Struggling to focus or concentrate on venlafaxine?

i've actually had the opposite effect. you mentioned you're wondering about possible adhd - i do have adhd, so i'm usually very spacy, dreamy, unfocused, slow to process conversation, and unmotivated to do anything unless i find it interesting (in which case i can do it for hours/days to the exclusion of all else). what you describe as your side effects is how i feel unmedicated, and taking venlafaxine (75mg) has alleviated a lot of those symptoms, in addition to helping with depression - really the only side effect i've had is frequent nightmares. it's cleared up most of the brain fog, makes me more alert/present/focused/in the moment, motivated to get things done, & more active in conversations. my first thought is that it could have this effect on me because it's treating my adhd & its symptoms, and the opposite effect on you because you might lack that condition? it was prescribed to me specifically for adhd as well as depression. or maybe we're just different people with different reactions to the same medication. i don't know. i don't have an answer for you, but if you suspect adhd i would still encourage you to not rule it out & look into that further, because it can display in many different ways, and getting a definite answer about it one way or another might help you narrow down some alternate/better solutions. i hope this at least offers you some insight/another perspective, and i wish you the best!

Yes I was on the same dose for 6-7 months and just stopped taking it two weeks ago. The brain fog was a huge problem for me and I felt like my memory was failing me. I felt muted and flat. Like there was a veil over my eyes that muted everything. Everything was soft and hazy like in a dream. I couldn’t stand it because it let to a lot of issues for me. I prefer to work through my ups and downs and feel them instead of feeling flat and muted all the time. I’m a law school student so I can’t really be in a fog and I’m in a committed relationship that I want to participate in. Effexor and lexapro both did that for me.

I experienced withdrawals for about a week but it improved after day 5. Days 2-5 were the worst but I was able to push through as long as I got a good nights rest. Sleeping gave me the energy to work through the discomfort.