effexor cold turkey

[whisper2008]

I have been on the drug Effexor for about 8 years.  I told my Dr. I wanted to get off of it and he told me to go to a 150mg dose every other day.  The conversation stopped there, so I started taking the 150 mg. dose every other day for about a month and then when I ran out of the pills in the bottle just stopped cold turkey! That was about 13 days ago and since then I have slipped into a HELL of depression, crying, inability to function normally and about a million other symptoms of misc variety.  I need to know that this will pass, and that soon I will be a normal human being again. How long does it take?  I feel like I am watching my life crumble before my eyes and am unable to stop the devastation! !  Please help!!

[tafai]

from what i've heard effexor is quite notorious for it's withdrawal effects and i would also advice to come off it much slower then you did and the advice given before (to get back on low dosage etc.) is probably wise.

I"m on effexor myself and i can feel it if i miss even one dose; funny feelings in my head, muscle "spasms" , hangover like feeling etc. Those get better when i take my next dose.

When coming off any anti dep. it's always hard to know when the withdrawals are over and the maybe still underlying depression resurfaces, but it does sound at this time you really have a lot of trouble with the withdrawal and it's just not possible to tell yet if you are still depressed and need to stay on meds for that (i think).

Anyway, i hope you can find a way with your doc. to go back on low dose and you probably will feel better quite soon, and really go to a lower dose very slowly (there are tabs. at least as low as 37,5 mg and you could even break those in half) and only go to the next level when you feel the withdrawal calmed down.

It takes longer that way, but it's less like hell...so it's probably worth the try

good luck

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

The last commentator is correct..you should have gone off  in  a different manner and now you would be well advised to go back to the lowest dose you can manage, take every other day for another week, then every third day for a week, then stop....also, some of the depression is what was smothered under the medication, and this would be a good time to address the issues bothering you in talk therapy.

[eeuuhija02]

I recently went through same thing unintentionally because my insurance ran out and I couldn't get the meds.  I was having major problems with all symptoms mentioned above as well as nightmares and panic attacts.  My doc said that it can even cause seizures to go cold turkey.  I'm back on-starting at 37.5mg, just upped to 75mg and in 5 weeks will go to 150.  I'm guessing that you have to wean yourself down the same way.  I've been on Effexor for about 7 years off and on, but have found that while i can sometimes get by on a lower does, any time I don't have it at all I end up back in that "crazy place" of feeling like I'll never function again.

I hope you can get through this.  My guess is that you probably need at least the minimal dose (especially since you haven't had any for almost 2weeks) to help your body calm down alittle and get used to the idea of fewer or no meds.