View Full Version : Venlafaxine (Effexor)
This is a continuation of my other thread about Paroxetine and coming off it:
http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17243
A nightmare coming off that stuff but I'm over the worst of it now and have started on this. I guess this thread is more for my benefit, a kind of diary of how I'm feeling on it.
I started on 37.5mg in the mornings last thursday. It didn't seem to be doing anything at that dose except eliminating some of the withdrawal symptoms I had coming off paroxetine. Still getting the odd muscle / nerve shock type thing, but only very occasionally. The deep depression I went into after stopping paroxetine has lifted slightly I think over the last few days. My modd still swings rapidly all over the place tho.
My psychiatrist wants me on 150mgs eventually, so my GP increased it today. Now I'm taking a second tablet in the evening, so 75mgs in total a day now.
I took it at 8pm and I'm definately feeling something from it now. A kind of weird hyper yet drowsey feeling together, hard to explain. A bit like the feeling you get after you downed a shot of strong spirits but it hasn't hit you yet, lol. :madness: :wacko: :blink: :emot-sleepyhead: I can only describe it as 'weird', slightly similar to how I felt when starting some of the other SSRI's like paroxetine / citalopram but different somehow.
I feel quite detached and everything seems very unreal and dream like, a kind of out of body feeling. Feels strange that I'm even typing this right now, almost like my body is on autopilot but my mind is elsewhere. I'm having trouble getting these sentances out without putting a lot of effort into thinking what I'm writing. I guess I feel a bit confused, slightly hard to get my thoughts in the right order. I've been back over this post and keep adding sentances here and there and correcting typos, lol.
None of this seems disturbing tho, I don't feel frightened or freaked out by it, fairly tranquil really. Odd is the only way I can describe it!
I don't really feel like sleeping, I kinda feel like just chilling and listening to some music or something, a bit restless like I should be doing something, but I don't know what.
I've got my first therapy appointment tomorrow and when I think about that it sends a pang of panic and anxiety, so I'm not going to think about that. I know I'm ready for it and I've done my worrying about that for today, so I'm shelving all that in the back of my mind till tomorrow.
I guess it's only day 1 at 75mgs and it's all to be expected.
Gonna get ready for bed and try to chill down a bit so I might be able to get some sleep.
Jim
Hi Jimbo, hope it works for you. I came off Paroxetine years ago with no trouble. I went onto Effexor last summer and it didn't work so I'm coming off that now. I have to say it's not an easy one to come off but I'll persevere. I'm on other medications as well so they should take up the slack. Let us know how you get on with Effexor.
Love Jo x
Hi Jim
Good luck with the Effexor. I've been on it for nearly 9 weeks now and have found that it is helping - i upped my dose to 150mg last week so i'm having some further start up effects, but this is the dose my psych wants me on too.
Try not to let the therapy worry you too much. They've seen it all and probably more.
Cassie
hi jim i take 75mg effexor and have never felt so good,i can do alot more things,i can probally do almost anything now,i get my moments but nothing so bad that stops me,just hoping it stays like this,i have taken them for about4-5 months.hope they work for you.tc tracy
I seem to be doing ok so far. They seem to be working quite quickly. I've only been on them for a little over a week, and 75mg for a couple of days, but I definately feel some sort of effect already. Definitely less down and depressed. I'm feeling a little more hopeful that these might work for me.
Since 75mgs I've been getting a lot of lethargy and yawning, a kind of unpleasant tired feeling and slightly dizzy and nauseous at times. Something I never got with any of the other SSRI's. They often made me feel totally 'wired' and hyper while increasing doses.
I actually fell asleep while watching tv this morning for a couple of hours. I haven't just fallen asleep naturally like that without conscously trying for ages.
I'm getting a lot of anxiety and panic still, almost jumped out of my skin when the post came through the letterbox a sec ago! Took me a few minutes to calm myself down. Also the scary 'out of control' rushing thoughts feeling I get is still there at times too. Also this kind of confused feeling where I have this nagging feeling there's I'm sposed to be doing something but can't think what.
I seem to be at my worst in the evenings, so I'll see how tonight goes.
