Positive feedback about Venlaflaxine

Hi kutiebug

I have been on ven for just over three weeks. It's brilliant and it's made me feel better in record time. I'm on a low dose of 75 mg but it's doing its job wonderfully well. Hope its the same success for you ♥♥

Hi I've been on it for two years and although it has horrible side effects of you forget to take a tablet or are coming off it the results are great! Before Efexor I tried three different anti depressants and all made me feel completely worse. Efexor helped me over come depression within a year. I wish I was off them but I've tried coming off and the effects just make me feel to sick especially working full time and not having a day to rest while coming off, having this happen I believe I might be on them for another year before I want to try to come off

I've been happy with venlafaxine, i've been on it several years in combination with mirtazapine, and have few side-effects. I also find I can miss the occasional part dose (if I forget) without any Ill effects. I think you're more likely to see negative comments posted because people go on the site when they've got problems. If the medication is doing its job, and they are satisfied, then they just get on with their lives!

Hi. Ive been on them a few years now, im 300 mg i find they work well. Only side effects are they wake my up in the night if i miss just 1 day i sleep better.

I think that the negative replies are from the ones who have have had no benefits at a all or from those who didn’t who weren’t able to “ride out” the pretty bad, sometimes, side effects.

I have a new MD prescriber, although the same Ph.D. therapist. I’m not sure if this is going to work or not but I’m willing to give it a chance. I went for decades without realizing how much things had drastically changed in the mental health field.  I thought that it was me - that I wasn’t understanding something. I tried to get my hospital records from 16 years ago only to find that even government hospitals only keep records for 7 years.

I still don’t understand things.

My previous prescriber (a new nurse practitioner (psychopharmacologist) with 3 years-of-practice and my current therapist has 10 years-of-practice. In the 31 years that I’ve been under mental health treatment then I think that I’ve picked up a few things but that’s that’s it – if I know that … if I say that I’ve read, for example, the FDA monograph on a specific med then I’ve checked every every pill I’ve taken. I don’t mean to imply that I “believe everything that I read on the Internet.” Despite my nurses belief in naïveté, I’m not as stupid as they want me to believe.

If you think that you have two to three odd occurrences with any new medication, and if any new “other” spec know about about any new side effects; let your doc know of any new of these and let your doc if you

But to get on track again, with venlafaxine. My general practitioner started me on 150mg of Immediate Release Venlafaxine, I made an appointment with a Ph.D. Psychologist and his psychopharmacologogist and they upped it to 225mg daily, all taken once .and now, things have changed again,

I began to feel ‘better’ within three weeks from beginning the Venlafaxine. A couple of weeks ago, on April 48, I began telling the EX/ER. Also at the same time in the morning. So, yes,venlafaxine has worked for me. I’m not cured of all of my mental illnesses, I still have the ups and downs and I don’t understand why I go up and then and down; a lot of things that I don’t understand. But, I think that I’m getting a little bit better,

 

The only thing that us good about it is it gives you energy. Just make sure when you come off it you do super slowly.

I took Venlafaxine for a total of 12 years. I was on 75Mg which was inadequate until, 4 years into therapy i chanced upon a psychiatrist who completed my assessment and was sure that an appropriate dose will help. I slowly went up to 150 mg. I was treated for severe GAD which escalated following the birth of my first child and peaked at the point of psychosis. It took a few weeks but once it started to work, there was no mistake about it. I still remember the morning i woke up feeling comfortable for the first time in years. I saw gradual but steady improvements and started gathering courage for all the things i had started to avoid doing in fear of another panic attack. After about 2-3 years of therapy i was symptom free. And beginning to grow emotionally again. Effexor gave me my life back. That is, it gave me the support to rest and pick up the pieces and start moving along, building myself etc. I needed no psychological support after the first 3 months on appropriate doses. I just started falling back into place. I took another 2 years maintenance therapy and then the slow slow weaning, which took about 2 years. I found coming off it easier than going on it. The adjustment was awful i remember. I was given xanax to ease me on to it, then after a couple of months xanax was slowly phased out. Withdrawal from it...minimum issues. The trick was to follow therapy AND maintenance past the time it is deemed needed (let the brain stabilize totally) and then reduce very slowly. We spaced out each decrease by at least 3 months. I had to be 3 months symptom free (in withdrawals effects) to be eligible for another decline. Cheating on this is cheating yourself. In summary. Awesome for GAD. I am not sure how well it acts on other types of depressive disorders but GAD and panic...great. Psychosomatic symptoms of GAD may take a while but once you settle on it they do improve. I am now 3 years venlafaxine free and a total of 8 years symptom free ! Trust your doctor. Give the medicine a chance. It can't make it worse. Worst case scenario - it doesn't help at all and then you have to try something else. Treatment of psychiatric problems requires patience and determination. All the best.

It's great to hear you've not had any side effects.  I was on this for around 8 years previously and it helped me from the hole I was in at the time.

It allowed me to have a 'stable base' for want of a better term whilst a lot of other stuff was going on.

My dose varied from 37.5 to 150mg at one point when things were really bad for me.

I didn't have many side effects at the time either (aged 24-31) in fact when I woke up in the morning I was more awake than ever.

Now aged 38 I went back on it and the only side effect I noticed at the time was waking up at 3, 4, or 5am unable to get back to sleep.

One thing to highlight is that some of the discussions here (my own included) refer to the effects of withdrawal rather than side effects whilst on the drug.  I know that probably obvious but just in case you were getting worried about the things some people experience when they stop it, I thought it's worth highlighting.

As others have said, if at some point you do stop taking it please do not do it abruptly and learn from our mistakes!

I have been on it for over two years now at 150mg dose.

If it weren't for venlofaxin I wouldn't be at work providing for my family.

It is a very powerful, activating treatment and yes that comes with a downside. That being said it has given me my life back - and I enjoy time with my sons now - it's precious to be able to do that. I appreciate every day of that.

The treatment doesn't make me feel lethargic like others, and while there is a sexual side effect it really isn't absolute like prozac/fluoxatine was for me.

Citalopram was very good for about 5 years - but seemed to collapse overnight. When it did I felt like I might never feel whole again. Venlofaxin comes with a high price, but I take it because it works.

There are no psychoactive substances without side effects. They don't exist.

I just want to thank you all for sharing your experiences. It has definitely given me hope. Thank you again!

Iv been on it 6 weeks I don't have any negative views on it at all thankgod.. I feel the dose needs upping but that's all 😊

Hi Kutie!

I am following this discussion with interest as I am strongly considering switching from citalopram(celexa) to venlafaxine (effexor).

I have been on cit for 4.5 months and have maxed out at 40mg and am still anxious and getting even more depressed.

There are so many horror stories out there of effexor that I am scared but the citalopram has not been fun either, and has not led to the benefits I desperately need. I have been off work for 11 weeks and am feeling very hopeless.

Best of luck and let me know how you are feeling!