sunnysideup69: what can I do to stabilise on venlafaxine

[Erell]

Dear Sunny,

Previous posts said it all beautifully, so I just want to send you and your parents  big hugs ❤

[mstimc]

I echo everyone else--positive thoughts and prayers for your dad and you!

[Cigale]

Oh no @sunnysideup69 - I am sorry to hear about your dad. How awful that someone would do that and drive off! It is good that you are going to spend time with him. I know you will lift his spirits and help him heal. Sending you huge hugs!

[Sottana]

@sunnysideup69 Geez! 2020 has not been kind to you, my friend. I hope your dad is ok and makes a speedy recovery. I can’t believe it was a hit and run!! Where has the morality gone in this world? Thinking of you and yours ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[sunnysideup69]

@Malbec37, @Longroadhome, @Hanna72, @Sonia001, @Erell, @mstimc, @Cigale, @Sottana,

Thanks for your good wishes. They mean a lot. This year has been ridiculous and I just want it to stop/ to have happy times and fun. Really appreciate your kind words - been feeling a bit sorry for myself today. Dad's alright but bruised and sore. I'm going to Wiltshire to visit him and mum at the weekend, will be good to see them both. 

[sunnysideup69]

15 months of Venlafaxine today. Happy anniversary, me ?! 🤣 Well, am thankful that I'm functional and pretty stable.

The last three weeks have been a bit poop, mood wise. Firstly, time change of dose made me wave, then dad had an accident at the beginning of November and that caused a bit of a stress wave. Think I'm coming out of it now, gradually.

Still doing okay, getting up, going to work. Only one day of work missed this term so far which is much better than last year. So, my resilience has increased. Still wavey, but waves are very mild.

In fact, am feeling 'better enough' to have joined a 13 mile half marathon walk, in London, on Saturday February 27th 2021. Hoping the training is ok for me....am going to build my distance up slowly. I'm doing it in memory of my sister and have raised £300 pounds for Epilepsy Action so far. Will most likely bore you all with the details along the way 🤣

So, I now have a plan for 2021. Make no drug changes until half marathon done. Then beginning of March, switch to a version of Venlafaxine which is taperable. Give myself a couple of months to settle and then begin a very slow taper.

 

[Sonia009]

Sounds like you're back on track. Well done with the fund raising. Hope you're dad is doing ok.

[Nyfa25]

@sunnysideup69 good to hear that you're feeling well ! It’s a very good idea to do the semi-marathon, and I hope that in 2021 you will be able to totally get rid of these drugs, I send you full of good vibes 😘

[sunnysideup69]

Ok lovely peeps, could do with some encouragement and inspiring words. Am a bit more symptomatic.

 

Was looking back over my notes, have had a worse 'WD normal' since the clocks went back an hour on 24th October. This past three weeks has been a bit more up and down. It's understandable, I got thrown into a bit of a wave by switching meds time by an hour. That cleared up, then I had the shock of my dad's accident. He's okay, but obviously it threw me a bit. I just pressed on with going to work etc. but then last weekend, I think the shock caught up with me a bit. by Monday, I was very tearful and then on Tuesday at work, I had a horrible wave of 'meaninglessness' for about an hour. It came on quickly and disappeared gradually. Have not had one of those for MONTHS.Totally chemical/ destabilisation.

 

I get it, my nervous system is shaken, but understanding it doesn't make it suck any less 😂

Am back to having slightly crazy dreams/ feeling low and more anxiety some mornings. My system feels rattled. Churny stomach. Mood is a bit flat and uninspired now, rather than flat out 'depressed'. Also, fell off the sugar wagon for three days this week. Am sure that doesn't help but, too late, it's done now.

 

Also, was s'posed to be travelling home today to have a quick check up on parents after dad's accident, but yesterday we got a text from school saying that a staff member has tested positive for the 'Galloping Consumption'  (let's just call it that cos I'm getting sick of THAT word, this year). So, have had to cancel trip. Am having catastrophic thoughts, higher anxiety. Basically, brain has gone into 'emergency mode.' Even though I know it's that, I'm still pi**ed to be dealing with it. Have started taking magnesium glycinate today, 100mg. Figured my nervous system might appreciate the soothing properties a bit in these challenging times.

