venlafaxine question

[andreas]

Hi guys my younger brith was just put on venlafaxine 37.5mg

he wont talk about things and refuses to go to a psychologist, he has placed all his faith on the meds. Does anyone here have experience with this SSRI, Im worried coz he had suicidal thoughts in the past and wiki says it increases those problems.

 

[Lolie]

First of all, SSRIs increase suicidal ideation in some people but it's by no means inevitable. Good doctors monitor people's progress on SSRIs fairly frequently in the early stages of treatment so that any worsening of their condition can be detected as early as possible and patients are usually given a list of things for which they should contact their doctor immediately.

While it's true that medication combined with therapy has better outcomes in people with depression than either alone, therapy requires a certain level of motivation which is often absent until the depression is somewhat eased - so it's not unusual for people to delay starting therapy until the meds have kicked in.

In a lot of people depression is the problem in and of itself, it's not the result of other issues in their lives and talking about it only makes them feel worse because there is nothing external which they can "fix".

The best thing you can do for your brother is let him know that you're there if he does want to talk, not just about his feelings but about anything. Right now he's probably sick and tired of his feelings dominating his life 24/7 and may value just being treated like the same brother he's always been.

 

[lasthurrah19]

Hi,

I've been on anti-depressants on and off for 6ish years, and also when I was 11/12 I was on Prozac for a brief time. This is just a rundown of how I experienced many anti-depressants and other psych drugs in my life. I've been on a LOT of stuff, and a lot of it didn't do shit, but these are the only ones that I've had a change in suicidal thoughts/behavior on. I've probably been on like 12-15 psych meds, and the majority did not have bad side effects. MOST people do not have increased suicidal thoughts from anti-depressants. It definitely happens, but it is not that likely IMO. And note as I explain these things, I wasn't in any more danger of hurting myself, just my thoughts were troubling, and I can (usually) control myself enough to get past rough spots like that, and of course I told my doctor right away. Although, the exception, I think Prozac really made me more dangerous to myself, but I only took it for maybe 6 weeks because I did not like how it made me feel.

Prozac made me kind of almost manic (I'm not bipolar), and just kind of consumed with anger, suicidal ideation and even some homicidal thoughts. I stopped taking it without anyone knowing for a while, and then somehow or another they took me off it anyway. Remember I was a pre-teen so I had little say in what was happening. Even then I was kind of pissed that my parents were trying to "fix" me with a pill, but regardless, I think Prozac made me more prone to anger and perhaps violence against myself or others if I had kept on taking it. And this is coming from a very passive and certainly non-violent child. Then again I was young and perhaps my perception is a bit warped. I think pre-teens should not be administered SSRIs, but that's another topic altogether.

I was on venlafaxine recently, and I did have an increase in suicidal thoughts, but I believe it was because Cymbalta just worked better for me, and since I've been back on Cymbalta I'm okay. But I'm also 25 now, so not technically a "young adult", in medical terms.

A mood stabilizer, Lamictal, also increased my suicidal thoughts in a different way. I was so apathetic and dissociated/out of it before I started taking it, that once it actually helped me feel a little better, it was easier to think and rationalize killing myself. I also would get these kinds of vision things... like when I went outside to smoke a cigarette, I'd just kind of see myself jumping over the railing (I live on the 4th floor of my building). I didn't really have a thought accompanying it so to speak, but still that was new to me. And like I said I was actually feeling better, but probably technically having worse suicidal thoughts. I still get this sometimes, and I'm still on Lamictal, but it's gotten a lot better and I don't get anxious as hell when I get those kind of vision-things.

I hope this makes sense and perhaps you can look out for any signs of stuff like this with your brother. He needs to report any kind of suicidal thoughts/behaviors/impulses to his doctor right as they are happening, if they happen. Regardless, the majority of people seem to painlessly adjust to SSRIs/SNRIs.

I agree with the above though, treat him the same and be a good to him. You sound like you care a lot about him. Hope all goes well.

 

[paranoid android]

It's a SNRI and i was on it for maybe a month and a half. I only made it to 150mg's i think and that was enough of that. The side effects i got where burutal. Sexual dysfunction that rivals any rec drug, manic behaviour, more prone to violence, i couldnt eat, had trouble sleeping and had the worst withdrawals from any fucking med with the possible exception of alcohol from it.

So that is my experience with it. Bear in mind that i am bipolar and am prone to manic behavior and serotonic anti-depressants don't agree with me.

 

[lasthurrah19]

^^^ good point. Withdrawals from any anti-depressant, especially SNRI's, is insane and worse than my opiate cold turkey from about 300mg a day was.

However, tapering of course works fine. I've tapered from many an anti-depressant without incident.

If I forget to take my Cymbalta, at about 30ish hours overdue, I feel like I'm in the beginnings of benzo withdrawal. I've never been through a hardcore benzo detox, but damn if it doesn't remind me of the small physical addiction I did have. At 3-4 days it is impossible to think, all opiate withdrawal symptoms pretty much but worse anxiety. Needless to say, I pretty much always take it exactly on time. And yeah, I can see the fucked-up-ness of drugs like this, but I do think overall they have been beneficial to me. God forbid a global disaster, I'd be useless detoxing from these meds, if I even lived. Anyway, sorry off topic

 

[paranoid android]

^^^ Yeah id say withdrawals from effexor where worse then coming off a heavy morphine or hydromorphone addiction. They where way more freaky, lasted much longer and i really thought i was actually going insane. I had no idea at the time that effexor could cause withdrawals because this was about 8 years ago when effexor was fairly new on the market. But fuck i remember the brain zaps especially . I am pretty sure it is regarded as the worst anti-depressant to withdraw from.

But then again im on clonazepam, lamictal and risperidone as psych meds