Hi Guys, a strange thing is happening.......

[Redwatches]

Hi Guys, a strange thing is happening.


Following on from my earlier post, https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showth...e-of-questions I started on 75mg for 4 weeks and then I’ve been on 150mg for the past 6 weeks.


Besides the initial sides effects, once it “kicked in” it was really really helping. I was back to “normal”, depression and anxiety really reduced and really motivated to get on with life - basically it was great!


But from Monday, this week, it seems that I’m going back to how it was before I was taking Effexor.


Exhaustion has returned, motivation really reduced and starting to get depressed and anxious.


Has this happened to anyone else and if so what’s the answer?


Thanks

[panic_down_under]

I started on 75mg for 4 weeks and then I’ve been on 150mg for the past 6 weeks.

...But from Monday, this week, it seems that I’m going back to how it was before I was taking Effexor.Exhaustion has returned, motivation really reduced and starting to get depressed and anxious.

It is perhaps a little too early to draw any firm conclusions. It might be a temporary glitch, an indication you need a higher dose, or that venlafaxine isn't the right med for you.

At how many weeks did it kick-in?

[Redwatches]

About the 3rd week while on 75mg, but improved when I went onto 150mg though, as I've said, seems to less effective this week.

Thanks

M

[panic_down_under]

Three weeks is earlier than the norm and suggests the initial improvement may have owed more to the placebo effect than the AD. Whether this is also true of the improvement after the dose increase to 150mg I can't say. If the loss of effectiveness continues beyond 7-10 days I think you'll need to discuss your options - upping the dose or switching to something else - with your psychiatrist.

As with everything about ADs there are no guarantees, but 150mg is still a modest dose. Venlafaxine only begins to inhibit noradrenaline, aka norepinephrine, reuptake at doses of around 200mg plus, albeit still only weakly, and the recommended maximum dose is 375mg/day. Some, e.g. me, require high AD doses to achieve a good outcome.

Have you been on ADs in the past? If so, which ones and how long ago?

[Redwatches]

Apologies, I should have added that I was on Citalopram for 3 weeks (@ 10mg) before switching to Venlafaxine.

Yes, I have been on ADs before - Sertraline @ 100mg about 2 years ago.

As far as Ven, I suppose if I say that before taking any ADs I was at 0 out of 10 (10 being "yup, everything is good, lets get on with life!" and 0 being the total opposite) 75 mg took me to, say, 4 and 150 took me to 9, but recently I've dropped back to 6.

[panic_down_under]

Yes, I have been on ADs before - Sertraline @ 100mg about 2 years ago.

ADs can take longer to kick-in and may require a higher dose too if one has been taken before which may be why venlafaxine is taking its time.

Did you have good results from sertraline and how long were you on it?

and 150 took me to 9, but recently I've dropped back to 6.

Is it holding at 6, or sliding back to zero?

[Redwatches]

Sertraline worked well, but I wasn't facing the same "challenges" as I am now :-(

I tried to go back onto Sertraline before Citalopram & Venlafaxine but it didn't seem to work, hence trying Cit. & Ven.

Holding steady(ish) at 6.

[panic_down_under]

Sertraline worked well, but I wasn't facing the same "challenges" as I am now

How so? What's different this time?

I tried to go back onto Sertraline before Citalopram & Venlafaxine but it didn't seem to work, hence trying Cit. & Ven.

What was the maximum sertraline dose taken and how long were you on it before switching to citalopram?

Holding steady(ish) at 6.

That's good.