First time I took it on 75mg first week felt like forever and I couldn’t concentrate and everything felt surreal. But after the first week to second week it got better and I can honestly say makes you feel so much more confident and less anxiety. Best anti depressants I’ve been on.
Thanks for your upload. Such a brave thing to do when you are suffering with this awful illness! ❤️ I’m currently 44, and have been taking Venlafaxine for about 16 years. Personally, I believe that different meds work for different people, as we are all unique. Keep going and you WILL find the med(s) and/or therapy that help you, and you WILL get better! Lots of love and support, Dave ❤️
Effexor literally gave me my life back. It's been 4 years since i started taking it. Would love to come off but it makes me sick just to think about not having it
tommy gun I'm glad you found it worked for you , I worry about coming of what I'm on now but then I think it's actually ok to be on medication if it's helping you live life. X
I have been on it two weeks and I feel amazing. So much energy, motivation,creativity , and courage. I've never been happy until now. I consider things I never have.
@@mariozd971 they put me on diazepam with it as well , I found that to be so addictive though cause I felt like I was so high on it .... they only gave me that for the transition though ( maybe to mask how the venlafaxine would make me feel ) sometimes doctors know there shit though haha so you might be on the perfect mix , I hope it works , sounds like it is so far :) x
I started using venlafaxine a month ago and don't like it. I had side effects like sleeping just 1-3 hours. A huge feeling of restlessness, like having to pace my room because I couldn't sit still. Feeling of having a fever etc. I know meds like this need time, but after for weeks I am just like this is too much, almost no sleep and the unrest... It did help a little bit with my depression, but I just couldn't handle the side effects.. So I'm weaning of it now... Quite likely I'll try something else next because my depression is pretty awefull. But that might partly be because therapy opened Pandora's box.... It's tough... Stay strong guys and girls...
I felt terrible on effexor,it made me not sleep at all,nausea ,NO appetite whatsoever ,I immediately asked for Mirtazapine and now I am taking that ,atleast it makes me sleep at night.I stopped effexor after 3 weeks,it was pure hell
for me that I just know Zoloft which is an SSRI, it's weird because the ratio for effexor of S/N is 30:1... maybe you take an high dose.. but I think that something for Norepinephrine is also useful. but this drug seems weird as you say
Thanks for the video! My mum uses this drug and I wanted to learn about it and it really helps to hear from a real person and not someone who is obligated to speak formally as a professional or some random source from the Internet 👍
In my opinion in my experience, Venlafaxine is the better Anti Depressant. It is also an anti anxiety medication as an SNRI as it works on norepinephrine in the brain, aswell as serotonin. If you dont do well on Venlafaxine, take the slow or extended released pills. And lastly, forget the stigma and take your meds! Hope this helps :)
My best friend is depressed, and she started taking Venlafaxine about 15 days ago, and things started to get worse ... I had seen some videos to try understand these symptoms, but many videos said that the drug was helping a lot, however, She was only getting worse, Thank you for your video, it helped me understand a bit, and so I can help her, even being so far away. I wish you the best. :D
Maninha Bassani , I'm glad it helped ! For me the symptoms did get a little better after the first few weeks just keep an eye on it because sometimes it's just not right for the person taking it , I took another anti depressant a few years ago and it was much worse so I came of it after two months ... Keeping an eye on her and also just being there will help. It's the friends and family support that really helps people cope with change !
I was prescribed venlafaxine because at some point, the stress got to me. Strangely enough, I did not feel stressed. I had become very stress sensitive. The doctors said it was anxiety. Even before the venlafaxine, I had crazy dreams each night, like you described. I had a lot of chest pain, nausea, feeling weird in my hands, indescribable discomfort words won't do it justice. At one point, I had neck tightness and it became more obvious that it was stress. I was prescribed clonazepam 0.5 mg. This made me very relaxed and sleepy. After 1 month, I was prescribed venlafaxine 37.5 mg for 2 weeks. I was already feeling like crap and this made the symptoms worst. I stopped it for 2 days and restarted. I think in 5 days, your brain adjusts. After the 2 weeks, they increase to 75 mg. Again, it takes a few days to get used to the high dose. IMPORTANT: It takes about 2-3 months to see the full results.
louis tournas thank you for this comment , I've decided to come of it as I have it a good go for six months , going onto fluoxitine just now , hate that everytime its another few months before you know if it works or not ! H
Harriet, first off thanks for coming on here and talking about this, can't be easy to be vulnerable about your mental health. Secondly, I experience some of the same side effects. I also felt really tired even after getting a good nights rest and I never felt like doing anything once I got home from work. It was actually kind of exhausting being exhausted all the time. I'm getting off it and thankfully its not proving to be too terrible for me because I've weened off. I also decided to get off because of constant feeling of lethargy and I didn't like the fact that it was affecting my body so extremely. I also gained weight while I was on it, from some of the reading it sounds like these antidepressants affect your metabolism so that may explain that. Thank you for letting me find some common ground on this and helping me move forward. Knowing that I'm not the only one really helps.
Katie Rodriguez thank you so much for your comment , it means so much to me as well being able to hear other people's stories making me feel less alone and also less crazy ! H x
I know a close family member who had moderate social anxiety, was prescribed Effexor, the dose was upped after a month, then he had a state of mania, paranoia, and hallucinations. He was admitted to the hospital, the psychiatrist thought he had schizo-affective disorder, prescribed him a bunch of terrible anti-psychotics and took him off effexor cold turkey. These new meds drove him crazy with restlessness. He nearly killed himself. He was tapered off all these meds over 3 month period, and seems to be mostly back to normal except for suffering with insomnia. Why didnt the psychiatrist tell us that his one time psychosis was likely related to his anti-depressant, and rush us into putting him on these terrible anti-psychotics from day 1, and tell us these meds arent that bad except for very minor side effects. We felt lied to, and betrayed. We are lucky that he didnt kill himself.
@@ll5584 Hello, yeah I've had depression/anxiety and panic attacks for about 7 years (probably longer) and have been too afraid to ask for help until last month. The doctors had started me on 20mg fluoxetine for a month and I had noticed no change. The first week on venlafaxine I had isolated myself for the most of it (normal), but recently I have been experiencing very brief moments (5-10 mins) where it feels like a fog has been lifted and I can sort of see everything in a better light if that makes sense. So far the panic attacks still have been very much present, but was told that a higher dosage of 125mg or higher may be needed to deal with more prevalent anxiety. I have also been going to a therapist and doing online CBT sessions with phone calls from a nice support lady. Its gonna be a long road!
It's all about how the Meds make "you" feel. I was taking Sertraline for 8 years then tried Venlafaxine. I'm now on day one of going back to Setraline . Video reviews are so helpful, but unfortunately, it's about trial and error. Mitrazipine is the best but it made me put on a stone in 2 months. Find out whats best for "you". It takes time but so worth it. Big Love.
for which disturb do you take it? for how much time? does bupropion has side effects? do you have sexual side effect? I am off but I am considering startin zoloft and wellbutrine for dhystymia. possibly for life since it's a chronic disease. (if I find the right solution, but your combination is very similar to what I am looking for). do this two compounds balance each other? like serotonine - norepinephrine?
Thanks for this video! I just got prescribed it today, and this gave me some insight to keep in mind as I try it. It's so frustrating looking for an antidepressant that works but doesn't have awful side effects. I actually vlog about my mental health journey as well. Glad I found your channel!
benzos work best for me. big dose before bed and i sleep like a baby,wake up feeling good aka normal. half dose at 4pm and everything goes well. also i only medicate everyother day so my tolerances stay down and even these fast acting ones keep me happy thru the next day.
I started taking this for anxiety. It helps all the racing thoughts going through my head. It quiets the voices (my own) I was perscribed75mg, but I only use 1/4 of the pill. I dive machine for my job I can't use high amount. I get a stiff neck, ringing in ears(slight), tingling in my brain for 2 hours. I take in morning, have coffee, go to work 5 hours later and I am fine. I sleep like a baby, no bad dreams. I wear a Fitbit. Y normal resting heart rate is 65. When I'm on this it is 77. So increase in blood flow. Nausea and lack of appetite is another side affect. I'm in menapause, it has gotten rid of my hot flashes. I went to Dr for depression and issues with menapause, this seems to help rather than hormone replacement
it’s so hard to get off this medication. I was on it from a teenager until and adult(150mg) I had to wean off of it for about 3 months and each day was hell and felt just like a missed dose. When I missed a dose I would be delusional, irritable, feel flu-like symptoms and I would hallucinate sometimes. If you are potentially taking it, please be careful, venaflaxine is addictive whether or not your doctor says it
First two weeks of taking effexor was hell on earth for me, extreme agitation, anxiety, panic attacks, almost no sleep and stimulation, my pupils were dilated as fuck, i felt waves of hot and cold, sometimes i would get unbeliveable euphoria (similiar to snorting small amounts of mephedrone) followed by panic attack and restlessnes. I had similiar side effects with sertraline and i found out that im very sensitive to ssri/snri medications, fortunately side effects finally ended and now i feel much better, finally i am alive again
Oh my goodness what a totally lovely person you are Harriet. I so hope life is being very kind to you nowadays. I'm just about to start the Venlafaxine after a disastrous experience with Prozac.