It's still early days tho, I think I need a bit more time to get used to 75mgs before moving up the dose again.
ConfusedByLife
09-03-07, 15:06
Good luck with the effexor. Wait till you find out the "joy" of coming off them which im experiencing now. Read the horror stories on other sites. I thought this drug was the answer to all my problems. without wanting to repeat myself like on my other posts, this drug is like heroin, and the longer you stay on it the harder it is to come off. Just think very carefully if you really need it before you stay on it for a period of time.
I am certain I do need to be on medication at the moment. I had some periods without meds and the depression and suicidal thoughts hit me big time. I'm certain that without medication I would not be here now. I'm just trying to find one that deals with the panic / anxiety disorder side of my illness too.
I guess I am a very pro meds, I mean if you had an infection you would take antibiotics, without them you could get very ill and they too have side effects. Mental illness is no different imo.
I am starting therapy at the moment so hopefully that will help me with the underlying causes and maybe in the future I will be able to be med free.
I honestly don't beleive the withdrawal can be as bad as heroine. I'm sure it's not great, Paroxetine withdrawal was pretty awful for me but you can get through it. I think there's a lot of hype and exageration about withdrawal from AD's... I think a lot of the withdrawal from Paroxetine was worse for me because I'd read so much bad stuff and was constantly looking for symptoms. I'm sure my mind created a lot of the feelings rather than the withdrawal itself.
Just my opinion tho, It can be difficult, but I know you can get through it. :hugs:
Jim
Sorry Confused by Life but i don't think its really appropriate to be trying to frighten someone about withdrawal effects. Yes YOU have had a bad time and YOU are experiencing a nasty withdrawal - it doesn't mean to say Jim will or that everyone else will.
People need to be aware of the potential of withdrawal difficulties but not frightened off the med all together. I'm sure that for every ONE person who has a bad experience with meds there are TWENTY responding well - its a shame we only hear the bad stories and not the good ones. Bit like the news i suppose.
Cassie
Wise words Cassie, :)
AD's affect individual people in very different ways, the same with the withdrawal. People should be aware of the potential for 'discontinuation syndrome' as it is technically called, but this doesn't affect everyone in the same way.
You're exactly right about only hearing the bad stories. I came off Citalopram 40mg at one point with no bad withdrawal effects at all, I didn't go round telling everyone, lol.
Often I think a lot of it are the symptoms of the underlying illness returning instead of withdrawal effects.
I'm sure you're having a bad time ConfusedByLife so I don't want to make you feel any worse or critisise what you are saying. I just hope you feel better soon, I'm sure you will. :winks:
For now, I know they are helping me, I'll worry about all that when I have to come off them, not now.
Peace, :flowers:
Jim :hugs:
I didn't mean for that last post to sound so harsh. I just get annoyed sometimes by people who are anti-medication, seemingly projecting their opinions on to other people. Personally, i am pro medication, but when posting here and on other forums, i'd never dream of telling someone to start taking meds - i try to give advice which includes the pluses, and the minuses.
I'm with you on the 'discontinuation syndrome', jim. I'll cross that bridge if, and when i come to it. I came off Paroxetine after 6 years without any problem at all. I have been worse then ever, since then, but thats more to do with my original condition and huge life changes than a 'withdrawal phenonemon'. Its too easy for us to blame drugs and doctors for all our troubles.
Cassie
Hey no worries, I know what you mean.
Moving on...
After my sleep this morning, now I can't sleep tonght. :( It's thrown my body clock out a bit today i think.
Hi Cassie and Jimbo,
I'm very pro-medication too. I was embarassed when I first started taking seroxat at 14 but my psychiatrist put it to me like this: diabetics have low insulin levels so they have to take insulin supplements, and other people have low serotonin levels so they have to take meds. I know there's still a lot of uncertainty about the chemical causes of anxiety and depression, but I feel there is a genuine case, as it does seem to run in families-my great grandad, my nan, my mum and me have all suffered. As for withdrawal, I think it all depends on the person, since I came off seroxat with no problems whatsoever. I'm sure for some people it can be a nightmare, but I think with us anxiety sufferers, it's all too easy to pick up on what we read/others experiences and I believe that can only make the withdrawal process worse.
