Effexor withdrawl and symptoms, please help _{Page 106 of 140}

Hi All and Hello to Twisi. I finally slept. I just woke up and came to see how you are doing, Twisi.

Twisi - def go for it and ditch the last 12mg. if you are already feeling crap then you may aswell go for it rather than prolong it any further. I will be cheering you on too! ive been 7 days now effexor free and still feeling the dizziness, zaps and nausea. its ok tho.

im going thro phases - its sometimes ok and other times its worse.

Pam - 2 weeks! excellent. i cant wait to get to two weeks and hopefully will be feeling more like myself. The wedding is def keeping my mind busy. we booked our honeymoon last week and are going away for a week to Rhodes in Greece. i love the greek islands and looking forward to the honeymoon more then wedding lol!

right, off for a nice bath,
keep strong everyone!
ems xx

It's been 10 days of Effexor freedom and I see a big difference over the last 2 days. Today especially. I was able to sleep a lot last night and didn't even have bad dreams for the first time. Today, I have been awake for 9 hours and no zaps. I feel a lot better. I have still a little of the hot/cold problem, but it's so much more mild than it was, feeling steady about the room temperature most of the day.

I even ventured out to the store and pharmacy to talk to my pharmacist. he said most average time to feel normal again is 2-2.5 weeks on average. He asked me some questions then told me I am on the right track and to keep doing what I am doing. It was encouraging. I felt very self conscious in public because I feel like I just got over a big flu or something. It is getting gradually better day by day.

Mentally, I couldn't feel better! I feel like I am coming back to life. I haven't felt this optimistic about life and healing since before I got on Effexor, I feel already more engaged with interest in things around me and in people. It's wonderful and my husband can really see it in me, he's thrilled.

I also started reading a really great book about depression and healing from it called Creating Optimism. Just want to share that in case anyone had been on Effexor for depression, ptsd, anxiety, or trauma. If I had found this book about 10 years ago, it would have saved me many years of grief. It's really that good. I downloaded it online. No one ever told me there was clinically documented treatment to cure and heal the mind from depression and trauma. I thought medication, nutrition and talk therapy was all I could do. This book is worth checking out for anyone looking for reliable assistance in overcoming depression or trauma induced problems.

Hello all,

Thanks soooo much for your good wishes.

I have been a bear. Literally a bear. I am so angry and irritable.
I cannot sleep, my body aches so much it hurts to walk. If I cannot
do yoga this week ill go mad. It keeps me sane, but with all this
pain, it will be hard.

The dizzies and zaps only add to the crappy scenario. I feel bad for
my husband because i just yell about everything. This is so NOT ME.

As some background: I was on 300 mg of effexor for several years due
to a chain of bad events that occurred in my life. Within three years
I lost my mother, became pregnant, found out the fetus had a mass
attached to it and it had to be terminated, followed by six months of
chemo, lost my father in law, then lost my father, then had to have a
hysterectomy. The hysterectomy caused hot flashes, and so I went to
my doctor. I thought I was handling all the emotional stuff well, but
my General Doc told me I probably was not. She literally convinced me
I must be burying all this and definitely needed effexor for both the
hot flashes and the emotional things. THEN when I wanted to go off
it - She doubled it.

This is not easy for me and I know this is the path I want to take and
the path that will enable me to feel like a human again. I realize
now that the person I was on effexor was not me. I wasn't cycling, or
exercising or shooting photographs or doing any of the things that
made me so happy. It just turns you into a mannequin. A big plastic
blob that has no mind.

I just hope my mood improves soon. Thank you all and PEACE.
Twisii

Twisi,

Soon you will be happily cycling, exercising, shooting, and doing all the things and more that make you so happy.

I thought I was just getting old when I was on Effexor and lost interest in everything, just sat like you said, like a blob with no mine. I thought because of my age (52) that I had just become dull and stupid because of my aging.

Good news, 10 days off that crap and I am right back to my sharp mind, curious nature, and already getting back into old activities! I am using that book I mentioned and am going to heal any traces of depression and anxiety caused by some trauma so I never need or want a med again. I already see things in a new light and feel so encouraged.

