yeah! i titrated to 112.5 (or whatever is 75 + 37.5) for a month, and then 150 and saw improvements. At 150mg i started having the weight gain side effect, and now with summer in the North hemisphere I sweat soo much! 
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Laura, Did anything help with weight gain effect ? I always attributed the weight gain to Ami but now i am strongly of the opinion Effexor is causing the weight gain.
It sure added a lot of padding to me - at a low dose.
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Hiya, yep seen very good improvements on 112mg, on 137 now and next week hit the 150mg.i have to say noticing great improvement even 2 weeks on the 137mg, in London currently… Coped great with flight, busy airport and young kids thrown in the mix…symptom free last couple of days… There is no way I could have done this, 6 or 9 months ago.
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Thanks hun so basically it does take a while to kick in?
That’s amazing Elaine ! Wow 
so would you say it dose take time to build up and obviously higher doses have helped more ! And yes that sounds like a lot without kids
Yep for sure
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well, if i exercise a lot and reduce carbs a lot i keep it controlled, although have not lost any of the extra 5 kilos I have. But the minute I am out of the diet/ exercise, it goes downhill pretty bad. I gained 2 kilos in one week. I am back to 5 kilos extra, not 7. I think it is harder to lose weight and very easy to gain it with effexor. strong text
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great!
yeah, bur also people see results faster. If you dont have side effects, i would go up faster and stay on it for a while.
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same here I am switching it up with a combination of intermittent fasting and a serotonin power diet. The serotonin power diet means you snack on high glycemic carbs limited quantities during the day to aid with serotonin production for the anti-depressants. Also ramping up on exercise. It is INCREDIBLY HARD to lose weight on effexor…sigh !
And off it apparently. I’ve been off a month, intermittent fasting (16/8) and exercising regularly. I weigh exactly the same as a month ago. PCOS is part of that. I guess I can be glad I didn’t gain another 5 pounds in that time. That was the trend - about a 1/2# weight gain every week. Blarg.
I do feel more energetic and workouts are way easier now. I feel less constantly drugged.
I loved Effexor’s blessings right up until its curses starting tipping the scales the other way.
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Is the 16 hr fast broken into chunks of 8 ? Or continuous 16 hrs
Continuous. No breakfast. Lunch around noon. No snacks (except decaf coffee) and done with dinner by 8pm. Then just water until next lunch. Mostly ketogenic. Got used to it. The last two days I worked out fasted. First 10-15 minutes are awful. After that I’m good.
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when do you workout evenings or mornings ?
Whichever works best with my schedule. I suck at routine.
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So much for the experts saying Venlafaxine is weight neutral’. Of course I’m sure feeling better, makes people happier and the body makes better use of incoming calories. People no longer fret any weight off worrying about recovery once the meds take control. Helen
I wish I knew how to fret weight off. I can fret with the best of them. I just get fatter.
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Strange how different we all are. In times of great stress weight will just drop off me. I’d drop two dress sizes in a couple of months, soon as it all settles down weight goes back on. My mother was the same. I’d offer to teach you but I guess it’s genetic!
. Helen
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I’ve been in the ‘normal’ weight range twice in my life - directly after having undiagnosed giardia for months and after a really bad case of mononucleosis that also went on for months. Even then, I’ve never been or will be thin. My goal has always been to merely be overweight rather than obese. It appears I have to have high fevers for weeks or months at a time. The weight comes back.
I’m currently under massive stress from a lot of fronts, following a strict diet and exercise routine and basically hovering at 205-208#. At 5’3”. Though my new GP, an MD, assured me it’s just a mental game. So, I’m shamefully fat and weak minded. Love this new randomly assigned doctor. She asked me zero questions about my health history (ahem, PCOS - you never see a PCOS weight loss success story that doesn’t involve a severe eating disorder), my diet (intermittent fasting, organic, ketogenic), level of fitness (I can run 6 miles, kayak all day, hike up mountains and I hit the gym 3-5x/week and more when MAV is flaring and as stress relief) and medication regime (SNRI and beta blockers). But please oh great MD, make assumptions and insult me.
She also suggested I should be on weight loss meds - because she doesn’t understand MAV, either. After all that Topomax experience was great. I have the nerve damage to prove it.
(Yep, sanguine Emily has a big, red button.)
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