Any motivation much appreciated xxx

[Longroadhome]

3 minutes ago, sunnysideup69 said:

Ok @sunnysideup69

glad to see even though in wave you haven’t lost your sense of humour 😊

love the analogy “Galloping  Consumption” 

I’m just over the Gallops lucky for me I didn’t have it bad. 
 

I think from reading others posts it’s  very common to have little set backs even when we think we’re mainly over it a wave can hit and remind us “I’m not quite done yet” 

refer to your traffic light 🚦 monitoring system and see that you have come a long way.  Don’t forget this!!  
I’d  also like to guide you to DeterminedAnnas thread. She started off the same time as me on here. She held firm for 15 months when she crashed and now she’s doing great and has resumed her taper. 
there's a lesson here for me too. 
 

you have undoubtedly done the right thing holding . You are doing great sunny and don’t forget it. 
a bump in the road is just that .. a bump. 
 

im sure your mum and dad will understand you cancelling . Phone calls help just knowing someone cares  enough to call so try not to worry . 

 

keep going you’re an  inspiration to many on this site 

Take care xx 

[mstimc]

Sunny, this might be the time to take a longer look back and see how much progress you've made over the past several months, and take your focus off this temporary setback.  I have to do this when I find myself falling into the trap of reliving past mistakes and I start berating myself.  You really have come so far, and as others have said you're an inspiration to many other members.  We all have downturns.   I like to think of them as opportunities to see where we can go next and become even stronger.  Positive thoughts going your way!

[sunnysideup69]

9 hours ago, Longroadhome said:

Ok @sunnysideup69

glad to see even though in wave you haven’t lost your sense of humour 😊

love the analogy “Galloping  Consumption” 

I’m just over the Gallops lucky for me I didn’t have it bad. 
 

I think from reading others posts it’s  very common to have little set backs even when we think we’re mainly over it a wave can hit and remind us “I’m not quite done yet” 

refer to your traffic light 🚦 monitoring system and see that you have come a long way.  Don’t forget this!!  
I’d  also like to guide you to DeterminedAnnas thread. She started off the same time as me on here. She held firm for 15 months when she crashed and now she’s doing great and has resumed her taper. 
there's a lesson here for me too. 
 

you have undoubtedly done the right thing holding . You are doing great sunny and don’t forget it. 
a bump in the road is just that .. a bump. 
 

im sure your mum and dad will understand you cancelling . Phone calls help just knowing someone cares  enough to call so try not to worry . 

 

keep going you’re an  inspiration to many on this site 

Take care xx 

 

6 hours ago, mstimc said:

Sunny, this might be the time to take a longer look back and see how much progress you've made over the past several months, and take your focus off this temporary setback.  I have to do this when I find myself falling into the trap of reliving past mistakes and I start berating myself.  You really have come so far, and as others have said you're an inspiration to many other members.  We all have downturns.   I like to think of them as opportunities to see where we can go next and become even stronger.  Positive thoughts going your way!

 

Thanks you guys - this is very good advice. Am ok this evening. Windows and waves, windows and waves.......what a process. More patience, more time needed. 

[Longroadhome]

 

@sunnysideup69

 

I’ve decided... 

when all this sh*t is over my age remains the same as when all this sh*t started in 2018 

I refuse to miss out !!! 
enjoy your weekend xx 

[sunnysideup69]

Still in this wave, mostly feeling down, a bit agitated and exhausted. News about my dad's accident really knocked my nervous system, took a few days to catch up with me and then - boom! I'm discombobulated again. Could really do with a decent long window again soon. Or at least, back to normal baseline.

Just taking it easy here today, have exercised a bit, now resting and watching stuff on youtube.

