Switching meds

[User12321]

Hey everyone. I’ve been on venlaflaxine for anxiety and depression for over a year now. I recently began therapy (just had my third session today) and the doctor thinks some of my newer symptoms are a result of the venlaflaxine. I am being taken off slowly but starting to have even less motivation and more anxiety than usual. The plan is another two to three weeks before I’m completely off and begin taking something else (like Zoloft). I just want to see if anyone had any advice on getting through the change.

Thank you in advance

[RCJH8610]

I am curious as to what new symptoms you were displaying that made your doctor feel the need to take you off Effexor? I currently take Effexor and have been using it to treat my anxiety and depression for the past 16 years. It has helped me at a low dose of 75mg a day. Trying to stop Effexor is definitely a nightmare so it’s good that your doctor is slowly getting your off.

[User12321 in reply to RCJH8610]

While it made my anxiety better for a while, it started giving me physical symptoms I’ve never had before. Very similar to panic attacks (mainly profusely sweating out of nowhere and rapid heart rate).

[RCJH8610 in reply to User12321]

What time of day were you taking it? If you were taking it at night you will have the issue with sweats and rapid heart rate. I know my doctor recommended taking it in the mornings because I had struggled with the sweats and feeling a bit anxious with the heart rate at night. Either way, everyone responds different and I know it can be frustrating trying to find what works. I hope you are able to have better results with Zoloft 🙏🏼