Venlafaxine

[sarahjane]

I have been on 225mg of venlafaxine for a number of years.........My new GP is refusing to prescribe it at this dose.... He will only give me 150mg........ Im not concerned about coming off it, more to what side affects i can expect with the withdrawl.......any one have any ideas???????

[babylove567]

i dont have any ideas sorry but just to say i am on 150mg daily and was told with any antideperresents you need to reduce it and come off it slowly than stop it immediately .sorry if this doesnt help x

[Paris]

Did your doctor say why he was not going to prescribe that dose anymore? All i can tell you is I stopped venlafaxine suddenly I had bad heads nausea etc but i dont think that would happen so much with reducing teh dose. Sorry i cant help you more

Lou

[tripper]

I went through terrible discontinuation effects. I was in hospital when I was taken off Effexor. I was on 675mg daily. The reason I was taken off it was because I suffered a near fatal OD on the stuff. I was discontinued immediately without being weaned off it.

[aylaah]

I stopped mine yesterday. So far we're at about 16 hours past the last dose (150mg) and other than headaches (which are dealt with via nurofen plus) I feel a bit dizzy but nothing severe.

anyway the headaches are the biggest thing i have always had whenever i'm late, miss a dose etc.

[flightlessdove]

im on 375 mg and find if i miss it or some of it which ive had to do in the past due to not having enough left, i have felt quite ill and spaced out, dizzy etc. Its not a nice feeling at all. if you are planning to come off it, go to the 150 mg then perhaps after awhile go to 75mg. don go cold turkey its hard work.

[SuperTues]

I'm on 375mg a day and last summer, due to my doctors being shit, I went for an entire weekend without it. I suffered cold turkey, with horrendous side effects. I couldn't sit still, I was dizzy, I felt sick. I just kept crying because at the time I didn't know what was causing it. It was like having a balance problem, I never felt like I was still.

My advise - talk to your doctor about and make sure that you are taken off it gradually and it's being controlled!

[kib0ne]

You have no concerns bar the withdrawal effects? I think I'd be concerned as to how it would affect my mood if I was feeling 'anything negative' as you've stated your mood.

[leedavid08]

I have been on 225mg of venlafaxine for a number of years.........My new GP is refusing to prescribe it at this dose.... He will only give me 150mg........ Im not concerned about coming off it, more to what side affects i can expect with the withdrawl.......any one have any ideas???????

The reason for the change is probably because doses of 275mg+ are recommended by NICE to be reserved for hospitalised patients only due to the side effect profile; you might not think it but Venlafaxine in a mild stimulant and the higher the dose the higher the chance of having a tonic-clonic seizure. I'm currently on 300mg Venlafaxine, 30mg Mirtazipine, 700mg Quetiapine, 7.5mg Zopiclone, 3mg Clonazepam, Neproxat 750mg, Tramadol 400mg and lorazepam as and when needed.

It's important your doc monitors you during the drop from 275 down to 150 as it's quite a change; and again according to NICE should be done at 37.5mg intervals every 3 days minimum. If the reduction is done properly you shouldn't experience any withdrawl symptoms, though as I said it's important you tell your Dr ASAP if you notice changes in your mood.

Hope that helped =]

[soylentgreentea]

I experience terrible withdrawals when I miss the time when I should have taken my meds by only a few hours. This is the only med that I have ever taken and experienced this severe of symptoms, apparently it's bad for it. I've always had a hard time explaning what I experience but one day while browsing I came upon the best description I have yet to encounter. I don't know who wrote it, but I swiped it from depression.about.com.

"It happens to me if I turn my head quickly, or if I stop suddenly, or in general with sudden motion. They're worse if I'm nervous.

I've seen them described as feeling as though your brain keeps going when you turn your head. That doesn't seem quite adequate to me. It's more like this:

You turn your head or your whole body (This happens to me if I whirl around too quickly as I'm taking the stairs. What? Doesn't everyone whirl on the stairs?), but your brain stays put for a micro second, then tries to catch up but only in a stuttering, stopstart motion, accompanied by a staccato 'zzt zzt zzt' with each stop. The 'zzt' you can feel in your head, an electric sort of vertigo, and it often reverberates in your hands and fingers. Some folks feel it in their toes; I haven't yet.

Sometimes your brain overshoots and comes strobing back, then overshoots again. This all unfolds in just a second or two.

These days I endeavor to go around corners all smooth slow and steadylike. Helps to reduce the number of brain shivers per day."

Very unpleasant. I know if I were in your shoes I'd be looking for a new GP... immediately.

KD

[wednesday]

I don't know the specifics about Venlafaxine, you would need to look up the drug's recommended dose, but for all psychiatric medication, GPs will prescribe up to a certain level much lower than the doses commonly given by psychiatrists.

