Venlafaxine

[Bwilson23]

Hello I’m just wondering if any one has any experience with venlafaxine (Effexor) please ? I was on duloxotine which I do think helped a bit. But it gave me bad side effects. Awful sleep, terrible night sweats and also bad flushing. I suffer with bad anxiety so already flush and blush enough!! So this made it worse. It also made my anxiety worse. The dr recommend I go on venlafaxine. So I’m on 75 mg. I’ve been on for 3 weeks. Some side effects such as feeling tired and night sweats. But no pain relief. I’m really struggling to work because of the pain. I’m so fed up I feel like each option is negative. The drs haven’t exactly been helpful or supportive She’s told me to up it ( ‘this was a different dr and said she hadn’t heard of it for pain! Helpful!). I’ve not found that much evidence online of it for pain. But I’m so desperate to get some relief. Thank you everyone.

 

[sunkacola]

hello @Bwilson23 and welcome to the forum.

I am not a doctor, and of course you need to make decisions about medications in consultation with your doctor. But if you have been on a medication for three weeks or more and have found no pain relief at all, and on top of that are experiencing unpleasant side effects, then this medication is not likely to be right for you. If you up the dosage, you might get pain relief or might not, but the side effects are guaranteed to get worse. This has always been my own experience and that of others who have reported on this forum over the years.

As far as pain relief goes, the most unfortunate thing about fibromyalgia is that most pain medications do not do a lot, and for some people there's no medication that actually reduces the pain. Some people find some relief if they take heavy duty drugs containing opiates, but those are not recommended for every day use, since they often require upping the dosage over time in order to work, and this can so easily lead to physical addiction. Even if a person is OK with being addicted, it's unwise to go that route because the medication can suddenly become unavailable, as has happened when laws changed, or the doctor may decide to stop prescribing it.

Really, the only thing we can do is experiment with all of the non-medication possibilities that exist. Doing this can lead a person to discover triggers to their pain and avoid them, and to find other things that will actually help.
I wrote a post about this and recommend you check it out.
And if you feel inclined to do so, stick around on this forum, because just knowing you are not alone can help. People here do their best to be helpful, this is a safe space, and we are all here to support each other.

My advice for managing fibromyalgia (especially for newcomers)

I am not a doctor or anything, just a person who has lived with fibromyalgia for several years now and has done a lot of research and trial and error experimentation. What follows is just basics. There are a lot of variations. You will find your own versions of everything I say, as this is not a...

www.fibromyalgiaforums.org

 

[JamieMarc]

I have been on both venlafaxine and duloxetine, both separately and together. The side effects of them, and for me, any ssris or snris, are absolutely horrible. For this reason, I am treatment resistant to antidepressants. As far as pain, they did nothing whatsoever to help with pain. They did help me when I was depressed, but the side effects, the adverse side effects that were so terrible for me, ultimately outweighed any benefit I was getting for depression. Thankfully, I am no longer suffering from MDD, knock on wood. I don't know if I helped answer your question any, but I hope I did offer something. I will be watching this post to see if there is any other insight I can provide based upon my own experience with these drugs.

 

[johnsalmon]

Hello I’m just wondering if any one has any experience with venlafaxine (Effexor) please ?

what a nasty drug - been banned from general use down here - can only be prescribed in hospital and by a psychiatrist not a general doctor. I was prescribed it well before the ban came in and it took months to actually get off it. Its a antidepressant. The problems I and many others had was in my case I could line the grandchildren up and I knew their names but could not associate a name to each one - also falling and walking into the walls when I tried to go thro a door - many reported cases of husbands on the drug waking up and not knowing who the person was lying next to them etc very nasty drug There are other safer antidepressants available use them rather then Effexor if you have only been on this drug for 3 weeks then the real side effects have not had a chance to come through - please ask your doctor for a different antidepressant

 

