Venlafaxine yes or no

[Select]

Hi all my short history I was on seroxat for nearly 4 years then I took an overdose 4 weeks ago and I was taken of seroxat and went cold turkey after 5 days I was put on mirtazapine this either didn't work or along with withdrawal effects and side effects after a week I came of them so for last 2 weeks I have had nothing. I have been up and down emotionally. I have felt angry sad annoyed short tempered irrational etc. now my doctor says I could possibly start on venlafaxine or sertaline. My worries are should I, what side effects will ican they cause will it lead to another few weeks of side effects and then possibly another of withdrawals. I have been of work 4 weeks now, and I want to be able to go back but I can't cope with all this and the stress of work. Any advice of experiences good and bad would be great thanks

[pinkdove]

hi select i am on venlafaxine and have been for almost 2 years now i was taking citalopram and it worked but never got me back to "normal"

i can only tell you my personal experience of ven and that it has been the best ad i have taken with little or no side effects and i have my life back now and have managed to reduce the dose by half

i understand it is a hard ad to come off with some withdrawal symptoms and has a short half life unlike citalopram but there is a lot of info on the site about venlafaxine which should be helpfull to you and i know a few members who have managed to come off it

i think if your gp has suggested trying it it would be worth a go

good luck and let us know how you get on xx

[kittikat]

I have also had a very positive experience on Venlafaxine. I started 18 months ago on 37.5mg a day and slowly increased up to 150mg daily. This seems to be the right dose for me and my anxiety and mood is much improved.

Like Pink says above, I experienced very few side effects and I am happy to continue on this medication as long as it is helping me. I personally believe that when withdrawing, as with any similar medication, as long as it is done at a very slow pace it is possible to do with minimum SE's. I am not worried about eventually tapering off because it has helped me so much. I will face that when the time comes!

I hope if you do try it, you find it as beneficial as I have done.

Good luck, Kitti

[Antonio2301]

Hiya
If its any help I started back on these a few days back at 37.5mg and will be gradually increasing to 102.5mg over the next few weeks/months . I`m not really having any side effects with these at the moment. I have been on these before and came off them 18 months back but felt it time to start again last week . I was prescribed 102.5mg (37.5 mg in a morning and 75mg on an evening ) by a psychiatrist I was seen by. That`s a very high dose to start on so I`m sticking to 37.5mg for a fortnight and then will take 75mg a day , but yes I think as long as your doctor starts you off on a low dose, you should have very few side effects if any at all

It`s early days for me yet and maybe it`s psychological I don`t know, I seem to be feeling better already in myself after just 5 days or so ..

Anyway Good Luck with them , should you decide to starting taking them

All the best Antonio

[Select]

Thanks for all your replies think the only reason I am anxious about starting it is because of my recent bad experiences. Seeing my gp on Tuesday so see how it goes

[Torombolo]

Best medication ever !!! for anxiety just keep taking it and you will feel the difference and you will start to feel good, i have been on it for almost 3 years now i take it for anxiety and mild depression and i have to say that this medication saved my life cheers.