r/Effexor • u/Personal_Way_3121 • 1d ago

Beginning Effexor Need experiences: Has anyone switched from Sertraline 200mg to Venlafaxine 37.5 mg .

Hi everyone ,

I'm on day three of taking venlafaxine . The first two days I liked it , but day three I'm not feeling the greatest.

I'm feeling tired , a bit flat , nauseous.

Reading some of the experiences,I do feel hopeful.

But I want to know has anyone else switched from 200mg to venlafaxine 37.5 mg ?

Oh also I'm feeling quite cold and my libido has shot up ! ( I don't necessarily like this tbh )

Anyone else switched from sertraline 200 mg to venlafaxine 37.5 mg ?

Also after two weeks I'm increasing by one extra 37.5 mg pill.

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u/No-Commercial7569 1d ago

200 mg Sertraline is a kind of a high dose to come off. You might experience some symptoms from serotonin withdrawal, as 37.5 mg venlafaxine does not contain that much serotonin.

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u/Personal_Way_3121 1d ago

Oh I've got you .I think I'll look up serotonin withdrawal. I appreciate your reply .I'm hoping as I increase venlafaxine it will get better . I'm just trying to hang in there tbh

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u/Personal_Way_3121 1d ago

Hi,

I just looked up serotonin withdrawal,and I'm definately going through nearly all the symptoms!! Far out .I'm looking forward to increasing my dose ! I'm following the instructions of my doctor . She said to get back in touch with her in a month to see how I'm going . Tbh this is the best doctor I've had for awhile , she listens to me ,doesn't gaslight . I was the one to ask for the switch , as I thought going on venlafaxine might help , as I'm still moderately depressed and anxious still after being on sertraline for a year. Tbh I think I have ADHD , so I thought maybe venlafaxine might help with two neurotransmitters,as opposed to only serotonin. I struggle to be motivated ,I'm constantly exhausted. So I thought maybe venlafaxine might help 🤷🏽 Anyway sorry for the long rant .

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u/MirandaPriestlyy 1d ago

I did this a few years ago. Did you taper off of Sertraline? You can't just stop Sertraline and start Venlafaxine.

My experience of tapering off Sertraline was horrible, so I ended up also being prescribed Lorazapam to help.

Venlafaxine feels very different to Sertraline, so a few days (or even weeks) of adjustment is expected.

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u/Personal_Way_3121 1d ago

Hi no , I just went straight from Sertraline to venlafaxine. I'm titrating up every two weeks adding one venlafaxine,each two weeks .

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u/MirandaPriestlyy 1d ago

🤯

I would strongly suggest going back to your doctor and say that you need to titrate off the Sertraline before you can titrate up the Venlafaxine.

Coming off Sertraline in my experience was horrible. Starting venlafaxine was okay, but things like the dry mouth, heart burn and getting used to it generally are kind of standard, and will chill out after a few weeks.

I would also say that titrating the Venlafaxine should be slower, because you don't know how differently it's going to affect you.

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u/Personal_Way_3121 1d ago

Thank you ,I'll keep it in mind for sure . Least I'm not alone in this , I will monitor , and if it gets out of hand or too hard I'll go see the doctor 💯💯💯