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venlafaxine


Guest penny0305

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Guest penny0305

Hi

has anybody any experience with venlafaxine and if it helped their anxiety or ocd. I've tried to use the forum search facility but I don't seem to be able to access it.

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Hi Penn I was on it years back I didn't really benfit too much on it but then again I've been on nearly everything out there :D .And of course what may work for some may obviously as you know not work for others.But Venlafaxine is certainly one of the most common medications to help treat depression,Anxiety,OCD etc etc.Have you been on it long& what dose are you currently on right now?

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Guest dimmerswitch

Hi.

I've been taking a very small dose of Venlafaxine for over 15 years now. The dose is so small, my GP says it shouldn't really be making much difference, but on the several times I have tried to reduce the dose further to come off them, I find that my depression increases.

I'm not sure how it helps me with my OCD/Anxiety.

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Guest penny0305

I haven't started it yet. I've tried just about everything out there. Can't tolerates ssris and I've been on mirtazapine for three years and my ocd has got much worse during that time. The psychiatrist wants me to try it to at least try and calm my anxiety but I don't really hold out any hope. I know that sounds negative but my depression and ocd are so bad now I can't see vac way forward. Just getting through each day feels like a living hell

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Hi Penn I'm very sorry how you're feeling hun I totally understand how it hurts.I had been on every single treatement pretty much as well until I found the right mix and it's a combination maybe that may be what does the trick for you hun?.I had everything from hospitalizations to electric shock treatments to having every med just about out there.I know how much it really hurts but I do know as hard as it is now you will come through this hun I relaly do know it :original: .

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In my case it helped immensely specifically about my depression. I am still on this medication but afraid that it will be very hard to withdraw it. It is notorious for bad withdrawal symptoms. Otherwise it is a good medicine.

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Guest penny0305

Thank for replying. Did you find it helped with your ocd at all or just your depression. Did you have any bad side effects . I don't tolerates ssris well at all and am worried this will just increase my anxiety even more

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It improved my ocd a lot. Has improved my mood and stability. Some drugs may work best for some person. I tend to respond to SNRIs well rather than SSRIs. Venla worked wonderfully for me. One minor side effect that I have faced is constipation.

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Guest penny0305

Thank you for your replies. I'm just in bits. Haven't dared to start them yet. My ocd centres around my teeth. I grind them compulsively and check them. I've had to have my veneers replaced on my front teeth because they were old and cracked. I've had them done once and they looked awful. The colour was yellow and they felt so sharp and rough. The dentist agreed the colour was wrong and I had to. Go back today tohave them drilled off again. The technician who makes them came in and they spent half an hour arguing over the colour. I'm in bits. He put a temporary covering over them but I'm in agony. I can cope with the pain just about but I have to wait two weeks for the new ones. I'm terrified they'll be just as rough as the old ones. It's sent my ocd into overdrive.o just want it all to go away and am terrified of trying the new tablets in case I feel worse. I know the new ones won't be right. I just feel like ending it all. This is my worst nightmare.

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Hi,

Sorry to hear you are struggling, but i couldn't help noticing that you mention Venlafaxine. Like yourself i had tried many antidepressants, beta blockers, CBT etc and nothing seemed to work until my Psychiatrist put me on Venlafaxine. He started me on a low dose and every few weeks he would see me and increase my dosage. I slowly started to see an improvement in my symptoms. When i reached 375mg, which is the maximum that the Psychiatrist would go up to i found that my OCD symptoms had greatly improved, i even managed to go back to work for sometime. The only way to describe it is that when i get a worrying thought i find Venlafaxine seems to help me keep things in perspective more and the thought goes out my mind quicker, rather then staying in my mind all day like it did before.

Just under five years ago I came off Venlafaxine to have my first child, as they hadn't done enough tests on the use of Venlafaxine through pregnancy. I really struggled off the drug with my OCD symptoms. So as soon as my son was born I slowly increased my Venlafaxine again and got back on an even keel. Now i would like to start thinking about having another child, so I am currently reducing my dosage again every 6+weeks as it has to be done very slowly as previously i did it to quick and suffered with horrendous stomach cramps. I have gone from 375mg to 150mg, but i am finding it really hard reducing my dosage as my OCD tends to get louder the lower my dosage gets. But i really want another child so i am just going to keep fighting my OCD as I don't want it to yet again win another battle and take away the nice pleasures in life. But if your Psychiatrist has recommended that you try Venlafaxine , I would highly recommend it as i have found it to be a wonder drug!. It was the only drug that has ever helped me, yes you get a slight weight gain on it and i have found i feel the heat more and sweat, but it was definitely worth it to get some control over my life again!. Hope this helps.

