Venlafaxine lack.of sleep

Hi Karen, I remember you came off Mirtazapine. They have kept mine so I can sleep before my depression improves. I am only on 15mg (I half my 30mg tablet so it’s not as sedative as 15mg itself). I tend to wake up at least 2x during the night but can get back to sleep. When I was on Sertraline and struggled to sleep my Gp told me to take Piriton tablet before bed and it helped me to fall asleep so you could try that.

Hi Karen, I have been having problems too for the past 3 years or so I must get on average 3-4 hours sleep waking up about 5 times a night! Every few months I get zopiclone 3.75mg  6 tablets! And they are supposed to keep me going for another 3 or 4 months! I know people who are getting sleeping pills for a bad back, I don’t understand why my doctor won’t give me the for anxiety every night! I’m at my wits end functioning the next day is almost impossible and because I feel so drained the next day I feel it gives me very low mood. Hope you gets something sorted as we all need sleep! Research says it’s really for our health not to get enough sleep! Sending love and wishing you luck ❤️

Hello, i started using diazepam just before starting ven. Ive been on ven for just over 4 months, and have recovered to a degree, from a very bad depressed state. The diazepam has made the whole process much easier, i dont think i would have coped without it. It makes sleeping so much easier, and the sleep qaulity is good. I was allowed 3 x 5mg of diazepam a day. I found 5mg made me too tired, so took half a tablet, 4 x a day. It kept my anxiety at bay during the day, and the last half a tablet before sleep, meant i havent had too many problems with sleep while on ven , no different to before my depression. As ven started to work, i reduced to 3 half tablets a day, and now im down to 2, one in the morning and at night. Even at the worst at the start, when id stayed in bed for most of the day, the diazepam meant i would sleep okay. Im stuck on 5mg of diazepam a day now, and will need to reduce this at some point, which probably isnt going to be easy. If you use them responsibly, benzos make recovering on an anti depressant easier, although you face the issue of coming off them, once you have recovered. I didnt have diazepam when i started on citalopram at the start of the year. Spent 12 weeks on it, before switching to ven, as it was making me worse. Even though i was in a much worse starting ven, the whole period on it, including sleeping, has been easier, to deal with, than when on my previous anti depressant without a benzo. For me, using a benzo while trying to recover from depression or serious anxiety, makes sense. Your pysc should be able to determine whether the benefit of using a benzo, will outweigh the issue of coming off them, once you recover. I had some sleeping issues a couple weeks ago, and didnt want to increase diazepam, so tried some nytol original, same as an anti histamine. I did sleep better, but felt thick headed the next day, so wouldnt take them again. You could give them a go. I presume that you have given up caffeine completely. If not, doing so will help you sleep. Hope some of this helps.