from citalopram to venlafaxine, good stories please!!!

[pinkdove]

hi girls, lauz it has been 3 weeks today sice the increase, so hopefully its a blip, just felt so normal on sunday, but feeling a bit better as the day goes on, hope you are better today xx

laura, this is the second time for me seeing the pysciatrist stopped in august last year then asked to be reffered again, the forst time it was about 2 weeks, and this time only 1 week so that was quite good really.

i think you are right to make a 20min appt, it might be that they need a bit more time, but best to get that advice from your gp, if you are unhappy with the way you are going, its worth asking for a referral, really hope you feel better soon laura xx

[nicola1980]

Hi guys, sorry your having a bad day pinkdove im increasing my dose on thurs to 75mg in the morning and 37.5mg at night xx

[pinkdove]

morning, well this is the third day in a row where i feel a bit low again, managing to try and keep busy, and distract myself, but i have to say i am a bit dissapointed as i was doing so well, i know we have up's and down's but i thought i had past that.
maybe i need a dose increase on monday.....if that's whats needed i will do it, just want to be back to normal.

nicola i know you are increasing tonight, so good luck with that, im sure you will be fine, but all in all you sound a bit better just now

hope you have a good day xx

[nicola1980]

Morning Pinkdove and other ven buddies, sorry your feeling low again pinkdove im sure its just a blip but they knock your confidence and scare you well ive decided to take the higher dose of ven at night so ive got a full stomach as struggle to eat in the mornings! The physchatrist did say i could do the extra am or pm it didnt matter so im going the pm route! X x

[pinkdove]

morning nicola, yea it has knocked my confidence for me in total it has been over 18 months and i am really fed up with it now, i do think the meds will work, i have to stay positive, because i've seen some positive results, it can be hard tho.

it sounds like a good idea to take the higher dose at night if you find it hard to eat in the morning, then when you take it you dont have too much time to dwell on it, hope you find it helpfull.

i think the ven has helped the anxiety, but is taking longer to work on my low mood so up and down xx

[Pipkin]

Hi all,

Sorry to hear you're having a rough time. Generally, I'm still feeling ok though I'm getting anxious at the minute about stupid things. This is fairly typical of me and I didn't expect this to disappear due to the meds. I'm definitely better than I was before but it's showing me that the only real way to beat this is with determination. The meds do their bit but the rest is up to me.

What frustrates me is that I know I'm being illogical (and I consider myself to be a very logical person) but I can't seem to apply the logic sometimes. I know there are some things which I actually should worry about but I don't.

What's left at the moment is this awful feeling of impending doom. It doesn't help that I'm not sleeping very well at the moment so I'm totally knackered!

Anyway, being the positive person that I am, I know things are ok generally and I'm not about the roll over just yet. I'm certainly not going to change my meds or the dose. I'm just going to give myself a good talking to.

Take care and keep posting

Pip x

= what I look like at the moment trying to keep myself awake!

[pinkdove]

hi pip, yes i agree, the meds can only do so much, i am just so frustrated that i was feeling so well, and now feel like i am on a downwards spiral, of course it will be a blip, and i know i have to accept that, it has only been 3 weeks on the increased dose, and 7 weeks in total on the ven, so i know it is still early days.

i think i will take on board what you say about sticking to the meds, not increasing, and having the determination to get better, good advice, i haven't done much this last couple of days, so that wont help.

for me i find this hard as i was a very busy confident person, and just want to be that person again....sorry for the poor me post, just the way i'm feeling today.

hope you all have a good day xx

[Pipkin]

Pink,

There's no such a thing as a poor me post in my eyes. You just tell it like it is to us as you know we'll understand. That's what this forum is all about. I'm a really positive person despite my anxiety and I always think that tomorrow will be better. At the same time, I need to be honest with myself and others when I'm struggling and I really appreciate the support I get here when I express this. It's something I definitely can't do at work and there's only so much a partner can take, especially when anxiety can seem so alien to those who don't suffer from it.

When I said in my previous post that I was going to give myself a talking to, I meant it. Ridiculous as this might sound, I describe how I'm feeling to myself and then reply as if it were someone else telling me, like in posts on here. That way, I seem to be able to see solutions more easily and I talk a bit of sense into myself. Seems to work sometimes, just not when my anxiety gets really bad because then I struggle to think straight.

When things get really bad and I have a severe anxiety attack, the only way I can calm myself down is by remembering things in a sequence, like a series of books I've read and what happens in them. This seems to slow my brain down and helps me to stop the physical symptoms. I know it's all mind over matter and most of the time I'm strong enough to control it.

Anyway, I did give myself a telling off after lunch today as I think I might have been verging on self-pity which I don't allow in myself. There are so many positive things in my life compared to other people and, now and again, I need reminding of them.

I hope all my ven buddies are doing ok and apologies for the long and somewhat rambling post. As I said, I really appreciate your support. It's great to know you understand first hand.

Take care

Pip xx

[nicola1980]

Well ive just took my increased dose gulp!! Really worked myself up today about it and now just relieved ive took it! Hoping it doesnt heighten my anxiety! X x

---------- Post added at 18:50 ---------- Previous post was at 18:49 ----------

Wheres kate? Hope shes ok x x

[pinkdove]

Pink,

There's no such a thing as a poor me post in my eyes. You just tell it like it is to us as you know we'll understand. That's what this forum is all about. I'm a really positive person despite my anxiety and I always think that tomorrow will be better. At the same time, I need to be honest with myself and others when I'm struggling and I really appreciate the support I get here when I express this. It's something I definitely can't do at work and there's only so much a partner can take, especially when anxiety can seem so alien to those who don't suffer from it.

When I said in my previous post that I was going to give myself a talking to, I meant it. Ridiculous as this might sound, I describe how I'm feeling to myself and then reply as if it were someone else telling me, like in posts on here. That way, I seem to be able to see solutions more easily and I talk a bit of sense into myself. Seems to work sometimes, just not when my anxiety gets really bad because then I struggle to think straight.

When things get really bad and I have a severe anxiety attack, the only way I can calm myself down is by remembering things in a sequence, like a series of books I've read and what happens in them. This seems to slow my brain down and helps me to stop the physical symptoms. I know it's all mind over matter and most of the time I'm strong enough to control it.

Anyway, I did give myself a telling off after lunch today as I think I might have been verging on self-pity which I don't allow in myself. There are so many positive things in my life compared to other people and, now and again, I need reminding of them.

I hope all my ven buddies are doing ok and apologies for the long and somewhat rambling post. As I said, I really appreciate your support. It's great to know you understand first hand.

Take care

Pip xx

Thaks pip, that makes a lot of sense , i will give myself a good talking too its odd but i feel better now, nights are always the best for me, i will be so optimistic now glass half full, and tomorrow WILL be better, hope you are feeling better too xx

nicola hope the increase works for you xx

and kate if you are reading at all, let us know how you are hun xx