Venlafaxine

[ChristineW18]

I spoke with a doctor in a Pain Clinic recently. As I have advanced kidney disease and I am on blood thinners (Warfarin) I am finding it difficult to find ways of managing my pain. He has suggested Gabapentin or Venlafaxine. I have heard of Gabapentin being used for fibromyalgia but wondered if anyone else has tried Venlafaxine? I have not started either at present as he needed to check further as to which would be safest.

[Yassytina FMA UK Volunteer]

Duloxtene is used for Fibro sufferers but something to discuss with your doctor like you say which is safest with your kidney disease, I hope you find something to cope with the pain very soon, take care xx

[Andinka]

I used to be on Gabapentine but didn’t make much difference, and Duloxetine if you forget to take it had side effects of like buzzing through mouth and little bit like hangover! Saying that we all are different and response to drugs differently too ❤️

[ChristineW18 in reply to Andinka]

Hi Andinka, I can't take Duloxetine as it could affect my renal function so my options are Venlafaxine or Gabapentin. I had heard of Gabape tin being used but that it had lots of side effects. I guess I will have to wait and see what the consultant recommends.

[LoneEra in reply to ChristineW18]

I take Gabapentin with no side effects, apart from some very minor weight fluctuations. It varies so much from person to person. The important thing to remember is that you can always stop (taper where needed) a medication if it is causing too many side effects and try a new one. You have two options open to you here and if one doesn’t work, hopefully the other one will 🙂

[Andinka in reply to LoneEra]

I think Gabapentine is ok, but as is muscle relaxant it made me more tired and not much different in my pain 😢 ... just started on cbd vape so will update in few days 🤞😊 x

[Andinka in reply to ChristineW18]

Oh 😢Duloxetine is not good in my opinion anyway x

[Sally444]

Hi Christine. I was prescribed Venlafaxine for anxiety a few years back however, I stopped taking it about a month ago as I felt much less stressed but as soon as I stopped taking it, I could barely move. The Fibromyalgia symptoms got so much worse that I started taking it again last week (on my doctor's advice). It seems to work really well for me and I can now get on with day to day things. It does have some really weird side effects when you forget to take it though. Brain zaps etc. Very odd! I just use a really low dose. I hope you find what works best for you. Good luck.

[Andinka in reply to Sally444]

I think that’s very similar side effects like Duloxetine the buzzing if you forget taking it and even worse when you try to wean yourself off them like I did and went back on Fluoxetine which I was on for too many years and didn’t think they were helping me anymore so doctors put me on sertraline but that didn’t agree with me either, side effects were horrible, then I was back on Fluoxetine. Now I am not on any medication as only felt more tired than anything and feel the same pain every day just bit less tired!? ... wish there was a magic pill for everyone! 😭

[Aurorasparkle]

Hi ChristineI had a very bad experience with Venaflaxine a few yrs back, it gave me non epileptic fits and put me in hospital. Xxx

[Andinka in reply to Aurorasparkle]

😢 doesn’t sound good drug at all like the Duloxetine yet the doctors say that it’s good one with antidepressant combination!? 😯 x

[ChristineW18]

Thank you, it's good to hear of positive responses. I have just started Gabapentin at a low dose, no improvement so far but I believe it can take while to kick in somI will persevere a bit longer. Venlafaxine is my next option so it is nice to hear from someone who has used it for so e time. I hope your condition improves and you feel better very soon 😊

[ChristineW18]

Thank you x

[Bazer-Sci]

Hi, Have just started on Venalfaxine myself a month into it and there have been many positives and some negatives, I get the impression it suits some and not others although people can tend to over report the issues.

Positives for me were pain management, no more opiates, no more pain , no more depression

Negatives RLS, sleeplessness, some people report coming off it can be difficult but I can't personally comment on it.

I came to be taking it via the mental health community (depression) rather than the pain management team or GP. If I were to try to doit again or in a non covid world I would involve my GP more as I thing there is also need to look after thing like blood pressure, blood sugars etc.

Barry

[ChristineW18 in reply to Bazer-Sci]

Hi Barry, good to hear this is working out ok for you. I am currently trialling Gabapentin but it's not helping other than I am sleeping slightly better. My next option is Venlafaxine so it's good to hear a positive report. My pain isn't helped by having knee pain which is arthritis and I am waiting to see an orthopaedic surgeon with a view to knee replacement.

[Bazer-Sci]

Hi Christine, my pain was mainly mechanical back pain (fusions over 30 years) and neuro pain in legs and shoulders. Some aspects of fibro have been suggested overthe years. I too found Gaba useless. The strange thing is that my experience so far has been positive for both low back and more generalised pain. I was on >100 mg morphine a day for over a year and now on zero (no need) it's certainly made me reconsider my previous perceptions of pain. Good luck with it make sure you communicate issues with your care provider and GP. I did it via a mental health crisis team with great 24/7 support I might have found it more difficult via my GP in this Covid world. Barry

[ChristineW18]

I have a Pain Clinic appointment soon which is physio and psychology input as well as medication. I think it is definitely the way forward due to my problems with pain medication.

[Bazer-Sci]

Hi, Christine just thought I would let you know that I have had to come off Venalfaxine due to an allergic reaction (just after my post to you). The reaction ceased when I came off so that's good but the pain has started to come back and is pretty much the same as when I started having to take the opiates. At least this seems to prove that in my case the Venalfaxine was acting as a very potent pain killer, it's just a bummer that I can't take it.Barry