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venlafaxine and nervous habits!

Posted , 5 users are following.

fiore
fiore

Hi, since i have been on venlafaxine (I have posted here before re other side effects etc.) I have developed two nervous habits that I didn't have before ie. obssession with  lightly scratching scalp although it doesn't itch and not exactly tearing my hair out but running fingers quite roughly through hair to remove any loose/fallen hair. Also, I have developed a small chewing motion which I keep finding myself doing, my dentist asked me if I grind my teeth during sleep which as far as I know I don't, now wondering if he can see some effect on the teeth from this chewing habit. I believe that venlafaxine is used for anxiety as well as depression so I am a bit baffled by my newly aquired bad habits! Has anyone experienced anything similar?

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • betsy0603
    betsy0603 fiore

    Posted

    Bruxism (grinding teeth) is a known side effect.  I developed skin picking and grinding on Effexor, plus a twtichiness, always fiddling my fingers.  Tapering off of it, but 12+ years on, I hope it all isn't permanent.
    • fiore
      fiore betsy0603

      Posted

      Thank you for your info. I am on a high dose at 300mg, I thought it might be too high but tried to cut down a little and felt weepy. I am seeing my Doc next week, actually a different one from usual so will see how it goes. Good Luck with getting it out of your system, these medications are so difficult.
    • 14saints0469
      14saints0469 fiore

      Posted

      fiore, I was recently informed that 225 mg is the MAX dosage for venlafaxine. As I have stated, I, too was on a super high dose of 300 mg for many years. I would get a second opinion if possible on dosage amounts of venlafaxine. I have been told I was a lot more sluggish on the 300 mg dosage. Best wishes.
    • betsy0603
      betsy0603 fiore

      Posted

      Agreed, 300 is quite high.  How big of a cut did you do before that left you weepy?
    • joanne61130
      joanne61130 14saints0469

      Posted

      Hi there I was just wondering who told you that 225 is the max dose for venlafaxine? I have been on 337.5mg for about 15 years and I don't know how I would cope without it. It enables me to live a relatively normal life. I have side effects which fortunately i can manage to live with.
    • 14saints0469
      14saints0469 joanne61130

      Posted

      Hi. Hope I didn't upset you. My new psychiatrist told me this when she examined my meds. She claimed 300 mg venlafaxine and 300 mg wellbutrin was an overload, and regular venlafaxine dosage is 225 mg. Perhaps she is mistaken and, everyone is in fact different, weight, height, gender, etc. smile.
    • joanne61130
      joanne61130 14saints0469

      Posted

      Hi again thanks for replying. No u didn't upset me so don't worry. I think you're right about everyone being different and what affects one person doesn't necessarily affect another.
  • ashley26820
    ashley26820 fiore

    Posted

    Hey there,

    I am on 187.5 Venlafaxine (since late 2015), and I haven't had either of your side effects. They do sound a bit counter intuitive. Although I do find myself shaking my feet when I am sitting, so perhaps that is a similar manifestation?

    Perhaps your Dr will have some ideas. Good luck.

    • fiore
      fiore ashley26820

      Posted

      I don't shake my feet while sitting but did have restless legs in the earlier stages of getting used to venlafaxine. Thanks
  • 14saints0469
    14saints0469 fiore

    Posted

    Hi fiore. I pick, scratch, move constantly and move sometimes in an unpredictable major twitch on venlafaxine 300 mg. I really dislike this medication and I am getting off of it after 17+ years. The detox of this med is painful, almost unbearable, but I am determined. Thanks!
    • fiore
      fiore 14saints0469

      Posted

       I hope I don't have to stay on it as long as you have! I was on it for a short time several years ago and asked my doc to go back to old fashioned clomipramine at the time. I don't like it either but it seems that I cannot manage with no medication at all. I know the detox is awful (even missing a dose makes me feel  rough) and I hope you can manage it. All the best
  • 14saints0469
    14saints0469 fiore

    Posted

    I am sad to think my previous doctor, now retired was overdosing me. I was taking 300 mg venlafaxine, 300 mg wellbutrine, celexa, depakote and trazadone, cannot remember the dosages. 

    Currently, I also take 3 mg of clonazapam to sleep, 15 mg tizanadine, 20 mg melatonin, 10 mg prazosin for PTSD.

    I suffer constant pain and use 4 pills each 10-325 oxycodone daily.

    I am like a zomby woof.

    I really do not want to detox off of these while living. I hope that my death will be the time I "detox" from all of this. I don't think I could bear it alive. Thanks...not suicidal, by the way.

    • fiore
      fiore 14saints0469

      Posted

      Hi, I believe I read on one medical website that the maximum dose is 375mg but I don't know about combining it with other medications. The only other medication I am taking is amitriptyline 20mg to help me sleep (the insomnia is due to the venlafaxine). You really are on a lot of medication, I really feel for you. Thanks for posting.
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