You are not the Effexor blob, you were an Effexor victim. It's like having a parasite. My blood pressure has now returned to NORMAL for the last 2 days w/o bp med. I monitor it all the time. My heart rate went from average 105 to 86. This is just day 10 off it. And I feel things, good things, oh it's nice to be human again! You will make it.

Thanks EFP... I understand exactly, because I am 51. I was never an inactive person until I went on Effexor. I lost interest in everything, and my figure showed it. I went to St. Maarten last May and when I saw photos of myself in a bathing suit, I nearly lost it. I could not believe how fat I looked.

Funny thing -- I didn't even realize it. Isn't that strange.

Thanks for the encouragement and I am so happy for you. I cant' wait to start feeling alive again.

Big hugs to you.

Twisi, Effexorfreeplease,and Ems, hang in there. You all are going to get through this and feel so much better because of it. I feel better every day, hardly any zaps or dizziness. Back to driving my car again and getting back into activities I had set aside while I was getting Effexor free. You all can do it! Ems, sounds like you have a dream honeymoon planned. You keep looking forward to that!
Pam

Can someone explain what is going on with the brains neurotransmitters once we go off effexor?

I feel so hypersensitive to everything. I am in so much physical pain and my ears are ringing all the time. If I merely bump my leg on something is sends shocks through my body.

I guess sleep is not going to happen tonight. I've tried everything. I can only stay in the bathtub for so long.

Hi Twisi, jewelkid, Ems!

Twisi, I wish I knew too what was happening on a molecular level when all that was happening.

That ear ringing was so annoying! Yesterday was the first day I didn't notice it.

I found it helpful to sleep when I could and just roll with my body when it wanted to be awake, I didn't fight it. I tried the benadryl and sleep potions, but the best they did was put me out for an hour if that. Then sooner or usually later I slept. I hated sleep because it wasn't really long and it was dominated by hot flashes and bad dreams.

All that is gone now! I can hardly believe it. I just slept 7 hours and woke up actually excited about getting out of bed and doing things!! It's been several years since I was ever excited to get out of bed!

Twisi, you're just going to have to keep checking in with us and let us know how it is going because it will help you stay grounded through the bad times. It is good to know somoene out there hears you and is there while you are on this bad ride. Just remember after a few days or 4 or 5 it starts to get better a little each day. Then, pretty soon, you will feel better than you ever did while you took Effexor.

I feel better than I have in years, and I mean it totally truly alive and actually happy to be alive instead of dreading the new day.

hey guys,
day 9 for me effexor free. the dizziness has definateluy improved and the brain zaps also - they came on yesterday in the afternoon but nothing i couldnt handle.

i have been lucky and found it easy to sleep - although i do still have a glass of wine most evenings and this knocks me out as soon as my head hits the pillow. on friday night i didnt have a drop and i was up till 3am - mind buzzing away!

right, well back to work and heres to a good day ahead - withdrawal free i hope!

Twisi - hang in there sweet. it does get better and it will be worth the pain. the saying no pain no gain is so true! just think about this time next week and hopefully you will be posting that you feel much better!

ems xx

Jewekid, EMS, EFP, Pam, Thanks.

Its interesting that we are all free at this point, on one level or another and able to help each other get through this.

Monday, March 3, I feel like I was in a car accident. I woke up (after fading in and out all night) because the phone was ringing. I couldn't get up. My legs are killing me.

I had a very strange 'dali-esque' dream that only John Waters could have written. Where does this stuff come from?

EFP(effexorfreeplease): I totally agree that we have to listen to our body and roll with its needs. This is going to be a long week. But HEY, its DAY TWO already.

I have two cats- Willy and Gus. They are brothers. But, Gus, he just stays by me all the time now, like he knows something is off. He makes me smile.

I don't think my husband knows how to handle me now. He's just distant and quiet. It makes it hard.

Thanks again, all of you, you give me hope. I can't wait to wake up and feel good about the day. What a concept - huh??

PAM: THE GREEK ISLANDS ARE MY FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WORLD. WHAT A GREAT PLACE TO HONEYMOON.