 

@Gridley, would value your input here. Late October until now, feeling I have gone backwards a bit. I'm in a wave which has come, gone and come back again over the last three weeks. What seemed to spark it off was the clocks going back an hour, leading to my taking Venlafaxine an hour later. Still at normal clock time but technically an hour later, if you get what I mean. A couple of days after that a wave started, gradually got worse than resolved, took about six days. I put that down to medication. Then just as I had come out of that wave and was feeling ok, I found out that my dad had been knocked into by a car....he's ok, bruised and shaken but still alive. But I was very stressed about him for a couple of days, slept badly and ate badly, and last weekend it caught up with me a bit and I've slipped back into feeling pretty awful again. Do you think I could have been sensitive to the initial time change of the Venlafaxine? Then with this recent stress (on top of bereavements this year) have had a bit of a double whammy....

Still holding on the Venlafaxine, haven't started a taper yet. Too much has shaken my world this year and I don't want to start yet. I was making forward progress and my waves were milder, but this last couple have set me back a bit. Hope it's just waves and windows.

[Gridley]

2 hours ago, sunnysideup69 said:

Do you think I could have been sensitive to the initial time change of the Venlafaxine? Then with this recent stress (on top of bereavements this year) have had a bit of a double whammy....

I'm very sorry to hear about your father.  You've had so many family stressors.

 

Regarding the time change double whammy: I think it's possible.  Even though you took it at the same "body time" as before, everything else in your life--meals, activities, likely bedtime--shifted and these subtle shifts can make a difference when you are sensitized in withdrawal.  You recovered after six days but that could've left you less stable than pre-time-change, setting you up for this wave. I do think it 's just waves and windows.

[sunnysideup69]

27 minutes ago, Gridley said:

I'm very sorry to hear about your father.  You've had so many family stressors.

 

Regarding the time change double whammy: I think it's possible.  Even though you took it at the same "body time" as before, everything else in your life--meals, activities, likely bedtime--shifted and these subtle shifts can make a difference when you are sensitized in withdrawal.  You recovered after six days but that could've left you less stable than pre-time-change, setting you up for this wave. I do think it 's just waves and windows.

Thanks @Gridley....appreciate you weighing in. I tend to agree. 

Trying not to mull on feeling worse. Looked at my posts from this time last year and I've definitely made progress, thanks @mstimc for suggesting I look at progress, it does help.

Just had a chat on the phone with a friend, it's now evening in the UK and I'm feeling better...typical pattern in a wave. So....distract, distract, distract until it passes.

Hope your post lexapro experience is going well  

[sunnysideup69]

Monday November 16th 2020

 

Just wanted to note that, I only took one magnesium glycinate, but stopped. I took 100mg. Stopped because a)can't tell if it made me feel weird or not as am in a wave anyway, so not the ideal time to introduce it and b) realised I was breaking the K.I.S.S rule. I've also started to cut down on morning tea, reduced from three morning mugs to two last week. Want to eliminate caffeine totally and see how that impacts upon sleep. Will add in the mag glyc when I'm off.

Weird sleep but have woken in a better mood. Fingers crossed 🤞

Got a text from school last night that another staff member had tested positive for the 'Galloping Consumption.' So we're two staff members down, now....looks like I'll have to put off visiting my parents until Xmas. Think it's too risky at the moment.

Most likely, that has also stressed me out a bit, subconsciously. Had said I'd pop home to see dad after his accident, but not a good idea if people are testing positive around me. If I wait until Xmas, I can isolate for a week and have a test before I go, which feels safer.

 

[mstimc]

Good Morning, Sunny!
Sounds like you have a great plan in place.  It’s rough not being able to see your parents but you’re doing the right thing by not taking a chance exposing them.  And be sure you take care of yourself!

[sunnysideup69]

1 hour ago, mstimc said:

Good Morning, Sunny!
Sounds like you have a great plan in place.  It’s rough not being able to see your parents but you’re doing the right thing by not taking a chance exposing them.  And be sure you take care of yourself!

