going from 75mg to 150mg of venlafaxine

[mumoftwo]

Hi,

Ive suffered from anxiety and depression on and off for 12 years. prozac always worked for me but last year it didnt, so the dr put me on mirtazapine which stopped working for me after about 3 months, he upped the dose but it didnt help either. Went to see a pdoc an he suggested venlafaxine.

After 4 weeks on 75mg of venlafaxine, and feeling no improvement my pdoc has upped the dose to 150mg. Has anyone gne from 75mg to 150mg and if so did they find it sucessful?

If so how long did it take and did you have the side effects again (i had nausea, and dizzyness for about 12 days when starting the 75mg)

ANY EXPERIENCES AND ADVICE WOULD BE GREAT

Thanks

Mumoftwo

[Dahlia]

I went from 75mg to 150mg Effexor without feeling too bad - a bit of dizziness and the occasional bad tummy. If your nausea is due to the dizziness, try taking a travel sickness pill (although they can make you a bit sleepy - I take half a pill to take the edge off the nausea).

[Si Kadelic]

After 4 weeks on 75mg of venlafaxine, and feeling no improvement my pdoc has upped the dose to 150mg. Has anyone gne from 75mg to 150mg and if so did they find it sucessful?

If so how long did it take and did you have the side effects again (i had nausea, and dizzyness for about 12 days when starting the 75mg)

ANY EXPERIENCES AND ADVICE WOULD BE GREAT

Thanks

Mumoftwo


Hi Mumoftwo

I increased my venlafaxine dosage from 75mg to 150mg just two weeks ago.

It seems strange to me that your dosage has been upped so soon as it generally takes about 6 weeks for venlafaxine to work as far as I know.

In terms of side effects I had none whatsoever but I also had none when starting the 75mg so it's different for everyone really. I totally understand how nervous you are in upping your dose because I was the exact same when I upped mine.

One thing to take note of is that it takes a while for the higher dosage to regulate itself in your system and for you to feel any benefits from it. For me it took about a week or so before I began to feel better and since then there has been a steady improvement albeit with the odd bad day here and there.

As things stand I'm finding the 150mg dosage to be very good and it's allowed me to lead a relatively normal life.

If you've got any other questions then feel free to ask, best of luck with everything xxx

[mumoftwo]

Hi Si Kadelic,

I do have a faw questions if you dont mind.

What were you taking the venlafaxine for?

How long were you on the 75mg and why did the dr up your dose? Did you feel no better on the 75mg?

Ive only been on the 150mg for 2 days and im hoping i feel some benefit soon, because this is the 3rd AD ive been on in a year and the other 2 didnt work so im praying that the higher dose will, because this alone is making me panic!!!

[Si Kadelic]

Hi Si Kadelic,

I do have a faw questions if you dont mind.

What were you taking the venlafaxine for?

I've suffered panic attacks sporadically for more than ten years and due to health issues these became ever more frequent and resulted in me getting general anxiety disorder, basically I was just anxious all the time sometimes for no apparent reason. As a result of this I also became depressed although my main problem has always been the anxiety. I suffered with this for about a year before going to my gp in February of this year which was when I started on the venlafaxine.


How long were you on the 75mg and why did the dr up your dose? Did you feel no better on the 75mg?

Like I said earlier I started on the 75mg in February and although there was some improvement it was decided between me and my psychologist that upping my dose would be even more beneficial to me. I was told that 75mg is a very mild dose of venlafaxine for an adult male and that 150mg is the recommended dose for someone in my category, upon hearing this I decided that it would be in my best interests to up my dosage.


Ive only been on the 150mg for 2 days and im hoping i feel some benefit soon, because this is the 3rd AD ive been on in a year and the other 2 didnt work so im praying that the higher dose will, because this alone is making me panic!!!

I know exactly how you feel and all I can say to you is to be patient and you should hopefully reap the benefits. Venlafaxine usually takes anything up to 6 weeks to take effect so given that you've been on the 75mg for 4 weeks already I think it will only be a matter of time before they start to do the trick. What I will say is that you shouldn't panic about the medication itself because at the end of the day that's something which you have no control over, if you believe in the effectiveness of the medication then it will give you more peace of mind.