Best,
Twisi

Hey Twisi,
pleased to hear your second day is okish... keep strong and remember it will be well worth it!

btw, i am the one off to Greece for honeymoon! I absolutely love Greece and we will be in Rhodes for a whole week in july - bliss! theres something to hold on for hey!

Ive been feeling it this afternoon a bit - dizziness really. also my hands feel really numb and kinda tingly - not sure if its the cold or withdrawal - oh well stuff it hey.

right, im off now, time to go home hehe!
ems xx

I found this explanation for the withdrawal symptoms:

interesting.....
A 1997 study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry showed that 70 percent of general practitioners and, surprisingly, a third of psychiatrists don't know that significant withdrawal symptoms can occur when people stop taking antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, including Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Celexa, and a similar drug, Effexor. (Withdrawal syndromes can also occur with antidepressants that work differently from the SSRIs, including older drugs such as Elavil and Tofranil)

'It's an under-recognized problem,' says Leuchter, because when people stop taking a drug and then develop new symptoms, they can't believe it has'anything to do with the medicine because, if they're not taking it, how can it affect them?'

But withdrawal clearly does happen, though researchers still aren't sure why. The basic thinking is that depression is caused by a deficiency of serotonin, a key neurotransmitter in the brain. SSRIs boost serotonin by stopping its re-absorption into brain cells, thus keeping more serotonin where it's needed, in the synapses, or gaps, between nerve cells.

As the brain adapts to increased levels of serotonin, some neuroscientists think there is a decline in either the number or sensitivity of the brain's molecular gateways that can put serotonin to work. Then, when SSRIs are discontinued, withdrawal symptoms may occur as the nervous system, now primed for lots of serotonin, isn't getting enough, says Dr. Alexander Bodkin, chief of clinical psychopharmacology research at McLean Hospital in Belmont.

One thing researchers are sure of is that the severity of withdrawal symptoms from SSRIs is closely correlated with how long the drug remains in the body. The longer the drug or its active metabolic breakdown products stay in the body, the less severe the withdrawal.

'The faster-clearing the drug, the worse the withdrawal,' says Dr. Michael Craig Miller, a psychiatrist who edits the Harvard Mental Health Letter.

Prozac is least likely to cause withdrawal because its metabolic breakdown products linger in the body for as long as five weeks. In fact, precisely because of this, one strategy for people who have trouble getting off other SSRIs is to switch to Prozac and then taper slowly off of that.

By contrast, Paxil, Luvox, and Celexa may trigger withdrawal because they are faster-clearing, lingering in the body for just four to five days. Zoloft lingers slightly longer. Effexor, a variant of standard SSRIs, has the shortest half-life of all, about 5 hours, which means it is highly likely to cause withdrawal symptoms.

Recent studies have bolstered the idea that faster-clearing drugs lead to worse withdrawal.

In 1998, Rosenbaum of MGH and his team studied 220 patients and found that those who abruptly stopped taking Paxil, and to a lesser extent, Zoloft, had significant withdrawal symptoms, while those who stopped taking Prozac did not. Another study published last year in the British Journal of Psychiatry found essentially the same pattern.

Yet another study, sponsored by Lilly Research Laboratories (Eli Lilly makes Prozac) and published last year in Psychoneuroendocrinology, showed that people who suddenly stopped taking Paxil had a significant increase in heart rate and stress hormone levels, while those taking Zoloft or Prozac did not.

The bottom line is that if you want to wean yourself from antidepressants, do so slowly, by decreasing your dose by half every one to two weeks. It may take weeks or even months to discontinue completely, but that doesn't really matter.

'There's never a rush in getting off these medications,' says Leuchter of UCLA. 'What's the hurry? If you have been on them for six to 12 months and you're tolerating them well, there's no point in going too quickly.'

And if you do develop withdrawal symptoms despite tapering off slowly, try going back to the previous dose, then switching to Prozac and weaning yourself from that.

The most important lesson, says the teacher from Watertown, who is now symptom-free, is that antidepressants - despite the recent backlash in the media - significantly help millions of people. 'I would never say, `Don't go on it,' ' she says. 'I would just say be very aware that when you want to get off it, go to a doctor who knows about this.'

