James, itās been a much better day today to be honest not completely fantastic but Iād say a million times better than yesterday! Iāll keep you all informed on the progress with both things. Really hoping itās the ear infection I so blatantly underestimated and not the med! X
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Hey Belinda
Yes, I did have increased dizziness esp with head movement since stating. Today is the first day I have felt normal enough to be able to do things. Iām praying this is the ear infection and not the med because I absolutely want to give it a good shot.
I donāt know completely when the ear infection came because I do get a lot of ear symptoms with my MAV anyway but Sunday I noticed an ear ache and just a general feeling of being unwell so not 100% sure.
I will keep you posted however xx
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yeah,ditto, always have, from day 1.
I sometimes feel the diagnosis depends on who you see (which is not very reassuring!).
Very glad you are feeling better Kirsty!!
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How are you feeling? Any improvements?
Hi Brian
Itās still really early days and Iām still adjusting to the 12mg dose for 22 days. I have been struck down with a virus and Otitis media and now a rotten sore throat so everything is still really ramped up! Head pressure and the like. I once Iām over this virus Iāll increase the dose again for a number of weeks and go steady with it. Iāll post when Iām feeling a little better migraine wise.
Thank you for asking, 
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Helloā¦ how are you feeling?
Hey Brian
So a little update on the Venlafaxine - Iāve been on 37.5mg for 3 weeks tomorrow and itās been a rough ride, however yesterday was the best day Iāve had in a long while symptom wise. Itās still very early days and my Neuro wants me to get to 75mg but this process is going to take me a while because of the exacerbations when I increase even slightly. Trailing the low and slow approach. I have had quite a few actual migraine headaches and there is still some discomfort with head motion and visual issues but as I said too early to tell yet Iām guessing, plus itās a tiny dose. I will keep you updating with my hopeful progress in the coming weeks.
Thank you for checking in with me Brian 
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Since upping to 25mg of Effexor this week Iāve had 2 migraines. The one the other day was mainly aura and visual disturbances, followed by a dull headache, but todayās one is nasty, two lots of aura, nausea and persistent pain and pressure over my eyes. Iām assuming its the medication as nothing else has changed.
Iāve just started taking Venlafaxine 2 weeks ago and I was wondering how long it takes to start working for people? I know other meds can take 4 months but is venlafaxine the same?
Hi everyone,
I thought Iād pop on and give a little update on the Venlafaxine. I am currently on 37.5mg as of 6 weeks now Iāve been pretty much up and down but I do think that my head as been better in that I have been able to manage in shops better and Iāve been going out daily since last week.
Iāve had a migraine for the last 4 days however that wonāt seem to shift. Iāve just finished my cycle and I usually do get a slight exacerbation during this time although not MAV type stuff. I had this weird hot flash that just came over me upstairs and I got so hot all of a sudden, then it was gone. Very odd, anyway Iām unsure what these drugs are really doing for me at the moment and I hope theyāre working at least a little, I have to up my dose but once again waiting for it to settle. 
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nice job ā stay on it! hang on tight and power through
Hey 
Thank you for the encouragement! I need that today! Are you taking it? X
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not currently. on sertraline right now, considering trying it in the future if i dont improve much more.
ive been on cymbalta in the distant past without any trouble, so hoping i would potentially mix well with venlafaxine. i remember cymbalta making me super productive and im missing that rn
Hello
Ahh I see, are you not seeing good results with the Sertraline? Im holding out for this med to help but itās hard to see that right now. Did the Cymbalta make any difference as I know itās a similar drug to Ven?
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idk if im having good results from it. maybe reducing big spikes in my symptoms and keeping me more stable but i still have a baseline underlying level of dizziness that doesnāt seem to be going away.
sertraline is not really a migraine drug, and even though I definitely have anxiety, the root cause of everything is 100% migraine, so it might not be the best drug for me. Still giving it more time though.
I had migraines as a teenager and bad depression at the same time. I took cymbalta for about a year and even though I stopped, I think it persistently kept me in migraine remission for 5 years. probably the healthiest 5-6 years of my life. cymbalta was recommended to me by a neurologist at Hopkins and I was actually on sertraline at the time.
this VM bout in my mid-20ās is a totally different animal though, and I havenāt tried going back on it yet, but I might. History might be repeating itself for me.
in any case, Venlafaxine is more evidence based for migraine, so youāre definitely taking the more āindicatedā of the two drugs. I already have experience with cymbalta and didnt do bad on it, which is why i would consider taking it first over venlafaxine.
the cymbalta brain zaps are real though. After i stopped taking it I would get them for close to a year after discontinuation, but it was nothing compared to the persistent relief I got from it. I would take the brain zaps any day over any of this mess.
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Just to say if youāre hesitating about Ven then for my money its the best tolerated med Iāve tried so far, its my 6th one which tells you something. Iāve tried Sertraline which was horrible, Ami and Nort, both gave me headaches, shakiness and tacychardia, Propranolol which worsened my asthma and Candestarten which lowered my blood pressure too much and did nothing otherwise.
Much to my great surpise Iāve had little in the way of side effects, apart from a bit of nausea. I was scared of taking it as I tried Cymbalta years ago for Fibro and had to stop due to side effects. Iām hoping its the right one for me this time.
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not opposed ven, but i would personally try cymbalta again since i have experience with it.
sertraline isnt great, but i seem to tolerate it fine with minimal side effects. its just not a migraine drug, and i predict theyāll try to take me off of it when i get into the neurologistās next week.
Does anyone know if theres a difference between Venlafaxine capsules and tablets. My Neuro expects me to increase my dose to anywhere between 75mg to 150mg, depending on tolerance and ongoing symptoms. Iāve literally just increased to 75mg this week by taking 2 x 37.5mg capsules early morning.
However Iāve also been given some 75mg Venlafaxine tablets. These are all XR btw. I didnt know if one was better than the other? Or if theyāre pretty much the same.
And do Ven users on higher doses than 37.5mg take it all at once or split the dose. Iām wary of splitting due to insomnia as Iāve heard Ven is well known for this, but Im wondering if splitting would ensure a more consistent release throughout the day?
Iām on 112.5mg via 3x 37.5mg tablets. I take two in the evening and one in the morning.
After tapering to 112.5mg, it took about a week or two for insomnia and sleep issues to go away. Havenāt had a problem since.
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Hi Sonny
Can I ask what dose did you start to feel your symptoms lessening and what symptoms has it helped you with? Iām currently only in 37.5mg as of 5 weeks but canāt go up just yet as I seem to be having another rough week.
Thanks in advance x