nismesec: urgent question - 1 dose only 75mg venlafaxine XR 22 hour ago. Dysphagia. Can I just stop ?

[nismesec]

Hi,

I am a 44 yo guy.

I'll keep this very short for now as I need to a ask a single urgent question.

I was struggling with (moderate?) depression and anxiety for a couple of mounth.

Taking 0.5 mg Lorazepam for sleep during this period.

Decided to go the meds route and took 1 pill 75mg Venlafaxine XR 22 hours ago.

First 3 hours had increased anxiety, nausea, constant burping. Afterwards felt much better, but a new symptom - dysphagia appeared.

I have real difficulty swallowing food now. Water is fine.

I would like to stop Venlafaxine after taking just one pill of it.

Should I just stop ?

I got the necessary tools to taper (purchased for the benzo I'm taking), but I only took 1 pill.

I am supposed to take the next dose in 2 hours.

Thanks,

nismesec

[getofflex]

Since you just took one tablet of venlafaxine XR, you do not have to taper it.  You can just stop.  That is what I would do, if it were me.  According to Connecticut's (state in USA) government website, dysphagia can be a side effect of venlafaxine:  

 

https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DDS/Health/AttachAMedDsyphagiaSwallowingRisks.pdf?la=en

 

This website of a medical device company also mentions this: 

 

https://www.djoglobal.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/chattanooga/802408 Drugs and Dysphagia Card.pdf

 

2 hours ago, nismesec said:

am supposed to take the next dose in 2 hours.

I would not take this venlafaxine again, as you seem to have had an adverse reaction to it with the first tablet.  

 

Will you be tapering the Benzo now?  Here is a support group for tapering benzos: http://www.benzobuddies.org

 

Please make sure you research the proper way to taper, before you begin tapering.  Tapering is best done extremely slowly, and at SA we generally taper by 10% of the current dose no more than once every 4 weeks, so that the taper becomes exponentially smaller.

 

 Why Taper by 10% of my Dosage  

 

Please let us know how you are doing. 

[nismesec]

@getofflex, thanks a lot for taking the time for this detailed answer.

I did not take any more tablets and hope for the best !

[getofflex]

I assume you mean tablets of the venlafaxine?  If so that's fine.  

 

Please do not stop the Lorazepam cold turkey if you are taking it daily.   It's very important to taper this gradually. Benzo buddies can help you with this.  (see link I gave above) 

[nismesec]

Hi,

I would like to update that I stopped Venlafaxine after the initial tablet and after several days of feeling all kinds of weird sensations, back to my pre-Venlafaxine self pretty much.

So, a success story of sorts lol ?

Thanks for your help !

[getofflex]

Please use the site search feature, and search for the term "venlafaxine" under the topic success stories.