Sarah
I agree with you Sarah, not wanting to diverge too much from this topic...
It runs in my family too, my dad had problems, my sister does, and my cousins do too.
Anyway, I had the worst night yet last night. After my daytime sleep yesterday, I just couldn't sleep at all last night. I was up half the night making a long and rambling pm to someone :winks:, going in the chat room and talking to someone who was on their own in there having a rough time, I hope I helped.
Ended up eventually getting off to sleep at about 6:30am today, woke after an hour or so having had a terrible nightmare, drenched in sweat and in a full on panic attack. It took me a long time to realise that what I had dreamed hadn't actually happened and longer for me and my heart to calm down. I felt exausted by that point and fell asleep again, woke up about an hour ago realising I was about an hour late for taking my morning dose. Oops.
Still feeling absolutely exausted, I might try not to sleep during the day today so I might be able to get to sleep at a normal time tonight.
I feel a bit like, maybe it's lack of sleep, but my concentration is gone, anxious and my thoughts feel a bit out of control or I might not be thinking quite right. My normal symptoms only I just feel a bit worse I guess.
Hopefully I'll feel better later, and I'm sure it will all pass.
Jim
This afternoon seems to be turning out all right, although I probably only slept for a few hours and feel pretty tired, I'm doing ok now.
I gave in and took a diazepam earlier which has helped a lot. I'm going away for the night tomorrow and it's going to be a big challenge, the anticipation was getting me totally wound up. Hopefully I'll get a better night's sleep tonight.:emot-sleepyhead:
Jim
Hiya Jim
For what its worth i had serious tiredness for about the first four weeks on venlafaxine and then again on upping from 75mg to 150mg. I'm jittery with the shakes since going up to 150mg but no anxiety as such and i'm feeling a lot happier most of the time and that the anxiety is gradually going. I have been a bit more weepy and emotional recently which is strange. Its a bit like someones come and given me all my emotions back and i don't know what to do them.
Cassie
Thanks,
Yeah, the tired/weak feeling is a bit anoying, not really had that from any other AD before. It seems to come and go, sometimes I'll be wide eyed and totally hyped up, other times it's an effort to even move, yet my sleep is still awful. It seems to have thrown my body clock totally out of wack, feeling sleepy at times when I need to be awake and not sleeping when I should be. I guess it will go away with time.
I'm at 75mg now, it's definately improved my mood, feeling a lot less depressed. Fairly quickly too, I've only been on it for about 2-3 weeks so far. But still not helping with my anxiety, a bit maybe, but nothing really worth noting.
I'll be moving up to 150mgs at some point, will see how things go.
Jim
Have seen my GP today and I'm increasing up to 75mgs twice a day.
Checked my BP and it was a little high 154/90 she thought it probably just because I was feeling anxious at the time, but we'll need to keep checking it.
Over the last week I've been feeling quite down again, so I'm not so sure now it's having a massive effect.
What seems to happen with me with AD's is I seem to have a fairly high tolerance to them and only start to get side effects when the dose goes up above the starting dose. Then as the side effects go away I think I'm feeling better, but then things seem to steady out and they don't feel like they are doing anything anymore and I start to feel worse again.
I've just taken my first 75mgs a few mins ago, so I don't know how I'm going to feel on this dose yet. Will keep updating how I feel.
Jim
Saw my GP again today,
Things seem to be going ok, not had too many side effects and I think I might be starting to feel a little better finally. :) Only prob I'm having is bad constipation, which I think is being caused by one of my other meds. Gonna take Senna for a few days and hopefully that wll clear it.
My BP was normal this week.
Jim
Thought I'd do a quick update as someone pm'd me asking how I was doing with this.
I'm now on the extended release version, 150mgs in the morning and 75mgs at night (probably doesn't matter when I take them as they are the slow release type).
I've had a few spells where I've felt really great but I've always ended up plumeting back down again fairly soon after. I think there is still room to increase the dose so they might increase up to a higher dose (375mgs is the max I think).
