Sweating and heat

Posted , 9 users are following.

I have been on venlafaxine for at least 12 years 150mg. Came off it once was ok for 3 months then anxiety again so went back on it.  My only side effect is I am hot and sweaty. These are not hot flushes (I am 65) there is a real difference. Does anyone else have this?

1 like, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • Posted

    Hello Angelaeve, this is another of the side effects I struggle with. Comes on an hour or so after I take my morning dose (75mg) and lasts throughout the day and night, especially bad after the evening dose (75mg). It kind of resonates through my whole body and I feel like I can't cool down no matter what I do. Not nice always feeling sweaty and clammy is it :-( x

  • Posted

    Hi angel

    I had terrible sweats for the first couple of months but then it completely subsided.

    If it had been winter I would of had the lowest heating bill in the country!

    How long since you restarted?

    Wishing you a cool breeze! ♥♥

  • Posted

    Hi angelaeve, yes I am the same, I'm also on 150mg, I am 57, and I also get hot flushes from the menopause and your right they're completely different,

  • Posted

    Hiya. I've just gone back up to 150mg after reducing back to 75mg because of the sweating and heat. It's come back it not as bad. It's really not pleasant is it. Hope it subsidesfor you soon.

    • Posted

      I'd been on ven for over 12 years and had the sweats throughout, though I can't remember if they were in conjunction with increases or decreases.  My dosages varied over the years.  Ven affects neurons throughout the body, which is why the sweats/burning skin can be an effect.

      If your wish is to come off or lower your dose but this nagging withdrawal/side effect prevents you, the answer is to do it in a much more gradual way.  Problem is, if you are on the immediate release version, it will be harder to do.

      I tried to come off too quickly and was hit with withdrawal symptoms which included anxiety, insomnia and despondency the likes of which I had NEVER experienced before in my life.  I ended up back on but resolved to come off a drug that could do this!  

      I've learned much about withdrawal since.  It turns out all psych drugs cause the nervous system to modify to regain homeostasis, essentially knocking back its own production and sensitivity to serotonin and other neurotransmitters.  Basically, we become addicted, though not in the way of opiod addiction, where there are cravings.

      And so, we must very gradually reduce the drug so that our nervous system can rebuild and adapt, remodeling to begin producing the neurotransmitters again, but slowly enough to not cause dramatic effects from the imbalance caused by pulling the drug away.  The 10% method is a harm-reduction approach for the greatest number of people.  I have been doing this ever since reinstating, and can say that the withdrawal effects, when they do arise, are so mild as to be very tolerable.  I am down to 12 mg of ven and am doing as well as I ever did on 225! Probably better!

      With immediate release, if it's the one with little beads in the capsules, you can do this by reducing the number of beads taken.  Immediate release is trickier.  You can either obtain an inexpensive milligram scale that reads 0.000 mg (jeweler's scale) and shave off a bit of the tablets for each dose, or make a liquid out of the tablet and use a syringe to dose.

      Within the following link is the 10% taper method:

      https://patient.info/forums/discuss/depression-resources-298570

  • Posted

    I recently went up from 37.5 to 75 mg and the night sweats have been awful. I decided to buy moisture wicking sheets and it was the best decision I ever made. I still sweat, but instead of waking up in a puddle of wetness, the sheets magically dry themselves so only my clothiing is wet in the morning. Makes a huge difference and I highly recommend them. Good luck!!
  • Posted

    Quite common side effect although is used to help with sweating due to hot flushes. Yes I also have this problem to the point where I often have to shower and change up to three times a day.

    Linda

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