Hi all
Ive just received the much awaited telephone call from my Neurologist. She now wants me to give Venlafaxine a go along with Botox before any retrial of Pizotifen. I have to pick my prescription up tomorrow not sure what mg she has started me on.
I know they are a lot of people on here taking this med…any advice to a more than average med sensitive person would be greatly appreciated…thanks
Bring it on!!!
Jo xxx
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It would also help if i could spell VENLAFAXINE correctly in my post!!!
Jo x
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Well that IS interesting. Good luck. Guess you’ll be counting the little beads, eh. My advice: when you run out if fingers, take your socks iff, and use your toes, maybe. Or, is she giving you, pills you can cut, and not capsules.
On wards and upwards jo good luck. Crossing my fingers and toes for you 
Im not sure if its tablets or capsule i let you know when i pick them up…either way i WILL be splitting them otherwise i wont last a day!!!
I have been dizzy off the scale today…almost dragged to the floor feeling. Had to take Buccastem
Jo.x
Thanks Amy
If this med fails Pizotifen is next!!! Its like groundhog day…meds,meds & more meds!!!
Jo x
Hello Jo,
No advice to offer but wouldn’t you know it, I spoke to my GP’s pharmacist this morning and she is recommending I switch from Nortriptyline to Effexor XR (pending GP and hopefully neuro sign-off), obviously tapering the Nori and starting low on the Effexor. People seem to have a tough time changing meds so I am apprehensive AF but maybe it’ll work. And maybe Effexor will make it easier to lose some of the many pounds I gained while unable to walk due to broken leg and carb-loading for comfort due to VM.
Happy for any advice or experience on the switch…
Lorissa
Oh I’m with you there ! Lol x
Looks like you and I may be trialing this drug together if your neuro is agreeable…i couldnt tolerate Nort it made me dizzier. Im going to have to take a micro dose to start…im useless with meds…unlike Amy…yes you Amy!! Who is good as gold and takes the " proper" dose of everything
Jo x
Jo you can always edit your post with the little grey pencil icon at the bottom of your post.
Best of luck with it! Actually has a very good reputation.
All done james…cheers
Jo x
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We are in danger of becoming the Effexor Appreciation Capital of the World. It’s loads of followers on here, @GetBetter, @flutters, @dizzy3 and @nin to name but a few. It certainly seems to work. Dr Hain speaks highly of it but 37.5mg is his max preferred dose. I know @nin has pills to cut which would seem easier to work with but if it does the job, who cares, eh.
@Jojo65 read what Dr Hain has to say about it on his site, and it will restore him to yr good books after his disaster with that flowchart! Helen
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See you were right…that flowchart can go backwards after all!!! Ive gone from last resort to 1st line treatment!!
pray to god i can tolerate it.
Jo x
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That’s true. Effexor is my friend. Hain says you can go up to 75 mg. I’m toying with going to 50 mg from 37.5 mg. My thresholds have been painfully low lately, possibly because my business took off in a big way since spring and I’m chronically stressed and overworked. Pre-acute MAV I would have been suffering. Now, well, more help in the Rx sense and the employee sense would be a Godsend. People not trying to get their brains to jump intellectual hurdles 60 hours a week would be great at 37.5 mg; I was.
(I hit the wall and splatted yesterday. Still smarting. Effexor makes me feel like the superwoman I used to be. My bad for forgetting myself.)
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I do so hope so. You deserve an improvement after all this time. Routing for you, I really am. Low and slow, and keep out of Tescos, off that bus and perhaps the gin, just temporarily too maybe. Oh, and those computer screens. Give it a chance. Helen
Superwoman!!! Emily i do hope this the case for me…i cant make my mind up whether im dreading taking it or excited now!
Jo x
I can promise to keep off the bus…not so sure about the other 2!!! I HAVE to have my fix of Tesco…and i like raspberry gin!!
I will try harder…will that do? 
Jo x
With all things MAV, it’s always a bit of both. Hard to get used to. Got some side effects. For me, totally 100% unqualified worth it. And compared to Topomax, it’s like winning the lottery on your birthday. 
P.S. Effexor makes you drunk QUICKLY. If you enjoy dizzy tipsy, it can be both fun and cheap. After all, why have a neurochemical disorder you can’t play with? Hardly worth the trouble.
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you are funny Emily…i have no plans to get drunk but i do like a glass of gin if we have a nice saturday night meal in the house…
Can i ask what side effects to expect. My last med was Duloxetine it burnt the inside of my mouth out at 30mg
Jo x
Initially and with each titration expect to have a little more dizziness, headache and stomach upset. Some people are exhausted and others have insomnia. I gained about 5 pounds before my carb cravings leveled out. I get nightmares. My brain feels a little zappy. This stuff persists at a low level. Worth it.
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