Venlafaxine Worry

[sine57]

enlafaxine Worry
Hi, I've just joined and don't know where to post things.

I wonder if anyone could help. I am becoming increasingly worried about the length of time I have been continuously taking Venlafaxine. I was first prescribed this in 1996 and have been on it ever since - for 17 years.

I have looked everywhere on the Net but just cannot find anyone who has been on for this length of time. Anyone familiar with trying to come off this drug will know the unbearable symptoms it creates (brain zaps, nausea, tremor, sweating etc etc) but this morning, I was just 3 hours late in taking it and I started the awful headache that usually happens at the beginning of withdrawal.

I really just would like to know if anyone out there has a similar history. By the way, I take 225mgs per day.

Thanks.

[TRISTAN]

I'm coming off it now and it's not great , if it's still working for you then stick with it x

[spawn]

I've just come off it after 14months, it wasn't pleasant.
If you have been on Ven for 17years I would of thought it would be hard to come off?
You would need to reduce over a long time definitely!
225mgs is quite a high dose, have you spoke to your doctor about this?
Gav.

[hheavenlyangel]

Im on 225mg, I used to worry about the long term side effects but the long term side effects of NOT being on it outweighed the being on it. I went cold turkey off it about 6 years ago for about a year or so but my anxiety and panic attacks came back so badly that I went back on them. At first I was on a much lower dose but I am now on 225mg. I know exactly how you feel when you are even 3 hours late in taking the little suckers... its awful. In all honestly the only thing I could find that could possibly be of any concern is elevated liver enzymes but that was all I could find. This is going to be something you need to talk to someone who works in this specific field, perhaps not your general Dr but someone who deals with these kinds of medications all the time. I know that I will have to keep taking these for as long as I have to. Also, when you come off them, you will need to do it in steps, slowly decrease the dosage, its the only humane way to come off them otherwise you are caught with those horrible horrible withdrawls :/