It’s an opinion. I think it’s there to take or leave as you please? To be forewarned is to be informed, no?
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I still think we need to be cautious about telling people to take this med or dont take that one. None of us are medics. I had very bad experiences with Amytriptyline, Sertraline and Nortriptyline but clearly judging by the number of members on the forum who did very well on the Tricyclics, I was an outlier.
I wouldn’t want to deter anyone from trying them just because they didn’t work for me. People who take a med, find it works and they get better dont tend to join forums like this one. They’re out there living life. We tend to hear from people who cant find a suitable medication or who aren’t getting better.
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I agree; having an opinion is fine, but telling someone flat out to not take a particular drug seems akin to medical advice, which doesn’t seem right.
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I don’t think @sandrapippa was claiming to be a medic. I thought it was a reasonable contribution to the discussion.
Let’s not equate providing an opinion and a perspective with forcing others to agree.
I have heard similar things about venlafaxine but do not have personal experience to have an opinion.
We should welcome reports from people who’ve actually experienced the drug first hand.
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There is a difference between saying that you had a good or bad experience with a drug and instructing others not to take it. Notice I have never once said “take venlafaxine! you have to get on it!” despite my having an okay experience with the medication so far.
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I think if I’d had such an alarming experience I might say the same. Let’s move on please
Okay then here’s my Opinion: I would encourage everyone at the beginning stages of their illness to follow the clinical expertise and be data driven over anecdotes and stories. As I said, there’s no such thing as a perfect drug; optimize for what is most likely to bring you success and comfort alongside the guidance of a medical professional.
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My take on whether to take a particular drugs is you are facing two doors. Door #1 is life with VM as it currently affects you, and behind Door #2 lies the possibility of getting better along with some medication risks. If VM is affecting you badly enough, the choice will be pretty clear.
As was stated above, all drugs that have a chance of helping VM have a long list of possible side effects. By the same token, VM ain’t no walk in the park either.
I never take medications for trivial issues. But sometimes we are forced into a corner. By all means, if you are doing OK then it is reasonable to hold off on any medications. I went 15 years with VM w/o any meds. I was quite limited, but able to function well enough. A couple of months ago, the situation changed - the disease grew some serious fangs.
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I was deterred from trying Topamax because I read so many negative views on it, even though my Neuro said it could be very helpful for vestibular issues. That was last year, who knows if I’d tried it and it had worked I could have saved myself months of unecessary suffering. Its human nature to emphasise the bad, we rarely hear the sucess stories.
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Just to be clear, my issue with Venlafaxine is how difficult the withdrawal was for me. I may be more sensitive to medications than others. People who aren’t necessarily sensitive to medications might never have those same issues. I was in an FB group specifically for people with horrible withdrawal symptoms from Effexor. Many, many people there had the very same experiences I did, some for years. Some, like me, got brain zaps when they’d never skipped a dose and weren’t trying to taper off at all. Their doctors often had them up their dose then. And then they were basically addicted to Effexor. I’m not trying to be an alarmist, just telling my story. Anyone who really wants to try this drug will have to decide for themselves. Many of us with these experiences know a lot more about what it’s like on these drugs than the doctors who prescribe them. There are likely many who don’t have a bad time. I’m glad for them.
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