Good luck and I hope this one is right for you . Let me know how you get on , I'm on prozac again now and it seems to be working ( apart from the flatness ) no crazy low points. Maybe vanlafaxine will work really well for you , I hope it does ! Xxx
I’ve read a lot of comments from people who appear to not have had the best experience with this medication... just wanted to say that I’ve had an overall pretty good experience with it, and that i haven’t had the lucid dream side effect a lot of people mention... after trying a couple other AD’s before Venlafaxine (Fluoxetine, Paxil, Vitanco) this one is the one i’ve had the best experience with. I take 76 mg a day in the morning. I’m also not a doctor haha, but just wanted to say that it’s been pretty good for me !
Thank you! So important to have positives to way up :) its funny because fluoxetine is what I have been on for three years now with a lot less side effects x
Thank you for this. It was really insightful! I am currently on 37.5mg Venlafaxine taken it for 2 weeks but so far I haven't experienced any side effects which is a really good thing. I don't know if it's because of the low dose or it's just my body is super strong and adapts easily but it seems to be working quite well as I've noticed I'm not so on edge as before and a lot calmer. I suffer from severe anxiety so I can totally empathise and relate to your experience! You did an excellent job with this being in front of the camera and speaking takes a lot of strength & courage! I couldn't do it even if I tried I'm soooo camera shy 😣🙁 You are an inspiration xxx
How are you doing today and are you still on Venlafaxine? Did your dose increase, and are you now stable on the med or did you have to be taken off it. I ask because of the bad experience a loved one of mine experience on this med. Just trying to get personal testimonies to give me an idea of how many people this med helps or doesn't . thanks!
@@Arielyenri2 Hi Yes I'm still on Venlafaxine I had it gradually increased to 150mg and then finally to the highest 225mg which I take first thing in the morning. I can say it has worked really well for my Depression and the Anxiety is so much better now than it was. Just keep in mind that whilst meds can help they are not a solution so you have to try intergrate self-care techniques, make sure you eat healthily, get enough sleep, exercise, practice mindfulness that sort of thing whenever you can.
faithoffaith yeah I know how to control my anxiety now. I just have depression and I just don’t want it to get any worse this is the med that they prescribed to me for it. Kinda scared to try it, but I need it before my depression gets way worse.
Venlafixine saved my life when I had a manic depressive episode over 10 years ago. Block buster dreams abound and my libido has ebbed away, however I'm very glad to be alive.
I've been on it for about two years, and I gained my life back, but not all things are good. It does give me the most amazing realistic dreams, but also the most sick scarry nightmares. Also, the withdrawal syndrome is so so heavy on me, if I forget to take it, I just stop functioning.
I was on 225mg/day Effexor for 3years. It helped for maybe the first year, I tried to come off it but couldn't because of the side effects. Then I moved house and had to get my prescription from a different pharmacy. The venlafaxine they gave me was Tonpular. A couple of times I missed taking my medication and realized the withdrawal effects werent as severe as it had been with Effexor. I'm on day 3 of zero medication and feel great although the dizzy/pins and needles/electric shock feeling are still happening its more bearable than it ever was on Effexor. I'm not saying 100% changing brands will work, it's just that it's given me real hope that this venlafaxine nightmare could be over. Hope you find hope, peace and happiness. If anyone reading this has questions I'll try to respond.
I don't recall any side effects when taking it at the start but after a few years it took away my motivation to do really important stuff like college work, I failed a couple of big exams and knew it was the medication that was holding me back, it made me not care.
Yeah everything's good now, had to resit exams the next year now I'm at university. I think the venlafaxine really helped for a few months to begin with then after feeling the withdrawal symptoms from missing a pill or two I thought I would be stuck on it for ever.
This is a pretty old video, so I just wanted to say that I hope you're still doing well. I don't think I'm in the state to share my experience just yet, but I'm glad you shared yours. :)
I discontinued venlafaxine just about four days ago and hope the side effects will end soon. At the moment I think it's going to be a lot better. The last days were hell. My body was shaking all the time and I was freezing. I remember it was worse back then when I started taking the antidepressant and I did not know the side effects. I had tachycardia again and sometimes my heart was beating irregularly. At that time it was much more violent and I even called the emergency ambulance / hospital. I also remember how I vomited comatose again and again and then flinched before I fainted. That happened several times a minute. Now when weaning, I experience this less often and not so hard. I'm still dizzy and perhaps the most formative thing I can best describe as follows: It feels and sounds like glass is splintering in my brain, and if carbon dioxide from cold mineral water is pricking in every cerebral convolution. I was very confused and upset emotionally. At the moment, the splintering and tingling has become weaker and is rather a rushing and flickering ... It reminds me of old televisions (with picture tube) This scrawls and tingles on the charged disc in the middle of my head. Sometimes it feels and sounds like when you turn off the TV (but inside my head). I'm trying to avoid that as much as I can sleep, but my dreams are disturbing and surreal (by weaning). It gets less bad every day and I hope to return to normal soon and not dreaming like I suffer from a bad fever. In the meantime, I can also think (and write) more coherently. The day before yesterday was hard to imagine... I could hardly concentrate and fell asleep for a few minutes over and over again. Even voice messages have hit me hard and reflect meune confusion. Both (getting used to Venlafaxin and stop using it) is hard ... The side effects in these transitions are awful. I think it is probably like a drug withdrawal, only that one is not so specific dependent to the substance.
That was a great description. I’m so sorry, I hope all is well now. Thinking of trying this drug, but I’m hearing horrifying stories about weaning off of it 😕
I noticed with coming off of it you don’t wanna go off of the cold turkey I am now I was taking 300 mg and I’ve gained in the system for metal wait so I stopped taking it little by little and light weights now going down so hopefully soon I won’t have to put the awful drug back into my system because it is horrific it’s not a seller. They should be prescribing anxiety medication’s. This one is not the one you want to go on because it makes people miserable to be honest.
I came off the medication simply because my heart would race non stop and I'd feel extremely off balance and my whole body would tingle, it was very uncomfortable.
Hey Harriet. You seem like such a lovely person. Thanks very much for documenting your experience. I'm on 150mg daily now and totally get the lucid dreaming thing... Oh man it's so real. I can tell just by looking at you that you are battling all those horrible feelings and I empathise so much. I know it's been 3 years but I hope life is being kind to you these days ♥️.
I also was on Effexor for 3 months, it wasn't right for me at all as a DNA test later revealed. My suicidal ideation was also intense and one time it became active and I almost did it. What was worse than being on Effexor was the withdrawal from it. Thanks for sharing
Photoshoplilli how are you now ? It shocks me that so many people are effected and it seems like the after care once going onto the medication is limited .... I hope you are doing well and thanks for the comment ! H
I'm a little better, I'm now taking Zoloft and Wellbutrin. Through trial and error my doctor and I found out that the side effects of both cancel each other out, and I'm more balanced now. The only side effects that stayed are shaky hands and vivid dreams. :)
Photoshoplilli when they prescribed you to this medication did they do the DNA test first or did they do it after they gave it to you? You mentioned that your DNA test revealed it wasn’t a good one at app
I was prescribed it today and am picking them up from the pharmacy. I’m honestly looking forward to actually having something that will hopefully help get my life back together. My depression and anxiety just made my life gray and stagnant. I want to enjoy the things I used to instead of sleeping my days away. I really hope it helps us both :)
U get attached to the people in ur dreams when they feel that real then to wake up and they r gone. It's just one more thing to hate about yourself. I just started taking the medication yesterday. I hope it works bcuz I dont know how much longer I can be this way. Good luck to u.
@@Arielyenri2 much better now that they up my dose to 150 plus have me take an additive with it that I cant recall the name of off the top of my head but it makes all the difference. I couldn't telling that it was working until they had me start taking the additive. I'm going to pick it up from the pharmacy in a couple hrs. I'll tell u what it's called when I return.
@@Arielyenri2 rexulti is the name of the additive. And thank u. I wont bore u with the details but my better half of 11yrs just passed away at 33yrs (3/13/20). If not for the effexor plus the rexulti her passing would have ended me. My family is grateful as am I for the help it was able to give me because this hasn't been easy.
Thank you ..I got mine today and they are just sitting on my dresser...I don't know if I want to take them now. I already deal with alot that i don't need or want anymore triggers. Thank you for your honesty!♡
I mixed tramal with venlafaxine once because i hurt my arm and tail bone pretty much. After this combination euphory was so overwhelming i never felt so candy coated in my entrire life. Never do this because you probably want to try it again and again as i do and tramal is highly adictive.
I'm taking one pill of venlafaxine 37.5mg in the morning and Clonazepam 1mg one hour later and then another clonazepam after 8 hours..... I'm not feeling good at all, today was my second day using venlafaxine, and I feel headache a lot, I have 1 year on clonazepam, and I feel better with clonazepam...
Hey whats up guys, almost 2 years on clonazepam, and I feel much better, I'm taking 1mg at 8 in the morning and then after 8 hours another 1mg, every day with the same dose, and its working, sometimes I don't feel good, but most of the time I do feel great, hope you guys are doing good ✌
Great video well done, I was on venlafaxine for a while and worked OK but I had side effects in terms of sex drive. Coming off it was absolutely dreadful.
