Effexor withdrawl

[YlwRose]

Anyone made it through the withdrawl symptoms yet?
Been completely off effexor (after gradual weaning) for 6 days now. that jolting feeling comes and goes - notice it more in the evening, the nausea has gone away but still have these incredible mood swings. they are different than depression - it's like all of a sudden i am just ANGRY or start crying and can't stop!
when does this end?

[4Maddie44]

I cold turkey off Effexor but within a year the depression came back.  I must be one of the few people who seem to tolerate Effexor well.

I only came off it because of the weight gain.  But I don't care so much about it now.  I have no side effects with Effexor, and my 150mg dose suits me.  Prozac was really, REALLY bad for me.  Never again.

So you see, different drugs for different people.  

Effexor for me is great.  I will not stop it again.  All I can say is, we have to try different anti-depressants to find the one that suits us best.  I have had bad reactions with others, but I don't with Effexor.  Obviously each person reacts differently to different drugs.

[bbaggins]

I was on Effexor for nearly a year a few years back and was weened off of them slowly.

The best thing to do is lower your dose slowly and when you get to the lowest dose then start taking them every other day and then eventually not at all.

Also, it helps to have some Xanax or Ativan on hand just in case the withdrawal symptoms get nasty.

The tics and jolts lasted a little while, but they eventually fade away. I do tend to start getting tics again, though, when I get stressed a lot. Sometimes they're nearly a seizure, but I haven't had one of those in a long time.

[thomj513]

An inspiring and informative discussion.  I have been diagnosed with Dysthemia ( a chronic low-grade and long term depression) and Anxiety.  The Doc's have had me  on a variety of AD meds over the past 3 years and had me on Effexor XR 150mgs/day plus Ritalin 5-10mgs/day for the past six months.  I've experienced little benefit from the meds I've been on and Effexor is no different.  On the Effexor I experienced bloating; not  weight gain but more a retention of fluids, excessive perspiration and nausea.  The nausea was the worst for me.  The Effexor/Ritalin combo also increased my blood pressure which was already borderline.  One week ago I had tapered down to 37.5mgs/day and have spent 5 days off the meds; both Effexor and Ritalin.  I too have the "brain zaps" but it's not too bad, I can deal with it.  The Ritalin added to the manic sensation that I had with this combo.  I decided to quit the meds mainly because I hated being dependent on them and the side effects were really bothersome.  I felt that they gave me a false sense of self.  My healthcare provider is the Kaiser Permanente group.  They come across to me as being very pill happy and procedure intensive.  Got a probelm, take a pill......have a symptom, let's do a test.  It really aggravates me since I feel that they treat the symptom rather than the root problem.  I go to a few support groups and one guy in one group close to my age stated that he'd rather deal with the depression rather than the pill induced sense of well being.  I can relate to that.  Thx for letting me vent.  TJ.

[sportlover]

Hi all.  Thank you for posting all of your comments.  I have found them to be a great help.

I have been on Effexor (150 mg) now for about 3 1/2 years and have tried to go off of the drug twice now with no success.

The first time I was stupid and tried to do it myself cold turkey....well that turned out to be a big mistake.  It's hard to even explain what I went through.  When I think back to it, it seems so cloudy and hazy, but I recall the sick feeling in my stomach, the nightmares that would continue from where they left off when I would be lucky enough to fall back asleep, the aromas of certain foods that would make me feel like throwing up, the crying and the thoughts of wishing I were dead as it would be alot better than feeling the way I was feeling.  My doctor had me go back on them two days later.  I was so desperate to feel better that I didn't argue with him.  This happened only after being on the drug for four months....that's pretty scarey!

