Sideffects

[Kev707]

Hi bit of help please folks, I'm back on 75mg of venlafaxine after unsuccessfully trying to withdraw from this drug, I thought I'd done the hard part and got past all the head zaps and other withdrawal symptoms that go with this horrible withdrawal then bang I was an emotional wreck, got major fear, panick attacks and depression which I'd never really experienced before I was in a really bad place so had to reluctantly go back on the meds and have been for the last 10 weeks but this time the sideffects have been unbearable I've been constantly dizzy, nauseous and just feel terrible so under the docs instructions I have to try and half the dose see how I feel and if I'm not good I have to start taking the drug pregabalin along side Effexor, I was wondering if anyone is also doing this or if they are able to function just with 37.5 dose? Just at my wits end here and really struggling to find a way out x

[Kev707]

Thanks for replies folks

[sial72]

Sorry, never tried these meds

---------- Post added at 12:28 ---------- Previous post was at 12:27 ----------

Hopefully someone will come along who knows, good luck xx

[SADnomore]

Sorry you didn't get responses at first. Sometimes the couple of dozen game threads updating all at once means a person's thread can get bumped into oblivion, unfortunately.

Some people do just fine with 37.5 mg. and it has been used as a base to keep from withdrawal in between titrations. I was only on that dose for a week or so at the beginning, to start the adjustment to s/e. Some I have heard of stay on that dose therapeutically, or in combination with another AD. As I say, while typically 75 mg is normally thought of as the lowest therapeutic dose, 37.5 has worked for some on here.

Sorry, I can't remember seeing anyone combining venlaxafine and pregablin, but there probably are some posts. You could try putting them together in a search? Don't give up yet, there are plenty of combos with ADs and certain antipsychotics too, in doses too low to be used in that capacity, but that help with sleep and anxiety.

May I ask why you were on Effexor to begin with, why it was chosen if you know? And why you started to come off of it? I have to say that it may be best reserved for really long-term use, not as a temporary agent, but then, I don't know your situation or why it was chosen for you. I have seasonal affective disorder, so will be on it for the foreseeable future, titrating down in summer, and back up again in winter. S-l-o-w-l-y ... I dunno, I still got head zaps and all that with Zoloft, so I think that those of us who are sensitive to side effects will get them with pretty much every drug, but I wish you luck in combating yours with the pregablin.

[Kev707]

Thank you very much taking your time to reply, was put on the Effexor because of generalised anxiety disorder, have always been an anxious person since very young think I must of been born with it, but ever since the doc prescribed me citalopram 7 years ago I think it's just been a vicious circle of trying to get the right med along with withdrawals, and sideffects on these drugs, I honestly think I should of never been prescribed anti depressants and it is very nieve of these docs who only maybe see someone for one appointment (10 mins) and prescribe something the patient doesn't know anything about! There is no doubt venakafaxine can be a great drug for people in despair and are in a very dark place but it needs to be explained that these drugs can change your life for the worst if you don't definetly need them, I am now scared to come off these again after last time was the worst experience of my life, don't mean to try scare anyone coz I'm sure they help thousands of people and save lives just that docs need to be more clued up on these things

[SADnomore]

Right. Well, most medical doctors only know about pharmaceuticals for treatment, or else surgery, so prescribing drugs is pretty much all they will do for us.

A naturopathic physician may instead try to eliminate any possible allergens you may be ingesting, correct hormone imbalances, check levels of vitamins and minerals, etc etc, and treat those first. There are natural approaches like SAMe and L-tryptophan for serotonin increase, and so forth. Maybe if you can successfully get down to the 37.5 mg, you can try discussing some of these options with a doctor or specialist.

Good luck! xx

[pulisa]

My daughter successfully withdrew down from 225mg venlafaxine to zero over a period of many months and much angst. 6 months on and she is still off meds. It can be done but it's not easy.

[Kev707]

Fair play and well done to her for doing that, I was doing really well 6 weeks free, through all the withdrawal symptoms then bang the anxiety came back worse than it has ever been was a 10 compared to maybe a 6/7 before starting the drug, I have since started this med again and it had took the anxiety away but my body seems to be rejecting it or something as the sideffects have been terrible

[sial72]

Great advice Sadnomore, definitely worth looking into, this is what I have done after terriblr problems from meds xx

[pulisa]

I think it's hard when you are experiencing terrible withdrawal symptoms from the ven and think that you need to start the meds again when this may not be the case and you just have to wade through the symptoms which do eventually abate. It's the "eventually" bit which is so hard to bear as there is no set time limit obviously. I'm my daughter's carer so she had constant support throughout the withdrawal and not everyone has this support in place. It makes a huge difference. When you're on your own and trying to hold down a job with this stuff going on 24/7 it's a whole different ball game. I think that ven should only be prescribed to people on it for the long term.