Hi Matt, I honestly felt like a bit of a zombie the whole time I was on it. Im not sure if it was because I was going through a breakdown at the time without really realising it. Im not on a different medication that really does help and I feel much more 'me' and less zombie-like. The medication works differently for everyone so I can't really say what should be normal for you, the only thing I know is that there is light at the end of the tunnel for everyone and if you are in a dark place keep going. Medication takes a few months to settle so its best to try it out for a while then see where you are at. Hope this helps! XX
Thank you love for making this video... Ive been on venlafaxine for the last 13 months... Today is my first day off of it.. I'm glad im off it.. But man.. The lucid dreams were so so so bad. That was the worsrt part.
Glad you made it ! It's such a horrible disease, I still feel like I cant open up to everyone about it just incase they dont understand . Thanks for the comment. X
@@harrietmac it's terrible love and there's nothing worse than friends or family saying snap out of it or something like that. If they say that it means they haven't experienced real depression because if they had they wouldn't say that! Its not like having a bad day. Real depression is brutal. Hope you're doing well love. X
Thanks for this video..I can relate to the anxiety to even think about recording something like this. Thats a great achievement. I've suffered with depression for a long time. Im trying venlafaxine for the first time 75mg and your insight was helpful. I hope that it helps me somehow
My doctor has just prescribed me vensir XL.... Thankyou for posting this video, I know how hard it is having anxiety and depression, I really feel what you are going through, to make this video, hats off to you girl 😊I’m from the UK and I think America are way more advanced in the mental health feild, we need to recognise and treat it properly...so anxious about starting these meds 🤞🤞p.s you have a gorgeous smile, you should use it all the time 🥰
Gonna try this after coming off sertraline.. Bit fearful of the effects listed in a lot of the mental health forums. I've taken all of the ssri now it's time to try these. Here's hoping. 😉
Hi chris, im just started stepping down from setraline, and im taking a low dose of venlafaxine. Eventually i will be in maximum dose of venlafaxine until setraline has been phased out. Yesterday was day 1, i finished work as i work nights, was feeling very, very tired, surprisingly i ate literally zero, as normally, im stuffing food down my grid.
Hi Harriet, Thank you for this video! Well done for doing it. I have been on this medication for four months now and I am exhausted, I go to bed early and wake up 8 to 12 hours later and then I have to take a nap during the day. Some days I cannot get out of bed. I also wonder has anyone else woken up several times in cold sweats ? It also seems to make me very irritable. Thanks guys.
Melissa Donagher sorry I didn't see this till now , I think that when you have depression it can either make you sleep more or sleep allot less / find it hard to sleep , im on a new medication now but I still sleep around 9-11 hours a night , it's so frustrating as I don't want to sleep so much but I am just very exhausted all the time . I'll try and make another video about it . I hope you are doing well . H
love that old nikon on the background. hate the side effects of venlafaxine, 2 months on treatment myself, just changed the dosage and all the side effects i had on the first week are back
Eduardo Elsenbach Schmidt I'm sorry to hear that , I upped my dose before going of it they said wait for three months every time to get the effects which feels like torture when it's making things worse ! Let me know how you get on , I ended up coming of it and going onto fluoxitine / Prozac .
Thanks Harriet, the last couple of weeks went fine, I hope the side effects vanish after some time, like they did the last 2 weeks ( I felt awesome). what have you done to treat the lack of sleep/insonia?
Eduardo Elsenbach Schmidt even though it's sometimes the hardest thing to do excersise really helps me with sleeping if I have bad night's ( although my main problem is sleeping all the time !) Either way trying to do something to move my body ie swimming or going to the gym or even a walk helps allot.
Started taking 75mg today with the plan of going up to 150mg in 30 days. I am pretty sure today will also be my last day taking this.. I'll deal with the anxiety I guess and take valume when I need it..
I take valium when things get really hard, the release for me is quite addictive though so I try and only take it when things are really bad , I hope you are ok and I found that building a support network of people who understood what was going on helped allot when I was having bad days / weeks . H
Hi Harriet. So I have these available to me, but I'm doubtful at this point about taking them. All the comments on your channel make it seem like more of a risk than a helping hand. Do you think a lower dosage would be better to not become dependent? I've been on antidepressants before with positive results so this one is new to me. I've become unmotivated and numb to feelings so it would be nice if I was the exception with the side effects. I heard alot of people say the withdrawals or missed dosage is horrible. It's crazy to me this drug that's supposed to help sounds like its some street drug like heroin when it comes to WD's. I've never done anything like that so it's scary to think about
Hi mate, I have borderline personality disorder and these tablets have really helped me, to start there are side effects but they pass although at the moment at night my dreams are so strong that I get confused what is reality and what is a dream. My medication helps keep me grounded and helps control my “demon”. The only way to know if it’s gonna work for you is to try it.
Thanks and well done for making the video. Sorry your experience with Venlafaxine seems to have been mostly negative. I’m currently a couple of weeks into taking Venlafaxine, having just come off Mirtazapine and before that Sertraline. It’s interesting how your experience has been different to how mine has been so far. You said Venlafaxine made you sleepy, while I’ve not really found that. In fact I’m struggling with the opposite as I’m finding it difficult to get to sleep at night! Good luck with your anti-depressant journey, hope you’re doing better nowadays.
Hi, hope you see this, just wondering what was it like coming off venlafaxine? Am on it now but hoping to come off it shortly but am wondering what it’s like to come off? Thanks!
Hi Aoife, I found that the effects of coming of were not as bad as actually being on it, I followed a plan from my doctor for coming of them and onto what I am on now , I did a slow cut down of venlafaxine and then started my new medication. Im not sure if you could ask for help with this or if you plan to try something else but the doctors should be able to sugest the best way to do it. Its so scary feeling like these pills are in control but remember you will be ok and even if there are really dark moments when coming of them try and think about it as a passing moment , there is light at the end of the tunel! I hope that this helps, let me know how you get on ! H x
Hi Harriet, thanks so much for the reply and info! I haven’t been on it too long and thankfully have not had many side effects so far and the ones I have haven’t been too severe so feel very lucky! I am in close contact with my doctor and she will likely just slowly lower my dose as you said so I think it will be an easy enough process! But I was just worried that the effects would adversely effect my ability to work whilst coming off and also of the long term effects but your info has definitely calmed my nerves!!! Thanks and will let you know how I get on! ☺️
I've been on sertraline for 1 year, it used to work, I was functional, now it doesn't anymore. A new doctor i'm seeing prescribed me with venlafaxine instead, i really hope it works, right now i feel "disconected"...like i'm suppossed to be someone I know I can be and do things that I actually want to do but something's dragging me down, I can't find the movitation/energy anywhere and it's getting bad
@@supDeny I dropped antidepressants and started lifting weights and eating healthier, been feeling great and looking good tbh, I struggle a bit with low energy at times but I'd rather have a coffee ... Venlafaxine gave me strong side effects, including erectile dysfunction, low libiddo and overall didn't feel good with it...if anything comes my way where I need medication again I'll just go back to fluoxetine
Hi Harriet thanks for posting this video, better try aswagandha and Brahmi capsule. No side effects but it takes time to show effects. Take care you're beautiful so as well your heart.
Thanks for your review Yeah I’ve been on venlafaxine in the past and it’s not ok. For me most antidepressants are similar and one isn’t usually superior or worse than a different one. I hope things are working out well for you now.
It's hard to say as it was such a horrible part of my life but through meds and therapy and family I got past it so I cant say they didn't help , I'm still on medication now just different ones that have less severe side effects ! X
Hi Harriet. I've had some pretty bad side effects from Venlafaxine while I've been on it and am considering discontinuing. A lot of problems with the Suicidal thoughts etc and brain fog. Were you successful coming off it? What were your withdrawal effects, how long did they last?
James McCann hi James , sorry to hear that you are experiencing the same things , I hope that your managing to keep yourself safe ? I found surrounding myself with friends and family was the best help when I was feeling suicidal, I don't live near my family so at crisis moments haveing them on the phone to calm me down was a go to. As for if I've survived coming of it I would say I have - I'm on fluoxitine now which has its own issues I guess but it is working better for me I have more energy and less fog . I hope this helps ? Let me know how you get on. H
Thanks for getting back so fast! I've got a good support network and my friends and family have been great for me. I'm in Stuttgart, Germany and my parents are in Glasgow but Skype/FB is really an amazing way to keep that bond. I'm hesitant to go back on another SSRI/SNRI type med due to the really negative effects I've felt on Venlafaxine. I'm also on Mirtazapine for sleep issues which seems to work well. I was very ill before I went on them but I'm not sure if they helped in the long run. I've got a psych appt. in march so I'm going to talk then and see what the best way is. I'll see if they would switch me or help me to live my life drug free or just on the Mirtazapine.
James McCann don't focus to much on being drug free I used to focus on that allot and really it's not important, if you had any other illness that needed drugs it wouldn't be an issue there is just massive stigma around antidepressants. I hope you find the meeting in march useful , i find combined therapy and medicine is working for me ATM.
I get really bad brain zaps when i forget to take ven or take it too late. Had the nightmares they're so weird you feel like your falling into a really deep sleep sometimes like you want to wake up but you can't so strange and also the dreams have this circling feeling round and round. I've been on them since i was 20 I'm now 37. I tapered them down to the lowest dose by cutting them in half when things are going well but, sometimes when i go through a bad patch i crank them back up to 75mg. If i don't take them at all I find I over think things so much and just get stuck in my own world. I just stop doing things that i like and can't motivate myself to do the simplest things. Alcohol and ven is also is not good if you over do the booze you can end up in what feels like a psychosis. So have to watch the amount which isn't easy when your out with friends ect they've told me stories where ive blacked out and done weird things that i dont remember like jumping into bushes randomly which i have no recollection of.