I would be very wary of reducing the dose of venlafaxine without due care and attention. Coming off it nearly put me over the edge.

[Benway]

effexor really is a 'controversial' med-i think many people who has been on it- including myself for over a yesr, hav been affected to different degrees by the withdrawls from it.

personally, i swore i would never ever take it again after a personality clash with my then consultant psych, 4 years ago, she asked threw me off the free mental health system about 4 years ago. i was on 225mg and i just remember weeks of head wobbles & electric shock feelings, 'sausage fingers', too many to name. didnt sleep in weeks as she threw me off dalmane 30mg also. i ended up in a&e after fitting, 1 week later, and got my meds re-instated.

however, today i took 75mg xl effexor. since i had a car crash 3 years ago, i have become increasingly debilated due to pain- everywhere, depression, fatigue, apathy... i have tried fighting it- and even with a good therapist i have decided to take venalfexadine again. i am slightly anti- medication, due to some bad experiences on ot, nd my drs pick my meds by a lotto system i think- but i just cant function- get up, dressed, have a 'normal' life, so im hoping it will give me some extra energy.

this is something i read today- women with cfs/fibro and depression crave carbs at night, and that 375-450mg effexor xl titrated up at 75mg every 5 days addresses this symptom very well. i hope it works for me for this symptom cos its a pain in the bum- i have t lost a lot weight over the last year, and am now 'normal' and this carb craving at night is so intense id go back on the med to get rid of it. am getting tests for cfs/fibro at the moment, i have nearly all the symptoms, and effoxor has a positive efefct on these too, i have read in quite reputable sources.

bpd and cfs eh? what a fucking picnic (fells sorry for self for a minute). well, it would explain a lot. i was in a car crash 3 years ago, and got addicted to morphine after it- which hs been treated by giving me methadone, as i was an addict for 18 months 15 years ago. then i spent 2 years in a therapeutic community - tough going- and got completely clean except for the occasional spliff. so my opiate receptors went crazy when was given morph after the accident. i have been having pains for 2 years, but really bad now, and i was afraid to tell my methadone dr in case she thought i was just looking to up my dose. i wake at 6 am and am in pretty bad shape till midday. im not oficially d'xed with cfs yet tho. im seeing my gp again in order to get full testing done- 2 yrs ago my gp said- its because your'e on methadone... i am on a relatively low dose, an i know it is nothing to do with that.

anyhow, my opinions on meds change like the wind- typical bpd- i dont even know what i actually believe in.... one minute im quoting peter breggin, the anti-pill psych who has done some excellent work and written some good books about the pharmceutical side of psychiatry, the next i'm goin back to taking effexor- i can never make up my mind about anything!

peace

anne marie

ps- does anyone have any experience with effexor helping bad anxiety? ta.

[yorkiegal73]

I was put on venlefaxine whilst in hospital last november. It's only 75mg and I'm fairly certain I was only prescribed it to stop me moaning as they are of the opinion that bpd isn't a mental illness. My gp wants me off it and I tried dropping down to half a dose for a couple of weeks. Within days I was feeling much more anxious, wanting to self harm again and couldn't keep still. I carried on til the next appointment a fortnight later just to see if it was a psychological response to the lower dose but had to increase it back to 75mg again. It's been a couple of weeks now and I still feel slightly off balance.

I'm disappointed because I really didn't think that such a low dose was making a difference anyway. I still can't function very well. Like with most anti d's I can't pay the bills, clean the house, wash my hair etc, the only difference is that I don't really care when I'm on them. I still have episodes where I am agitated and feel that my brain is too big for my skull. Sometimes I want to take a hammer to it to relieve the pressure.

I'm tempted to just stop taking them. I'm sick of having to see the doctor every few weeks. And I hate that it's masking who I really am. But then I remember how painful the thoughts were when I reduced the dose. But part of me wants that pain. At least it's really me, not some drugged up clone. I feel like a kid who's been given ritalin just because she's too noisy around her parents.

[wordsmithy]

yorkie, dont put what you experienced upon stopping as a remission of your disorder.

venflaxine has one of the shortest half lifes of the ssris. meaning it takes a short time to leave the body, within a few days, increasing the likelihood of having side effects when stopping, even halving the dose before stopping could still induce a withdrawal effect.

i have read of a guy who had to reduce by grain of the drug and still was sick when he withdrawed. me personally became hypomanic upon stopping.