After about a year I thought I would try again.  This time I went to the doctor and he said we would slowly try to get me off of it this time.  From the 150 mg I had started with, he cut me back to 102.5 mg for three weeks.  I had no withdrawl symptoms at that dose.  Then he cut me back to 75 mg for two weeks....was also fine on that dose.  Then I was down to 37.5 for about a week...was still ok...until the first day that I went without anything....I was right back to where I started with those awful withdrawl symptoms.  I have read in everyone's comments about how the doctors should be warning us about how hard it is to get off of this drug before they so easily put us on it.  And I agree 100%.  Had I known what I know now....I really don't know if I would have gone on this drug.  Sure it made me feel better...but it also helped me gain nearly 40 pounds, makes me sweat some days so bad I feel like I am melting, makes me want to sleep 24/7 and sometimes I think it has made me too relaxed!

So I am here to tell you all that I am trying this again.  I went to the doctor last week, told him I want to get off of this drug and I suggested that when I got down to the 37.5 mg dose that maybe he could switch me to something else, also a low dose, that wasn't as difficult to get off of.  His response...."Oh they are all the same".  You know, after a while you just get too tired to argue with them!!!!!

So this is what I am doing.  He told me to start out with 3 x 37.5 mg pills a day for 3 weeks.  Being stubborn...I have started out with 2 x 37.5 mg a day.  Today is Tuesday and I started this on Saturday so its been 4 days now and I am feeling fine...was a little cranky today at work...but other than that....nothing too bad.  I have also noticed that in the past few days I am not sweating like I was when I was on the 150 mg.

I am going to stay on this dose for 3 weeks and then will cut back to the 37.5 mg dose for 3-4 weeks.  After that, will try taking 37.5 mg every other day.

I will keep you all posted on my journey and hope that something I have said or something I do will help someone out there...cuz I know how bad this drug is.

[eh2010]

Thanks to everyone for their posts!

I have been on Effexor for 14 years!  I had religiously taken my meds (up to 300 mg/day) for all this time.  It has been a great medication for me, and has helped me to be mostly symptom free from chronic major depression.  Periodically over the last few years, my doc has requested that I go off of it.  I have been afraid to!  I also have been living overseas in Africa for a few years, which is another reason I have wanted to just stay on it and not mess with it.  I am back at home in the States now and had been in communication with my doc via e-mail prior to coming home.  I started the weaning process a couple of months ago...which went well until I went fully off about 2 weeks ago.

I am so disappointed with how I am feeling!  I am home for a few weeks (and won't be back again for 2 years). I had no idea I would be feeling so crappy!!!  In hind-sight I don't think I would have gone off meds.  My head feels "full" and my brain is so foggy!  I could easily just sleep for about 20 hours a day, but we are so busy seeing family, friends, doctors, dentists, etc...that there is very little time for rest.  At this moment in time, I am asking myself.."what the heck was I thinking"????    

[MissNocks]

I'm following up on very long post of mine from about 2 weeks ago -- at the time I was in the midst of horrible withdrawal from Effexor. I had tapered slowly off of it and been off completely for a week when I made my previous post.  As of today I have been Effexor free for about 3 weeks. I have to say, there is light at the end of the tunnel!!!  Nearly all of my side effects have subsided gradually -- the dizziness/vertigo, nausea, mood swings, etc.  I do still get bouts of anger and am experiencing a loosening of the stool that I only noticed when I went off of the Effexor (strange side effect -- has anyone else experienced this??), but otherwise I feel sooo much better and much more functional.  As a word of advice to those coming off of this drug, it is best to keep busy! Even if you don't feel great, get yourself focused on something -- a book or something creative, perhaps involving another person.  I found that even when I felt crummy, I wouldn't notice it nearly as much when I threw myself into an activity. I had to will myself to do this at times, however. It isn't easy.
      As for depression returning, I haven't noticed that at all so far.  I will have to wait and see, though. I will say that I have been in therapy the entire duration of my treatment with Effexor (about 3 1/2 years) and that has helped tremendously!!! I highly recommend the combo of meds and therapy. I think they work best together.
     I hope this helps someone out there. At the very least you know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel of withdrawal. Good luck to everyone struggling with this!