I was just prescribed Venlafaxine to do a trial run to see how I liked it. Did anyone have any visual side effects? And as stupid as this may sound but is the visual side effects permanent? I'm not having these side effects but I did read that this can happen. I used to take Propranolol which is much safer compared to Venlafaxine, but my anxiety is getting worse so was curious if anyone experienced anything wrong with their vision.
What sort of things ? I used to get like flashes and flares when I had migrains which I thought was unrelated .... Hope your ok have you mentioned it to your doctor? X
@@harrietmac I'm not having any visual side effects but I did read that it can happen to some people. Just wondering if has happened to anyone. Glad you didn't get them!
i take the extended release one now. 75mg. i truly believe if your doctor can greenlight it, you should occasionally get off all mental medication then re-asses. wish u luck Harriet. please let us know how are you now in 2020 regards, Omar
Its the first one for me that worked. I used to think that sertraline worked but no way near how much this helped. Its weird how everyone reacts diffrently to meds. Side effects night sweats on occasion and low sex drive absolutley crazy dreams at times aswel. Hope your doing well now👌
Can we cut venilflaxine in 4 pieces. It says not to cause it's time released but it gives me tremors and nervousness but other than that it gives me energy and helps my severe depression
Coming of it is hard but if you work with your doctor they can make a plan for slowly weenjng of it and onto something else :) that's what I did and it was positive for me but its different for everyone, I tried this for a long time to see if it would work for me but things just got worse and worse, hope you can work it out xxx
I’ve been on Effexor for a month now and my personal experience hasn’t been too good either. Mood wise I feel alright but I haven’t been able to sleep and my appetite has increased a TON.
Harriet Steele ; Aww thanks so much for the sweet reply. :) My Doctor has me on a medication called bupropion now. My mood has been great but getting off of Effexor has been rough. So much nausea.
Hi I agree with you on the serious strange dreams.i have been taking venlaflaxine for 6 months and take 150mg extended release. Tried loads of ad over the years.mite just have to stay on them for life. Tried coming off and after 6months I crash again.☹
the birth defects risk is only if you're actually ON the medication whilst pregnant right? couldn't you just wean off the medication before getting trying to get pregnant ?
nice, keep up the updates and videos. i would love to hear more of you're stories. you did extremely well for your first video. and you looked real cute too. have a great day, bye!(:
Thanks. I'm 2 months in now and have had my dosage increased for 5 weeks. I still walk around grunting with frustration and wanting to knock walls down with my head though lol; just like I did on sertraline and fluoxetine. I pretty much live on my Xbox at the moment because that's the only time I'm not anxious. Could become quite a dangerous habit.
My mom took one tablet 37 mg and 30 minutes later vomited like 3 times and felt so dizzy and sick omg,and I took this medication for 7 days and couldn't eat ANYTHING ,literally felt no appetite and I am underweight as it is smh,,so now I am on Mirtazapine(appetite inducer) and Lexapro and doing good:-),if you are too skinny like me, avoid this medication, it completely takes away your appetite
If medication is discontinued the relapse is terrible. Like blood pressure and diabetes Depression medication is to be taken lifelong to maintain Serotonin levels.
Hey Harriet, 1st of all great video hun, you did really well for someone who was so nurvous. I was on 225mg of Venlafaxine for over 5 years. It was the best thing I ever did to come off of it. Gone r all the symptoms you described even the scary ass dreams. You hit the nail right on the head there. Just wanted to say that you are not alone mate. 1 sub :)
Thank you so much for the lovely message ! I'm so glad I'm of it now , hopefully it's all out my system and 2018 will be a better year ! I'm glad that making the decision to come of it helped you as well. H
I'm coming off this now. I was on it for 2-3 years, 375mg. Good fun. lol. I'm down to 150mg now. I get the worst headaches ever and I get electric shocks going through my head. Pretty horrific coming off. I'm determined to come off though.
ive been on this for 8 years it has helped keep me at a even kiel i love having the vivid wierd dreams remember there just dreams..this is a very very addictive drug if i missed a dose i would start to feel like im on a roller coaster they call it brain zaps you need to take this everyday same time ....sexual side effects for guys loss of libido and not being able climax dead serious on this one for woman i dont have a clue what it does sexuall wise before you take this ask your dr what kind of side effects it has if he or she says i dont know of any there full of shit once your addicted to it it takes almost a year to wein from it ..its that bad but it works also i wanna say you are beautiful
Omg girl.. My doctor put me on this yesterday and today was rough I didn't sleep well at all but ive also been on several depression and anxiety meds the same doctor has played and adjusted with and I got serotonin syndrome with alot of memory issues and she put me on this to level my levels out...
The dreams I have are just like yours in which they affect me in the day thinking about them but it does make my life better without them I get suicidal
HI HARRIET, THIS IS S SEN FROM INDIA. THANKS FOR RESPONDING LAST TIME. I AM NOW ON DAY 33 OF VENLAXAFINE WITHDRAWAL. STILL NOT FEELING OKAY OKAY IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR THIS CURSED MED TO BE CLEARED PL. PL LET Me KNOW IF YOU CAN PLEASE. THANKS
First time I took it on 75mg first week felt like forever and I couldn’t concentrate and everything felt surreal. But after the first week to second week it got better and I can honestly say makes you feel so much more confident and less anxiety. Best anti depressants I’ve been on.
T Raa like anxiety thoughts or body anxiety?
Hey 1 year later, are u still on them? Are u feeling better? Or did u relapse and are on something else? Bless you in advance
are you still on venlafaxine now? please let me know your experience. im taking this med tomorrow and curious about the long term effects
@@iBuyBitcoin thank you so much! appreciate your prompt answer. stay healthy and safe!
you tried benzos?
Thanks for your upload. Such a brave thing to do when you are suffering with this awful illness! ❤️
I’m currently 44, and have been taking Venlafaxine for about 16 years.
Personally, I believe that different meds work for different people, as we are all unique.
Keep going and you WILL find the med(s) and/or therapy that help you, and you WILL get better!
Lots of love and support,
Dave ❤️
Effexor literally gave me my life back. It's been 4 years since i started taking it. Would love to come off but it makes me sick just to think about not having it
tommy gun I'm glad you found it worked for you , I worry about coming of what I'm on now but then I think it's actually ok to be on medication if it's helping you live life. X
I love you
So does it treat anhedonia?
See this is the secret and dirty said of the pharmacy company
@Darren Finnerty I actually don't want to feel any empathy. I think that is the cause of half my anxiety 😕
Only halfway through this video but I just wanted to say THANK YOU for being so honest and sharing your experience. Means a lot to me
And your comment means a lot to me/ I haven't made a video in years I might try and make one soon xx
@@harrietmac Please do, you brave woman! I'm curious how your journey has been going.
I have been on it two weeks and I feel amazing. So much energy, motivation,creativity , and courage. I've never been happy until now. I consider things I never have.
That's amazing ! I'm so.glad you found something that has worked for you :) x
Me too, but i am on high dose of Lyrica already and 10 mg of diazepam.
@@mariozd971 they put me on diazepam with it as well , I found that to be so addictive though cause I felt like I was so high on it .... they only gave me that for the transition though ( maybe to mask how the venlafaxine would make me feel ) sometimes doctors know there shit though haha so you might be on the perfect mix , I hope it works , sounds like it is so far :) x
I switched from sertraline
100s To venlafaxine 75,5mg :)
I started using venlafaxine a month ago and don't like it. I had side effects like sleeping just 1-3 hours. A huge feeling of restlessness, like having to pace my room because I couldn't sit still. Feeling of having a fever etc. I know meds like this need time, but after for weeks I am just like this is too much, almost no sleep and the unrest... It did help a little bit with my depression, but I just couldn't handle the side effects.. So I'm weaning of it now... Quite likely I'll try something else next because my depression is pretty awefull. But that might partly be because therapy opened Pandora's box.... It's tough... Stay strong guys and girls...
I felt terrible on effexor,it made me not sleep at all,nausea ,NO appetite whatsoever ,I immediately asked for Mirtazapine and now I am taking that ,atleast it makes me sleep at night.I stopped effexor after 3 weeks,it was pure hell
for me that I just know Zoloft which is an SSRI, it's weird because the ratio for effexor of S/N is 30:1... maybe you take an high dose.. but I think that something for Norepinephrine is also useful. but this drug seems weird as you say
Thanks for the video! My mum uses this drug and I wanted to learn about it and it really helps to hear from a real person and not someone who is obligated to speak formally as a professional or some random source from the Internet 👍
In my opinion in my experience, Venlafaxine is the better Anti Depressant. It is also an anti anxiety medication as an SNRI as it works on norepinephrine in the brain, aswell as serotonin. If you dont do well on Venlafaxine, take the slow or extended released pills. And lastly, forget the stigma and take your meds! Hope this helps :)
Yes it's better but side effects are awful and they last a long time ,I will stick with Mirtazapine
Србомбоница Shut up
@@Србомбоница86 I honestly had very few side effects and felt better from day one
My best friend is depressed, and she started taking Venlafaxine about 15 days ago, and things started to get worse ... I had seen some videos to try understand these symptoms, but many videos said that the drug was helping a lot, however, She was only getting worse, Thank you for your video, it helped me understand a bit, and so I can help her, even being so far away. I wish you the best. :D
Maninha Bassani , I'm glad it helped ! For me the symptoms did get a little better after the first few weeks just keep an eye on it because sometimes it's just not right for the person taking it , I took another anti depressant a few years ago and it was much worse so I came of it after two months ... Keeping an eye on her and also just being there will help. It's the friends and family support that really helps people cope with change !