[GeneralDisarray]

effexor really is a 'controversial' med-i think many people who has been on it- including myself for over a yesr, hav been affected to different degrees by the withdrawls from it.

personally, i swore i would never ever take it again after a personality clash with my then consultant psych, 4 years ago, she asked threw me off the free mental health system about 4 years ago. i was on 225mg and i just remember weeks of head wobbles & electric shock feelings, 'sausage fingers', too many to name. didnt sleep in weeks as she threw me off dalmane 30mg also. i ended up in a&e after fitting, 1 week later, and got my meds re-instated.

however, today i took 75mg xl effexor. since i had a car crash 3 years ago, i have become increasingly debilated due to pain- everywhere, depression, fatigue, apathy... i have tried fighting it- and even with a good therapist i have decided to take venalfexadine again. i am slightly anti- medication, due to some bad experiences on ot, nd my drs pick my meds by a lotto system i think- but i just cant function- get up, dressed, have a 'normal' life, so im hoping it will give me some extra energy.

this is something i read today- women with cfs/fibro and depression crave carbs at night, and that 375-450mg effexor xl titrated up at 75mg every 5 days addresses this symptom very well. i hope it works for me for this symptom cos its a pain in the bum- i have t lost a lot weight over the last year, and am now 'normal' and this carb craving at night is so intense id go back on the med to get rid of it. am getting tests for cfs/fibro at the moment, i have nearly all the symptoms, and effoxor has a positive efefct on these too, i have read in quite reputable sources.

bpd and cfs eh? what a fucking picnic (fells sorry for self for a minute). well, it would explain a lot. i was in a car crash 3 years ago, and got addicted to morphine after it- which hs been treated by giving me methadone, as i was an addict for 18 months 15 years ago. then i spent 2 years in a therapeutic community - tough going- and got completely clean except for the occasional spliff. so my opiate receptors went crazy when was given morph after the accident. i have been having pains for 2 years, but really bad now, and i was afraid to tell my methadone dr in case she thought i was just looking to up my dose. i wake at 6 am and am in pretty bad shape till midday. im not oficially d'xed with cfs yet tho. im seeing my gp again in order to get full testing done- 2 yrs ago my gp said- its because your'e on methadone... i am on a relatively low dose, an i know it is nothing to do with that.

anyhow, my opinions on meds change like the wind- typical bpd- i dont even know what i actually believe in.... one minute im quoting peter breggin, the anti-pill psych who has done some excellent work and written some good books about the pharmceutical side of psychiatry, the next i'm goin back to taking effexor- i can never make up my mind about anything!

peace

anne marie

ps- does anyone have any experience with effexor helping bad anxiety? ta.

I've been on Effexor XL 150mg for a while now..,. it's the only med that has had any effect on my general anxiety issues (a lot due to PTSD). I also take Clonezapam when needed. Also, I have a disabling condition as well. It's not well knowen. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Its a genetic mutation of the collagen (the glue that holds the body together). I experience pain, dislocations, partial dislocations, injuries, and general pain, weakness, and fatigue daily. I completely understand how hard it can be dealing with mental illness while dealing with a physical illness. Having to deal with the EDS has had a neg impact on my mental stability. It's been very hard accepting that I have a chronic progessive condition with no cure or treatment other than pain management. I guess I drew the shit card on that, huh? I hear that EFfexor is good for chronic pain, so I am hoping that wil help.

Good luck to you in figuring out the CFS/FMS thing.

[yorkiegal73]

I'm still getting a rash from the venlefaxine. It's definately the tablets causing it because it went away when I halved the dose and came back within a day of going back up to 75mg. I didn't realise that you could get new side effects after months on a pill but apparantly so. I take antihistamines which get rid of the itchiness but it makes you wonder just what you're putting into your body when they give you bumps all over. I forgot to pick up my prescription and had to take the bus to the chemist whilst scratching like i had fleas. Not surprisingly no one sat next to me lol.

[charliesgirl]

i'm on my 2nd go of venlafaxine on 225mg a day, when they tried to reduce it to put me on something else i was ill, electic shock feelings & fuzzines in my head, shaking, dizzy,crying so they had 2 up my dose back up, i ran out the other weekend and went thru the same for 2 hellish days till i got some on the monday.I would ask your doc to reduce u very slowley.

[hummm_mabbe]

If you are on the extended release version of effexor and have to come off, open the capsule and each day pour away a few beads. Do this over a period of weeks and you will get no withdrawal.

Take it from someone whos done it 6 times and the first time he didnt felt like someone was electrocuting him for a week. On holiday. In thailand. Great :)

[snowman]

I agree - if it's the slow release one, emptying out a few more beads every few days worked for me - some slight dizziness, nothing more. Takes a while but better than the awful side effects.

[walker]

I also had some of the lowest dose tabs and broke them into halves and then quarters - and alternated day on day off.

It took me 2 months in all, but no side effects (if you dont count crashing out and being off sick ever since!!!!)

