update. more help please

Me too. This is day 17 and about to do battle with the WD symptoms once again. Its very hard as you know to keep going but i must. I am sure my original illness was'nt bad enough to warrant venlofaxine. My theory is that not many people actually get off them which is why the Doctors deny our symtoms exist.

I learnt yesterday that the physcaritrist who prescribed it to me after 1 10 minite consultation wrote " you could leave him on it at this dose ( 225mg) for life". I am in the process of writting to him to explain the problems getting off and maybe spare some other poor soul this nightmare.

I'm with you, Ian.  I regret the day I looked to psychiatry for relief and took that first Prozac.  19 years later and 12 of them on ven....how I let so much time go by not figuring it out, I don't know!  These drugs shorten life expectancy and cause brain shrinkage, and studies show that people on them long term stay sicker than those that use them short term or never use them at all; IOW, the episode passes and they recover.  These drugs are good for acute situations, but fail in the long term, but there we are left with the mess of trying to get off of them with no real support from those who prescribed them!

Did I mention that my p-doc said it was OCD that I was doing the 10% taper, a method which is tauted by the withdrawal community?!! He thinks that after six weeks your symptoms mean something else, but not WD, and likely he means a relapse or health problem!

Weird you mention about after 6 weeks your doc thinks your relapsing. I'm at 6 weeks Veneflaxine free and struggling at the moment. Episodes of crying abd feeling a bit numb. My doc has referred me for counselling but waiting list seems 4-6 weeks. Bit crappy when you need someone now to help x

In the withdrawal world we call those neuro-emotions.  Would you say these feelings are worse than they ever were before going on meds?  Having spent a huge amount of time on withdrawal forums, I know of people that have bad depression coming off of drugs when they never had depression before and weren't put on the drug for depression!  But magically, after six weeks, that becomes a new disorder that needs treatment?

You might benefit from couneling to help you with emotions that are coming up through withdrawal, but for many it is simply a matter of recognizing that this is not YOU, it is withdrawal, it is a sign that your brain is trying to adjust to the absence of the meds, so be patient with the process and be kind to yourself.  There is not really anything that can be done to hasten withdrawal or prevent it, other than doing a very slow taper off the drugs so that the re-adjustments are hardly noticeable, preventing suffering.

The concept that depression and anxiety are caused by a chemical imbalance that the drugs are treating has never been proven - absolutely no data has been found to prove the hypothesis.  When taking the drug, an imbalance is created compared to the brain's "factory setting," and so the brain adapts by upregulating/down-regulating receptors.  When you stop taking the drug or decrease it, another imbalance is created and the brain must adjust again, and that is what is causing the symptoms.  How long withdrawal lasts and how severe it is depends on how long you were on it, how much you were taking and how fast you went off.

Thanks for the advice. I was on the veneflaxine for 15 years so it's going to take at least 6-12 months to be totally drug free. I did the withdrawal very slowly under supervision. I took 150mg for along time. Xxx

One way or another we are all in a mess over this, more so than our original episodes i think. And thank you Betsy for the advice and research you have done, i totally agree with everything you have posted. Its a shame that the prescribers of this terrible drug have not done the same. For me its only 5 years of my life that have been ruined and for others i know its been a lot longer.

To conclude. If you're reading this having been just been prescribed Venlofaxine don't take it! You have had the capability to have found us and if you were so unwell you would'nt have done so. So please don't take it.

I agree, Ian!  It has become an obsession for me, and I so wish I could influence people to stop and really consider the other options before popping that first pill!  I really wish I had!  I think you and I are both in a position, having been there, to understand this!  

Depression/anxiety run in my family - I have several cousins on these meds who have been on them long term, and they have kids who are on them...but that doesn't mean it's genetic!  It may just mean that our parents (siblings) were raised in such a way that they aren't able to cope with feelings, and my grandparents were raised with similar parenting, and so they just don't have the skills to give to their children, and likewise we perpetuate this in our offspring.  Not to blame our parents, because if they weren't given the skills, how could them give them to us?  I am now trying to learn how to process my emotions and deal with the negative chatter, and I have to say it is working, though it will be a journey.