I was prescribed venlafaxine because at some point, the stress got to me. Strangely enough, I did not feel stressed. I had become very stress sensitive. The doctors said it was anxiety. Even before the venlafaxine, I had crazy dreams each night, like you described. I had a lot of chest pain, nausea, feeling weird in my hands, indescribable discomfort words won't do it justice. At one point, I had neck tightness and it became more obvious that it was stress.
I was prescribed clonazepam 0.5 mg. This made me very relaxed and sleepy.
After 1 month, I was prescribed venlafaxine 37.5 mg for 2 weeks. I was already feeling like crap and this made the symptoms worst. I stopped it for 2 days and restarted. I think in 5 days, your brain adjusts.
After the 2 weeks, they increase to 75 mg. Again, it takes a few days to get used to the high dose.
IMPORTANT: It takes about 2-3 months to see the full results.
louis tournas thank you for this comment , I've decided to come of it as I have it a good go for six months , going onto fluoxitine just now , hate that everytime its another few months before you know if it works or not ! H
I am taking d venpad xr 50mg from 3 days and I fill nothing about
anderstand I fill weakness all of my body and mind so please appoint me and help.
really appreciated this video as someone who's been on these meds for a few months. Couldn't agree more about the dreams, so vivid and scary.
Very helpful. I'm taking it and it's improved my life 10 fold . Birth defects scared me but I'm a male so maybe not such a worry.
Declan Craig so glad you found something that has helped !
Harriet, first off thanks for coming on here and talking about this, can't be easy to be vulnerable about your mental health. Secondly, I experience some of the same side effects. I also felt really tired even after getting a good nights rest and I never felt like doing anything once I got home from work. It was actually kind of exhausting being exhausted all the time. I'm getting off it and thankfully its not proving to be too terrible for me because I've weened off. I also decided to get off because of constant feeling of lethargy and I didn't like the fact that it was affecting my body so extremely. I also gained weight while I was on it, from some of the reading it sounds like these antidepressants affect your metabolism so that may explain that. Thank you for letting me find some common ground on this and helping me move forward. Knowing that I'm not the only one really helps.
Katie Rodriguez thank you so much for your comment , it means so much to me as well being able to hear other people's stories making me feel less alone and also less crazy ! H x
I know a close family member who had moderate social anxiety, was prescribed Effexor, the dose was upped after a month, then he had a state of mania, paranoia, and hallucinations. He was admitted to the hospital, the psychiatrist thought he had schizo-affective disorder, prescribed him a bunch of terrible anti-psychotics and took him off effexor cold turkey. These new meds drove him crazy with restlessness. He nearly killed himself. He was tapered off all these meds over 3 month period, and seems to be mostly back to normal except for suffering with insomnia. Why didnt the psychiatrist tell us that his one time psychosis was likely related to his anti-depressant, and rush us into putting him on these terrible anti-psychotics from day 1, and tell us these meds arent that bad except for very minor side effects. We felt lied to, and betrayed. We are lucky that he didnt kill himself.
I'm about to start Venlafaxine tomorrow, just wanted to say I really appreciate the video. Thank you.
Good luck , hope it works for you x
Stevscot: hi, how do you feel after a week ? Is it for anxiety ?
@@ll5584 Hello, yeah I've had depression/anxiety and panic attacks for about 7 years (probably longer) and have been too afraid to ask for help until last month. The doctors had started me on 20mg fluoxetine for a month and I had noticed no change. The first week on venlafaxine I had isolated myself for the most of it (normal), but recently I have been experiencing very brief moments (5-10 mins) where it feels like a fog has been lifted and I can sort of see everything in a better light if that makes sense. So far the panic attacks still have been very much present, but was told that a higher dosage of 125mg or higher may be needed to deal with more prevalent anxiety. I have also been going to a therapist and doing online CBT sessions with phone calls from a nice support lady. Its gonna be a long road!
It's all about how the Meds make "you" feel. I was taking Sertraline for 8 years then tried Venlafaxine. I'm now on day one of going back to Setraline . Video reviews are so helpful, but unfortunately, it's about trial and error. Mitrazipine is the best but it made me put on a stone in 2 months. Find out whats best for "you". It takes time but so worth it. Big Love.
Thank god You made this Video, I was told today I have PTSD. The side effects you described is what I’m trying to get rid of.
Oy. Fight on. I'm currently on Venlafaxine 225 mg per day and Buproprion 150 mg per day. Can sleep well, but get violent dreams.
for which disturb do you take it? for how much time? does bupropion has side effects? do you have sexual side effect? I am off but I am considering startin zoloft and wellbutrine for dhystymia. possibly for life since it's a chronic disease. (if I find the right solution, but your combination is very similar to what I am looking for). do this two compounds balance each other? like serotonine - norepinephrine?
Thanks for this video! I just got prescribed it today, and this gave me some insight to keep in mind as I try it. It's so frustrating looking for an antidepressant that works but doesn't have awful side effects.
I actually vlog about my mental health journey as well. Glad I found your channel!
blackgirlcrazed thank you ! Loving your content as well H
benzos work best for me. big dose before bed and i sleep like a baby,wake up feeling good aka normal. half dose at 4pm and everything goes well. also i only medicate everyother day so my tolerances stay down and even these fast acting ones keep me happy thru the next day.
You have a precious accent. I love it.
I started taking this for anxiety. It helps all the racing thoughts going through my head. It quiets the voices (my own) I was perscribed75mg, but I only use 1/4 of the pill. I dive machine for my job I can't use high amount. I get a stiff neck, ringing in ears(slight), tingling in my brain for 2 hours. I take in morning, have coffee, go to work 5 hours later and I am fine. I sleep like a baby, no bad dreams. I wear a Fitbit. Y normal resting heart rate is 65. When I'm on this it is 77. So increase in blood flow. Nausea and lack of appetite is another side affect. I'm in menapause, it has gotten rid of my hot flashes. I went to Dr for depression and issues with menapause, this seems to help rather than hormone replacement
did it increase your appetite ?
@@afit279 no
This was a bitch to wean off of. Didn't take for long.
@@CandycaneBeyond i’m so sorry:( how long were you on the medication and what dosage may i ask? you are brave❤️
@@afit279 75mg, bit I only took half, then 1/4. Did it for 3 months.
it’s so hard to get off this medication. I was on it from a teenager until and adult(150mg) I had to wean off of it for about 3 months and each day was hell and felt just like a missed dose. When I missed a dose I would be delusional, irritable, feel flu-like symptoms and I would hallucinate sometimes. If you are potentially taking it, please be careful, venaflaxine is addictive whether or not your doctor says it
I felt that way only after i missed 1 day of it omg
Everything you said is some side effects that I have that I have and I thought I was alone. Thanks for the video makes me feel better
First two weeks of taking effexor was hell on earth for me, extreme agitation, anxiety, panic attacks, almost no sleep and stimulation, my pupils were dilated as fuck, i felt waves of hot and cold, sometimes i would get unbeliveable euphoria (similiar to snorting small amounts of mephedrone) followed by panic attack and restlessnes.
I had similiar side effects with sertraline and i found out that im very sensitive to ssri/snri medications, fortunately side effects finally ended and now i feel much better, finally i am alive again
Oh my goodness what a totally lovely person you are Harriet. I so hope life is being very kind to you nowadays.
I'm just about to start the Venlafaxine after a disastrous experience with Prozac.
Good luck and I hope this one is right for you . Let me know how you get on , I'm on prozac again now and it seems to be working ( apart from the flatness ) no crazy low points. Maybe vanlafaxine will work really well for you , I hope it does ! Xxx
I’ve read a lot of comments from people who appear to not have had the best experience with this medication... just wanted to say that I’ve had an overall pretty good experience with it, and that i haven’t had the lucid dream side effect a lot of people mention... after trying a couple other AD’s before Venlafaxine (Fluoxetine, Paxil, Vitanco) this one is the one i’ve had the best experience with. I take 76 mg a day in the morning. I’m also not a doctor haha, but just wanted to say that it’s been pretty good for me !
Thank you! So important to have positives to way up :) its funny because fluoxetine is what I have been on for three years now with a lot less side effects x
Thank you for this. It was really insightful! I am currently on 37.5mg Venlafaxine taken it for 2 weeks but so far I haven't experienced any side effects which is a really good thing. I don't know if it's because of the low dose or it's just my body is super strong and adapts easily but it seems to be working quite well as I've noticed I'm not so on edge as before and a lot calmer. I suffer from severe anxiety so I can totally empathise and relate to your experience! You did an excellent job with this being in front of the camera and speaking takes a lot of strength & courage! I couldn't do it even if I tried I'm soooo camera shy 😣🙁 You are an inspiration xxx
That's a small dose your lucky it's working for you, it takes 375 to work for me I've been on just over 2 years.
