Tapered off Venlafaxine and just started Fluoxetine, aswell as taking Mirtazapine
The title pretty much sums up what the situation is.
I have been a long sufferer of panic disorder and PTSD. I had been taking 30mg Mirtazapine and 150mg Venlafaxine for a while, which was okay, until intrusive and horrible OCD thoughts came it to play. These would lead on to panic attacks, although I can deal with the attacks much better than previously (countless trips to A&E and a sectioning order due to radical behaviour)...
Only a couple of weeks ago I saw a new psychiatrist on the NHS (recommended personally by my CBT therapist who is private), and straight off the bat he said it's pretty pointless taking Mirtazapine AND Venlafaxine! He suggested taking Fluoxetine instead of the Venlafaxine. I was told to half the dose of the Venlafaxine from 150mg to 75mg for just 1 week, then stop taking it and start taking the Fluoxetine 20mg. At first I wasn't sure if that was rushing it but after 2 or 3 professional opinions I was reassured it was fine.
Reducing the Venlafaxine dose was much easier than I imagined, VERY limited side effects but easily manageable, but now I have stopped it and started the Fluoxetine, more side fx and stronger side fx have appeared...I must add I've only literally just started the fluoxetine (2 days), so there may be abit of anxiety of my own doing worrying about it? And also I'm 24 now, and took Fluoxetine when I was about 17 to 18.
Basically, long story short, has anyone else gone down this route of treatment, if so, how was it? Tips for side fx? Etc etc.
I'm also prescribed Diazepam but rarely take it, is that something I can take to relieve some of the added anxiety I'm experiencing at the moment?
Any replies would be much appreciated, hope I've explained it all well enough lol.
Sauly
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