Again if you've any more queries or questions then fire away. :)

[mumoftwo]

Thankyou Si,

I just have to keep calm now and wait!!!!

Mumoftwo

[mumoftwo]

ME AGAIN

I just dont know what to do anymore. Ive been on the 75mg for 4 weeks and the 150mg for a week. So ive been on the venlafaxine for 5 weeks now. I really do not feel any better. Im having to use diazapam just to calm me down and im using it almost every other day, though its only 1 5mg tablet. but my point is im using it more now than ever.

Do i go back to my pdoc or gp and tell them this?

Do i give it another week and that would be 6 weeks im on it?

Ive heard that the withdrawal of venlafaxine is horrible and im going abroad for 3 weeks in another 2 weeks.

I just dont know what to do, apart ffrom go to bed and never get up again.

PLEASE HELP ME

[Si Kadelic]

Hi Mumoftwo

The thing to remember with Venlafaxine, or any AD for that matter, is that it's effects will take place gradually. It's not a case of hitting the 6 week mark and all of a sudden feeling better, for me it was between 5 - 8 weeks that I noticed a gradual improvement in things and this increased bit by bit the further along I went.

Like I said before you have to believe in the medication otherwise it may not help you, they're only there to aid your recovery and the real work has to be put in by yourself. Although in saying this everyone is different and I can't claim to be an expert on the matter.

I think it'd be best if you went to see your pdoc and explained your fears and concerns about the medication, they should be able to allay your worries and put your mind at ease.

[NickT]

Hello mumoftwo and Si Kadelic,

I've just joined the forum, and wanted to hear if things had got better for mumoftwo.

I'm in a pretty similar place- have had depression\anxiety for best part of twenty years- had tried lots of different antidepressants until I went on Venlafaxine about 10 years ago. I've alternated between 75\150 mg over the years, and have found it really helps to lift my mood.

That said, I'm really struggling at the moment, so I've increased my dose to 187.5 mg. First few days were OK, but I've felt much more anxious and lethargic the past couple of days- I'm hoping these are just initial side effects which will ware off but if I'm honest, I do find it scary.

NickT

[tommy1982]

A change in dose with this drug, effexor , can be really effective

If I was a betting man, I would think this increase will kick in , in a matter of weeks andyou will notice improvements, like wanting to do more

But yeah it will take a few weeks to feel full effects, but a jump of 75mg should really help some people dont take to this drug at all but the fact you where not sick on 75 at the start means it must agree with you you just need a higer dose.

Effexor tends to work when other AD's have not. Its not the last chance salon but, a PDOC would have other opitions in medication if this didnt work but I think it will

Hang in there

Thats my two cents anyway

[mumoftwo]

Hi NickT and Tommy1982.

Ive now been on the 150mg for 6 weeks and I honesty dont know if they are working or not. Im up and down like a yoyo. Ive just returned from a 3 week holiday, which I was dreading as this is a big trigger for me. But I had a ball, apart from 4 days in the middle when the anxiety hit again.

From ive come home (friday) the anxiety has been pretty bad, im going to see my pdoc next Monday so I will see what he says.

Ive been reading a book by Claire Weekes - self help for your nerves, its a great book, its me down to a T. In she says the only way to beat anxiety is to accept your symptoms and not to be afraid of them, im trying to do that but its so hard.

[Tigertim36]

Hi All,

After trying 5 other AD's 12yrs ago I started Efexor at 150mg after 6 weeks I stilol had the black cloud stopping my concentration and couldn't string a sentence together!! Upped to 225mg for a further 6 weeks but still depressed and unable to think or do anything.... I wanted to change to another AD but my Gp asked me to bear with him andd upped the dose to 300mg!! I was informed at the time that this was usually the dosage prescribed to those contemplating suicide!! After 4 or 5 weeks further, it was sudden.... someone had turned on a light in my brain... I could think properly, understand and reason!! I have been on 300mg now for 12 years and although tried to lower the dose a number of times, without good results, It works for me... I hold down a professional respected job and have declared my illness and medication to my employers, when I started 3 yrs ago.

It works for me but everyone's different. I think an increase should be considered first before changing to a different AD.

My thoughts into the hat anyway :-)

Tim