Venlafaxine
 

So they're switching me from fluoxetine to venlafaxine basically wondered what people's experiences had been and two specific questions:

a) When I came properly on and off fluoxetine last time I became suicidal and my mood went mental, high low agitated etc, is this likely to happen going on the venlafaxine?

b) Will it make me gain weight/appetite. Because I'm actually considering not taking it in case it does.

Venlafaxine has been fantastic for me. Like seeing in colour for the first time.

As with all ADs, it might well send your mood wonky or make you.more anxious for the first week or two.

Kept me awake, so best taken mornings, and with food or it can make me feel a little bit sick.

The one bad thing for me about venlafaxine is that it has bad withdrawal symptoms, which can kick in after.missing just one dose. Always make sure you have some around, don't run out or forget doses.

No weight gain for me, I actually lost a bit without meaning to.

Venlafaxine doesn't make me hungrier - if anything the opposite. Definitely no weight gain. Like Duck, I found it keeps me awake. When I was taking the regular release (twice daily) version it stopped me sleeping, so I'm now on slow release and that's fine. The other significant effect it's had for me is in raising my pulse - it gives me persistent tachycardia - but that's not a serious problem, just something I keep an eye on.

Venlafaxine is my current med, like others no weight gain from these, my most stable med to date, again the withdrawal is hell, one tedious side effect is sweating ( I could sweat for britain), I take Promazine along side for anxiety, but in general a great med, the higher the dose becomes the more effective it gets, I'm currently on the highest dose, 150mg twice daily, recently had a bad patch but the medication isn't to blame, sometimes I struggle with sleeping, again I think this is due to the meds, so if you get trouble sleeping on them consider speaking to your doctor about it, they gave me Promethazine to try to help me sleep but they don't work for me. everybody's different but I'd definitely say it's worth giving Venlafaxine a go, it took nearly a month for them to settle properly when I started them, so be sure to give them enough time to settle, for the first 2 to 3 weeks I felt like I was walking on air, I actually quite liked it but it may make you feel anxious if your not used to the feeling, good luck :) xxx

No weight gain for most people on Venlafaxine, infact weight loss is more common of a side effect as it can supress hunger and or cause nausea(not a fun side effect but it does go away), like mentoned above coming off it is brutal and effects of discontinuation can last for up to 6 months if you have been on it for prolonged periods of time, if you have bipolar be very carteful to have your physician or psychiatrist monitor you for the first few weeks as it can cause a nasty swing in to mania, an odd side effect some get is people mention they can "feel" nerve impulses like electrical currents running through thir body and brain like pings of electricity, annoying not painful though.

I'm not liking the sound of how hard it is to come off this medication...

Never taken it personally but know someone who did. If you miss one dose you feel like ****, have these "brain shivers". It's quite hard to come off of apparently. Good for helping with your mood though.

I went from Fluoxetine to Venlafaxine.

I can't remember if it increased my appetite. But i think i felt more suicidal first starting it. I dont really think its done anything to help my depression.

I HATE this medication. If i miss a dose i get brain zaps, headaches and feel sick. I have been trying to get off it for months and cant because it makes me feel so ill i end up having to take it. Even trying to wean off it by taking half a day hasnt worked. I feel like i'm trapped on it.

If i had known this i would NEVER have started taking it. I think its a horrible medication. But, saying that... everyone is different and it could really help you.

Good luck either way <3

I find Venlafaxine really helpful, when I overdosed on it and had none for a while I realised how much it helped my mood. When I was in hospital and wasn't given my meds properly I had some electric shock type feelings in my brain but it was bearable.

i take it..

its good.. it helps.. ive been on it 4 years.. no weight gain..

yin and yang though

that shits hard to come off of..

Not everyone finds it that hard to come off; I found it awful when I just stopped taking it but when it was gradually decreased it was fine.

I found it really helpful for quite a while, and also found that I didn't gain weight on it or anything. Good luck, I hope it helps.

I've just switched from citalopram to venlafaxine. So far no increased suicidality (although I had been fairly down for the switchover this could be to do with other things going on and I was quite down on the citalopram - hence the switch).
Also, so far no significant appetite change.

I've never been on venlafaxine (although I've been on a variant of it called desvenlafaxine)

But I have been on fluoxetine and around the same time I went off it I became very suicidal and was actually hospitalized. I don't fully think it was only fluoxetine that made me get to that point but my psychiatrist does. Either way, I'd remind them of what happened last time. It may or may not happen again but I think its good to prepare for what you're going to do if it does, have some kind of safety plan in place, etc. Its usually good to have that during a medication switch or even at other times.

You guys are great about the brain zaps- yes you know when you forget after about a day or 2- for me that is good because compliance is a difficult thing for me sometimes. I think with all due respect to anyone who it isn't helping or experiencing side effects- coming off meds should always be a joint effort between you and your doctor. I have bipolar 2 so apart from the reality that meds is probably for the rest of my life- I do discuss with my doctor that a drug holiday is a goal I have.

@Buttons, the most important thing is to have open and honest communication with your doctors about your symptoms. Take your concerns to them and basically let them know if you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above. At the end of the day you are going to have to weigh up quality of life.

Exercise is necessary as well as a healthy diet. I do think that when medication is attributed to weight gain, one must also appreciate the lifestyles of people with mental illnesses. Research is showing that doctors need to pay more attention to this and offer assistance to maintain general health.

Right now it has been between 5-8 years on slightly varied dosages of venlafaxine. But I know that I have lived more of my life present in my head for being on the medication.

I have just started this 2 weeks ago. Im on 75mg modified release twice a day . Weird I know.

I started to feel weird for the first week. Didnt feed sick, felt slightly less hungry. Feel sweaty and freezing at times though. Dont get insomnia, infact sometimes I feel drowsy after taking it.

Feel slightly better and slightly less anxious but not massively. But only been on it 2 weeks.

Good luck.

I haven't had any weight gain, only weight loss on this.

I'm one of the only ones I have heard of that has had a negative experience on this. So it seems to be a really successful drug.

Missing a dose is horrible and I found the higher my dose got the worse the effects were of missing it so you may need to find a foolproof method of remembering to take you doses. =]

Good luck.

I was on this - awesome med aside from the withdrawal or if you forget a dose. Made a massive difference to my depression.

I am Venlafaxine and find it suits me much better than previous medications. I agree with the point about it being addictive though... I recently forgot to pick up my repeat prescription and had to go for 3 days without it and I felt dreadful. It scared me how reliant I have become on a capsule of chemicals.

Out of curiousness, do people find any difference between the normal release and the modified release?

I'm about to go from 150 to 225, should I expect anything different?