1. Community
  2. Mental health
  3. Venlafaxine

Scared to start taking Venlafaxine 37.5

Posted , 2 users are following.

alex1985
alex1985

Hi all,

I'm not sure that I have the room here to list all the problems and issues I am facing right now in massive detail but my main problems are a general feeling of unwell constantly due to awful fatigue/headaches (which are all the time) and feeling flat and every day being the same - I am just not getting anywhere with my life, vastly unhappy with how life has become and just spend all day on my laptop. I had an underactive thyroid from 2011 and I've had thyroid cancer twice (2015) so that's been removed and all in all I just feel like a zombie daily, I've started to get bad joint aches and pains in my right hip and my feet, I have severe hand washing OCD, I have anxiety all the time about my health (and socially but not as bad) and feel like I am not living, but I am also too scared to try anything that may help! Which is a bit of a problem, because as my counsellor says, if I don't try them how will I ever know?!

Anyway my Doctor at the hospital who I see on a monthly basis about all these pains (basically a pain management clinic but seems to have an element of psychiatry about it) has recommended I try Venlafaxine, the smallest dosage apparently, 37.5mg to take at night.

But I am too scared.

I have spent time in the sessions saying how I have tried many anti-depressants since 2011 when the fatigue started, but in recent years, any I do try seem to give me awful side-effects and I end up not being able to continue. But I have never tried Venlafaxine before, and I am scared to start taking it - I've had the tablets for 2 weeks and my next review at the hospital is mid-May, so I feel if I don't try them then the hospital may see these appointments as a waste of their time. I just don't know how to get out of the cycle of worrying about side-effects (for example, Duloxetine made me feel like I was off my head in 2014, and Mirtazipine in 2017 was a complete NO even after 2 days!)

Can anyone put my mind at ease about starting a new anti-depressant? The main issue is I feel awful day in, day out as it is - exhausted, headaches, no energy - I guess I'm just scared that an anti-depressant/anxiety drug could make me worse.

Thanks for any feedback smile

0 likes, 1 reply

1 Reply

  • m89928
    m89928 alex1985

    Posted

    Sorry you are having to go through all this.  I can tell you from my own experience that had I known at the start what I now know about Effexor, I would have never ever started taking it.  As it was, I took for approximately 15 years.  It helped initially, although I gained 30+ pounds, and felt much more fatigue than prior to taking it.   Eventually, it stopped working, and took me approximately a year and a half to wean off 75mg.  Please read all you can about this drug if you decide to take it, and review the multiple websites and facebook groups of folks trying to stop taking it.  Even if you take it for a short period of time, it can be very difficult to discontinue.   Good luck in your decision.  Take care!
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.