Medication Review: Venlafaxine

[rose]

I get hungry more often but I used to eat chocolate until I felt sick and even then carry on eating it.

[Ovalbug]

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.