How are you doing today and are you still on Venlafaxine? Did your dose increase, and are you now stable on the med or did you have to be taken off it. I ask because of the bad experience a loved one of mine experience on this med. Just trying to get personal testimonies to give me an idea of how many people this med helps or doesn't . thanks!
faithoffaith hello how are you now, and did this medication give any improvement at all? And the side effects?
@@Arielyenri2 Hi Yes I'm still on Venlafaxine I had it gradually increased to 150mg and then finally to the highest 225mg which I take first thing in the morning. I can say it has worked really well for my Depression and the Anxiety is so much better now than it was. Just keep in mind that whilst meds can help they are not a solution so you have to try intergrate self-care techniques, make sure you eat healthily, get enough sleep, exercise, practice mindfulness that sort of thing whenever you can.
faithoffaith yeah I know how to control my anxiety now. I just have depression and I just don’t want it to get any worse this is the med that they prescribed to me for it. Kinda scared to try it, but I need it before my depression gets way worse.
Venlafixine saved my life when I had a manic depressive episode over 10 years ago. Block buster dreams abound and my libido has ebbed away, however I'm very glad to be alive.
I'm glad to, no one will really know unless they have felt it, the pain, its a huge achievement to be hear and be thriving! X
@@harrietmac Well said!
I've been on it for about two years, and I gained my life back, but not all things are good. It does give me the most amazing realistic dreams, but also the most sick scarry nightmares. Also, the withdrawal syndrome is so so heavy on me, if I forget to take it, I just stop functioning.
did this increase your appetite?
@@afit279 yeah it did, now im thicc
I was on 225mg/day Effexor for 3years. It helped for maybe the first year, I tried to come off it but couldn't because of the side effects. Then I moved house and had to get my prescription from a different pharmacy. The venlafaxine they gave me was Tonpular. A couple of times I missed taking my medication and realized the withdrawal effects werent as severe as it had been with Effexor. I'm on day 3 of zero medication and feel great although the dizzy/pins and needles/electric shock feeling are still happening its more bearable than it ever was on Effexor. I'm not saying 100% changing brands will work, it's just that it's given me real hope that this venlafaxine nightmare could be over.
Hope you find hope, peace and happiness.
If anyone reading this has questions I'll try to respond.
JamieBones did you ever have side affects while taking it?
Or like the first week on it?
I don't recall any side effects when taking it at the start but after a few years it took away my motivation to do really important stuff like college work, I failed a couple of big exams and knew it was the medication that was holding me back, it made me not care.
JamieBones oh wow I’m sorry ): did you eventually get off of it? If so how did you feel and how are you now? (:
Yeah everything's good now, had to resit exams the next year now I'm at university. I think the venlafaxine really helped for a few months to begin with then after feeling the withdrawal symptoms from missing a pill or two I thought I would be stuck on it for ever.
This is a pretty old video, so I just wanted to say that I hope you're still doing well. I don't think I'm in the state to share my experience just yet, but I'm glad you shared yours. :)
I discontinued venlafaxine just about four days ago and hope the side effects will end soon. At the moment I think it's going to be a lot better. The last days were hell. My body was shaking all the time and I was freezing. I remember it was worse back then when I started taking the antidepressant and I did not know the side effects. I had tachycardia again and sometimes my heart was beating irregularly. At that time it was much more violent and I even called the emergency ambulance / hospital. I also remember how I vomited comatose again and again and then flinched before I fainted. That happened several times a minute. Now when weaning, I experience this less often and not so hard. I'm still dizzy and perhaps the most formative thing I can best describe as follows: It feels and sounds like glass is splintering in my brain, and if carbon dioxide from cold mineral water is pricking in every cerebral convolution. I was very confused and upset emotionally. At the moment, the splintering and tingling has become weaker and is rather a rushing and flickering ... It reminds me of old televisions (with picture tube) This scrawls and tingles on the charged disc in the middle of my head. Sometimes it feels and sounds like when you turn off the TV (but inside my head). I'm trying to avoid that as much as I can sleep, but my dreams are disturbing and surreal (by weaning). It gets less bad every day and I hope to return to normal soon and not dreaming like I suffer from a bad fever. In the meantime, I can also think (and write) more coherently. The day before yesterday was hard to imagine... I could hardly concentrate and fell asleep for a few minutes over and over again. Even voice messages have hit me hard and reflect meune confusion. Both (getting used to Venlafaxin and stop using it) is hard ... The side effects in these transitions are awful. I think it is probably like a drug withdrawal, only that one is not so specific dependent to the substance.
That was a great description. I’m so sorry, I hope all is well now. Thinking of trying this drug, but I’m hearing horrifying stories about weaning off of it 😕
I noticed with coming off of it you don’t wanna go off of the cold turkey I am now I was taking 300 mg and I’ve gained in the system for metal wait so I stopped taking it little by little and light weights now going down so hopefully soon I won’t have to put the awful drug back into my system because it is horrific it’s not a seller. They should be prescribing anxiety medication’s. This one is not the one you want to go on because it makes people miserable to be honest.
I came off the medication simply because my heart would race non stop and I'd feel extremely off balance and my whole body would tingle, it was very uncomfortable.
GameWare hi, i have been feeling this way for a few days too and i've increased my dosage to 112,5 mg, did it go away when you stopped?
I take veneflaxine I have vivid dreams there so real like I have bpd
It happened with me when I used to miss the meds. Same with you?
Hey Harriet. You seem like such a lovely person. Thanks very much for documenting your experience. I'm on 150mg daily now and totally get the lucid dreaming thing... Oh man it's so real.
I can tell just by looking at you that you are battling all those horrible feelings and I empathise so much. I know it's been 3 years but I hope life is being kind to you these days ♥️.
I'm just one day in and last night I slept like a baby, this drug is really making me feel calm.
Started venlafaxine this week. Seroxat gave me flying dreams, over rooftops of the houses and streets I know!
That's Actually cool haha, i don't remember most of my dreams
I also was on Effexor for 3 months, it wasn't right for me at all as a DNA test later revealed. My suicidal ideation was also intense and one time it became active and I almost did it. What was worse than being on Effexor was the withdrawal from it. Thanks for sharing
Photoshoplilli how are you now ? It shocks me that so many people are effected and it seems like the after care once going onto the medication is limited .... I hope you are doing well and thanks for the comment ! H
I'm a little better, I'm now taking Zoloft and Wellbutrin. Through trial and error my doctor and I found out that the side effects of both cancel each other out, and I'm more balanced now. The only side effects that stayed are shaky hands and vivid dreams. :)
Photoshoplilli when they prescribed you to this medication did they do the DNA test first or did they do it after they gave it to you? You mentioned that your DNA test revealed it wasn’t a good one at app
All*
I'm starting to take them tomorrow first day and this kinda makes me spooked but also want to fix my emotionless and hard time socialize
Skychrew, do you take it for anxiety ?
I was prescribed it today and am picking them up from the pharmacy. I’m honestly looking forward to actually having something that will hopefully help get my life back together. My depression and anxiety just made my life gray and stagnant. I want to enjoy the things I used to instead of sleeping my days away. I really hope it helps us both :)
How has it been working for you? I'm on week 3 of taking it , I'm on on over 200mg of it daily now and it literally has helped me so much!
U get attached to the people in ur dreams when they feel that real then to wake up and they r gone. It's just one more thing to hate about yourself. I just started taking the medication yesterday. I hope it works bcuz I dont know how much longer I can be this way. Good luck to u.
adam lowery how is it?
@@Arielyenri2 much better now that they up my dose to 150 plus have me take an additive with it that I cant recall the name of off the top of my head but it makes all the difference. I couldn't telling that it was working until they had me start taking the additive. I'm going to pick it up from the pharmacy in a couple hrs. I'll tell u what it's called when I return.
adam lowery that’s good I’m glad you are doing much better! And okay (:
@@Arielyenri2 rexulti is the name of the additive. And thank u. I wont bore u with the details but my better half of 11yrs just passed away at 33yrs (3/13/20). If not for the effexor plus the rexulti her passing would have ended me. My family is grateful as am I for the help it was able to give me because this hasn't been easy.
adam lowery I am so sorry to hear that, we are so much stronger than what our minds tell us! I’m glad you got through it. I’m so nervous to take them.
Thank you ..I got mine today and they are just sitting on my dresser...I don't know if I want to take them now. I already deal with alot that i don't need or want anymore triggers. Thank you for your honesty!♡
Updates?
How are you now?
I mixed tramal with venlafaxine once because i hurt my arm and tail bone pretty much. After this combination euphory was so overwhelming i never felt so candy coated in my entrire life. Never do this because you probably want to try it again and again as i do and tramal is highly adictive.
Took my first Venlafaxine today. These comments are making excited and nervous at the same time. Cheers
How is it now?
@@eslle7481 Not sure, only day 3 but I've had worse days. Maybe placebo effect but today seemed better. Suppose to take two weeks to work.
Thanks for you running me through a few of your experience with this medication, my docter just started me on these. Cheers 😁😁
Thank you just started using it and I can't stand the side effects nausea, weird dreams, heavy sweating all from the 2nd day.
I'm taking one pill of venlafaxine 37.5mg in the morning and Clonazepam 1mg one hour later and then another clonazepam after 8 hours..... I'm not feeling good at all, today was my second day using venlafaxine, and I feel headache a lot,
I have 1 year on clonazepam, and I feel better with clonazepam...
How is it now after 2 months?
How are you now?
