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Mental Health Venlafaxine vs Citalopram for GAD.

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raizanthelostone

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Sep 11, 2017
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Venflaxine vs Citalopram for Generalised Anxiety Disorder and panic attacks ? Anyone got any personal experiences of how this made them feel? I'm going on a month long vacation soon to India, and my doc wants me to make the switch to venflaxine when I come back, as Citalopram worked at first for me and now has lost all effectiveness. But yeah, share share share!
 
If citalopram worked but pooped out I’d try a different SSRI, they’re all slightly different and that may be enough to provide the results you used to get. This is *only my opinion* I’m not a dr. But my opinion is venflaxine is a med you try when a bunch of other ones have failed. It’s notorious for being difficult to get off of.

Is this a gp or a psychiatrist? If it’s a general practitioner I’d try seeing a psych dr before switching to something other than another SSRI. Again, just my opinion. I’m absolutely not against medication (I take it myself and have tried many) but I am absolutely critical of the way mental health is treated. Unless there’s some compelling reason they’re giving beyond, ‘that didn’t work, let’s try this’ then I’d ask for another opinion.

Your dr should be able to say why adding norepinephrine (the ‘N’ in SNRI as opposed to serotonin only SSRI) to the mix could help you.

Good luck!

P.s. if you need some anxiety reducers in the meantime a B-complex vitamin or magnesium may help
 
I was on sertraline for 4/5/6 months (it was a while ago so can't really remember it in all fairness), and that was absolutely atrocious for me. Like how I felt mentally and physically and what I did in the space of time I was on it I kinda damaged my life in regards to relationships with people. Citalopram did work and pooped out after like 2 months, valium seems to be the only thing that helps but I am very reluctant to take that everyday and use it sparingly (as I know it is addictive and loses it effects it you abuse it ). It is a GP, and i've been having issues being referred to a psychiatrist, as I have visual hallucinations too but theres a long winded process I'm going through (basically they forgot to even send my application off so I'm having to do the round again). But yeah, it sucks to feel like it actually helped and I was getting better, then BAM it doesn't work anymore... Like life doesn't want me to get better :(
 
It's my understanding that venlafaxine is approved for such uses, and that citalopram isn't normally used to control panic attacks; but please do your own research if possible, I might be wrong.

Venlafaxine is an SNRI, but, again, as far as I know, it has been known to really affect norepinpehrine levels significantly at high doses, >300mg.

I found venlafaxine to be very useful. I stopped taking it, then resumed treatment later, to no benefit. Such as what happens some of the time with this process of finding the right med(s).

It really just comes down to how you feel, what your own experience is. Please trust your doctor over anyone on this board. It's no secret--many on this forum confuse "recreational" with "therapeutic"
 
When I was doing my general research swell I was under that impression too, however I came across an article that said "Citalopram is frequently used off-label to treat anxiety, panic disorder, dysthymia, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, and obsessive–compulsive disorder. It has been shown to be effective in 85% of patients with generalized anxiety disorder, including some who had failed with other SSRIs.". And to be fair it did help in the beginning just not now XD. To be honest all I know is after the rough ride I had with sertraline I don't know if I can go through that again man !
What medication have you found has worked for you ?

Fingers crossed this is the one !
 
I think it might be good to let your doctor in on your thinking, and your thinking process. So, you could print the abstract and show them and see what they say, perhaps? I would think that they're up to date on the most salient studies and theory.

Paroxetine binds most strongly to SERT of the SSRIs, and has a reputation for efficacy in panic disorder, if I remember right.

It appears that Effexor XR is approved for GAD, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and depression. So it was tested for all of these applications specifically, and came out statistically effective. What do you think?
 
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