Hi guys! I come and read this board often, but haven't posted much. I have been doing the Effexor step-down (should we invent some dance steps that go along?) since February 17, and am down to 45 mg from 75. I generally feel great, with not a lot of side effects, but I have noticed that the crying and bitchiness have come creeping back in every now and then. This is why I was taking the evil E in the first place - my moods were up and down, and Effexor really smoothed things out. I thought I was ready to try things on my own, but now that I'm stepping down, I find that the moodiness is coming back - and I don't want that!!!!! But I also really want to get off this drug. I thankfully don't take any other medications, and would really love to cleanse my body of all the artificial chemicals. I read some posts back that talked about St. John's Wort and 5-HTP - where can I get more info about these, and can I take either one while I'm coming off Effexor?

Do not take St. John's WOrt or 5-HTP while you still have effexor in your body, and don't take them both at the same time regardless. i will post more on why if no one else does, have to run.

mimi2nik --- careful with herbal supplements. read this: blank">http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/herbal-supplements/SA00044

12:30 am.....and i am wide awake. what do you do at this hour? nothing is on the tv and my mind wanders to much to read. my husband is sleeping and so are the cats. i hate this.

i have a question for you guys.... i have a group photography exhibit coming up and the theme is 'the way i see it' - a title I came up with prior to my current state of affairs......i am having trouble with the whole idea now......

...... how would you explain in pictures how it feels to go through this?

it feels very lonely and very scary and very uncertain. yes?

Hi! Twisi, EFP, and Ems. How's it going ladies? Yesterday was 14 days ago that I last took Effexor. I'm feeling better every day, almost 100%. Twisi, I would suggest that on those times you can't sleep, read a book, work on a craft that doesn't require much thinking, meditate or whatever you can come up with that will keep your mind off of how you're feeling. You can do this! Glad to hear that most of your symptoms are gone and that you're feeling so much better. Ems, sounds like you're handling things well. Hang in there! You're getting there!
Pam

Hey Pam, EFP, Twisi,

good to hear its going well for you guys. Twisi, when i find i cant sleep, Effexor related or not, it always helps to get up and do something like reading or crossword puzzles.

im feeling oksih today. ive noticed the dizziness and achey feelings come on in the afternoons more. so right now im feeling it and i feel really weak. its been 10 days for me now and i did think id feel better by now but guess i was being too optimistic and need to persevere. my main worry is that what if these feelings of dizziness, headaches, aches, weakness etc never go away!

also one thing ive found is that my hands feel wierd- like tingly and cold and they kind of ache to clench my fists - just an odd sensation.

well, keep strong sweets - we are all doing really really well.

ems xx

YES!

I ache terribly. I complain about my hands - fists. odd.

My mind races and I cannot focus on one thing. I was up til 4am and finally slept - albeit on and off til now.

My husband is off on bus trip. I was hoping to get up for yoga today. It really helps the sleep thing.

Pam seems to be ok at 14 days (no side effects like aches and dizziness? - did you have them at all Pam?) So-- there is hope.

Gosh I would hate feeling like this for much longer. its just debilitating. I consider myself fortunate that when I lost my job in November and this whole spiral started - that my husband supported my not going back to work until its over - so Im on unemployment. I just pray its over by the time the $$ runs out.

Stay strong. Twis.

l

Hello Everyone, I slept 20 hours off and on, and feel so much better, day 13. Much better than yesterday, yesterday I had the dizziness and some zaps and hot /cold again. Took benadryl and slept a lot with some GOOD dreams for a change! I see a big difference. It has seemed to ease off every day with some back throws to symptoms here and there, then improvement again.

Twis, when I couldn't sleep I read about effexor withdrwawal by googling effexor withdrawal, quit effexor, and physician effexor. It helped me feel sane. I also downloaded that book I talked about, Creating Optimism, on how to heal the brain to end depression, that was the best thing I did. You can get pretty tired of tv or any single activity because of the restlessness. Some people swear by some exercise as helpful, but I couldn't make myself do that.

I found computer tasks helpful because I could sit still without moving my head. Posting helps because you are connecting to others and find normalcy in the way you feel right now.

