• Maestro@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I have been on Venlafaxine for almost a decade as well. I’m now on a low dose (37.5mg daily) and I function well on it. I don’t feel flattened. But oh, fuck those brainzaps. I want to quit but I’m a bit anxious to.

    • grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      I’m on 37.5mg Venlafaxine for the second time–tried Zoloft for a bit in between. What’s wicked weird is that the first time I was on Venlafaxine I got brain zaps from missing a dose. This time I don’t and I kind of miss the built-in kick in the pants to take my meds.

      When I got off Venlafaxine XR the first time, I weaned myself off very slowly. At first, I counted down the tiny pellets in the capsules, then I got a medication scale. I was able to avoid brain zaps.

      • PolarisFx@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        What do the brain zaps feel like it, I was on it for years at max dose (for Canada anyway) and I don’t think I ever felt anything like a brain zap. Sleep problems yes, but I also stopped cold turkey one day and had no negative effects

        • Maestro@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          It’s like tiny electric shocks in your head. I mostly feel it in my gums and eyes. It’s not painful but very irritating, and it gets my anxiety up.

        • grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org
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          1 year ago

          I always describe the brain zaps like this:

          You know how it feels to take a rubber balloon and rub it against your hair? That staticy feeling? It’s like that, except inside your skull.

          Edit: For me, it wasn’t painful. Just very wrong and bad and a sensory nope-nope-nope. It went away within maybe 15 minutes of taking my meds.

          • grimdeter@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            Wait, after reading this thread, I feel like I got a lot of brain zaps, but for me they are not unpleasant. For me they are actually somewhat good feeling of relaxation. But maybe its just me. Also as a sidenote, did venlafaxine really helped you? I got it for 1 month, then my doctor cancelled it, saying that it was not having intended effect on me

            • grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org
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              1 year ago

              Venlafaxine did help. The first time I was on it, I remember walking down the sidewalk and just doing of double-take of “oh, this feeling. I think I’m happy. This is what ‘happy’ feels like. Weird.”

              I haven’t had anything so flagrant this time (and the flavor of stress I’m under is different), but I think it helps with my anxiety.