Venlafaxine and negative side effects?

[Moose.000]

Does anyone here have experience with Venlafaxine HCL 37.5 past or present? If so, have you suffered from nightmares or sleep paralysis due to it; worsening thoughts, etc?

Also, does it actually help at all after a set amount of time? Unlike the countless amounts of other meds I've been prescribed in the past.

I've become very cautious due to past experiences with medications. The last thing I need is something worsening my "issues." My absolute worst have been seroquel and bupropion. Best so far have been lithium in conjunction with vistiril or trazodone. Venlafaxine will be a new experience to me. I'm hoping, at a minimum, it doesn't make me take 10 steps backwards. To be brutally honest, I don't think I have enough ground behind me for 10 steps. 1 more step might be all thats available, then the edge.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[TheNorthernSilence]

I suffered from dry mouth when the dosage was 225mg so it was lowered to 150mg which is my current dose.

 

[Carrotcake]

37.5 mg is not yet a therapeutic dose, so I assume you will increase your dosage with your doctor/therapist?

It unfortunately did not have a positive effect on me, just like all the other AD's I have tried.

I experienced the basic side effects, and brain zaps, which were new to me and very odd. But nothing too bad or serious.

 

[ThrownAwayTom]

I take 150mg a day for a few years now. I do find that if I stop taking it the suicidal thoughts become more common.

The big problem for me is withdrawals from not taking them - if I miss one day I'll get incredibly vivid and generally unpleasant dreams, and sweat buckets over the space of a few hours.

It's hard to tell how well they work cos I can't compare it to not taking them.

 

[RedHarlequin]

I was was taking up to 450mg, didn't do anything for me.

 

[DeadButDreaming]

Venlafaxine has helped me more than any other medication. I found it harder to get to sleep on it though, so my psychiatrist proscribed mirtazapine.

 

[justanotherstar]

I found Venlafaxine more helpful than any of the combinations of SSRI's and other meds I've tried. Just a warning though not to miss it because the withdrawals are truly horrible. I hope you have a good experience. It can be so frustrating finding the right combo but I hope
this is a step in the right direction for you :-)

 

[Last chance]

I was on the maximum dose for about 3 years. It gave me night sweats and terrible nightmares. I did help with my depression though.

As others have said the withdrawals are pretty horrendous and coming off it wasn't easy. I don't think I would take it again because of this.

 

[Dead beat dad]

Does anyone here have experience with Venlafaxine HCL 37.5 past or present? If so, have you suffered from nightmares or sleep paralysis due to it; worsening thoughts, etc?

Also, does it actually help at all after a set amount of time? Unlike the countless amounts of other meds I've been prescribed in the past.

I've become very cautious due to past experiences with medications. The last thing I need is something worsening my "issues." My absolute worst have been seroquel and bupropion. Best so far have been lithium in conjunction with vistiril or trazodone. Venlafaxine will be a new experience to me. I'm hoping, at a minimum, it doesn't make me take 10 steps backwards. To be brutally honest, I don't think I have enough ground behind me for 10 steps. 1 more step might be all thats available, then the edge.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Hey brother. I took Venlafaxine for a period of about 4-5 months.
It took the edge off and I think actually at that time stopped me from CTB while in a savage pit of depression.
Side effects I remember:
Difficulty sleeping but i got some zopiklone so that helped, come off had some withdrawal effects (pins and needles in my face, that was not fun!), funny but also shit was that it destroyed my libido and left what I think is lasting damage, which ironically contributes to my poor state of kind now.
Good luck my friend.
DBD

 

[RedHarlequin]

Venlafaxine has helped me more than any other medication. I found it harder to get to sleep on it though, so my psychiatrist proscribed mirtazapine.

Did you gain any weight from mirtazapine? It helped me sleep but didn't help with my depression and I couldn't stop eating.

 

[Last chance]

I forgot to add weight gain and delayed/sometimes impossible orgasm.

 

[Mentalmick]

I've been on 375mg venlafaxine for about 19 years. Apart from shocking withdrawal symptoms the only side effects I have experienced are excess sweating and worse than normal dreams.

 

[Moose.000]

37.5 mg is not yet a therapeutic dose, so I assume you will increase your dosage with your doctor/therapist?

