Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: ladylollipop on June 11, 2018, 03:16:24 PM
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Hello, just a short question. Who is also taking venlafaxine for menopause symptoms and what are your experiences? I take it for 9 weeks ( 75mg)now but haven't got the full effect yet. Should I take a higher dose?
Best wishes
Lady lollipop
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Hi,I take venlafaxine 225mg,but not for menopause,it's an anti depressant,although I have heard it can be used to help with hot flushes. Are you on hrt?
Lisa xx
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Hello Lisa, thanks for your reply. No, I am not on hrt. It didn't work for me. My main symptoms are anxiety and agitation. So awful!
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Hi,which hrt did u try?I suffer with anxiety and agitation as well. I'm seeing a menopause specialist next Tuesday to sort myself out. Tell me abit more about yourself like age,where u r in ur menopause journey etc. Did u suffer with anxiety before?
Lisa xx
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Well I' ve tried gynokadin ( sorry I don't know the English word, I live in Germany) and then I took a tablet can't remember the name. I have only got bleeding from that tablet. My problems started end of 2014 (exactly one year after my last period) so I am postmeno. I don't have hot flushes so at first the doctors treated me for burnout. To be honest I have stopped venla three times last time in November 17. I felt great and all went well till end of March. I woke up one morning and was so nervous well and then anxiety came back. Now I am a bit worried why it take so long ( or does it feel so only) to get the full effect. The lady at the pharmacy and also my GP said nothing to worry about it will work again I have to be patient. Sorry for such a long text
Lady Lollipop
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Yes you probably need to give it more time,if no improvement in a couple of weeks,go back to see your doctor
Lisa xx
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Yes, I will give it another week or so and then talk to my GP. Sorry I haven't answer two of your questions. I am 52 and never ever have had problems with anxiety but I always was a nervous person. How long do you take venlafaxine?
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To be honest I'm not sure a long time,maybe 10 years. Maybe talk to your gp about hrt,sometimes it takes a long time to find the right one,and the right dose. It can have long term benefits.
Lisa xx
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One of my best friend is a gynecologist and he said for some women hrt don't work and antidepressant can be a life saver in this difficult time. We don't have menopause clincs in Germany and often gynecologists don't know much about menopause. It doesn't seem so important to them. In England there seem to be more specialists (prof. Studd etc.) and menopause seems to be more in the media in Britain. I am often in the Uk and during my studies I have lived there ( but that's a long time ago)
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Yes that's very true,some need both.i hope you find some peace soon.keep us posted
Lisa xx
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Thanks. Yes will stay in contact and keep you updated. When have you started menopause? Do you have anxiety and agitation since then or do you suffer from these symptoms before menopause and menopause made it worse?
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Hello ladylollipop,
I have been prescribed venlafaxine because I can't take HRT (blood clots) and haven't had the courage to start taking it. I have read the leaflet (big mistake) and one thing that has scared me is that you can't stop taking it without tapering. Maybe that's why it's not having the full effect on you.
Conolly X
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I have suffered from anxiety and depression on and off for 26 years,but about 3 years ago I lost my confidence,and self esteem though I never had much of that,was having some panic attack's. Then January last year had a bit of a breakdown,due to bad medication and I think hormones,although I didn't know that at the time,but it was different than the other times,and I was off work for 8 months,too afraid to be on my own,horrific panic from when I opened my eyes,until I went to bed,I went to hell and back,and so did my family,I felt like I was dying and to be honest I wanted to
Lisa xx
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Hello conolly, thanks for your reply. Yes , reading the leaflet was not a good idea. I was on venlafaxine 3 times last time for 18 months and I can only tell you it helped me a lot. It is really worth a try. I don't understand what you mean because tapering of venla could be the reason for not getting the full effect? Maybe you can tell me again. Thanks lady lollipop
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Hello Lisa, so sorry to read that you have suffered a lot in the past. In 2014 I could not work for 2 months. Nobody said anything about menopause the doctors treated it as a nervous breakdown. Put me on venlafaxine and when I felt better it was ok for them that I stopped it ( after 14 weeks) . I didn't know anything about antidepressants so I thought that's ok. Oh I was so wrong and the doctors too. 14 weeks is nothing for an antidepressant. Some need 3 months to work. So to be honest I really don't trust doctors anymore only when they are friends. Hope you a feeling better soon the same I hope for me because my husband isn't amused after nearly 3 1/2 years. Lady lollipop
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Hi conolly, I didn't think transdermal hrt gave any increased risk of blood clots,don't quote me on that though
Lisa xx
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Hi ladylollipop, sorry to hear u r struggling. I take 150 venlafaxine was on 75 but as I got deeper into Meno it was increased. I had to stop hrt and since then I have been struggling again on and off, I feel I need to increase ven again but am hesitant because of constipation side effect! It should work for you again you probably need to give it a little longer, have you had any benefit so far?
Lisa, do you get any side effect on your dose?
Stooth x
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I got rid of mine 15 years ago lol 😂 maybe he's not helping your anxiety,you need support
Lisa xx
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Hello sweettooth, thanks for you reply. Yes I do have a few benefits. I can sleep very well, and some days are already good. I could even travel to New york two weeks ago. I did ok on the plane but struggled the first 3 days in New York. ( maybe jetlag) I think I observe myself to much and don't realize the little things which maybe get better. I still struggle with awful thoughts. Especially in the morning. Are you not really doing well on 150mg?or would you say it's ok?why did you stop hrt?
