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KapperChameleon

Severe Anxiety Pain

Physician Responded

Hello all, I (29M, 6'2, 120kgs) have been feeling some intense anxiety after 4 days of taking desvenlafaxine. It is to treat anxiety and not depression. I'm fairly used to having panic episodes, they have been very infrequent in recent years. I started taking this drug after talking to my GP about some underlying anxiety that has been exponentially worse over the last year.

Last night (day 3 of taking them) I woke up in a cold sweat and chills. My heart was racing, and I had some pretty severe heartburn and a pressure in my chest and super heightened anxiety. I presented at ED and had a blood test, urine test and an ECG done, they came up with nothing. They gave me some heartburn relief, panadol and paracetamol that seemed to somewhat work in relieving the chest pain and sent me home with a reassurance that nothing was wrong with my heart. Today (day 4 of taking them) it happened again. Same symptoms, but I somewhat was in control of the anxiety and the bulk of it subsided fairly quickly, after about 2 hours it's just a dull ache. I've had chronic panic attacks before but they have never felt like this. I have had a history of very infrequent heartburn. I am looking for further reassurance. My next gp appointment is in a week, if I continue to feel like this should I stop taking the Desvenlafaxine? Or should I power through it? What are some techniques I can use to help the dull chest pain and to calm down in the moment? This is unlike anything I've ever felt.

Posted Aug 3, 2026, 10:37 AM UTC

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