FEELING MISERABLE-HAD TO UP DOSE

I was on 112.5mg and dropped to 75mg, today i took 75mg plus 18.75mg (half of a 37.5mg) to see if it would help. Has made me feel a lot worse, suppose have to take the side effects to increase again??!!!!

I'm sorry if I asked you this before, but do you have the tablets or the capsules with beads?

Your cut to 75 was too big.  It is recommended that you'd cut by 11.2 mg  to 101.3 mg.  It is also possible, for the cut that you did, that your symptom pattern is to not feel a cut until 2 weeks later, and then you'd have symptoms for a week or so before it settles out.  Clearly you felt badly enough, though, that you wanted relief, so that level of withdrawal is not acceptable.  If the reinstatement dose made you feel even worse, then you may have to drop that and stick with the 75 and ride it out.

The ups and downs are very destabilizing, though, so that is why it is best to use the 10% rule and just settle in with it.  The nervous system gets more intolerant of the changes with adverse reactions being the result.  I would strongly recommend you join SA and put your intro up so that the mods can evaluate and see what the next best step is for you to take.  I don't have the experience they have.  

 

Hi there Betsy...i have been on 150 mg time release...75mg per day for 6 months ...do you think i could just drop to 75mg time release and be ok..really want off there....hope u can advise 

You've been on 150 for 6 months? No, I would not advise a 50%. I know you are impatient to come off, but you can see that just a drop from 112.5 to 75 caused Angela big enough wd that she felt the need to updose. The problem with taking a chance on such a big cut is that it can really sensitize you such that up dosing goes paradoxical as it has for her. Getting off these drugs can be a dangerous game, which is why SA recommends a very conservative 10% taper. Better to go too slow, a harm reduction approach. Ven is a really bad one to get off. You were only at that level for 6 months but I saw someone on here who took it for five days and was messed up for 6 months and more. Please go cautiously. If 10% is easy the first month you could cut every three weeks.

I was just reading on SA where someone was in a similar position and the mod said that if the updose made you feel worse, then drop back to where you were.  You could try a 10% INCREASE from 75 mg and see if that makes you feel a little better.  If it doesn't make you feel worse, then you could add another 10%.  It takes four days for the new level of drug to reach a steady state in the blood so the trick is holding for that long to see if benefits will be felt, and then doing the next 10%.  You are titrating to find the sweet spot for relief without making things worse.

Agreed!  Definitely seek help if you feel you could hurt yourself.  My doctor is aware of my tapering, but I am going far slower than he even advises.  Even if your doctor isn't in agreement on the slow taper, he should know that you are coming off and check in with you as you go to make sure you are ok.

Hi Kim thanks for your reply the other day. I know i wont actually do a'thing to myself, its were these tablets put my brain and i hate having such unwelcome thoughts!!, the last thing i want is not to be here!! Im back to 75mg again see if i can handle it. Are you coming off ven too?

How are you feelinig, Angela?

Hi betsy, im not feeling too bad, form is good, i hope it stays like this and doesnt drop low again!!! I have been hvg headaches and fuzzy feeling again. This morning i felt very clear headed then after i took my 75mg i got a headache and fuzzy feeling again. Is this withdrawal or my brain saying it doesnt want hit with a dose of 75mg?? Have to say id rather have the clear headed feeling!!

I'm not sure why you'd feel worse after your dose, Angela, but you have been at this dose for a short time after a big drop so I wouldn't mess with anything right now.  Since it was such a big drop, you need to stabilize a good 4-6 weeks before doing any further cutting.  The only time it is advised to go ahead and cut is if there are severe adverse reactions to the med.  I'd give it a little more time to see where you settle out.  i also recommend joining SA if you haven't since the mods there are far more knowledgeable than me on these intricacies! I am conveying what I have learned from them, but there is so much more that I still need to learn!

Ive no intention of cutting again for at least 4 wks or until i level out. This is only my 5th day of being back at 75mg after updosing by 18.75 for 1 day on weds which gave me horrible side effects. I joined SA thru the week, if it keeps happening i can run it past them. How are you doing?

That is good news!  There's so much info to learn from on the Tapering and Symptoms & Self-Help forums, you'll be quite busy over there on SA!  I'm glad you're there and are set to settle out.

I'm doing well, though aggravated with my little scale weighing beads this morning.  I may switch at some point to the immediate release tablets that I can make my own liquid out of because it won't require the scale so much, but that switch can be tough in its own right. It's all worth it, to be feeling good at 27.5 mg!

Hi kaz, you are having horrible symptoms, i dont know a lot about it but possibly your drops to 37.5 were to quick then just jumping off at 37.5mg is probably why you are feeling as you are with all the withdrawals. I dont have knowledge of reinstating venlafaxine especially with you now being on another drug. Betsy is on this site snd she is very knowledgable about ven if you maybe ask her advice about reinstating? (I hope she doesnt mind me suggesting this).

I am currently holding at 75mg hoping to even out?! Mood has been good last couple of days, still having headaches, 'fuzzy' feeling and hot flushes.

Let me know how you are doing.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Angela.  Yes, I would agree that your doctor did you a huge disservice having you jump off from 37.5 mg.  These drugs block receptors to keep serotonin in the gap between nerves.  At 37.5 mg your receptors were still 80% blocked, so to jump to zero, that was a huge destabilization.  The fact that you felt rotten at 37.5 mg meant your taper was too fast and already unstable, so to jump off just tossed your nervous system!

Mirt can be taken with Ven (I'm on the combo now though reducing slowly), but what dose of mirt are you on?  What type of Ven were you on?  If it is the XR with beads, you could reinstate a portion of the 37.5 mg and see if it makes you feel better. Mirt cannot negate the WD from Ven, and doing a cold turkey, which is what jumping from 37.5 mg amounts to, is really a rough ride that can go on for months.  Reinstatement is your best bet, kaz16