Doctor: Are you on any medication?

Me: Venlafaxine.

Doctor: 150? 225?

Me: 37.5.

Doctor: LOL (That actually happened. Ed.)

Seriously, people just don't realize how powerful venlafaxine is when you're doing your CBT right.


Ioana: He laughed because 37.5 is way below any recommended therapeutical dosage. 75 mg is usually the lowest prescribed.

Me: I'm aware. I used to take 225. But 37.5 is actually all you need to get the reuptake inhibitor effect. People keep stepping it up because they don't feel better but I've never found that higher doses make you feel any better. For that you need CBT and changes in your life. I've always found there is a much greater difference in going from 0 to 37.5 than from any other change in dosage; and in addition the small additional effect from increased doses fades rapidly. Hence the constant stepping up.