Hey whats up guys, almost 2 years on clonazepam, and I feel much better, I'm taking 1mg at 8 in the morning and then after 8 hours another 1mg, every day with the same dose, and its working, sometimes I don't feel good, but most of the time I do feel great, hope you guys are doing good ✌
Great video well done, I was on venlafaxine for a while and worked OK but I had side effects in terms of sex drive. Coming off it was absolutely dreadful.
Thank you for video. Hope you are well now. You still looked anxious while shooting your video
I’m on the first week and i feel tired and depressed. Is this normal? My anxiety has gotten better but i just feel so drained and unmotivated.
Hi Matt, I honestly felt like a bit of a zombie the whole time I was on it. Im not sure if it was because I was going through a breakdown at the time without really realising it. Im not on a different medication that really does help and I feel much more 'me' and less zombie-like. The medication works differently for everyone so I can't really say what should be normal for you, the only thing I know is that there is light at the end of the tunnel for everyone and if you are in a dark place keep going. Medication takes a few months to settle so its best to try it out for a while then see where you are at. Hope this helps! XX
Thank you love for making this video... Ive been on venlafaxine for the last 13 months... Today is my first day off of it.. I'm glad im off it.. But man.. The lucid dreams were so so so bad. That was the worsrt part.
But u know what? It helped me tremendously mentally. But I think its opened my eyes enough to where I dont need to be on it anymore
Hello how are you now???
I’m sort of nervous to start this, ... I have received these meds and I just hope my dreams aren’t too bad.
God bless. Love your channel.
Hannah Houle how was it for you?
any update??
don't worry dreams maybe weird and vivid but they are easly forgettable at least in my case were
How was it for you??
I find that if you take it at night, you wont have the vivid dreams, but you will if you take it in the morning
Was a good fit for me ...way better than the ssris
I’m so pleased! It’s definitely very personal isn’t it I’m realising that more and more ❤
the Dreams are like a videogame 😀✌ I love the drug... but Im worried about the withdrawal... i dont wanna be on it for more than 4 months....
Updates?
Yeah, update?
yes, please. Updates?
four months Ive been on it 17yrs
I nearly took my life because of depression and anxiety! I still suffer but this drug really helped. I also take 30mg mirtazapine at night.
Glad you made it ! It's such a horrible disease, I still feel like I cant open up to everyone about it just incase they dont understand . Thanks for the comment. X
@@harrietmac it's terrible love and there's nothing worse than friends or family saying snap out of it or something like that. If they say that it means they haven't experienced real depression because if they had they wouldn't say that! Its not like having a bad day. Real depression is brutal. Hope you're doing well love. X
Thanks for this video..I can relate to the anxiety to even think about recording something like this. Thats a great achievement. I've suffered with depression for a long time. Im trying venlafaxine for the first time 75mg and your insight was helpful. I hope that it helps me somehow
My doctor has just prescribed me vensir XL.... Thankyou for posting this video, I know how hard it is having anxiety and depression, I really feel what you are going through, to make this video, hats off to you girl 😊I’m from the UK and I think America are way more advanced in the mental health feild, we need to recognise and treat it properly...so anxious about starting these meds 🤞🤞p.s you have a gorgeous smile, you should use it all the time 🥰
Megan Louise19913 how are you now??
Gonna try this after coming off sertraline.. Bit fearful of the effects listed in a lot of the mental health forums. I've taken all of the ssri now it's time to try these. Here's hoping. 😉
chris johnston I’m on the same boat as you. How has it been with the change?
Hi chris, im just started stepping down from setraline, and im taking a low dose of venlafaxine. Eventually i will be in maximum dose of venlafaxine until setraline has been phased out. Yesterday was day 1, i finished work as i work nights, was feeling very, very tired, surprisingly i ate literally zero, as normally, im stuffing food down my grid.
ErikaD has it helped you at all?
Hi Harriet,
Thank you for this video! Well done for doing it. I have been on this medication for four months now and I am exhausted, I go to bed early and wake up 8 to 12 hours later and then I have to take a nap during the day. Some days I cannot get out of bed. I also wonder has anyone else woken up several times in cold sweats ? It also seems to make me very irritable.
Thanks guys.
Melissa Donagher sorry I didn't see this till now , I think that when you have depression it can either make you sleep more or sleep allot less / find it hard to sleep , im on a new medication now but I still sleep around 9-11 hours a night , it's so frustrating as I don't want to sleep so much but I am just very exhausted all the time . I'll try and make another video about it . I hope you are doing well . H
I take Venlafaxine and Propanolol and they really make me tired.
Thanks Harriet - trial and error (sometimes it takes months to find what's best and that is a long time to go through side effects). Keep smiling.
Wow Harriet, that sounds truly horrible. Hope they have helped in some way but hope your next meds help you so much more. Xx
love that old nikon on the background. hate the side effects of venlafaxine, 2 months on treatment myself, just changed the dosage and all the side effects i had on the first week are back
Eduardo Elsenbach Schmidt I'm sorry to hear that , I upped my dose before going of it they said wait for three months every time to get the effects which feels like torture when it's making things worse ! Let me know how you get on , I ended up coming of it and going onto fluoxitine / Prozac .
Thanks Harriet, the last couple of weeks went fine, I hope the side effects vanish after some time, like they did the last 2 weeks ( I felt awesome). what have you done to treat the lack of sleep/insonia?
Eduardo Elsenbach Schmidt even though it's sometimes the hardest thing to do excersise really helps me with sleeping if I have bad night's ( although my main problem is sleeping all the time !) Either way trying to do something to move my body ie swimming or going to the gym or even a walk helps allot.
thank you so much for this video, appreciate your explanation!
Started taking 75mg today with the plan of going up to 150mg in 30 days. I am pretty sure today will also be my last day taking this.. I'll deal with the anxiety I guess and take valume when I need it..
I take valium when things get really hard, the release for me is quite addictive though so I try and only take it when things are really bad , I hope you are ok and I found that building a support network of people who understood what was going on helped allot when I was having bad days / weeks . H
Hi Harriet. So I have these available to me, but I'm doubtful at this point about taking them. All the comments on your channel make it seem like more of a risk than a helping hand. Do you think a lower dosage would be better to not become dependent? I've been on antidepressants before with positive results so this one is new to me. I've become unmotivated and numb to feelings so it would be nice if I was the exception with the side effects. I heard alot of people say the withdrawals or missed dosage is horrible. It's crazy to me this drug that's supposed to help sounds like its some street drug like heroin when it comes to WD's. I've never done anything like that so it's scary to think about
Hi mate, I have borderline personality disorder and these tablets have really helped me, to start there are side effects but they pass although at the moment at night my dreams are so strong that I get confused what is reality and what is a dream. My medication helps keep me grounded and helps control my “demon”. The only way to know if it’s gonna work for you is to try it.
I'm glad you made this video x
Thanks and well done for making the video. Sorry your experience with Venlafaxine seems to have been mostly negative. I’m currently a couple of weeks into taking Venlafaxine, having just come off Mirtazapine and before that Sertraline.
It’s interesting how your experience has been different to how mine has been so far. You said Venlafaxine made you sleepy, while I’ve not really found that. In fact I’m struggling with the opposite as I’m finding it difficult to get to sleep at night!
Good luck with your anti-depressant journey, hope you’re doing better nowadays.
Hi, hope you see this, just wondering what was it like coming off venlafaxine? Am on it now but hoping to come off it shortly but am wondering what it’s like to come off? Thanks!
Hi Aoife, I found that the effects of coming of were not as bad as actually being on it, I followed a plan from my doctor for coming of them and onto what I am on now , I did a slow cut down of venlafaxine and then started my new medication. Im not sure if you could ask for help with this or if you plan to try something else but the doctors should be able to sugest the best way to do it. Its so scary feeling like these pills are in control but remember you will be ok and even if there are really dark moments when coming of them try and think about it as a passing moment , there is light at the end of the tunel! I hope that this helps, let me know how you get on ! H x
Hi Harriet, thanks so much for the reply and info! I haven’t been on it too long and thankfully have not had many side effects so far and the ones I have haven’t been too severe so feel very lucky! I am in close contact with my doctor and she will likely just slowly lower my dose as you said so I think it will be an easy enough process! But I was just worried that the effects would adversely effect my ability to work whilst coming off and also of the long term effects but your info has definitely calmed my nerves!!! Thanks and will let you know how I get on! ☺️
I've been on sertraline for 1 year, it used to work, I was functional, now it doesn't anymore. A new doctor i'm seeing prescribed me with venlafaxine instead, i really hope it works, right now i feel "disconected"...like i'm suppossed to be someone I know I can be and do things that I actually want to do but something's dragging me down, I can't find the movitation/energy anywhere and it's getting bad
I feel the same way on this. How do you feel now?
@@supDeny I dropped antidepressants and started lifting weights and eating healthier, been feeling great and looking good tbh, I struggle a bit with low energy at times but I'd rather have a coffee ... Venlafaxine gave me strong side effects, including erectile dysfunction, low libiddo and overall didn't feel good with it...if anything comes my way where I need medication again I'll just go back to fluoxetine
@@TheRealOne2294 i would stick to SSRIs
Hi Harriet thanks for posting this video, better try aswagandha and Brahmi capsule. No side effects but it takes time to show effects. Take care you're beautiful so as well your heart.
I have been prescribed Ventab 37.5 and 75 mg consecutively to be taken. I'm still unsure and not confident. Any motivation?