Simmie

Edited by Simmie2014
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Hello Penn again I'm very solrry to hear about how you're feeling hun.I wanted to say do you take anything for your anxiety&OCD? As I think it can certainly help you as it has helped me.I totally understand how much your teeth are distressing you I've been a very long time sufferer of BDD myself I don't know if you have BDD hun? :original: .

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The problem with seeking advice about medications is that in honesty, you'll never know until you try it for yourself. Regardless of how many people have found it effective, it doesn't necessarily mean it will be so in our case. Similarly for those who've had a negative experience. The only way is to try, if that's what you choose.

When starting medication...remain aware. It may increase anxiety....that's very common at first....but although uncomfortable (even very uncomfortable), it is tolerable and the side effects will decrease as we get used to it and then hopefully the beneficial effects will start to appear.

Sometimes the side effects are intolerable and not acceptable and we have to be aware of that and decide to stop the medication. Sadly, some health professionals do not take this seriously and encourage people to continue. That is a huge concern of mine.

Keep your family in the loop, have your Mum close at hand and tell them how you feel. Expect some agitation perhaps....it's common and be honest with yourself without panicking.

Give it a go if that's what you want but be aware, be honest about your experience, have some support around you and take it from there. You'll know what's acceptable to you. Give it a fair chance but if you're really concerned stop and say no.

Caramoole

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Hello, I was on Venlafaxine for about 2 years if I remember rightly. I think I did feel that it helped with depression but I didn't notice any alteration in OCD. It is probably the most 'dramatic' medicine I've tried - my skin tingled if it was hot, and I got bad night sweats. Although now that I am on Sertraline the night sweats haven't stopped. Venlafaxine was also the only medicine I've been on which let me know pretty quickly if I missed a dose (feeling out of sorts and things if I missed it by a few-12 hours). I was on a high-ish dose.

As someone has mentioned above it does seem to be considered bad medication for withdrawal, but I didn't have any problems switching from Venlafaxine to Sertraline (taking a bit less Venlafaxine and a bit more Sertraline until I was on just Sertraline). So if withdrawal was an issue a strategy might be to switch to a different anti-depressant and then come off that.

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Guest jayjay89

I have to agree with Caramoole, asking for advice on medication on here is potentially damaging your chances of it helping you. I do agree for a couple of slightly different reason though!

Part of the success of almost all medication is the placebo effect - you hope it will make you better, your Dr (who you usually assume is pretty smart) recommends it for you and you want to get better.

The other concern I have with discussing medication on here is that people are between 9 and 12 times more likely to remember and tell others about negative experiences, than they are about to comment regarding good experiences. So potentially, if you get 20 responses, you could end up with 18 negative comments and 2 positive comments. This isn't a realistic indication of how the medication did or did not help those who have tried it, or how severe or minor the side effects were - because since the first cave man was lumbering around the earth, human nature has been to remember bad things and communicate them to other people to increase the chances of survival of the species. Our survival instinct actually wants us to warn other humans about things that are dangerous. It's far less concerned with communicating good things (because basic human nature also has a strong aspect of greed - we want to make sure we get the good stuff and by telling everyone about it.... it might run out!)

I hope no one took the above as me taking a poke at people who don't share their positive experiences, I'm just trying to show how you can end up hearing all the risks and dangers of something and not hear all that many good things about it.

I didn't really enjoy venlafaxine, but a very close friend of mine has completely changed his entire life based on the boost he got from it. My withdrawal was minimal, I felt sick for about two days. I had far worse withdrawals from coffee. Everyone's body is different and everyone reacts differently.

Anyway, just my two cents, I hope you can make a decision for yourself and be comfortable with it :) Good luck!

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Guest penny0305

Thanks for your replies. I started the venlafaxine two days ago and have never felt worse in my life. My ocd is unbearable and my anxiety is through the roof. I got a bottle of wine on the way home from work and have just drunk it because I can't bear this panic. I think I am a lost cause and just want it all to be over. I truly can't bear this anxiety anymore.

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Guest penny0305

I feel so desperate. The anxiety is unbearable. I don't know what to do anymore. I'm trying so hard to implement cbt but feel so low and disinterested that it's impossible. Please somebody tell me that life can get better because i lost hope months ago

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Guest jayjay89

Hey Penny,

The first few days/weeks on antidepressants can be rough. They can make your anxiety shoot up. But if you can stick it out - they might be able to help you.

Adding booze to the mix can make it harder on you, alcohol can increase anxiety the next day, so you are almost making it harder for yourself :(

How are you feeling now?

Can life get better? Absolutely. But you may have to try a few different paths before you find the right one for you. Please give yourself a chance :)

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