I don't get any side effects off them at all, except for maybe a bit of increased sweating, and the slight sexual disfunction sometimes :blush:.
My meds are being reviewed again tomorrow so I'll try to update what happens.
Jim
Hi
Jim aren't you good for keeping us up to date with how you are? Its good to hear your doing ok - bumpy ride though isn't it?
I saw my psychiatrist today and she's increased the Effexor up to 225mg. I have been on 150mg for almost 2 months, there has been some improvement I must admit but is hasn't been pain sailing. Initially when I increased up to 150mg I had increased tiredness again and my mood dipped for 2 or 3 weeks. I had a tremor but the anxiety wasn't so bad.
I then managed to go away on holiday and was totally ok, all bar one morning when I felt a bit jittery at breakfast. Had a fantastic time on holiday - i went diving and parasailing and allsorts. I damaged my sinuses whilst i was diving so had a lot of ear problems the first week I was home so it was hard to judge what was my mood and what was me feeling grotty due to my ears. I was quite low, but i usually am when i come back from holidays as i love them so much. There were a couple of days the first week i was back when i felt a tad jittery so i increased my own dose up to 187.5mg. Again, i have been low since, crying due to my circumstances (not working, lonely etc) yet its not like when i was deeply depressed last year, and i just felt flat and weeped a bit. This is real gut wrenching sobbing then feeling better afterwards. I think it might just be the effects of the increased med but its hard to say.
Anyhow i'm going up to 225mg tomorrow and will remain on that dose to see how it goes.
Cassie
Another quick update.
I'm still on 225mgs. Things are going fine with it, any side effects I had are gone. The only thing I notice is that when it is hot or I'm doing extra physical excersise I seem to sweat loads more than I used to. Sometimes to the point where I am litterally drenched and dripping.
I seem to be doing ok, I went through a rough time about 4-5 weeks ago, but things seem to have settled down. I'm not sure whether that is the therapy I'm doing or the meds.
I am taking the antipsychotic Quetiapine now too, which is a wonder drug imo, I can now sleep properly and it seems to have dealt with a lot of the irrational thinking and visual 'disturbances' I had. I'll pop a quick post on my thread about that in a sec.
Jim:hugs:
Thought I'd post again as I've been having a few problems and wanted some opinions.
I'm still on the same dose 225mgs slow release which I take 150mg + 75mg tablets both in the morning. It's definately helping me, I think my mood seems to have leveled out a lot. My lows don't seem to get quite as desperate as they used to, but I still get them. Still hasn't touched my anxiety but the quetiapine I'm taking aswell is helping.
The problem I'm having is that I seem to be getting similar symptoms to withdrawal in the mornings. I've accidentally missed doses before and I get this horrible kind of jumpy electric shock type feelings that make me feel really dizzy like I have to sit down or I might fall over. Which obviously can make me a bit panicky. I seem to be getting those in the mornings now. When I take them I guess the slow release takes a while to kick in and they seem to stop around 11am. I've been on it for 5 months now and I'm thinking that my body has become accustomed to the current dose which is causing this.
My questions are;
Is this normal and is it likely to get worse?
Should I consider splitting the dose and taking the 75mgs in the evening instead?
Should I think about asking to increase the dose, I'm not sure what the maximum dose is for the slow release tablets, but my psych seemed to say that I was on the maximum dose, google says 325mgs is the maximum?
Jim :hugs:
I'd take yourself off to the GP Jim and get his advice about splitting the doses. I'm still trying to get off the Effexor but my psych said to leave it where it is 75mg every second day until the end of the summer.
Good luck and keep posting. You're great to keep us updated.
:)
Quick update.
I saw the GP and changed back to splitting the dose, so I take the 75mgs in the evening. That seems to have stopped the withdrawal type feelings in the mornings.
I think I'm really getting a good beneficial effect from it now. I still have my bad days, but my depression and anx/panic have improved when I think back to when I started. But then I am on other meds too and doing therapy. So I guess the whole combination I'm on now is helping a lot. I'm feeling pretty happy with my meds finally. :yesyes:
Jim :hugs:
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