I was diagnosed with ADHD some 25 years ago and several years ago discovered low serotonin levels after extensive blood work. My Dr gave me Zoloft and it worked great for 6 years. Slept like a baby! Then it stopped working and I went through a couple of hellish months until a specialist prescribed Venflaxine.
I Recently went back to school for my mba and it has been a Nightmare and I'm wondering if this new drug is amplifying my poor concentration and also if it is increasing the obcessiveness associated with ADD.
Have any of you experienced poor concentration and/or obcessiveness?
And do any of you also have the added challenge of ADD or ADHD?
Looking forward to reading your responses. 😀
Poor concentration can be due to ven but also due to the anxiety of new responsibilities now that you are back at school for your mba. I have had some concentration issues in the early stages of ven therapy. Then it evened out after a few months. But i do not have ADD or ADHD so not sure how helpful that is for you. How long have you been on venlafaxine? And, if you want to share, what dosage? All the best.
Yes and yes to poor concentration and obsessiveness on ven. How long have you been on it?
Just a note: there is no way to test serotonin levels in a living brain. Blood work shows circulating serotonin in the blood, and 90% of our serotonin exists outside the brain. It is a leap to infer that levels outside the brain directly correlate to levels inside. Also, these drugs artificially increase the level in the gap between nerves, but this artificial increase only lasts as long as it takes the brain to push back by dysregulation to restore homeostasis. It is believed that this process happens within the first couple of months of being on the drug. It is this remodeling that causes withdrawal syndrome when the drug is abruptly withdrawan.
I definitely developed concentration/memory issues on Effexor, which got way worse when I came off too quickly. Because I didn't experience blatant withdrawal symptoms up front, I didn't make the connection and actually went to be testing for ADD because I had racing thoughts, forgot what I was doing mid-way to doing it, etc.
Hello Betsy, thanks for your reply. I've been trying to find this kind of infromation, your explanation of what these drugs specifically do in the brain, for a long time. Can you point me to your sources? I would love to read and learn more!
Since first posting this, my sleep quality has gotten poor. I dont think my brain likes Effexor. Purlpledoberman, I'm currently taking 175 XR at bed with 1 ativan.
There has to be a better solution to my insomnia than anti-depressants. I've tried many of the "natural" remedies with poor result, including Meletonin, which makes me hyper instead of sleepy.
I"m now trying light therapy, gradually dimming lights before bed and trying different colors. That seems to get me to sleep, but staying asleep is another thing.
I will continue to research it and try different things. I find one has to be proactive about their own health and after doing the research my Dr. is then helpful. But if I go in with my "complaints", I'm more than likely given a quick fix.
Thanks for your feedback, both of you. Very helpful.
Effexor may not the best solution for insomnia or disturbed sleep cycles because it really messes with your sleep cycle at least in the beginning. Since you are on 175XR I would assume you have been on it for a few months already in total? Ativan is crap in my experience. Might as well not have taken anything for all the 'help' it offered. I giggled a lot on ativan but sleep never really came 
Xanax worked on me after about a week of steady doses and once i was adjusted on Effexor i did not need any help and weaned. However I did not have trouble sleeping or staying asleep before being put on effexor. neither did i have any such trouble after adjusting (after 3 months of starting it). Good luck.
I'll send you some links, culturalchristy