Help Hi!!! does anyone have experience transitioning from sertraline to venlafaxine?

[sancsuinet]

I just picked up my script for venlafaxine (im only on 37.5mg until i can see my doctor in person and assess in a week) and im currently on 150mgs of sertraline and have been for the past month. ive been told to stop cold turkey and start on the venlafaxine tomorrow morning. I wanted to see if anyone had experiences with the transition and managing side effects from stopping sertraline suddenly, will the venlafaxine stop that? or will i have to deal with that on top of starting a new med? how is venlafaxine in general, anythign to be worried about?
I have to go to work, a large social event and back to art school over the next week, i have a few days after starting to not do anythign but i want to be prepared and know what to expect, i am an anxious person, hense the sertraline.

Thanks!

 

[conflagration]

I only switched directly from paroxetine to fluoxetine. 150mg of sertraline is pretty high and 37.5 of venlafaxine is pretty low so it seems like a risky move. Let's hope I am wrong.

 

[sancsuinet]

I only switched directly from paroxetine to fluoxetine. 150mg of sertraline is pretty high and 37.5 of venlafaxine is pretty low so it seems like a risky move. Let's hope I am wrong.

yeah, im a bit worried about it but hoping it will be okay. i guess ill find out tomorrow!

 

[chr74]

if anything it sounds like the venlafaxine dose should be higher, for example 100mg or 150mg

 

[CTB Fella]

I was on Venlafaxine a couple of years ago.

It's a morning antipsychotic.

Coming off of it was like heroin withdrawal.

 

[Yahwa]

Hey! I did that last month! Just like you I was on 150mg sertraline for like 2 years but it didn't do anything so my psychiatrist had me switch to venlafaxine. Do NOT stop it cold turkey, you need to ween out of the sertraline as you're getting used to venlafaxine. I suggest you do what my psychiatrist had me doing. From now on, lower your dosage to 100mg sertraline and take 37,5mg venlafaxine for a week. Then next week lower the sertraline to 50mg and continue with the 37,5mg venlafaxine. Then a week later stop the sertraline and take 75mg venlafaxine. You'll still experience some symptoms of withdrawal at some point (very mild though, like some numbness in the face but that goes away super quickly) so nothing really disturbing. Stopping cold turkey however won't do you any good, and the withdrawal is wild, believe me, I've been there. I've stopped both venlafaxine and sertraline cold turkey in the last few years and even though venlafaxine is by far the most horrible withdrawal I've ever experienced, sertraline isn't great either

 

[stermc]

I do. I was taking sertraline for a long time and then changed to venlafaxine, which was good because sertraline didn't work for me. Do not stop sertraline abruptly. You gotta decrease the dosage while you are starting venlafaxine.
Venlafaxine worked for me for about 1 year and a half, but I stopped taking it some weeks ago and I agree with the person above who said it feels like a heroin withdrawal. So make sure to follow your psychiatrist's recommendations.

 

[chr74]

the chemical structure of venlafaxine is really similar to tramadol, which is also like venlafaxine hard to stop taking (withdrawals). interestingly tramadol gets really high review ratings for a being a good antidepressant

 

[Hollowman]

Nobody knows not even the quack doctors it's all a crap shoot.

 

[sancsuinet]

Hey! I did that last month! Just like you I was on 150mg sertraline for like 2 years but it didn't do anything so my psychiatrist had me switch to venlafaxine. Do NOT stop it cold turkey, you need to ween out of the sertraline as you're getting used to venlafaxine. I suggest you do what my psychiatrist had me doing. From now on, lower your dosage to 100mg sertraline and take 37,5mg venlafaxine for a week. Then next week lower the sertraline to 50mg and continue with the 37,5mg venlafaxine. Then a week later stop the sertraline and take 75mg venlafaxine. You'll still experience some symptoms of withdrawal at some point (very mild though, like some numbness in the face but that goes away super quickly) so nothing really disturbing. Stopping cold turkey however won't do you any good, and the withdrawal is wild, believe me, I've been there. I've stopped both venlafaxine and sertraline cold turkey in the last few years and even though venlafaxine is by far the most horrible withdrawal I've ever experienced, sertraline isn't great either

thanks for the advice! i thought it was weird to do that because when i was transitioning from fluoxetine to sertraline they had me ween off fluoxetine for a very long time despite it having like no withdrawal symptoms and a long half life and i was on a relatively low dose (only like 40mgs). I get noticeable withdrawal symptoms by the end of the day if i miss a dose on sertraline so i will slowly reduce my dose but start the venlafaxine like she said. i have an appointment for a check up in a week, so ill tell her then that i chose not to go cold turkey because of withdrawals but then ill probably have to book another for the assessment since i woildnt be seeing results or side effects by then from the venlafaxine probably. anyway, now im rambling. but thank you!

I do. I was taking sertraline for a long time and then changed to venlafaxine, which was good because sertraline didn't work for me. Do not stop sertraline abruptly. You gotta decrease the dosage while you are starting venlafaxine.
Venlafaxine worked for me for about 1 year and a half, but I stopped taking it some weeks ago and I agree with the person above who said it feels like a heroin withdrawal. So make sure to follow your psychiatrist's recommendations.

yeah ill follow what you guys said about decreasing dose instead of stopping abruptly! i dont have a psychiatrist at this point lol. struggling to get anyone to take me seriously enough for that! but i have read a lot about the withdrawals from venlafaxine on here and the internet and it doesnt sound fun. my friend went cold turkey off it and had a breakdown and tried to cbt, which isnt the goal for me atm.

