Myla Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 I think I'd like to stop taking it but I'm scared . My gp tried hard to get me on something again - I was on it about 6/7 years ago then tried citalopram beginning of year which was a disaster. After a few months I finally gave in to trying the venlafaxine again as I couldn't cope and thought things couldn't be any worse. Now things are no where as bad as they were but I'm convinced that the venlafaxine has become part of the problem as I'm often tired and my mood and anxiety levels are up and down. I'm worried that if I tell my gp this she won't support me especially if I get worse after stopping them. I honestly can't remember what happened when I came off them before. Anyone any experience/s please? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine001 Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Think there are bad side effects if you dont reduce it very slowly, so please dont do it without gp help. I am on 300mg slow release plus other stuff and it works ok for me, so have decided to stay on it for now, but different things suit different people and i beleive the only one who can judge that is the person taking the meds. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlylight1 Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 i was on it for a good few years-300mg slow release for a while too but found it didn't help my mood much but more than anything it was the very bad tiredness which led me to stop. its hard to say whether it was improved life circumstances or the medication that helped but i found i was a lot better when i went on to sertraline and not so much tiredness to deal with. however if things are better for you mentally on them i would find that a difficult decision to make to come off them or not. all the best and like christine says reduce very gradually if you do decide to xxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow girl Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 This is always a tricky thing to decide about. After you've been on a med for a long while, and you've been a bit better bbut not totally ok for much of the time it is impossible to know whether the meds a re helping, hindering or doing nothing. I came off venlafaxine because I didn't know if it was helping or not and \I suspected some things were caused by it. Coming off, under supervision of my pdoc and with support from my CPN was awful. Terrible side effects - though some people come off with no problems at all. By the time I had been off it for 2 months I was pleading for a new medication. It had clearly been helping more than I realised. I was not allowed to go back on venlafaxine because of how severely it affected me when coming off it and in the new year I tried lamotrigine instead which has been great. The point of this waffle? The decision is yours and there is no right or wrong answer - but whatever you do, do it with the knowledge, and ideally support of, your GP or pdoc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unlucky Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 I've been on it for a year now, I'm up to 375mg of the slow release. At first I seemed to feel a lot better in the morning but it didn't last all day. I thought that it made my anxiety so much worse, but when I think about it, it's probably just that I notice it a lot more now, whereas before I knew something was wrong but couldn't put my finger on it. I'm not sure either. But I was on the maximum dose of Fluoxetine for 6 years because I was too scared to come off it, even though it wasn't making any difference. When I eventually decided to change medication, I managed to come off it no problem. I've been on another drug for 7 years, and again, I'm too scared to try and come off it. But if I hadn't have tried the Venlafaxine, I wouldn't have had a glimpse of feling better like I have done. Even though it doesn't last. If you stay where you are nothing is going to change. If you take the chance, you might find something more helpful, or you might have to go back on the Venlafaxine. But at least you will know where you stand. As long as your GP or CPN agree that you can go back on the Venlafaxine if you need to, then it might be worth a shot? Good luck xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine001 Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 they can add things to the venlafaxine, which saves you coming off it, thats what I decided to do and added quetiapine and lamotrogine and on the whole, with some blips this wroks for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myla Posted September 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 Thanks everyone for replying. I'm really confused as to what to do. . I'm just scared to have the conversation with my gp. Today I saw the CPN who visits my gp surgery and told him when asked that had he asked me about my meds 2 days ago I would have told him I want to stop. But today was a good day. I just hate the "up and down" I get with it. When I'm not on it doesn't fluctuate: I just feel depressed. But at least it's stable. This time round I haven't been taking it long (around 3 months) and I'm taking 150mg slow release but my gp doesn't want to increase it (I'm not keen either because I don't think I'd cope with any more tiredness). Before taking venlafaxine I had plenty of thoughts about suicide and self harming. These have decreased dramatically in number and intensity and so my main fear in stopping is that these will return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myla Posted September 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 they can add things to the venlafaxine, which saves you coming off it, thats what I decided to do and added quetiapine and lamotrogine and on the whole, with some blips this wroks for me. Thanks, I didn't know that. If you don't mind answering, are yours for a depression/anxiety dx, as this is what I have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myla Posted September 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 Sorry but one other thing. Does anybody have any thoughts on how long is a reasonable length of time to try the venlafaxine to see if it's going to be "the one" for me? I have read accounts from people who have reported improvement with depression within weeks of starting. This didn't happen for me though my anxiety did markedly improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine001 Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 Hi Myla, I have depression, what they call treatment resistive, no anxiety though and I went from a very low dose to a very high does over a period of weeks. had tried lots of other drugs but hospital put me on venlafaxine. It took me at least 8 weeks to see a difference, but at that time I also took escatalipram. Its major trial and error unfortunately and everyone responds differently. sorry hun if that doesnt give you a definate answer. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just.me Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 YOu will get worse if you stop them, you must never stop taking your pills, you have to be weaned off of them. I take 150mg a day and they certainly work for me. I consider myself recovered, it took sometime but without the pills I'd not be able to function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myla Posted September 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 Hi Myla, I have depression, what they call treatment resistive, no anxiety though and I went from a very low dose to a very high does over a period of weeks. had tried lots of other drugs but hospital put me on venlafaxine. It took me at least 8 weeks to see a difference, but at that time I also took escatalipram. Its major trial and error unfortunately and everyone responds differently. sorry hun if that doesnt give you a definate answer. x Christine, no that is actually really quite helpful. To hear that it took you 8 weeks makes me want to give it more time as I've only been on current dose about 5 weeks. Because of other accounts I'd read I'd just thought I was abnormal in not feeling 'recovered' quick enough. So thank you . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myla Posted September 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 YOu will get worse if you stop them, you must never stop taking your pills, you have to be weaned off of them. I take 150mg a day and they certainly work for me. I consider myself recovered, it took sometime but without the pills I'd not be able to function. Sioux, stopping for me is weaning off . I'm glad you've recovered. How long did it take for 150mg to 'work' for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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