[yorkiegal73]

I'm really not coping with these withdrawals now. I told my doc i wasn't feeling much better after a year and was also having problems with angry moods so he's referred me to a pdoc for an assessment of my meds. It's been two weeks and i haven't heard anything yet. In the meantime he reduced me from 75mg to 37.5mg and told me to half it again after two weeks, so thats meant to be today. I haven't eaten a proper meal for weeks. Just living on microwaved rubbish and chocolate because i can't find the motivation to eat properly. I've spent all my money on clothes and dvd's. My hands and feet feel constantly like i have to stretch them. I keep getting angry for no reason and want to self harm or hit people. I think the gp wants me off meds so he doesn't have to see me any more and he probably hasn't even referred me. I dont know what is the withdrawals and what is me. i hate feeling like a drug addict but thats what this pill has done to me.

[Benway]

I'm really not coping with these withdrawals now. I told my doc i wasn't feeling much better after a year and was also having problems with angry moods so he's referred me to a pdoc for an assessment of my meds. It's been two weeks and i haven't heard anything yet. In the meantime he reduced me from 75mg to 37.5mg and told me to half it again after two weeks, so thats meant to be today. I haven't eaten a proper meal for weeks. Just living on microwaved rubbish and chocolate because i can't find the motivation to eat properly. I've spent all my money on clothes and dvd's. My hands and feet feel constantly like i have to stretch them. I keep getting angry for no reason and want to self harm or hit people. I think the gp wants me off meds so he doesn't have to see me any more and he probably hasn't even referred me. I dont know what is the withdrawals and what is me. i hate feeling like a drug addict but thats what this pill has done to me.

hi yorkie,

sorry youre feeling so rotten. can totally relate tho, and im being upped on the stuff- 300mg now, i think it has given me an energy boost, but to do what? spend more time online? watch tv? i have so much financial, and other crap to sort out, and i really dont want to face anyone.

its totally taken away my appeite (whch the ed part of me likes) but as a result of no nutrients i feel like shit. my food groups are coffee, cigs, pain meds and pills.

i know what you mean bout cooking - i have to cook for my son the days i have him and its a pain.

the hands thing- i remember that the lst time i withdrew from effexor.its like restless legs, restless everywheres.

i think drs should INFORM patients of side effects, possible w/d symptoms, etc,

i forgot to take half my dose yesterday and had a headache until this morning until i realised what is was.

can you get another doc? not sure of the system in the uk.

a drug with s/effects upon withdrawl should not be cut more than 10% per week.

esp when a person has been on it a long time.

hope you feel better soon. follow up with your dr about the med assessment, or i would go see him. youre not a drug addict, you are a victim of a bad bloody doctor.

((hugs))

take care

anne marie

[yorkiegal73]

edit from previous post to say i just received my mail and i have an appointment with the consultant psychiatrist. but its not til 14th september, so i have a month of this to get through. plus this consultant is a bitch and was constantly telling me in hospital that i wasn't as disabled as some of the other patients and wasn't depressed, so i have a feeling she's just going to tell me to grow up and get lost.

thanks anne marie, i just saw your post when i'd finished this one. i don't know whether to go back up to 75mg until i see her or not. there is no way i'll get through this month without self harming otherwise and i really don't want to do that again. the trouble is that when i go to the docs i don't think they understand how strong my moodswings are. they just see me as a whingeing bpd'er. and it's hard to argue with them because they are pleasant. it's just like speaking to a brick wall. and everytime i ask for help i feel like they think i'm trying to be a professional mental patient and that i should just get over myself and get a job. i know this consultant is going to go on and on about self responsibility again and tell me i make things worse for myself by not opening mail or looking after myself. like anyone would really want to live like this?

[Benway]

thanks anne marie, i just saw your post when i'd finished this one. i don't know whether to go back up to 75mg until i see her or not. there is no way i'll get through this month without self harming otherwise and i really don't want to do that again. the trouble is that when i go to the docs i don't think they understand how strong my moodswings are. they just see me as a whingeing bpd'er. and it's hard to argue with them because they are pleasant. it's just like speaking to a brick wall. and everytime i ask for help i feel like they think i'm trying to be a professional mental patient and that i should just get over myself and get a job. i know this consultant is going to go on and on about self responsibility again and tell me i make things worse for myself by not opening mail or looking after myself. like anyone would really want to live like this?

[yorkiegal73]

thanks anne marie. i'm off back to the doc first thing monday and i'm going to demand something temporary to help me sleep and maybe calm me down a bit. i've woken up feeling better so far this morning. quite proud of myself as i got through yesterday without SH and used all the coping strategies I've learnt. Although when i rang my support line they did use those immortal words 'self responsibility' which nearly sent me through the roof again lol.

Thanks for your concern hun

yorkie xx