Hi Betsy. You're quite right. Despite a very happy and stable upbringing i had insecurity issues as a child. I had a terrible stammer until my mid teens and it was never talked about either at school or home. My early life was full of fear of speaking in class or to someone new. I would never blame my parents as that was how it was in those days. They were born in the 1920's and probably had victorian upbringings when people just got on with it. But i do feel my problems stemmed from that stammer.

I'm 50 now and have not been troubled by it for 35 years.

Its funny how i feel better having written that down

That is wonderful, Ian!  It helps to have connections with people who "get it."  That is one of the therapies I am doing right now, called Emotional Brain Training.  It's about rewiring the brain but making phone connections with other members to support each other in doing work.  Community is key.

And I think it isn't necessary that one was abused in order to have emotional scars that cause mood disorders.  The good news is that once you identify and have awareness, you can begin to difuse that circuit.

I wish you luck in whatever you decide to do, mrself.  At least you are going in having some knowledge about this stuff, and please use it for the acute situation and then wean off when you are feeling better and you can address stressors with some CBT tools.  There is a book I got that is quite old, but still very relevant: The Feeling Good Hadbook by Da vid D Bu  rns, M D.  I'm hoping this little trick will get past the screeners!  Never hurts to employ some self-help tools.

I went off "slowly" last year and didn't realize I was having withdrawal because it came on slowly, perhaps because I was taking serotonergic supplements. Also, I was entering menopause so attributed the physical to that!  I had horrible, drenching sweats, day and night, insomnia, periodic body zaps, mental confusion, memory and concentration issues (BAD!), burning skin sensations, heart palps, high heart rate, etc.  Eventually I had horrible depresison and generalized anixety, the latter of which I had never had before or during drugs!  Docs will say you are relapsing due to those last emotional symptoms, but they are known withdrawal symptoms!

Very hard to distinguish whether it's withdrawal or anxiety/dep coming back. I'm on week 7 and not sure which is which!

😳😳😳😳😳

It is likely WD.  How does it compare to past anxiety/depression?  When I was in WD I was freaking out about things to a degree I never had before in my life!

Thank you for your reply, its helpful to know there are others out there.  After twice being told it was my inner ear and trying 2 different tablets for this. The latter making me sick.

After decreasing for 6 weeks the dizzyness brain zaps increased weird thoughts got worse, but sweating decreased as I reduced. Not had any venoflaxine for 2 weeks and not going out as I look drunk walking.  I saw my gp tonight. he now agrees it is withdrawel, but did try to get me to take a low dose.  I cant repeat what I said!!!!!  Not that I want to encourage anyone to take Diazipan. I had been perscribed them for  anxiety but a small dose helps the dizzyness.  My doctor says this could last a further few weeks, which at the moment feels like a lifetime.  I firmly believe that patients being given this poison. Should be given  balanced and honest information regarding the withdrawal. As when perscribed this you cant read the leaflet and it states that only 2/per cent have this. This forum says different.  Once I feel more balanced I will be taking advice and looking at the makers for answers. Take care Carol

Well I started taking the Ven 15 years ago so I've forgotten how I felt. I know I became ocd with cleaning and that's coming back. So difficult to differentiate. 15 years is along time so I realise it's gonna take time x

Hi Carol. Now almost 3 weeks off and went to my GP yesterday to discuss WD which in my case now just is feeling of spaced out and loud tinitus. He was'nt interested in what i had to say so am going to write to to my local health authority with a complaint and will take it further. He actually said why did i want to come off!. I said my weight is droping off and my BP is back to normal so thats why. He made no comment.

I agree a warning should be given prior to starting, as ill as i was then i still had the presence of mind to be able to make that decision. Keep going in the knowledge that it

does go away and don't feel alone, all of us are going through it too. I am very interested in taking it further so keep us posted.

Ian