It unfortunately did not have a positive effect on me, just like all the other AD's I have tried.

I experienced the basic side effects, and brain zaps, which were new to me and very odd. But nothing too bad or serious.

Ugh. I dealt with the brain zaps before and wasn't able to link it to anything specific. Hopefully this doesn't trigger them again.

 

[DeadButDreaming]

Did you gain any weight from mirtazapine? It helped me sleep but didn't help with my depression and I couldn't stop eating.

Yes, I did. Mirtazapine leaves me with a voracious appetite. I have to be disciplined. Mirtazapine also leaves me with a dry mouth. I'm going to continue taking it, however, because I feel tormented without it.

 

[RedHarlequin]

Yes, I did. Mirtazapine leaves me with a voracious appetite. I have to be disciplined. Mirtazapine also leaves me with a dry mouth. I'm going to continue taking it, however, because I feel tormented without it.

Understandable. I would also live with the increased appetite if it did anything for me.

 

[D11FER]

I've switched to venlafaxine 225mg about 3 months ago initially felt so much better but that didn't last long.
SE excess sweating (very attractive) Zero sex drive (thank god because of the sweating I'd be like a slippery fish) vivid and haunting dreams mainly about my wife (separated) hating me and ignoring me (which she does)
quetiapine 50mg at night to help me sleep and that's ok x

 

[ThrownAwayTom]

Does anyone else experience dreams (especially after missing a dose) that are nearly always some kind of commentary on your current state of mind? It's like the brain starts to criticise itself subconsciously in dream form via the venlafaxine.

Mine aren't nightmares in the sense of some evil being chasing me etc, but they'll always be a slight exaggeration of something that could actually happen, like me needing to be at a family members funeral but being unable to move - or needing a hit of a drug and having someone walk in the room just before I take it for hours on end. Recently I started to miss my ex and had a dream that lasted hours and only consisted of me trying to speak to her but it was like I was invisible or she'd see right through me.

Sorry to ramble but, it's a pattern I've noticed for years.

 

[Last chance]

Does anyone else experience dreams (especially after missing a dose) that are nearly always some kind of commentary on your current state of mind? It's like the brain starts to criticise itself subconsciously in dream form via the venlafaxine.

Mine aren't nightmares in the sense of some evil being chasing me etc, but they'll always be a slight exaggeration of something that could actually happen, like me needing to be at a family members funeral but being unable to move - or needing a hit of a drug and having someone walk in the room just before I take it for hours on end. Recently I started to miss my ex and had a dream that lasted hours and only consisted of me trying to speak to her but it was like I was invisible or she'd see right through me.

Sorry to ramble but, it's a pattern I've noticed for years.

Mine usually included people being killed in horrific ways.

I can still remember one from about five years ago where I was stood on the bank of a river with my friends kids while we watched their parents getting mangled into pieces in a boat crash.

I then had to swim through the wreck full of mangled bodies to try and find them.

 

[ThrownAwayTom]

Mine usually included people being killed in horrific ways.

I can still remember one from about five years ago where I was stood on the bank of a river with my friends kids while we watched their parents getting mangled into pieces in a boat crash.

I then had to swim through the wreck full of mangled bodies to try and find them.

Wow, yeah that's pretty intense. I'm usually unable to move in some way, like I have to get across town but I have to pull myself by my arms the whole way, usually needing to avoid police or someone violent.

Our brains are pretty fucked up eh haha

 

[Last chance]

Our brains are pretty fucked up eh haha

They certainly are !

My mental health nurse said that it's likely I would be having the same dreams without the medication it's just the meds keep certain parts of my brain alert enough that I remembered them in the morning ‍

 

[JayBot2005]

I just started taking it and my suicidal thoughts have increased tenfold. Did anyone else experience this during the first weeks before the anti-depressant effect kicks in?

 

[Mentalmick]

I just started taking it and my suicidal thoughts have increased tenfold. Did anyone else experience this during the first weeks before the anti-depressant effect kicks in?

I think that's quite common with some antidepressants.

 

[JayBot2005]

I think that's quite common with some antidepressants.

Yes, I'm hoping and praying that there will be a turning point soon. I was quite stable before this.