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Helpful advice needed

Posted , 5 users are following.

kaye83979
kaye83979

I have been off Venlafaxine for 5 weeks and I am very low and crying all the time, is there anything I can take that will lift my mood!? Thank you

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • j17344
    j17344 kaye83979

    Posted

    Medications that have been effective for me have been Prozac, risperidone. I also take Lamictal but don't feel it helps and I take 75 mg of effexor which also doesn't help but the withdrawal is so bad, I just decided to keep taking it.
  • david55690
    david55690 kaye83979

    Posted

    Hi Kaye,

    well done for getting to 5 weeks.

    Did you taper or stop straight away?

    I've been off Ven for over 1 week now so keen to understand what's around the corner. I was taking 150mg.

    I opened up a discussion last week and have found the chatting really helpful, more than I ever imagined. I seem to use the forum to chart what is happening and what works for me.

    I have also found that excercise and keeping busy are helpful to me. I have however been feeling more emotional over the last day or two. Mainly around how horrible I have been to those closest to me - Wife and the kids - which I can't undersdtand.

    I made the decision to stop taking Ven without any tapering. I am also resisting taking any other meds.

    Like I said keeping busy and excercise (i have a puppy that is loveing the walks).

    I have not had any alcohol since Saturday night, as I thought it was making me feel low.

    5 weeks off would be great for me, I'm in ore of you. I think diet also helps, something which Im looking at next.

    Be interested to understand what I can expect from week 2 to 5.

    Keep chatting

    Dave

     

  • betsy0603
    betsy0603 kaye83979

    Posted

    Hi Kaye, 

    There is nothing that can make healing from withdrawal go any faster - it is a matter of time  However, a lot of people take 2-4 g of fish oil a day, very good for the brain and helps with brain zaps, apparently.  Also, magnesium, at least 100% of the RDA, helps with anxiety and insomnia.  

    The main things is to not get caught up in fear about your symptoms, as that makes things much worse.  So, support and self-care are paramount.  David spoke of such things that have helped him.

    If it is so bad as to be intolerable and you are non-functional, it may be worth considering reinstating a very small dose to alleviate symptoms.  After stabilizing you can then do a much slower taper off.  10% per month of the previous month's dosage is the recommended schedule for harm reduction, keeping the patient comfortable and functional.  You may still feel symptoms from a cut, but they should be very tolerable.  The idea of the slow taper is that your nervous system has plenty of time to adapt to the small changes such that when you finally jump off, there will be much less adapting needed and fewer symptoms.

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