from citalopram to venlafaxine, good stories please!!!

[Catya]

Oh at last!!!! Have spent all evening trying to fix my laptop!
My Google chrome had completely disappeared, and with a bit of my fiddling I then managed to cut myself off internet connection.
I'm back!! xx

[Catya]

Nooooo. Can't stand this. Have just dragged myself up having had a lie in, which I hate doing. I didn't fall asleep till after three and this time had restless legs, and body. The dose is too high for me I think. My mind won't shut off! xx

---------- Post added at 10:42 ---------- Previous post was at 09:10 ----------

Ooooooh wake up everybody! Lol xxxx

[pinkdove]

hi kate have you gone back up to 150mg, i know when i forst took that i was ok for a few days, then really felt the dose was too high, i did post on here sayying that.

i know it's hard till it settles, and it does take time, could you try a herbal sleeping aid just yo get you through on the short term.

i asked my pysc why we can go to bed feeling ok and wake up feeling like crap, he said it is ithe nature of the illness, and does get better with time, i still feel a bit detached in the mornings.

what dose are you supposed to be taking ? hope you feel better soon xx

lou hope you are doing ok today xx

pip, come on and give kate a wee bit of your good news story and advice, hope you are well xx

nicola sorry to hear you are having problems with your kidneys again, hope you get something sorted out at the doc's this morning xx

i am just the same this morning no problems with swapping the tabs, still plodding along waiting on d day lol

[Catya]

Supposed to be on 150 but my dr doesn't really care.....when I did fall asleep too vivid dreams that then wake me up again. My body wouldn't keep still either, or my frequent loo trips! My poor hubby..... xxx

[pinkdove]

kate, maybe the dose is too high then, how long have you stuck the 75 in the morning and the 37.5 in the evening and did you feel it helped you ?

[Pipkin]

Hi there,

Just on my lunch break, so I thought I'd respond to Pink's call to arms!

I think the key to improving is consistency because, as we've all found, venlafaxine takes quite a long time to work effectively. I reckon that I didn't stabilise for at least 2 months and I kept seeing very gradual improvements during that time. It was only when I looked back and remembered what I felt like in January that I saw what a big distance I had travelled. Believe me, I was in a terrible state in January - worse than I ever was, partly brought on my aborted attempt to start sertraline which my GP had prescribed (even though I said I had been on ven before but sert is cheaper).

Kate - my advice would be to stick at 150mg. I can imagine how bad you feel as I had all those symptoms, waking up in the middle of the night with my heart pounding after having had some extremely strange and vivid dreams. I am sure that if you stick with them, these symptoms will ease and that you'll start to feel much better. It really does take time though.

I've just booked a review appointment with my GP for next week. Being the ridiculously organised person that I am (it goes with the job), I have put together a 6-month anxiety reducing strategy which I am going to share with my GP. I think it's really important to show my doctor that I'm taking action into my own hands rather than him thinking that I'm relying on meds as a cure (which we all know they aren't). In case you're interested it involves:

Staying on ven until at least the end of the year
Carrying on with the online CBT programme I'm doing - early days but I'm hopeful this could help
Making myself relax and using the deep relaxation techniques I was taught by a psychiatrist many moons ago
Exercising more - I haven't been running as much as I used to so I'm aiming to get back up to once a day, which I was doing until about 12 months ago
Playing with my puppy (that's not a euphemism!) when I get him in 3 weeks. I don't think I'll have to be determined for this to happen, I think his demands will lead the way and I can't wait (quote me on that in a month's time after constant cleaning up and a devastated, chewed house)
Drinking more water

I'm already doing some of these and I'm going to carry on and see how it goes. My fear is that it's easy to cruise along feeling better once the meds are doing their job but that I'll be back to square one when I stop so I think it's really important to take some action whilst I'm feeling better. I certainly don't intend to be on meds this time next year. I know I am more than capable of coping on my own and believing that really helps.

Now, back to work.....

Take care all

Pip xxx

[pinkdove]

thank you pip for taking the time to reply, and what a great post, i'm sure kate will find it helpfull, i know i did xx

[Catya]

Yes, thanks... Good to hear. I'll have been on the 150, apart from two days when I took the 37.5 in the evening, for two weeks tomorrow..... And I've felt a gradual 'highness?' particularly this last week. Not sure what to take tonight.
Love to you too Lou , I see you're online now. xx

[pinkdove]

kate it was about week 3 when i thought about reducing, felt the dose was too high, but i,m glad i persisted, i think pip is right, and you are nearly there now, maybe another couple of days see if things settle a bit good luckxx

lou hope you are ok hun xx

[Catya]

Thanks Pink. I'll stick it over this week end I think and then reassess next week. xx