Posted , 7 users are following.
I've been on venlafaxine for over 10 years and the psychiatrist thinks they are not working no more and I feel the same. They was giving me 187.5 which is a weird dose.
Now I'm on day 3 of coming down off 37.5 and I'm constantly getting suicidal thoughts as I suffer from
OCD as well bit this won't budge now, it's with me the whole time and it's scary.
I don't know what to do any more, I feel lost.
1 like, 7 replies
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clare2729 mark04913
Posted
Sorry your feeling so low. Are they going to put you on anything else?
Trina536 mark04913
Posted
Hi mark,,I too came off an anti depressant after being on it for 32 years, I must admit that the withdrawal symptoms are as bad as the original symptoms that I went on tablets for in the first place ,I think you should go back to your GP , because he can give you something to help with the withdrawal, I assume that you will be changing to a different AD,so you can definitely get something to help you with the transition, I was given promazine to help me,but I only used it at night to help me sleep,if you use it wisely you won't get hooked., I know exactly what you're going through and it's awful, so don't suffer or wait until things get worse go back and see the doctor 😃
mark04913
Posted
They have given me Lyrica pregabolin to take instead so I don't know how this will go.
On the 3rd/4th day of withdrawal and getting the headaches etc now, I start these new tablets tomorrow, how they help fill that gap though.
betsy0603 mark04913
Posted
Mark, your horrible symptoms are from a recklessly fast taper you doc has you on. It is ridiculous to try to take other drugs to force your way through this withdrawal. Ven is one of the worst withdrawals ever and it can go on for months, not just weeks. I would reinstate the dose you were on before this, stabilize, and then do a much slower, gentler reduction. When we are on these drugs for 10 years, the nervous system has built their action into the workings; yanking the drug away fast like this leaves you with unopposed modifications that cause big imbalance and big withdrawal symptoms. Suicidal ideation is nothing to push through.
See the 10% topic in the following thread:
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/depression-resources-298570
mark04913
Posted
Purpledobermann mark04913
Posted
In part I second what betsy said. The drop was reckless.
When you said you feel it was not working anymore, what symptoms were you having after 10 years of treatment? At which point of this 10 year treatment did the doctor reevaluate your progress? Was there a point when you were perfectly well on this medication?
It is very hard to judge without your history and details but one thing is for sure - venlafaxine rarely just "stops working". Either it never worked the way it should OR the doctor did not push the dose high enough in the first 2 years of therapy.
What were you treated for? Depression with OCD? Were you ever manic (suicidal) before starting venlafaxine or at any point during your trwatment?
Your options are: reinstating the dose to the last comfortable dose you were on and stabilizing before deciding the next step; OR asking for a bridge like Prozac to help ease you off the drug. Not sure if Lyrica will be sufficient.
I believe that the doctor moved in the wrong direction by tapering off in case you indeed plateaued on 187.5. They should have upped by 37.5 instead and then activelyt sought a level that is therapeutic or a combo that is therapeutic with a view to finbbalizing a proper treatment and not looking for something to keep you on indefinitely!
Upping the dose is what is done in most cases before deciding to replace the drug, which invariably disturbs the clinical picture and makes treatment more complex. Can you ask for a second opinion?
mark04913 Purpledobermann
Posted
I have tried every ssri before I went onto Effexor. My illness started when I was 14 and back then not much was known about mental health etc, I was bullied very bad by people when I was young and my dad left when I was 4 years old. We moved from USA to U.K. And I had trouble from that day in life.
I was nearly drowned by so called friends who kept pushing my head back into the water again and again, I managed to get the strength to push up to the bank and stop a car for help, I never got over that incident.
My Illness was a combination of all the above and watching a horror film which is still in my head today and I get intrusive thoughts every day and my depression has got so bad, I don't like going out or meeting people as I feel they are talking about me and will hurt me like the others did. I've totally withdrawn from life and hardly wash no more as the water over the head and being in water brings back a lot of memories.
I was on Effexor and it helped my anxiety and depression and we tried to put the doze up but I was getting sweats, no concentration and now it has given me costo in my chest and a high heart beat which is over 110.
I never got a medical review at all throughout the 10 years I was on it, they just left me to get on with my life as it was working. No follow ups or nothing.
I've been diagnosed with OCD/ptsd/clinical depression and anxiety with social phobia.