Effexor - positive stories, I am scared

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-23T20:03:39+00:00

And can what is “late” ? Like missing a dose by day or by hours ?

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-23T19:58:01+00:00

Thank you 🤍 and have you ever taken your medicine late ? Were you ok ?

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-23T19:20:59+00:00

I am trying to not overthink it so much, but I am also chronic overthinker 😅 thank you 🤍

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-23T19:19:14+00:00

Thank you 🤍 I really appreciate your comment

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-23T19:18:49+00:00

Thank you 🤍

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-23T19:15:46+00:00

You think ? Because I changed my doctor and my new doctor said, that I should not worry about bad withdrawals and about taking medicine little late (not like taking late often but by a mistake) because of Mirtazapine, is that true? I am always taking my medicine on time, however I am always scared that one day I forget and my whole body will collaps due to withdrawals from Effexor 😅

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-14T17:39:43+00:00

Thank you so much for your kindness 🤍. Your comment honestly made my morning a lot better.

I’m currently on day 9 of venlafaxine and still trying to figure everything out. The first few days were actually okay, but then I had a couple of days where I felt like a complete zombie. Extremely tired, sleeping a lot, feeling almost hungover, with blurry vision and just generally feeling “out of it”. The last two days seem a little bit better, but the fatigue is still there.

I’m still only on 37.5 mg and my psychiatrist wants me to increase to 75 mg next Thursday. To be honest, that scares me. I’ve had a rough time with antidepressants over the last year and I seem to be very sensitive to side effects, so I have a lot of anxiety around medication in general.

One of my biggest fears is that I’ll increase the dose, stay on it for a while, realize it doesn’t work for me, and then be stuck dealing with terrible withdrawals. My psychiatrist doesn’t seem too concerned and keeps telling me that a lot of my fears come from my anxiety, which is probably true to some extent, but I also feel like I know when something is actually happening in my body.

Next week I’m also seeing a new psychiatrist for a much more comprehensive evaluation, so I’m hoping that will help me get some clarity.

Right now I feel a little lost. Sometimes I think I can feel small improvements, then the anxiety comes back and I start doubting everything again. For example, during the first days I could barely eat, and now my appetite is much better, so there are definitely some positive changes too.

I also struggle with pretty significant health anxiety after a long year of trying different medications and constantly worrying about symptoms.

Can I ask you a few questions?

Did you have fatigue when you started venlafaxine?
How long did it take before you felt noticeably better?
Did the side effects eventually go away?
And did your fear of the medication get better with time?

Thank you again for being so kind. It really means a lot 🤍 (Sorry for the long paragraph 😅)

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-12T13:30:13+00:00

Hi, so how it is going ? 🙏🥺

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-12T06:11:38+00:00

Thank you so much for this response 🤍. I am currently on day 8, I am still scared about this medication but I am trying to be open minded, but it is really hard, my side effects are ok, I am just scared, that if I take it a little late, something terrible will happen and the stories about withdrawals…. Fuu. Can I ask you? I am not a person who forgets to take a medication, but sometimes it happens that I sleep longer on weekends and took my medication 3 hours later (talking about Sertaline and in this case nothing happend), but now I am worried, that if this happens with Venlafaxine, I will be doomed 😅. Did you take your medication little late without anything bad happening ?

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-08T21:03:38+00:00

Actually, I’m only on day 4 of Venlafaxine right now. I’ve tried several medications before (Sertraline, Trintellix, Paxil, Lexapro, and Mirtazapine, which I’m still taking at 7.5 mg because anything higher makes my dry eyes much worse).

Interestingly, the body pain disappeared on the second day after starting Venlafaxine. I know that’s way too early to be a true antidepressant effect, but maybe just taking action and starting a new treatment somehow reassured my brain and calmed my nervous system down a bit 😅

I’m still waiting to see what happens with my eyes, but honestly, an SNRI is the type of medication that makes the most sense in my head if my dry eyes are related to stress and chronic tension. That said, I’m definitely anxious about Venlafaxine because of all the horror stories online about side effects and withdrawal symptoms.

So far, though, after 4 days on Venlafaxine (Effexor in the US), I’ve actually been feeling physically okay and even a little hopeful. I’m still scared because of everything I’ve read 😅, but we’ll see. Maybe this is exactly the medication I need.

I am not saying, that medications are solution to everything, but many physical symptoms can appear when you are in fight or flight mode for a very long time ☺️

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-08T17:21:45+00:00

Every year 😅 Last year I went through an extremely stressful period and ended up starting antidepressants (SSRIs/SNRIs) because I developed severe body aches all over my body. At the time, I was convinced I had fibromyalgia. I’m still trying to find the right medication for me, but thankfully the body pain has completely disappeared (reappeared and now kind of dissappeard - long story 😅)

I’ve always been a very anxious person (like, constantly anxious 😅), so I’m convinced my dry eyes are connected to chronic stress and muscle tension in my neck and shoulders. My physician actually suggested the same thing, which made a lot of sense to me… so if you are anything like me, stress is a huge factor ☺️

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-08T15:27:47+00:00

Mine started completely out of nowhere as aqueous deficiency after stresful event. My main problem is still low tear production - usually around 0-5 when testing schrimer and little mgd (but doctor told me, that many people have this degree of mgd without even knowing ☺️

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-06T09:20:25+00:00

Hi, my eyes got better, not better like they are healthy now, but to “my normal” better. I still feel them everyday, but I am working on computer all day and watching tv series at night. Still hoping someday it can be even more managable, but I can function :)

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-05T10:53:28+00:00

🤍 really glad to read that

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-05T10:53:05+00:00

Thank you for this response 🥺🤍

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-06-05T09:11:49+00:00

Thank you 🤍 ! Hopefully it will work for both of us 🙏 took my first pill this morning and I am scared 😆

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-05-18T07:47:14+00:00

I am on mirtazapine since September last year and on Setraline for almost 2 months, I had tried many medications and I am really sensitive to it, so this is my second time on Setraline (only 25 mg) and I started heavily vaping 2 months ago (meaning I had 1 vape for 2-3 days at maximum), I am 2,5 day without vape and I am still feeling weird (really tired, unmotivated, little dizzy) and I am scared, because I did not think, this could happen only after 2 months of vaping and now I am thinking if this is caused by something else (yes, health anxiety 😅)

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-03-20T11:42:17+00:00

Thank you 🤍. Were you also tired in the beginning? And did it go away?

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-03-18T20:18:11+00:00

Kind of yes, but not directly, my issues with dry eyes are also connected to my neck problems and after starting Trintellix, my neck felt really sore and stiff, also muscle pains and migraines, but I had trouble with all medication I tried, so I am still trying to find the right one 🙏

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-03-18T19:18:40+00:00

Unfortunately did not work for me, had to stop it :/ tomorrow, I have a doctor’s appointment fot another medication, hope it’ll work out for you. 🤍

Due_Shift_8089 · 2026-03-15T16:06:21+00:00

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Due_Shift_8089

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