I know that feeling. I get up each morning because of my children. It's a big world out there and it's to be lived. We have to find a reason to smile. Being around the right people help. Not those who suck your energy or have little knowledge of who you are as a person.

13

My sons are my only reason I'm here but they're all in their 20's and will eventually leave home. I've been avoiding people for a year, at work I'm fine but apt to disappear inside my own bubble, at home I'm alone all the time but have no wish to see people

14

It's easier to disassociate yourself with others in order to protect yourself. I'm the first to prefer my own company. But I will go to a coffee shop and flick through the paper. Another temptation is to get a dog. Then I'd have to go out! But with three cats it's not going to happen.

What happens when your work colleagues ask you to join them on a night out? X

15

I always decline! I've been like this since my mum died 5 years ago but I still managed to go to exercise classes, that's stopped now, it's like I'm fading away

16

9 cats here, a dog wouldn't stand a chance lol

17

Losing your mum must have been the worst thing ever. I'm so sorry for that. Did you do a lot with her?

My mum hasn't always been the best influence.

18

Yes we were close, I was a single parent and she helped me so much. I lost my dad at 12 as well x

19

So you have every reason to feel sad. Your loss is palpable.

But Geraldine you have your beautiful boys and they want to see their mum happy not full of sadness. Let them be your reason to live.

💖

20

They've got their own lives now, I'm not needed x