Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
Hi everyone, just curious if anyone has had any experience with taking venlaflaxine which is another brand of Effexor. Ive been taking it for 3 months now and the side effects at the start were horrible but I stuck it out and the worst was over. However, I've still had a lingering headache and muscle pains that seems to have been there ever since my meds started working. I'm doing great with looking towards other outlets in managing my anxiety such as exercising and eating healthy as well as meditation. My doctor suggests that I only need to stay on for about 6 months due to my good progress but I truly feel as though the physical symptoms stem from the meds- any advice on whether I should suggest weaning off on it a bit sooner? I'm planning on seeing my doctor soon to discuss my symptoms and discuss options. Just want to see if anyone has had any experience with venlfalxine and how it's effected them, thanks.
I have no problem with taking medications and firmly believe they are helpful. I believe they take the edge off so you can work on additional skills. The way I look at it is that meds give me a 30% benefit but I have to do 70% of the work to get well.
Working slowly to reduce the meds has allowed me to ensure I am replacing the benefits of the medication with the skills I have learned in therapy. I have also read it can take upto a year to return back to normal after stopping the meds. I have read that during that time it is not unusual to experience symptom of my mental illness return. So I am prepared that the depression and anxiety may return. I have a written plan in place to deal with this should it happen. I have tried to prepare for what might be ahead and I feel confident I will be successful.
Whatever you decided to do, work with your doctor and plan for the future. Have a plan in place on how you will deal with stress or return of symptoms. Go slowly, it is not a race to reduce meds after all we did not get sick overnight, it built up for years and years.