[monkeybruv]

So today I took the Sanity Score test and a depression screening test and got the lowest (i.e: healthiest) score I've ever got in the 3 years I've been using them. And it's true: I don't think I could claim to be 'sick' right now. I've only thrown up twice in the last 2 months (it used to be every meal), I don't have too much trouble sleeping at night and only maybe once a week do I sleep in the day (but I've moved countries recently so I think it's probably normal!). I'm not really happy but I'm quite stable. I'm not the person I was before I got sick but I'm a relatively functional person anyhow.
I've been on my meds for about 2 years now, and I think they really helped with the vomiting and physical pain I used to have. But I'm not sure if maybe they've been dulling my emotions etc. I wondered if now I've learned some coping strategies it might benefit me to come off them? To start living rather than surviving. I take Venlafaxine 225mg and it's hard to say if they do in fact dull emotions as depression has always done that to me too, but now I don't think I'm depressed so perhaps they do.
I know it's perhaps not the best time, as my life is changing a lot and I have no support in this country, I just thought it might be time to start considering it, to be prepared.To know if it might be the key to feeling myself again - perhaps coming off would make me worse again and the meds aren't affecting me negatively anyway. Perhaps there is something else I need to change - for the first time the sanity score test only indicated one 'major problem' : 'technology issues'! So maybe I just need to spend less time on the internet...
idk, any ideas?

[Pierro]

I am glad to hear that you feel healthier. Just a word of caution, as you are probably aware of the withdrawal effects of Effexor can be extreme to say the least. Maybe you should seek professional advice about this. Even tapering down can be difficult. I was on Effexor and went off my meds (stupid I know) and I ended up in hospital. Just be aware. Best wishes..

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[monkeybruv]

Thanks for the reply. yeah, i've had the joy of forgetting my dose before so i know how awful the withdrawals are - I'd go extremely slowly. But I'm thinking more about the long-term effects. Did effexor help you at all? and did you come off successfully?

[Fizzyo]

Hi monkeybruv,

I'm glad you're feeling better. I would be cautious myself, you've just had a major life change and the emotional impact, pleasant or otherwise may not have hit home yet, stopping medication at the same time may be asking for trouble, also, as you have been depressed for quite a long time before you started to get well, it is, I believe, usually recommended to stay on for a year after recovering, so your body gets used to the levels of neurotransmitters (Venlafaxine acts on all 3 that affect mood) that keep you well and have more chance that it will compensate and make its own when you do come off. I seriously would suggest that at the very least you don't change your doses without medical support in case there is a problem. You also need to build a support network to help you through the change.
Regarding your concern about Venlafaxine dulling your emotions. If the way you feel now is an improvement on how you were when I'll, is it worth that effect in the medium term if it helps you build a better quality of life? Only you can judge that. I was on a medicine that slightly slowed my thinking and blunted my creativity. I didn't like that side effect, but my quality of life was so much better and I was able to work and have friends, in short I had a life rathe tha a miserable existence, so I decided it was worth the sacrifice, just to feel better. I don't take it now, as it no longer helps me, but the depression I am now living with again really really affects how well my mind can work much more than the medication did, and I'm no longer able to work. That was my choice at the time, and I think it was worth it for the 20years I had of improved mental health. Your choice is yours to make. Good luck!