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Hi stooth,I don't even know I'm on it,been on it ages
Lisa xx
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I have taken an AD since 1988.
The brain is an organ often forgotten. Often the brain requires support regardless of causation.
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Hello conolly, thanks for your reply. Yes , reading the leaflet was not a good idea. I was on venlafaxine 3 times last time for 18 months and I can only tell you it helped me a lot. It is really worth a try. I don't understand what you mean because tapering of venla could be the reason for not getting the full effect? Maybe you can tell me again. Thanks lady lollipop
Hi again!
I was just thinking that maybe some of your symptoms could be related to stopping the medication cold turkey. The leaflet calls it Discontinuation Syndrome.
Conolly X
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Hi conolly, I didn't think transdermal hrt gave any increased risk of blood clots,don't quote me on that though
Lisa xx
Hi Lisa,
You're right but I still don't want to risk it, blame it on health anxiety ☹️
Conolly X
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ladylollipop no hrt because of BC I struggled anyway on it as it never balanced me but it helped my mood and energy. Thanks Lisa it's good you don't notice any effects, it just has made my bowel lazy I know I may need to change but dread that as it can be very tricky!
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I saw my Neuro. on Tuesday and we are deciding between this, Duloxetine or Nortriptyline to help both my migraines and some of my MS symptoms.
I really need a preventative for my migraines, as the white matter perfusion on the scans is worrying from old migraine damage. I am having migraine activity daily, so an abortive drug isn't going to be suitable for me.
I'm encouraged that the venlafaxine is helping you, ladylollipop. If it does a bit of 'double duty' for my menopause symptoms too, that can only be good! :) xxxx
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Lisa, just a thought - my Neuro. told me that at higher doses, the Venlafaxine acts more on Norepinephrine and can therefore be stimulating. Lower doses, it hits the seratonin receptors only. I'm wondering now that you are in menopause if this is in fact too much of a stimulating dose, and might be adding to or indeed causing your anxiety and agitation? Higher doses are more likely to cause sweating as a side effect too, whereas anything up to 75mg can actually help with hot flushes (it's a funny drug)!
These are just thoughts based on what I was reliably told, but it might be worth checking with your prescriber to see if your dose is still suitable for you at this time. xxxx
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Hello Tempest,
Do you know if there are significant differences between duloxetine and venlafaxine? I wonder why both are being prescribed under the NHS?
Conolly X
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Hi tempest,my dr is clueless anyway,but I've gone into a severe depression this last 2 days,really scared I'm going downhill again :'(xx
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Hi, joining in because I tried both duloxetine and venlafaxine briefly about 4 years ago for depression. They are both SNRI type antidepressants and the biggest difference is that venlafaxine has a bigger range of doses to assist with eventual discontinuation. Duloxetine only has 2 strengths and it is more difficult to taper off it. The advice to people struggling to come off it is to open the capsule and count the beads, and gradually reduce the number you take (after returning them to the capsule).
I didn't tolerate either drug but I think duloxetine should have smaller dose strengths.
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Hello Wilks,
Thank you very much. May I ask why didn't you tolerate them?
Conolly X
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Hi Connolly,
Both of them gave me stomach ache, but in retrospect, I did have a sensitive stomach at the time and a lot of things gave me stomach ache!
I'm taking fluoxetine at the moment which is about the only AD that really agrees with me.
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Thank you, Wilks. Good to know you're ok with fluoxetine, any side effects?
Conolly X
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For the first few weeks the fluoxetine made me quite sleepy, but other than that it's been pretty tolerable. X
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That's great. I'm trying to decide if I take AD's and I'm really confused with so many options and scary leaflets!
Conolly X
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Some of them can make you anxious for a week or two but that usually wears off. I like fluoxetine because it's the least likely to make you put on weight and because it's quite “activatingâ€- when I get depressed I often feel exhausted. Also it's easy to come off it because it has a very long half-life so the levels decline very gradually when you stop taking it.
I don't want to sound like I'm selling it to you though! Lol
X
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Ah, that's interesting Wilks! I found Fluoxetine too activating at 20mg, but could tolerate 10mg which I had as a liquid.
The venlafaxine is a bit known for constipation I know, so maybe that's why it affected your tummy.
I'm so sorry to hear you're spiralling, Lisa - please know that we're here for you! Sending hugs - just hang on in there until you see your new Consultant at the menopause clinic! Not long now. xxxx
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Update: not getting Venlafaxine now. My neurologist has suggested 2 other choices of medication instead. xxxx
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Dear Conolly, thanks for your reply. I didn't stop cold turkey last time. From May2016 to April 2017 I took 75 mg per day. Then I took 37,5 mg till mid September and till 4th November I took 37,5 mg every second day and then I stopped it. Have you already decided if you are going to take Venlafaxine? Lady Lollipop x
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Hello Tempest, may I ask what your doctor suggested?
Lady Lollipop
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Some medications can cause the opposite reaction to what they are designed for ::): my Dad had Ativan and he was agitated for days until we cottoned on the causation, it took 10 days B4 he stopped pacing :'(. He and I walked miles in silence as he couldn't stay still. A friend goes hyper with Propranolol ........
It was sickness that stopped me taking many of the ADs available in the 1980s. Eventually one was found that suited me for 13/14 years B4 I needed something else.