Thanks @mstimc! Where's your introduction topic gone, btw? 

[street129]

On 11/16/2020 at 12:16 AM, sunnysideup69 said:

Monday November 16th 2020

 

Just wanted to note that, I only took one magnesium glycinate, but stopped. I took 100mg. Stopped because a)can't tell if it made me feel weird or not as am in a wave anyway, so not the ideal time to introduce it and b) realised I was breaking the K.I.S.S rule. I've also started to cut down on morning tea, reduced from three morning mugs to two last week. Want to eliminate caffeine totally and see how that impacts upon sleep. Will add in the mag glyc when I'm off.

Weird sleep but have woken in a better mood. Fingers crossed 🤞

Got a text from school last night that another staff member had tested positive for the 'Galloping Consumption.' So we're two staff members down, now....looks like I'll have to put off visiting my parents until Xmas. Think it's too risky at the moment.

Most likely, that has also stressed me out a bit, subconsciously. Had said I'd pop home to see dad after his accident, but not a good idea if people are testing positive around me. If I wait until Xmas, I can isolate for a week and have a test before I go, which feels safer.

 

@Sunnysideup

hi I'm street,

while I'm looking at other posts, yours call to me cause I'm so sensitive when it comes to vitamins that I'm scared to take any at all,  and another one is I love coffee and cried when I couldn't take it being on withdrawal, it sucks so bad,  My daughter is due in December, this corona thing is not good to bring kids into.  

I still to this day don't know how to find people's intro. That's sad.
 
Ive been a member since 2017, I would leave a year and returned, I still have not got the hang of the site, I need to move around more and be more available to other members.  

Be well

[street129]

On 11/7/2020 at 7:14 AM, Erell said:

Dear Sunny,

Previous posts said it all beautifully, so I just want to send you and your parents  big hugs ❤

@Erell
HI erell I'm street,

 

I've been here on this site for 3 years on and off and I have never tried or move myself around to get acquainted with anyone,  this place is so big it scare me still to this day, but I need to stop being scared and tell people hi and open up. I don't know how to find people's intro and mostly why I don't post, WD for me is not good, or for anyone. im sorry if I'm doing this wrong. It's not a simple site like facebook, twitter, or instagram.

Be save

[street129]

On 11/14/2020 at 4:07 AM, Longroadhome said:

Ok @sunnysideup69

glad to see even though in wave you haven’t lost your sense of humour 😊

love the analogy “Galloping  Consumption” 

I’m just over the Gallops lucky for me I didn’t have it bad. 
 

I think from reading others posts it’s  very common to have little set backs even when we think we’re mainly over it a wave can hit and remind us “I’m not quite done yet” 

refer to your traffic light 🚦 monitoring system and see that you have come a long way.  Don’t forget this!!  
I’d  also like to guide you to DeterminedAnnas thread. She started off the same time as me on here. She held firm for 15 months when she crashed and now she’s doing great and has resumed her taper. 
there's a lesson here for me too. 
 

you have undoubtedly done the right thing holding . You are doing great sunny and don’t forget it. 
a bump in the road is just that .. a bump. 
 

im sure your mum and dad will understand you cancelling . Phone calls help just knowing someone cares  enough to call so try not to worry . 

 

keep going you’re an  inspiration to many on this site 

Take care xx 

@Sunnysideup

hi, I'm street, 

I've been following your posts, I'm not new but stuck in WD for the second time, first time went back to original dose and was out of wd, I returned this year and having the same  problem, I want to go back to my original does again, but I don't know if at this junction if it's to far months ahead, and I'm scared. wd started showing up in early september, I started taper in June at wrong dose but I didn't know, but I know now. you said a member been holding 15 months, wow

I need to follow her and get excited for her moving forward with her taper.

Be well

[sunnysideup69]

Quick update, wave finished last Tuesday. Am back to feeling ok again. I'm training for a walking half marathon in February, gonna sit tight on my dosage til then. Then planning to swap to a different form of Venlafaxine. (Capsule with beads or liquid.) Will sit tight for a few months and then hoping to begin a taper.

