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Name of medication: Venlafaxine
Link to patient information: http://www.patient.co.uk/medicine/venlafaxine
**Please note all following information is based on individual members experiences.
**Any side effects or any questions should ALWAYS be directed to your own medical team.
Ive been on Venlafaxine for a long while now and it will be a cold day in hell before they take it away helps me function and has kept me alive. It does make me sleepy and pretty vacant at times but better zombie than suicidal
I am on Venlafaxine at the minute and the doses are still being worked out, have also had Mirtazapine added to work along side this,
I do get tired and lethargic on it and also a horrible taste in my mouth its a case of wait and see if this does work and help
This was the first ever ad I was out on for my depression around 13 years ago. I had a severe reaction to it as it made me sick within an hour of taking it so I was taken off it immediately. Only ad I have ever reacted that way to.
Nita, my friend had a similar reaction to venlafaxine and suffered hallucinations. I, however, have been on it for many years - although had a brief period without it - (currently at 375mg) and it's been fantastic for me. I don't have any side effects but I will say that coming off venlafaxine is very difficult. Doing this too quickly can cause dreadful side effects in my experience (extreme Dizziness, vomiting, fainting etc) so needs to be done under careful medical supervision. While this sounds scary, if it works for you it's a very effective drug.
i have been on venalfaxine now for over two years and it seems to be the best for me although it took me a very long time to get the dosage right and the form (it comes in a quick release and slow release) and the time of day i take it. but i permitted and i am now glad i am on it. i was on this about 11 yrs ago i remember it being horrible coming off it and i really didn't want to take it again but my psych convinced me that as long as i reduce the dose very very slowly at the right time then i will be ok. i am now taking 225mg of XL. when i was at my worse i was on 375mg. so i am pleased with my progress of reducing it. i have only been able to reduce by 37.5mg every few months and sometimes the psych doesn't let me reduce for ages. it is very difficult to come off but without having been on it in the first place i dread to think the state i would be in now. i think fatigue seems to be a very common side effect amongst us all. this is my main one but at least i don't suffer the horrific brain zaps as much now as a few months back which were really bothersome.
Venlafaxine worked really well for me and I was much more stable on it I did constantly have a dry mouth when on it but it was an inconvenience rather than a major problem. It did make me feel lethargic as well but again compared to the way I was feeling before I started on it this was an inconvenience. Everyone could tell if I had missed a dose and it seemed to put me back by about a fortnight when I missed a dose. Coming off it cold turkey as I was pregnant at the time was horrendous though I had headaches and brain zaps.
I was on Venlafaxine for a year. It did not help me at all. I was at 225mg for the most part. When they increased it to 300mg I started sweating buckets, and I went to the local Health Campus a few times and my temperature was always above 39ēC. The side effects outweighed the effectiveness, I have yet to find an anti-depressant that even works.
All ADs work differently for different people, and my experience of venlafaxine is very positive (I'm on 375mg)
I know that there are a lot of members here that have been helped tremendously by Venlafaxine, its always important to remember that while one Anti depressent might not work for one person it will work for another person, everyone is different and reacts in their own way to medication
If fluoxetine doesn't work for me, this is the one I am considering next. It seems to help a lot of people who have similar symptoms to myself.
Venlafaxine made me eat, and in mid-range dose (150mg) made me so sleepy I could barely get out of bed.
I was told today there is some evidence to suggest it can cause high brain pressure - IIH - the illness I suffer from. I am to stop taking it immediately.
Do you eat when your not hungry rose?Quote:
Originally Posted by rose
I get hungry more often but I used to eat chocolate until I felt sick and even then carry on eating it.
I was recently put on Venlafaxine as an alternative to Mirtazapine which we felt may not have been working as well as hoped. My own persoanl experience of Ven was horribe, but I appreciate it is only my reaction and others may find it really helpful.
I took my first (and only) pill of 75mg at bed time and woke up at 1 am feeling like I had severe food poisoning. I was drenched in sweat, flu and fever like symptoms, had a terrible panic attack, my heart was racing and thumping out of mt chest. I felt dizzy and terribly sick. My blood pressure had sky rocketed and I could feel my lips, eyes, fingers, toes etc 'swelling' with every heart beat. All my limbs were tingling and I could literally feel the presence of 'chemicals' washing through me. I was in a total state and didn't know which way to turn. I ended up sobbing, gibbering out all kinds of rubbish with my wife reporting later on that I was talking so quickly my tongue couldn't keep up with my brain. I eventually 'came down' by mid afternoon but the motion sickness and panic stayed with my for 5 days. The Doctor said not to take any more and that it simply wasn't a drug for me. It was a freightening and most horrid experience and not one I'd ever want to repeat.
I had a similar kinda reaction to Citalopram.
Citalopram left me feeling 'dead' and devoid of any personality or ability to feel any emotion. Plus it made me want to 'gurn' and extend my lower jaw constantly as if I was an 'American Werewolf on London'!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Stella180
I was on venlafaxine 300mg for past 2 years. I tolerated it ok although on the occasional times i flipped and stopped all my meds it was a killer with side effects. Dont do it!!!! Dr has recently decided to try something different as hasn't given me the kick that they felt I should have got. Weened down off it slowly by 75mg each time and they then introduced Citalopram, first 10mg and now 20mg. not sure how I'm feeling about it tbh but am willing to try anything, although tbh they do feel that working with psychology is going to make the biggest impact on my mental health.