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I've just found this forum and am posting because I am possibly on the verge of tapering off Venlafaxine so that I can be prescribed another anti-depressant. I have suffered with bouts of depression for over 30 years and have been on Venlafaxine for 16 years, current dosage is 262.5mg. It seems that it is not helping my moods & depression much anymore and my GP has suggested trying another SSRI. But having done a lot of googling about withdrawing from Venlafaxine I am rather scared of all the things I have read about the horrible symptoms. I live alone and don't really have anybody who would be there to support me whilst I am withdrawing. My supposed best friend doesn't understand depression and all it entails and recently she has abandoned me because she can't understand (or even try to) the suffering I have been going through this year with a particular crisis in my personal life. So as well as being scared of the way I may feel if I begin withdrawing, I also am scared because there will be nobody to be there for me if I need help, support or even just a friendly voice and shoulder to lean on.
i saw my GP last week and agreed that Venlafaxine is a nasty drug to come off and she wants to involve the Community Mental Health team as she feels they have more experience of dealing with drug withdrawals. Vicious circle - I want to start feeling better and a new medication 'may' help, but am I strong and well enough to go through withdrawal?
I am struggling to cope from day to day; one day I am ok and the next I can get tearful for no apparent reason and sink back into the blak hole of depression. I am seeing a counsellor once a week but other than that I have nobody to talk to and support me during these difficult times and sometimes I do feel that I would be better off dead.
0 likes, 16 replies
elaine92718 Whatamess
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sarah20344 Whatamess
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sue34151 Whatamess
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suexx
elaine92718 sue34151
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I wish you all the best. Please see your GP ASAP. Don't hold out. You need it sorting xxx
sue34151 elaine92718
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xxx
elaine92718 sue34151
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Guest Whatamess
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For me after coming off venlafaxine the depression came back and I am back on the same drug, but for me it is the only thing that I've tried that works. It worked so well for so long (19.5 years) that we all wondered if I still needed it. Turns out I do, but I don't have a problem with that.
Will be thinking about you - can your gp refer you to a consultant to help?
Whatamess
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My GP said there was about a 12 week wait to see somebody at the Community Mental Health Team but she would make an urgent referral. So I don't really know how much of a wait I will have to see somebody to start the Venlafaxine tapering. I'll keep in touch to let you know how things are going.
Good luck to you all
x
joanne91122 Whatamess
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Guest joanne91122
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joanne91122 Guest
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elaine92718 joanne91122
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joanne91122 elaine92718
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Whatamess joanne91122
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The strange thing for me is that although I've been on Venlafaxine for 16 years, I don't remember having any side effects when I started. I was previously on Seroxat but suffered bad night sweats.
sue34151 Whatamess
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sue
Whatamess sue34151
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Like you I also didn't think that I would be on anti-depressants for so long - I started taking Prozac in 1992 when I had my first really bad depressive episode. Eventually, with the help of a friend (who walked out of my life in 1993 once I had started to recover & I've never seen or heard from him since), my mum and a good GP I began to slowly get better. But although I went for years without relapsing, I have had a lot of very bad depressions & mood swings over the last 12 or so years & feel that I will never be totally free of the sadness, anxiety & suffering that is depression & will always need to be on medication.
I wish you well in your fight against this horrible illness, and hope that you do find some light at the end of your tunnel. Good luck Sue
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