Thanks for your review
Yeah I’ve been on venlafaxine in the past and it’s not ok.
For me most antidepressants are similar and one isn’t usually superior or worse than a different one.
I hope things are working out well for you now.
All SSRI and SNRIs are terrible for me only Mirtazapine is tolerable
Србомбоница Yeah Mirtazapine is ok.
It’s a bit of a dolly mixture but it’s easier to discontinue than the SSRI/SNRI
Did you see any positive effects from it at all? How long were you on it?
It's hard to say as it was such a horrible part of my life but through meds and therapy and family I got past it so I cant say they didn't help , I'm still on medication now just different ones that have less severe side effects ! X
Harriet Steele I have horrible depression, and am so scared to try these ):
Hi Harriet. I've had some pretty bad side effects from Venlafaxine while I've been on it and am considering discontinuing. A lot of problems with the Suicidal thoughts etc and brain fog. Were you successful coming off it? What were your withdrawal effects, how long did they last?
James McCann hi James , sorry to hear that you are experiencing the same things , I hope that your managing to keep yourself safe ? I found surrounding myself with friends and family was the best help when I was feeling suicidal, I don't live near my family so at crisis moments haveing them on the phone to calm me down was a go to. As for if I've survived coming of it I would say I have - I'm on fluoxitine now which has its own issues I guess but it is working better for me I have more energy and less fog . I hope this helps ? Let me know how you get on. H
Thanks for getting back so fast! I've got a good support network and my friends and family have been great for me. I'm in Stuttgart, Germany and my parents are in Glasgow but Skype/FB is really an amazing way to keep that bond. I'm hesitant to go back on another SSRI/SNRI type med due to the really negative effects I've felt on Venlafaxine. I'm also on Mirtazapine for sleep issues which seems to work well. I was very ill before I went on them but I'm not sure if they helped in the long run. I've got a psych appt. in march so I'm going to talk then and see what the best way is. I'll see if they would switch me or help me to live my life drug free or just on the Mirtazapine.
James McCann don't focus to much on being drug free I used to focus on that allot and really it's not important, if you had any other illness that needed drugs it wouldn't be an issue there is just massive stigma around antidepressants. I hope you find the meeting in march useful , i find combined therapy and medicine is working for me ATM.
I get really bad brain zaps when i forget to take ven or take it too late. Had the nightmares they're so weird you feel like your falling into a really deep sleep sometimes like you want to wake up but you can't so strange and also the dreams have this circling feeling round and round. I've been on them since i was 20 I'm now 37.
I tapered them down to the lowest dose by cutting them in half when things are going well but, sometimes when i go through a bad patch i crank them back up to 75mg. If i don't take them at all I find I over think things so much and just get stuck in my own world. I just stop doing things that i like and can't motivate myself to do the simplest things. Alcohol and ven is also is not good if you over do the booze you can end up in what feels like a psychosis. So have to watch the amount which isn't easy when your out with friends ect they've told me stories where ive blacked out and done weird things that i dont remember like jumping into bushes randomly which i have no recollection of.
Set a reminder on your phone 📆 calendar📱. Or in reminders. That s helping me allot to remember everything.
I was just prescribed Venlafaxine to do a trial run to see how I liked it. Did anyone have any visual side effects? And as stupid as this may sound but is the visual side effects permanent? I'm not having these side effects but I did read that this can happen. I used to take Propranolol which is much safer compared to Venlafaxine, but my anxiety is getting worse so was curious if anyone experienced anything wrong with their vision.
What sort of things ? I used to get like flashes and flares when I had migrains which I thought was unrelated .... Hope your ok have you mentioned it to your doctor? X
@@harrietmac I'm not having any visual side effects but I did read that it can happen to some people. Just wondering if has happened to anyone. Glad you didn't get them!
Thanks for sharing your experience 😊
i take the extended release one now. 75mg. i truly believe if your doctor can greenlight it, you should occasionally get off all mental medication then re-asses. wish u luck Harriet. please let us know how are you now in 2020
regards,
Omar
Its the first one for me that worked. I used to think that sertraline worked but no way near how much this helped. Its weird how everyone reacts diffrently to meds. Side effects night sweats on occasion and low sex drive absolutley crazy dreams at times aswel. Hope your doing well now👌
Just been given this by my doctor today.. I am seriously scared now to be taking this after reading the comments and watch your video. Is it worth it?
I'm in the same boat as you.. I'm nervous
How are they??
ME TOO. how are you now?
Can we cut venilflaxine in 4 pieces. It says not to cause it's time released but it gives me tremors and nervousness but other than that it gives me energy and helps my severe depression
I have had some horrible dreams too. I want to come off it as well and try something else.
Coming of it is hard but if you work with your doctor they can make a plan for slowly weenjng of it and onto something else :) that's what I did and it was positive for me but its different for everyone, I tried this for a long time to see if it would work for me but things just got worse and worse, hope you can work it out xxx
@@harrietmac thank you Harriet, I am glad that you feel better now. It's definitely trial and error.
I’ve been on Effexor for a month now and my personal experience hasn’t been too good either. Mood wise I feel alright but I haven’t been able to sleep and my appetite has increased a TON.
Hopefully you can find a balance with everything, if its helping your mood that's a huge positive ! Hopefully everything else will fall into place xx
Harriet Steele ; Aww thanks so much for the sweet reply. :) My Doctor has me on a medication called bupropion now. My mood has been great but getting off of Effexor has been rough. So much nausea.
Hi I agree with you on the serious strange dreams.i have been taking venlaflaxine for 6 months and take 150mg extended release. Tried loads of ad over the years.mite just have to stay on them for life.
Tried coming off and after 6months I crash again.☹
the birth defects risk is only if you're actually ON the medication whilst pregnant right? couldn't you just wean off the medication before getting trying to get pregnant ?
i dont know how does it effect your depression but you are gorgeous.
I'm on 75mg venlafaxine and 150mg of trazodone , you're beautiful BTW
nice, keep up the updates and videos. i would love to hear more of you're stories. you did extremely well for your first video. and you looked real cute too. have a great day, bye!(:
Amilkar Estrada thanks !
Thank you. I'm about to start these pills and your video helped
Jay Smirh I hope you get on well with them H
Thanks. I'm 2 months in now and have had my dosage increased for 5 weeks. I still walk around grunting with frustration and wanting to knock walls down with my head though lol; just like I did on sertraline and fluoxetine. I pretty much live on my Xbox at the moment because that's the only time I'm not anxious. Could become quite a dangerous habit.
Hi. so did the Effexor only help with the physical anxiety? Or was it also the mental one
My mom took one tablet 37 mg and 30 minutes later vomited like 3 times and felt so dizzy and sick omg,and I took this medication for 7 days and couldn't eat ANYTHING ,literally felt no appetite and I am underweight as it is smh,,so now I am on Mirtazapine(appetite inducer) and Lexapro and doing good:-),if you are too skinny like me, avoid this medication, it completely takes away your appetite
If medication is discontinued the relapse is terrible.
Like blood pressure and diabetes
Depression medication is to be taken lifelong to maintain Serotonin levels.
You can produce serotonin naturally, not necessarily needing medication forever
not true. i went off zoloft easily.
Hey Harriet, 1st of all great video hun, you did really well for someone who was so nurvous. I was on 225mg of Venlafaxine for over 5 years. It was the best thing I ever did to come off of it. Gone r all the symptoms you described even the scary ass dreams. You hit the nail right on the head there. Just wanted to say that you are not alone mate. 1 sub :)
Thank you so much for the lovely message ! I'm so glad I'm of it now , hopefully it's all out my system and 2018 will be a better year ! I'm glad that making the decision to come of it helped you as well. H
My pleasure pretty lady, keep ya chin up :)
I'm coming off this now. I was on it for 2-3 years, 375mg. Good fun. lol. I'm down to 150mg now. I get the worst headaches ever and I get electric shocks going through my head. Pretty horrific coming off. I'm determined to come off though.
ive been on this for 8 years it has helped keep me at a even kiel i love having the vivid wierd dreams remember there just dreams..this is a very very addictive drug if i missed a dose i would start to feel like im on a roller coaster they call it brain zaps you need to take this everyday same time ....sexual side effects for guys loss of libido and not being able climax dead serious on this one for woman i dont have a clue what it does sexuall wise before you take this ask your dr what kind of side effects it has if he or she says i dont know of any there full of shit once your addicted to it it takes almost a year to wein from it ..its that bad but it works also i wanna say you are beautiful
did this medication increase your appetite?
Omg girl.. My doctor put me on this yesterday and today was rough I didn't sleep well at all but ive also been on several depression and anxiety meds the same doctor has played and adjusted with and I got serotonin syndrome with alot of memory issues and she put me on this to level my levels out...
Take it in the morning. Helps me.
The dreams I have are just like yours in which they affect me in the day thinking about them but it does make my life better without them I get suicidal
They need to make a effexor that is very long acting so people don't suffer taking and not taking the shit
HI HARRIET, THIS IS S SEN FROM INDIA. THANKS FOR RESPONDING LAST TIME. I AM NOW ON DAY 33 OF VENLAXAFINE WITHDRAWAL. STILL NOT FEELING OKAY OKAY IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR THIS CURSED MED TO BE CLEARED PL. PL LET Me KNOW IF YOU CAN PLEASE. THANKS