doc wants me to increase my 37.5 mg to 75mg scared...

[chappers1980]

Hi everyone,
Feeling ok on the whole but still feeling nauseous (why does in come in a wave when you yawn?) and have a headache (I get migraines anyway and this is probably linked). Not experiening any increased anxiety though and this is my 3rd day of the upped dose. I have been on venlafaxine before so knowing that I can tolerate them and that they work for me makes me feel a lot better about them.
Petram - to answer your questions:
Yes, I take the peach tablets (37.5mg), 1 in the morning and 1 at night. However, I saw my GP this week and asked him for the modified release capsules so I will be changing to these from my next prescription. I did this for convenience and also the last time I took them, I remember that taking one in the evening had a habit of either keeping me awake or giving me some very strange dreams (and not in a good way).
I'm taking them for anxiety. Before Christmas, the GP prescribed sertraline. I took it for a week and had the most horrendous experience where my anxiety went through the roof and was worse than it had ever been. I ended up seeing an emergency doctor at the weekend thinking I was having some kind of serious reaction. I can honestly say that I have never felt that bad before - it was just awful. I think it was just that they weren't for me and I wasn't prepared to stick it out when I knew there was an alternative that worked for me.
Hope you are all ok. Keep posting so we can give each other some moral support. I'm hoping that the worst is behind us but there will still be some days which are a bit of a bumpy ride.
P x

In the early days, I got a few bad headaches. i think a lot of the symptoms i thought were side effects were actually still my anxiety like nausea cos i wasn't eating or sleeping properly. But they've all gone now, and a benefit for me has been that i haven't put on loads of weight and i prefer myself a bit slimmer which has boosted my confidence. I do recommend that everyone has some kind of talking therapy as well though as these can't sort everything out. I hate saying this but for me I am glad i had all this experience from start to finish as its really made me reevaluate my life. Its given me a real kick up the bum to change the things that were getting me down or anxious. Slowly the changes are starting to make a difference, which in turn means i'm not relying so much on my medication xxx

[petram]

hi pip , waves of tiredness i mean not constant it comes over me every now and again just feel bit drowsy.
i was also on sertaline for 8 weeks and it made my anxiety so high it triggered off nasty ocd thoughts which im still having which led me to have depression too , iv had nothing up untill this last 3 weeks . for 12 weeks prior to the sertaline , coz i was scared stiff of meds !! however i couldnt cope , so had to try something.

i have found today that iv had a better day than yesterday where as yesterday i good moments today iv had a few bad half hours . headaches again that come n go and increased dry mouth .

has anyone drunk any alcohol on these tabs , i dont mean a binging session i mean 2 or 3 drinks?? and how was u if u did so??
xx

[brit]

I've had 4 weeks on 75mg and my GP says i only have to take them for another 4 weeks and then i can start to come off them as i'm feeling so much better

Whow.. Careful now....
I dont know your specific situation, but i cant see how taking them for 8 weeks and then stopping will do you much good?

Just be careful that when you come off them you dont slip back - they arent like a sticking plaster that you remove when the cut is healed.
Usually people are on these for a fair amount of time, and once maybe some therapy has taken place then you can start to withdraw from them.

I'm not trying to be arsey, and obviously i'm not saying your doc is wrong, but please be carefull. Its not an easy drug to withdraw from, i came off it before i was ready and i'm still dealing with the fallout now 12 months later.
Take care,
Nick

[Catya]

Yes, I too think that's quite soon to come off them? Take care.

[petram]

i think chappers means she was on 37.5 mg for a while before upping to 75mg ??? xx

---------- Post added at 22:45 ---------- Previous post was at 22:45 ----------

and she s been on the 75mg for 4 weeks

[petram]

day 4 off increase woke up fine , got up felt some anxiety coming on and harm thoughts which i didnt take to kindly too :( infact had a lil cry after , but its saturday so change from normal routine , gotta go asda ext so il see how that goes and post back later . xx

[Pipkin]

Day 4 of increase for me too. Still feel ok though I think I'm a bit twitchy. I seem to be quite tense and keep grinding my teeth which is giving me a headache.

Although it says to avoid alcohol, I had a couple of glasses of wine last night and feel ok. It just seemed to make me really drowsy so I ended up going to bed early. A good night's sleep though. Want to go for a walk but it's wet and windy here in Yorkshire. Maybe later. Take care

Pip x

[petram]

hi all , well asda s was fun NOT ... my harm ocd as been a complete bitch all day so far brightened up for 5 secs then wallop it starts again , maybe the increase is stirring it up a bit or just a bad with it god only know s just wish it would kindly go away !! not so much anxiety with it just bit down n tearfull with it .........its not great here either pip had a lil bit of sunshine earlier .
take care
pet xx

[petram]

hi all this morning was ok few ocd thoughts but generally ok bit tense rather than anxious, day 5 off upping to 75mg, came home and something s had been niggling me i mostlytalk with my son about my ocd n anxiety and him me with his , we got a great relationship to be fair on this stuff, but i want my hubby to show more off a interest like ask how i am wat kinda day i had instead off rolling his eye s or just sitting in silence and not talking to me dont get me wrong he s a great man but dont seem to talk to me about it an di need that from him , he just seems to sulk as we dont make love very regular at the mo and havent for the last 4 months , as we did have a good sex life...... but if he was more into me and how i was feeling id feel closer to him and more inclined for love making , i kinda mentioned this in a fashion and all i got was oh so this is my fault then attitude!!! grrrrr , i said no but aint it worth a try ??? any way it wound me up which started off me ocd thoughts ( not NIce ) ....... so iv had quite abit of ocd this afternoon ... maybe if the chat would off gone better id had a complete good day ....??? how u all doing? xxx

[Pipkin]

Hi there. I always think that it must be difficult for other people to understand what it's really like to suffer from anxiety. I find it totally irrational so I guess others do too. My other half catches glimpses of it in himself so he is pretty understanding.

Not a bad day here though I always seem to feel tense on a Sunday as it's back to work tomorrow. Not that work stresses me, it's just that the time isn't my own and I don't have the control over what I do like at the weekend. Still taking beta blockers at the same time as the venlafaxine - I had to start these after the sertraline episode which scared the life out of me. Will stop the BBs this week, all being well.

Hope you're all ok

Pip x