Venlafaxine for chronic pain relief

[Oliveau]

Mrs O uses Fentanyl patches plus morphine tablets to try to relieve her back and knee pain. She also has ‘Camptocormia’ which is an incurable condition where the back muscles waste away resulting in her case to a bend from the waist of at least 45 degrees. In addition to the above medication she also has Amitryptiline drops at night. However she is still in pain & the pain consultant has changed her medication from Amitryptiline to Venlafaxine (75 mg/day). Reading through the leaflet in the package there seem to be many side effects, which is worrying.
Has anybody used Venlafaxine?

 

[spin cycle]

my mum takes vanlaflaxine ..
amongst others

i'dve thought pregabalin is more usual for an anti depressant with pain killing properties

 

[Oliveau]

my mum takes vanlaflaxine ..
amongst others

i'dve thought pregabalin is more usual for an anti depressant with pain killing properties

She tried Gabapentin years ago - totally useless. There’s an interesting link between pain and depression. A pain consultant told Mrs O several years ago, “You are depressed” to which I retorted “You’d be depressed if you were in pain 24/7!”

 

[Bokey]

Mrs O uses Fentanyl patches plus morphine tablets to try to relieve her back and knee pain. She also has ‘Camptocormia’ which is an incurable condition where the back muscles waste away resulting in her case to a bend from the waist of at least 45 degrees. In addition to the above medication she also has Amitryptiline drops at night. However she is still in pain & the pain consultant has changed her medication from Amitryptiline to Venlafaxine (75 mg/day). Reading through the leaflet in the package there seem to be many side effects, which is worrying.
Has anybody used Venlafaxine?

My mother has just been admitted to hospital she's been trying to come off venlafaxine and it's made her very poorly they should warn people before taking it

 

[Oliveau]

My mother has just been admitted to hospital she's been trying to come off venlafaxine and it's made her very poorly they should warn people before taking it

Thanks for thr info.

 

[Jack dalton]

My mother has just been admitted to hospital she's been trying to come off venlafaxine and it's made her very poorly they should warn people before taking it

Sorry about your Mother, hope she's better by now. Ive a few questions If you don't mind,
What ailment was she on venlafaxine for? What dosage mg was she on? How long was she on it for? From initially trying to come off it what happened to her?
I'm not just being nosey, I've a family member on it and need to know what could be potentially down the road for us. Although from what I've read, I know it's something that needs to be tapered off very very gradually.
A good way to taper off "some" medications apparently is to crush it/empty it into a measured amount of water, and remove an increasing "amount" of that solution from daily dosage over time...
New account/first post and any feedback would be very much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Bokey]

Sorry about your Mother, hope she's better by now. Ive a few questions If you don't mind,
What ailment was she on venlafaxine for? What dosage mg was she on? How long was she on it for? From initially trying to come off it what happened to her?
I'm not just being nosey, I've a family member on it and need to know what could be potentially down the road for us. Although from what I've read, I know it's something that needs to be tapered off very very gradually.
A good way to taper off "some" medications apparently is to crush it/empty it into a measured amount of water, and remove an increasing "amount" of that solution from daily dosage over time...
New account/first post and any feedback would be very much appreciated.
Thanks

I'm not sure what dosage or why she was on it but she was on for 7 or 8 months it made her extremely erratic emotional very strange then she started feeling physically unwell and was admitted to hospital twice the cause was low sodium she had to stay in on a drip doctors said it could be reaction from said drugs and she stopped them and suffered very bad withdrawal symptoms she's not been right since

 

[Steve welder]

I've been on 150mg of venlefexine for 12 years for depression would love to reduce but have heard loads of horror stories about relapsing etc

 

[Bokey]

I've been on 150mg of venlefexine for 12 years for depression would love to reduce but have heard loads of horror stories about relapsing etc

I think it effects everyone differently but from what I've seen they are a very powerful drug

 

[Jack dalton]

What we're her withdrawal symptoms bokey? Sorry to be nagging you.

 

[Bokey]

What we're her withdrawal symptoms bokey? Sorry to be nagging you.

Shivering cold then sweats, panic attacks, heart palpitations, she's constantly taking her blood pressure are you going through similar?

 

[Jack dalton]

No, i have a family member that's on it, that may have to come off it at some point. Theyre on the lowest dosage so theres no way to taper off it very gradually unless you open the capsule and split up the contents. Lot of talk online about "Brain Zaps" ?? if even 1 dose is missed, or when withdrawing from it.
You're fortunate your mother is well enough and capable of checking her own blood pressure.
Thanks for the feedback Bokey, hope things improve for your Mother and you.

 

[Bokey]

No, i have a family member that's on it, that may have to come off it at some point. Theyre on the lowest dosage so theres no way to taper off it very gradually unless you open the capsule and split up the contents. Lot of talk online about "Brain Zaps" ?? if even 1 dose is missed, or when withdrawing from it.
You're fortunate your mother is well enough and capable of checking her own blood pressure.
Thanks for the feedback Bokey, hope things improve for your Mother and you.

It may be fine everybody reacts different good luck to you an your family

 

[ollie989898]

If you've been taking these kinds of medicines for a long time you certainly don't want to suddenly stop taking them, not only will you potentially have physical effects but your mood/mind might also know about it as well.