[frichard54]

what a nasty drug - been banned from general use down here - can only be prescribed in hospital and by a psychiatrist not a general doctor. I was prescribed it well before the ban came in and it took months to actually get off it. Its an antidepressant. The problems I and many others had was in my case I could line the grandchildren up and I knew their names but could not associate a name to each one - also falling and walking into the walls when I tried to go thro a door - many reported cases of husbands on the drug waking up and not knowing who the person was lying next to them etc very nasty drug There are other safer antidepressants available use them rather then Effexor if you have only been on this drug for 3 weeks then the real side effects have not had a chance to come through - please ask your doctor for a different antidepressant

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia at least thirty-five years ago. I’ve been on the generic for Wellbutrin and Effexor since 2005. They pretty good in the beginning, but I’m slowly getting off both drugs after nineteen years, because they aren’t working for anymore. I’ve started taking Savella, which is an antidepressants, but was developed for fibromyalgia. I’m, also taking the generic of Celebrex. I think that they have knocked the edge of pain. There are some days that I have to take Tramadol ER. I have recently gotten in touch with Dr William “Skip” Pridgen in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who works with fibromyalgia patients. He believes it is a virus in my body that could be causing the fibromyalgia. I read about Dr Pridgen in a newsletter that I receive a couple times a month called Health Rising. Org. I would advise anyone who has Fibromyalgia to sign up for this newsletter and it’s free. In the newsletter you can search for articles on Fibromyalgia or put in Dr William “Skip” Pridgen. He is a Gastro and virologist doctor and he understands what people go through with Fibromyalgia. He is probably the best doctor that I ever had and have been to a lot of doctors. I have never been to his office, because he is six hours away, so we use FaceTime. At this point I’m willing to try anything, so don’t give up.

 

[Radmun]

I recommend seeing a University Pain Clinic. I live in Northern Illinois so I went to University of Wisconsin pain clinic where they diagnosed me with Fibro and Myofascial. I was prescribed Amitriptyline and a muscle relaxer which gave me back my life. Also saw a PT for two years.

 

[sunkacola]

I recommend seeing a University Pain Clinic. I live in Northern Illinois so I went to University of Wisconsin pain clinic where they diagnosed me with Fibro and Myofascial. I was prescribed Amitriptyline and a muscle relaxer which gave me back my life. Also saw a PT for two years.

Hi Radmun, you are very fortunate indeed that Amitriptyline and muscle relaxants worked so well for you. It's always great to hear a success story.
I only wish that combination worked as well for everyone with fibro.

 

[Radmun]

Yes, I am fortunate but I had to close the chapter of my old life. I still struggle; some days better than others. I am only 55 years old and I feel like my body is 80 if I am not careful with what I do. I believe strongly in exercise and really had to readjust in that area. Hard surfaces cause extreme pain, so Elliptical, indoors low impact aerobics, and gentle strength training. Hopefully you can find the right meds to help ease your pain and if you haven’t already, gentle exercise and stretching will help. Just a little at a time. Have you tried a 20 minute bath with epsom salt in the evenings?

 

[jaksoja]

Hi @Bwilson23 ,
I am not a doctor. I was a pharma rep and sold a medication similar to, but not Effexor. Effexor and Cymbalta are a class of drug called an SNRI. SNRI's are usually very good for anxiety and depression. If one doesn't work or causes side effects, the other will usually fail also.

Also, three weeks is enough time to achieve steady state plasma levels meaning there is no additional drug benefit to waiting longer or going up in dose. Do not try to wean or discontinue SNRI's or SSRI's without medical advice. Cymbalta works well for me but I have the sweats at night. I went off Cymbalta once preFibro with no problem. However, this time when I tried to discontinued Cymbalta, I was thrown into a full blown exacerbation of symptoms. It was scary. (I was on Cymbalta for depression). I do think maybe the Cymbalta may have held my Fibro at bay. Who knows?

Many have probably heard of that risk/benefit ratio. I'm just saying be careful, of course. You know your body better than a physician. They are just throwing darts at a dartboard. If they can't make it make sense to you, it probably does not make sense. Also, a great question to ask you doctor is, "How many patients have you had who experienced success with this therapy?"

