Venlafaxine is the new one I’m pinning my hopes on.

[Sleepy]

After a year on escitalopram I’m switching to venlafaxine.

Escitalopram took away the anxiety but gave me the following:-
hypo mania
jaw clenching and teeth grinding, cracking my tooth
ear pain
sinus pressure
insomnia
irritability
general malaise

Like most of us, I suppose, I’m looking for a cure for anxiety that doesn’t make me feel ill in other ways. This will be the 6th AD I’ve tried.

Wish me luck.

[Carys]

Gooooddddd luck !!! (I'm on it and have been for years, worked well for me)

[Sleepy]

Thank you Carys! What was start-up like, and what have been the side-effects for you?

[Carys]

For me personally (but of course everyone is different) I had no side-effects during the initial start up, nor at any time during. I don't know if I was just very lucky or not. The ONLY thing I do/did have (I was on a very high dose and now practically nothing, the lowest possible) was if I forgot one, or reduced, for a while I would get kind of an odd electric shock feeling down my left side when my eyes moved.

[Sleepy]

A quick update.
About 7 weeks in, I’m on 75mg and all is good. No side effects, the ones I had from escitalopram are pretty much all gone. No anxiety! No toothache from jaw-clenching.
One lingering problem though is my cracked tongue which makes fizzy drinks painful and chilli torture. I think I’m stuck with it. Any thoughts?

[roseanxiety]

Are you still okay with the ven? I am switching this week from Lexapro to venlafaxine because if weight gain. I’m a little nervous about the switch.


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[Maca44]

A quick update.
About 7 weeks in, I’m on 75mg and all is good. No side effects, the ones I had from escitalopram are pretty much all gone. No anxiety! No toothache from jaw-clenching.
One lingering problem though is my cracked tongue which makes fizzy drinks painful and chilli torture. I think I’m stuck with it. Any thoughts?

So how are you getting with your Ven Sleepy its been a while since you started ?

[Sleepy]

Many months down the line, and I’m still on the Ven (now being prescribed Effexor rather than the generic, as changed from private prescription to NHS - the irony!).
Anxiety is well-controlled. I rarely have an anxious thought. I drive and fly quite happily.
Downsides: I compulsively pick at my cuticles so that my fingers are a complete mess and very sore. I also can’t seem to stop biting the inside of my mouth. Anyone recognise this?
My sleep is tolerable. 6 hours generally.
Alcohol is best avoided. Even a small amount gives me a pounding heart and brings back the old side effects: buzzing in ears, sinus pressure.
So far, I’m sticking with it.

[Maca44]

On the whole it sounds good and is working well so that's good.

Yes I find my picking at cuticles a problem my thumbs are sore and I also find myself biting my inner lip along with teeth grinding, the worst habit is picking at any scabs if I cut myself so have to keep a plaster on any cut so I stop picking it and making it bleed. My sleep is poor I just keep waking up feeling restless so just get up for an hour of so therefore sleep is broken but must be getting sleep as I do not feel tired in the day.

Are you still on 75mg ?

[Sleepy]

There’s always something, isn’t there? I’ve started wearing gloves when I watch telly in the evenings. The mouth biting is a real compulsion and I don’t know what to do about that. I had teeth-grinding with escitalopram, cracked a back tooth and chipped a front one. I don’t do that any more. My sleeping has been bad for 20 years or more and I take Zopiclone every night. I can live with the amount I get now. Yes, I am still on 75mg. I use a free app called SnoreLab. It records your sleep. It shows you how much sleep you are actually getting when you think you’re awake most of the night.

[Sleepy]

I saw on your Ven thread that the topic of dreams came up. I forgot to mention the dreams! OMG they are so vivid and so extreme. I don’t get them every night but they are like nothing I’ve ever had before. And I’m getting all of these side effects on 75mg!

[Maca44]

Yes funny thing is i get less dreams on 225mg but when i do get them some can be quiet disturbing.

[panic_down_under]

OMG they are so vivid and so extreme. I don’t get them every night but they are like nothing I’ve ever had before.

Vivid dreams seem to pop up for some with every AD, serotonergic, noradrenergic, or other. The meds seem to lighten the dream state enough that they can intrude into consciousness. I don't know whether they change the nature of what we dream, but I suspect they don't, that our dreams can be cinematic weirdness even without the meds.