Am I on the right meds?

Hi

I have been ben for nearly 6 weeks after 12 months on sertraline and I can honestly say the sweating is horrendous. Regardless of the temperature or what I'm doing I sweat like mad and the night insomnia is not great either. Personally I have felt the differ be in myself since starting them so I just live with the side effects (and avoid any top that isn't black lol ). Maybe you should think about seeing your gp again if the aide effects are too much a and you are struggling on the. Xx

I defo feel better than I did bit so concerned after reading all the various forums and about what an evil drug everyone seems to say it is

Yea a lot of people say it's horrible. But I see a massive difference in myself so I can't see why people hate it but I suppose not every drug has the same effect on everyone. I have stopped reading too much into the forums and take what I'm feeling as a good thing. I have read it isn't pleasant to come off of hut I am a long way away from that yet so I'm trying not to worry about that yet xx

Thanks Charlotte glad it is working for you

I agree Charlotte - you have to think about where you started, how you were feeling and behaving and how that was affecting your life. If you need medication to help you until you begin to recover and can try other therapies, make changes to your life etc and the medication helps then that is a good thing. If the side effects of taking the medication are severe and long lasting then a different med should be tried. Venlafaxine is a very effective medication for a lot of people and I don't like seeing it demonized on these forums. Neither do I like to see stories/posts that scare people and put them off taking it!! Ihave been taking 300mg of slow release Venlafaxine daily for the past 16 years, with 800mg Lithium a day aswell and I know it has helped me and I have managed the side effects! It's been worth it but now I have been consistently well for three years and am now tapering off it, slowly. The key words are well, consistently and SLOWLY!! I am almost off it now and yes I've had withdrawal effects, some quite unpleasant but I have coped, with the support of my family and my clear head and sharper thinking make me know I'm doing the right thing.

Hi

To answer one of your original questions - venlafaxine slow release does what it says - it releases the drug slowly so you only need to take it once a day (although i take 2 tablets at night and one first thing in the morning so I get a "boost" at the time when the anxiety/depression hits me worst). The local pharmacist explained it to me as a tiny "dosing ball" from which the medication gradually leaches to be absorbed by the body. I went in to enquire because I noticed what looked like a tablet coming out at the other end (!!!) and he explained that was just what was left after all the active ingredient had come out.

I know there seem to be a lot of horror stories about venlafaxine on these discussion sites, but it has suited me with only slight side-effects - low libido has been one which I manage to live with. So you need to balance up the advantages against the side effects. If you've only been on it for three weeks, you probably need to wait a bit longer for it to have maximum benefit, and as your body gets used to dealing with it, the side effects might settle down. Good luck!

As you can see from the main page of the Venlafaxine discussion, most of the subdiscussions are about withdrawl problems. You may feel fine while on it and being sure not to miss any doses, but if and when you go off you will have trouble. The vast number of people with the same symptoms and anger is not a coincidence. Be happy, but be careful about what you are willing to put in your body to get there. Best of luck to you all!

Shockedandworried I had similar problems with the citalopram drugs as you and was switched to Venlafaxine January of last with 2 increases so far. Ive found that Venlafaxine helps much more with the anxiety symptoms than the old meds so decided to stay on them even though the last increase made me very ill.

As Charlotte said, we have to hold on to how we were and where we want to get too. And ive had to learn and accept that I now need meds to get there for both my depression and other conditions. Stay strong and keep going.

Wow, I am on 300. My first time being treated for depression stared about a year ago I guess., though I have suffered in silence for a long time. I gave been on Venlafaxine for several months now and it has helped me a

lot. Though there are side effects that I didn't attribute to the medication that I have just read about and seem to be quite common. The reason I found this forum us because I missed a dose. I am so queezy and tired and achy but the worst are the zaps. It feels like the world is shifting and I'm dizzy. I took my dose but am unsure how long these symptoms will continue for before I feel better. Reading about all the problems people are having coming off of it makes me wonder if I should talk to my doctor about slowly decreasing my dose. I can only assume the longer you are on it the harder it is to get off. Feeling very scared right now...how is something that is supposed to help you also able to mess you up so badly?

Hi Findingmyway,

Don't panic, everyone reacts differently to any drug. I haven't been able to try decreasing my dose yet but may or may not have problems with it. at the moment im concentrating on taking the meds and getting better for now. focus on now.good luck.

Devillchild

Thank you. It was a rough day. It took hours for those dang brain zaps to stop. I still feel sick and my ears are still raining off and on. But I am improving. Focusing on the positive is a great way to move forward and I don't want to dive head on into the darkness venlafaxine rescued me from. I just hope and pray that when the time comes to wean myself off that I don't experience the horrific symptoms of withdrawal expressed on here or that I gave been feeling today. I will discuss my concerns with my doctor at my next visit. Thank you for your support and positive light.

Your welcome,anytime.