Venlafaxine - warning mention of suicide

An update on taking Venlafaxine. Well since I went on a higher does I've noticed I sweat more, especially at night. Also, I am getting really weird and vivid dreams - apparently this is a common side effect. I wake up the next day really tired so decided to reduce the frequency of taking the tablets. But if I leave it too long I start getting "Brain Zaps" and very jittery (as though I have drunk 20 cups of strong coffee). Not very nice at all.

I've decided that I need to come of these and wondered if anyone else has successfully weaned themselves off.

I still have a stockpile of Citalopram and might swap to that drug to ease the withdrawal symptoms???? 

It took me while to find the right anti-depressant and dosage. Sertraline made me feel worse, but my niece gets on very well with it, for example.

For every scientific paper that says micro biome can affect your mood, you can find one that says, no it doesn’t.

Psychology is going through a replication crisis at the moment. You can read about it here: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/11/psychologys-replication-crisis-real/576223/

Maybe some of these medicines are working for some ppl, but everything working on the serotonin receptors has been so so so bad for me. I would be fine if they were just useless and did not make me feel better, but they made me feel 10x worse and very suicidal. I am feeling so sorry for the kids that are non verbal getting feed it.

Fermented sauerkraut creates chemicals (GABA ish) that does cross the blood brain barrier and can calm down your brain. People should read more about how you can change your microbiome and how it can affect your mood. It is fascinating.

I didn’t say having ‘your guts ripped out’ cures anything, quite the opposite. I said that if the theory that gut biota can cause depression was right, people on a strong course of antibiotics or those who have radical gut surgery would expect to see a change either in their mental illness or develop mental illness.

Unknown said:

Also people who have their guts removed, do not consequently develop mental illness.

I've never heard that before - and it doesn't tally with the depressed people frequenting the Crohn's & Colitis boards after having radical surgery and living with the after-results.

Having you're insides ripped out doesn't solve mental issues.

Hello,

I am glad to hear that you have found something that works for you.

However, I think you are confusing correlation with causality.

I take venlafaxine for depression. I fully accept that some people have an adverse reaction to it. I had an adverse reaction to other SSRIs.

The gut-brain axis is much misunderstood. Some people think that gut bacteria can affect your mood. I did myself after reading a couple of research papers.

It was pointed out by a neuro-geneticist that if you were to take a strong course of antibiotics, this will kill bacteria but not give you depression. Also people who have their guts removed, do not consequently develop mental illness.

Only specific chemicals are able to cross the blood/brain barrier.

It is true that efferent signals - brain to gut - can affect what you are able to eat. The case for afferent signals is different.

“Grrrr

: "What causes ASD has baffled psychiatrists and neurologists since the syndrome was first described" - yeah, but no though. We know very well that autism is overwhelmingly genetic in origin:” Kevin Mitchell

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0137725

Hi! 

Just registered here because of this post. Venlafaxine and Strattera is the ABSOLUTE worst "medicines" (LOL!) that I have ever tried in my life. Honestly, most things working on the serotonin receptors are just working really badly for us autistic people. I think it is absolutely horrible how these things keeps getting prescribed to people on the spectrum, but it is a big business after all... 

I understand the need for some kind of medicine, but coffee is your answer. If you are very sensitive to it like I am, try having just 1 tablespoon or 1 and 1/2, it will still give you effect. Do the coffee properly and not use some fast crap coffee. Then you need to change your diet and strenghten your gut! Cut out all gluten and most importantly, CASEIN (!). If you haven't done it already, you have no idea how much it can mess your brain up and also do you extremely anxious! Changing my diet has done more than any medicine out there ever was able to. 

Always a difficult one to sort out and once you start thinking it makes you feel bad, you have the wrong mindset to trust it. However these SSRIs usually require a 2 to 4 week trial to see if they suit you as often side effects are greater at the start of treatment and then settle .

Venlafaxine generally has low side effects, but as autistic people we may be very attuned to notice side . Th er idea is to start with  a lower dose or take half a tablet

I take the lowest venlafaxine dose now (75mg), but I was on 375mg. It didn't make me suicidal but it did effect my ability to communicate properly - not that I'm a brilliant communicator anyway. I balanced it with 45mg of mirtazapine, but then I started having constant hallucinations. (I have them occasionally anyway)

Now I just take 75mg venlafaxine and 15mg mirtazapine. This suits me, as the mirtazapine helps me sleep and eat (I don't register hunger). The venlafaxine seems to counteract the extra hallucination of the mirtazapine.

It took me ages to get the right mixture meds. You must tell your GP so she can give you something else. There seems to be a large variety.

Yes i use it. I don't get any side effects and it does seem to ease my anxiety/stress to some degree. Venlafaxine is a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor while Tramadol is an Opium based pain killer - worlds apart I would have thought??? 

Please go back to your GP and explain the issue - I had huge side effects from Mirtazapine as well as Fluoxetine many years ago.  It seems to be a bit of trial and error with these medications as what affects some people does not affect others in the same way.