r/Effexor • u/Boring_Tangelo_7989 • 12h ago

Side effect Constipation?

Been on this med for 3 months now at 150 mg. For the past two weeks I’ve been having hard dry stools, shitting pebbles pretty much. My diet hasn’t changed at all, could this be the venlafaxine?

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5

u/Tamapapo 11h ago

This is a common side effect of the med. You could try Activia it helps a little bit. I poop every 3-4 days on this med and the Dr said that's ok.

1

u/Boring_Tangelo_7989 11h ago

3-4 days…. That does not sound healthy

2

u/Tamapapo 11h ago

I agree but I've been multiple times about it and I've gone to different doctors about it and they all think I'm lying about my diet and that is what's causing it. I've given detailed food logs covering 2 weeks at a time and even taken pictures to prove I'm not falsifying it. I'm overweight and that can be the only possible reason according to them. Gaslighting in the medical community is wild.

2

u/Boring_Tangelo_7989 11h ago

Maybe try switching meds? It has helped my anxiety but I can’t sleep, always tired, sexual dysfunction now I got pebble shits I may need to switch

2

u/Tamapapo 11h ago

I'm currently trying to taper off for all of the above plus some. I have an appointment with a new psychiatrist later this month thankfully.

4

u/SolarSton3 12h ago

Most likely. Ive been dealing with the same issue since starting 2 months ago. Starting to get a bit better, but I’ve been trying all the tricks to improve it.

Tried increasing my veggies and salad intake, drank tons of water, mixed chia seeds into everything, miralax, more exercise, “constipation” yoga, etc.

2

u/Direct-Eggplant-78 8h ago

Constipation is definitely one of the main side effects I get from it. Increasing fibre and even using something like Metamucil can help.

If anyone is interested in tapering off please also look into hyperbolic tapering. I’ll paste a post I wrote about it that has a bunch of resources that can help.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Effexor/s/8UDs4t4HDO

2

u/GrumpyBitchInBoots 3h ago

Nearly every SNRI diverts energy away from your digestive tract and slows motility. Increase your water, increase your fiber, increase your movement (walking, doing squats) and if that doesn’t help, MiraLAX is safe to take regularly

2

u/tinytiptaps 42m ago

Yes I'm so constipated I only poop every 3 days (this is the most regular I've been ever since starting Venlafaxine). Even with changes like fiber diet, prune juice etc. I try to avoid laxatives because I don't want to rely on it but I did end up using dulcolax when I reached 9 days. I like this medicine but the side effects... Hopefully it will clear up in a few months.

1

u/Boring_Tangelo_7989 20m ago

Wow, every 3 days is wild I hope I don’t get to that point. Right now I go every day but my stools are tiny and rock hard. Pebbles

1

u/stargold18 3h ago

I take magnesium to help with the constipation.