Effexor, Venlafaxine: What's Your Dose?

[brit]

I was on it for 7.5 years at 75mg daily.
I vaguely remember going up to 150mg for a short while but it made me very sick.
After seeing a brilliant counseller last year i decided to start weaning off it, so i dropped to 37.5mg per day.
After a week or two of feeling pretty bad i did improve -i felt more alert and more 'me'
I took this dose for about 9 months, but started feeling light headed, tired and just not right.
After a few failed attempts to cut down some more by breaking up the pills i have managed to withdraw now using Fluoxetine.
My last Venlafaxine pill was 2 weeks ago.
I'm now withdrawing from the Fluoxetine, but thats a different story for another thread!

[RainbowGirl]

I'm on 300mg daily.

[gary_2.0]

@brit: Withdrawal is terrible. However I did not attempt this under medical supervision, which I should hope is better than my experience. Well done brit. you've clearly made really significant progress.

@RainbowGirl: Welcome to the 300 club. Sorry there's no t-shirt or badge to match this dubious achievement. How long have you been on this dose? (love your user name )

[Splat*]

Hey, can I join the 300mg club too? Plus lots of other meds, and just come off a second AD aswell as the venlafaxine cos it made me quite ill.

[Moley]

I have been on venlafaxine for 4 months now and have gone from 75mg a day split am and pm to 225mg still split. I am not finding a benefit at all to this med. I am on this mainly for major depression but I do also suffer with anxieties especially social. I am finding that my mood is really not improving. Before this I was taking sertraline and it was a nightmare it was like living in constant darkness and was actually causing alot of suicidal thoughts. As soon as this was realised I was taken off it asap. Am still hoping to find a medication to suit me/

[Muchbetter333]

I was taking 300mg (2x 150) venlafaxine a few months back. Now i'm 'hovvering' between 100-150 a day. Within the first week my mood improved 10-20%, so i knew this would work for me eventually. My doc recommended i shouldn't go higher than 150mg a day. Each increase of ven gave me about a 20% improvement. I researched the web & ignored my doc's advice -(NOT recommended) & went up to 225 then 300mg of venlafaxine. At 300mg dosage i was 90% better with my anxiety & depression. After consultation with a phsyc i was allowed to stay on 300mg for 3-4 months ONLY. Apparently venlafaxine can affect the heart at high dosage. Now i'm back down to 100-150 & doing well. Previously, i had 8 GREAT years with paroxetine. The 'feel good' emotion i had was almost euphoric for the first few years & i really miss pax. In reply to the previous post who has been on ven for 4 months with no improvement - 4 months is TOO long to wait. You would surely feel something in the first 4-6 weeks. Paroxetine is a super drug -if it works. Mirtazapine is another drug with good fast results but can make you gain some weight. But as a doc once said to me "wouldn't you rather be happy & a little heavier than sad & slim". She was RIGHT.