[sunnysideup69]

Just wanted to note this. Still good after wave finished, it was a minor wave anyway. Last Tuesday, I had a day of feeling in SUCH a good mood, absolute joy. Just happy to be alive and really content. Wow, it's ages since I've felt that good. My mood is average to good generally but that was a day of pure joy. It's still in here, what a relief  

[Cigale]

1 hour ago, sunnysideup69 said:

I had a day of feeling in SUCH a good mood, absolute joy. Just happy to be alive and really content.

Awesome update! So happy to hear this! 🤗 

[Gridley]

1 hour ago, sunnysideup69 said:

a day of pure joy

So happy to hear this, Sunnysideup.

[sunnysideup69]

10 hours ago, Cigale said:

Awesome update! So happy to hear this! 🤗 

 

10 hours ago, Gridley said:

So happy to hear this, Sunnysideup.

 

Thanks @Cigale and @Gridley

for your support always, and kind words. It really makes this weird journey much more bearable. Gonna drop by your threads and see how you are doing.

[Longroadhome]

@sunnysideup69

Im glad the wave has passed for you and you had a really “Sunny Day”. 
Heres to a lot more until it’s back to being the norm x

[Sonia009]

Hope you have many more "Tuesdays" Sunnysideup, sending best wishes x

[Malbec37]

On 11/28/2020 at 6:04 PM, sunnysideup69 said:

I had a day of feeling in SUCH a good mood, absolute joy.

 

Amazing news Sunny these days are so very welcome and life enhancing!! I hope it stays with you 

[Nyfa25]

On 28/11/2020 at 19:04, sunnysideup69 said:

Je voulais juste le noter. Toujours bon après la fin de la vague, c'était quand même une petite vague. Mardi dernier, j'ai passé une journée à ressentir une telle bonne humeur, une joie absolue. Juste heureux d'être vivant et vraiment content. Wow, ça fait longtemps que je ne me sens pas aussi bien. Mon humeur est moyenne à bonne en général, mais ce fut une journée de pure joie. C'est toujours ici, quel soulagement 

So good to read this !!!

[sunnysideup69]

Thanks @Malbec37 and @Nyfa25....sending good wishes!

[mstimc]

Hi Sunny.  Sorry I didn't reply sooner but we're in the process of moving.  So glad you've found joy and peace!  I'm sure more is coming!

[sunnysideup69]

Thank you @Sonia001and @mstimcxxx

 

[sunnysideup69]

Quick check in to say, I'm doing okay. Feeling pretty chipper. Have had mostly smooth sailing since mid November, minor wobble midway which cleared in 4 days. I'm doing really well, looking forward to spending time with family at Christmas....my god, this is so different from the dark days of winter last year. If you're reading this and struggling right now, just know that your brain will recover, you just need to keep everything as steady as possible.

 

 

Had a sugar binge at school last week and I reaally felt the withdrawals from it. I'm gonna have Christmas pud at Christmas dinner, but apart from that, 2021 is going to be refined sugar free- it's my worst addiction, easily. I go for a couple of weeks without and then slip up, so it needs to completely go so as I can see where I am in recovery without it creating hiccups. Also, after my sugary few days, my face broke out in spots again....wow. NEVER used to happen before, but there we go. 

 

Still drinking a couple of cuppas of Earl Grey in the morning but that's my only vice- what a wild life I lead, eh?!! Will eventually phase that out but can't bring myself to do so at the moment.

 

Still holding steady on the Venlafaxine, 75mg XR. In Spring, am going to get myself switched to a bead variety, settle for a few months on the new brand and then make a very cautious first cut of 2.5 percent and hold for a month. Really just dipping my toe in the ocean, my system is so sensitive to change.

 

Sending warm wishes to you guys xxx

 

[Longroadhome]

Nice write up Sunny so happy for you !! 
you deserve this you’ve been very patient 

massive well done to you

hope you enjoy your Christmas break X