I am happy for everyone and would give anything to be going to the Greek Isles! My husband and I got married in July and had no real honeymoon because Effexor made me so disinterested in sex that it just didn't happen. So sad, I was very sexual until I was on it for a few weeks. I hope that comes back.

You are all angels,
EFree

Seratonin Syndrome, from http://theeffexoractivist.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=496


'Do NOT eat or drink anything containing GRAPFRUIT, it can create a serious toxic reaction.

NEVER, EVER take St. John's Wort or 5-HTP--they have serotonin in them. Mixing them with an anti-depressant or taking then after you've been off of an anti-depressant for only a year of less can lead to SEROTONIN SYNDROME - a toxic and deadly condition. Click on the following link to find out about it: http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/serotonin-syndrome-ADF.h....

Drugs that may induce serotonin syndrome when taken with antidepress
• ecstasy
• cocaine
• lithium
• St John's wort (Hypericum) - herbal antidepressant
• diethylproprion - an amphetamine
• dextromethorphan - found in many cough suppressants
• Buspar (buspirone) - for anxiety
• Selgene, Eldepryl (selegiline) - for Parkinson's Disease
• anti-epileptics - Tegretol, Carbium, Teril (carbamazepine)
• analgesics - pethidine, Fortral(pentazocine),Tramal(tramadol), fentanyl
• anti-migraine drugs - Naramig (naratriptan), Imigran (sumatriptan), Zomig (zolmitriptan)
• appetite suppressants - This drug is dangerous and fenfluramine
• tryptophan - an amino acid '

Twisi asked, ...... how would you explain in pictures how it feels to go through this?

I would refer to an image I had in one of my withdrawal dreams about day 4. In the dream, I fell asleep in a college class and woke up to find my purse containing my keys and phone was stolen. I had to climb up a big hill that was crumbling down on me, making it impossible. So, I went around it. I came to a creek that was covered in green scum. I was so tired and weak that I knew I could not jump across it, but I tried anyway. I landed in the filthy creek from the waist down, and my hands were clinging to some grass on the other side. Where I came from was blackest night, but there was full sunlight shining on the grass. I focused on a close-up of my hands grasping the grass for dear life, afraid it would pull up by the roots, but beautiful to the eye, with sunlinght and dew on it. I pulled up out of the muck hanging onto the grass. So the image I will always remember is waist high in a dark green covered scummy stagnant creek, my white shirt wet from the struggle, and the sun spotlighting the vivid green grass to which my hands clung, pulling up out of the mire.

Pam said, 'Yesterday was 14 days ago that I last took Effexor. I'm feeling better every day, almost 100%'

I am hanging on to that hope. I keep having periods where everything gets almost back to normal, then it waves into head zaps, dizziness sometimes persistent, other times mild. Every time I get a break from it, I think it's over. That's been going on for several days now. I'm on day 11 of no effexor.

Every time the symptoms return, I think, Oh NO, how much LONGER is this going to go on? I examine everything trying to find any relationship from what I am doing to how I am feeling, but I haven't found one. It gets frustrating and I start catastrophising (this is going to last forever, I am never going to get over this), so I really appreciate it when people shine a ray of hope on it.

At least I am getting some breaks from it, it cycles in a non-predictable routine. Sometimes when the symptoms come around they are less intense, sometimes they are intense. Overall, there is regular progress in a positive direction.

EffexorFreePlease - thanks for the info! I'm doing better today. Yesterday was one of the 20mg down days, and I think that is the worst day of the week for me. The rest of the time I seem to be adjusting well. I'm hoping my brain will gradually get used to being off the drug, and I won't go back to the crabby moody bitch that I was before taking this!

I drink grapefruit juice or make a tea of the fruit w/ honey allspice berries and cinnamon sticks - almost EVERY day.

What causes the toxicity?

Your dream will be hard to recreate in an image but I see where you are going with it. Im just not sure I want to reveal my current state of mind to my photo group. It will be dark- nonetheless.

I can't can't can't wait to be back to myself again. Re: sex drive......... slowly i feel an interest again, i didn't feel interested for a very long time.

PERSEVERENCE