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Anyone have any experience of starting venlafaxine?

Posted , 5 users are following.

nigel45109
nigel45109

Was on 35.7mg ven for 10 days, with a small amount of cit to taper. Upped to 75mg 5 days ago. Probably will go up to 150mg in a few weeks. So far only a sporadic couple of hours feeling okay. Majority of time I'm really down. Any idea of what I can expect in next few weeks please? No noticeable side effects, sleep okay, its the only thing I look forward to or enjoy. I do take 2.5 mg of diazepam 3 x day, for anxiety. It's so hard to imagine or believe I will recover and feel any near normal. Most of time just existing with very little hope, none a lot of the time. Thanks.

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • jennifer21990
    jennifer21990 nigel45109

    Posted

    i will be following you..  starting 35.7 mg in 5 days..  thanks for being here..  i will be following you and later will talk about my experence..  thank you nigel..  whaat is a small amount of cit.. is that like lexapro that i am on ..
    • nigel45109
      nigel45109 jennifer21990

      Posted

      Thanks. To be honest starting it, been on it for 2.5 weeks, has been fine, although only on 75mg now for 5 days. Not many side effects. Just its so slow. I switch from paroxeteine to cit in jan, cit seems to have made me worse, so starting ven in a worse position. Reducing cit dose over a long period hasn't helped, pysc agreed to speed up switch earlier this week.

    • jennifer21990
      jennifer21990 nigel45109

      Posted

      the doc started you on 75mg ? my doc is only starting me at 37.5 for 7-10 days.. then 75mg for 7-10 days..  then she will go from there.  what do you mean by slow?   what are you going thru?  so i can figure out what position you were in.  no my doctor is taking me from lex 10 4 days and then lex 5mg for 4 days..  then i start Effexor xr.   can you tell me what you are going thru . so i understand more...  
  • jennifer21990
    jennifer21990 nigel45109

    Posted

    duh    sorry i forgot to read your first post again..   you did start at 37.5..  i am up to date now with your post
  • tammy76379
    tammy76379 nigel45109

    Posted

    Hi Nigel. Please don't give up hope. This medicine does work very well. You just started about two weeks ago, and for you to reach the therapeutic effect takes at least 4-6 weeks. Make sure you don't miss a dose. As far as the diazapam, be careful. It can be addictive. I understand that the anxiety is horrible and we need to calm ourselves does to function.... But you can feel sluggish and tired and sleepy which isn't always good trying to get thru these tough days. I'm getting back to basics by walking my dog every day, the "calm" app on my phone helps to focus, and I pray and go to church a lot. You have to find ways to get better than just relying on the pill. I know that's easier said than done but if you make small changes and stick to them, just like taking your pill everyday, you're going to stay feeling better. You will. God bless you!

  • sun47
    sun47 nigel45109

    Posted

    hi nigel i wouldnt worry because perhaps you are simply like me;  i started on 75mg for about 3-4 weeks and after that time i still had depression and anxiety going on,  not quite as bad as before i started the med, but certainly not getting the results i had hoped for.  it was only when i increased to 150mg and gave it a month on that, that finally my depression and anxiety was given a serious kick in the backside and im feeling really good now (rewind a few months and i had severe depression and anxiety, like you feeling nowhere near normal, no hope to get better, suicidal and almost had to go into hospital.   let's agree that's not a bad turnaround to feel normal again after just a couple of months of venlafaxine treatment..)

    i know how u feel and it's annoying having to wait, so just try to keep busy and do things until then.  dont just sit around doing nothing thinking about stuff ok  smile

    dont worry u will get there in no time.  do try to find things to do to occupy you, to make your journey a little easier along the way ok

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