 

[prtsn]

at the highest I was taking 300mg sertraline a day. the first few days felt like my brain was attached to a car battery, after that my mood just regulated itself. venlafaxine for me was awful, felt like i was having an astral projection but in a bad way, just spaced out of my mind and more anxious than ever. Currently I'm taking just 100mg sertraline a day.

 

[sancsuinet]

at the highest I was taking 300mg sertraline a day. the first few days felt like my brain was attached to a car battery, after that my mood just regulated itself. venlafaxine for me was awful, felt like i was having an astral projection but in a bad way, just spaced out of my mind and more anxious than ever. Currently I'm taking just 100mg sertraline a day.

100mgs was my best dose of sertraline from 50-150. im now on 75 mgs of venlafaxine and i am just tired all the time so far. i feel more like myself than when i was on 150mgs of sertraline but idk if thats just because i feel more depressed and ive been depressed for most of my life so it feels like me or i actually do feel a bit better? i got crazy withdrawals from sertraline that lasted like a week, i told my doctor and she seemed unsurprised and unphased lol.

ive been struggling transitioning tasks even more than normal, normally its difficult but i can still like manage to look after my flat, but now i just sit and work on a project for hours on end without moving, eating or going to the bathroom. im getting things done but only one task in each like 8 hour block and mundane tasks just dont cross my mind at all. which i normally get these blocks occianally when im excited about things but not normally every single day.

idk i feel like i might go back to 100mgs of sertraline (same as you lol!), but im riding out venlafaxine for a while, could just be the adjustment period weirdness.

 

[WaitingToGo]

Im on Venlafaxine was taking 75mg but very little change to my depression so they've put me on 150mg which I started today. Side effects I've got are constant dry mouth, constipation and sweating and even worse insomnia. These are known side effects. Hope you manage ok.

 

[prtsn]

i have the rare luck of having great experiences with psychiatrist. my current one told me that most SSRI work like that, there always be a point where your brain no longer can feel the full effect from medication, that's why the adjust your dose or change medication so sudden if it isnt working.

I sincerely dont know what to say. Like you, I've been depressed since I can remember, so medication dont really work like it should be. At most, sertraline makes me get up from bed and do some daily things. What I can confidently say from experience is that your body is always right, if one pill makes you feel weird/funny/exhausted, you should tell your doctor/psychiatrist and try with the best one to date, in your case seems to be sertraline.
Hope you can feel a little bit better!

100mgs was my best dose of sertraline from 50-150. im now on 75 mgs of venlafaxine and i am just tired all the time so far. i feel more like myself than when i was on 150mgs of sertraline but idk if thats just because i feel more depressed and ive been depressed for most of my life so it feels like me or i actually do feel a bit better? i got crazy withdrawals from sertraline that lasted like a week, i told my doctor and she seemed unsurprised and unphased lol.

ive been struggling transitioning tasks even more than normal, normally its difficult but i can still like manage to look after my flat, but now i just sit and work on a project for hours on end without moving, eating or going to the bathroom. im getting things done but only one task in each like 8 hour block and mundane tasks just dont cross my mind at all. which i normally get these blocks occianally when im excited about things but not normally every single day.

idk i feel like i might go back to 100mgs of sertraline (same as you lol!), but im riding out venlafaxine for a while, could just be the adjustment period weirdness.

 

[Ernest1964]

I was on Venlafaxine a couple of years ago.

It's a morning antipsychotic.

Coming off of it was like heroin withdrawal.

Yes, I've been on Venlafaxine 150mg for 20+ years and I have heard that getting off of it has the worst withdrawal symptoms, as bad if not worse than heroine. Though it does have fairly low sexual side effects and THAT is a good thing.Before I got on Effexor my wee wee just wouldn't work and THAT was disappointing.

Hey! I did that last month! Just like you I was on 150mg sertraline for like 2 years but it didn't do anything so my psychiatrist had me switch to venlafaxine. Do NOT stop it cold turkey, you need to ween out of the sertraline as you're getting used to venlafaxine. I suggest you do what my psychiatrist had me doing. From now on, lower your dosage to 100mg sertraline and take 37,5mg venlafaxine for a week. Then next week lower the sertraline to 50mg and continue with the 37,5mg venlafaxine. Then a week later stop the sertraline and take 75mg venlafaxine. You'll still experience some symptoms of withdrawal at some point (very mild though, like some numbness in the face but that goes away super quickly) so nothing really disturbing. Stopping cold turkey however won't do you any good, and the withdrawal is wild, believe me, I've been there. I've stopped both venlafaxine and sertraline cold turkey in the last few years and even though venlafaxine is by far the most horrible withdrawal I've ever experienced, sertraline isn't great either

This sounds like solid advice. I agree with this post 100%.

Im on Venlafaxine was taking 75mg but very little change to my depression so they've put me on 150mg which I started today. Side effects I've got are constant dry mouth, constipation and sweating and even worse insomnia. These are known side effects. Hope you manage ok.

I've been on Venlafaxine 150mg for 20+ years and the side effects I have are the dry mouth, and terrible teeth grinding while I sleep (You should have seen my tongue, Some days it would be so swollen from biting during the night that could barely speak). A couple years ago I realized that the teeth grinding was because I had lost weight and was still on the 150mg, so without consulting a shrink I cut my dosage in half and stayed in 75mg for a couple of years. The teeth grinding stopped, but my depression got worse. So I consulted a shrink and she put me back on the 150mg. and I've been on that for the last 5 years and this time, no teeth grinding.