Lastly, I'm not anti doctor. I'm just saying we deserve thoughtful treatment.

 

[doni]

I've been on Venlafaxine for at least a year. It does help keep the day to day Pain muted. You may speak with your doctor about increasing the dosage as you're on a fairly low dose. Also, these types of meds tend to take some time before getting the full effect. As others had mentioned, I also took savella for quite a while until it stopped being effective. I went back to Cymbalta until I realized it only comes in extended release, which doesn't work for me. So I researched and found that Venlafaxine can substitute.

 

[Bwilson23]

I've been on Venlafaxine for at least a year. It does help keep the day to day Pain muted. You may speak with your doctor about increasing the dosage as you're on a fairly low dose. Also, these types of meds tend to take some time before getting the full effect. As others had mentioned, I also took savella for quite a while until it stopped being effective. I went back to Cymbalta until I realized it only comes in extended release, which doesn't work for me. So I researched and found that Venlafaxine can substitute.

Thank you . Can I ask what dose your on please ? Also how long do you think it was until it took effect? I’m beginning to loose hope. But I really am not keen on going back to the duloxotine due to the flushing. But I’m not sure what else is really available. I’ve just upped my dose by 30mg then another 30mg in 2 weeks! So now on 90 something mg. Thank you for your reply

 

[sunkacola]

@Bwilson23 , just be aware that increasing the dosage will most likely also increase the side effects. Not saying you shouldn't try it, just saying this is something to be aware of.

Also, please be aware that medication is not the be-all and end-all or the only thing you can use to help you manage fibromyalgia. There are many other ways of managing it in addition to or instead of medication.

 

[chewbecca88]

Hello I’m just wondering if any one has any experience with venlafaxine (Effexor) please ? I was on duloxotine which I do think helped a bit. But it gave me bad side effects. Awful sleep, terrible night sweats and also bad flushing. I suffer with bad anxiety so already flush and blush enough!! So this made it worse. It also made my anxiety worse. The dr recommend I go on venlafaxine. So I’m on 75 mg. I’ve been on for 3 weeks. Some side effects such as feeling tired and night sweats. But no pain relief. I’m really struggling to work because of the pain. I’m so fed up I feel like each option is negative. The drs haven’t exactly been helpful or supportive She’s told me to up it ( ‘this was a different dr and said she hadn’t heard of it for pain! Helpful!). I’ve not found that much evidence online of it for pain. But I’m so desperate to get some relief. Thank you everyone.

My primary care (nurse practioner, not dr) prescribed me a combination of venlafaxine (not sure what dose) and muscle relaxer (i can only take half a small pill, otherwise I can't function) and the combination has been working to make my life livable. i guess i'm lucky, but i will keep in mind that at some point they might not work as someone else posted about. i know it's the combination that's helping because I've run out of each prescription individually at some point (my fault for not following up on time) and the pain and exhaustion crippled me until i got back on and then subsided once i was taking the medicines again together. i don't like being dependent on drugs, but if they are allowing me to work, exercise some and keep up with life, i shall continue and also seek out supplemental therapies, PT, etc.

 

[Godheads]

Be careful what meds you take. Fibromyalgia works against many prescriptions. Fibromyalgia can cause reactions ...

 

[sunkacola]

Be careful what meds you take. Fibromyalgia works against many prescriptions. Fibromyalgia can cause reactions ...

It is always important to be careful with medications.

But fibromyalgia, to the best of my knowledge, doesn't actually cause any reactions to medications. Rather, most medications have side effects that will affect certain people to greater or lesser degrees, whether they have fibromyalgia or something else.

Also, fibromyalgia doesn't really work against medications. But at the same time, there is no medication that works reliably for everyone who has fibro. Some will work for some people, not for others. And sometimes people will report that something worked at first, but then stopped working even when the dosage was increased.

fibromyalgia is a condition that causes symptoms in individuals who have it, but it doesn't cause the many and varied reactions that people have to medications. Those are caused by the individual's physical makeup, what they tolerate well or not, allergies, and so on.