Effexor withdrawl and symptoms, please help _{Page 120 of 140}

Well, tomorrow night will mark 1 full week without Effexor. Today I felt probably 50-70% better than yesterday, which i think had a LOT to do with the fish oil capsules! I've been taking 4000mg daily (4g) and usually within 2 hours of taking a capsule my brain zaps and chills are reduced by a huge amount. I think I will be able to handle teaching after all on Thursday. The only problem is that I am still not sleeping well, diarrhea/unsatisfying BMs every 2 hours or so, and I am feeling very CLUMSY - in the last day i have accidentally broken a dish, a glass, and scratched my computer monitor!

Anyway, if anyone is curious about fish oil- TRY IT! I could not believe how fast my symptoms improved. For reference, I am taking the 'health From the Sea' brand PFO with lipase.

Mark

Hi mikemo,
I just wanted to let you know how things are going. Today is my 7th day without effexor. I am doing good. I am still taking vitamin e, fish oil, b-50. I have also taken some magnesium a few times because I read that it is good for increasing serotonin production. The one thing I have noticed is the fish oil is extremely helpful. I have still been having some dizziness and sometimes start to feel like the start of an anxiety attack coming on(usually late in the day), but I have noticed that when I take the fish oil within 15-20 min. my dizziness and other symptoms go away and I begin to feel better. I am so very happy I found this website. I prayed everyday for something to help me find a way to get off effexor and then I found this site and your pill splitting method. I hope you know how grateful I am that you took the time to read my posts and also outline a plan to taper off. I know that I would not be able to get off of effexor without your helpful tips. Before this time of quitting effexor. I had quit taking effexor 3 years ago cold turkey and never knew anything of withdraw side effects or anything. So when I began having troubles I dealt with it all by myself and can only describe what I went through as pure hell. Then I got back on effexor and have been for last two years until 8-22-08. I just want you to know that until I read your posts I had pretty much lost all hope because I never wanted to go back to where I was when I had to get back on it. Now I know that I can and will be done with this horrible medication. THANK YOU. One more thing I forgot is that I am more emotional, but sure that will even out soon. I hope everything is going well for you and your family. Have a great Labor Day weekend.

Bernadette

Wow! You are such a sweetheart! I'm glad things are looking good for you. It's a huge compliment to me to think I could have a positive effect on someone elses situation. My favorite part is when people like you clearly take control, you become empowered to solve the puzzle. The Fish oil, magnesium,whatever you do, you do it for you and you do it because you are taking the power back and effexor loses it's power. You now recognize the difference between your true personality feelings, and the feelings you experience as a result of ingestion (or lack of ingestion) of certain suppliments or meds.

Growing the feelings of your true personality into the person you want to be is real growth that doesn't require chemicals.

You are a beautiful person, thanks so much for the compliment. I don't take it lightly! Hugs!

OK, one more update - fish oil has solved almost all of my problems, and 9 days after my last Effexor I feel about 90% recovered. Still a few milder brain zaps, sometimes the dizziness comes back, but last night Ieven was able to have a beer with some friends and NO HEADACHE! It's been a huge boost to my mood just to be able to live life normally and not worry about whether Effexor will make me regret every single thing I do.

I'm still taking 5g fish oil daily (1 every few hours) and also a multi with gingko, l-carnitine and DMAE, which are supposed to help nerve and neurotransmitter health... all the side effects make me worry that Effexor could have done permanent damage to my brain!

To anyone still going through withdrawal - HANG IN THERE! and take fish oil ASAP, I'm still amazed at what an easy and immediate help it was!

Good luck, I love you all!

Hi all! Just like most of you I am trying to withdrawal from Effexor. I have been doing it for about 3 months now and am down to 20 mg a day. I take the Effexor XR. I am opening the capsules and counting out the beads. I usually take my pill around 9:00 AM every day. By 2:00 PM I am nauseous and it lasts for the rest of the day. I really want to get off this stuff but it seems like I can't do much more than 2.5 mg about every week. Is anyone else having this much trouble? My mom thinks I should just bite the bullet and stop taking it. I don't want to feel crappy and I definately don't want to miss a week of work for this. I'm desperate. Does anyone have any suggesstions?

fish oil!!!

an1 have the chance to try Kava Kava? Sounds like it is very effective...along with fish oil of course...

Does the fish oil help with the nauseau?

I have been off effexor for two weeks today. I weaned myself (with Drs. help) from 225 to 0 over a month.

I thought the withdrawal symptoms were slowly going away but I find that some days it seems to be as bad as it ever was.

Nausea, dizziness, diarrhea, muscle & joint pain, tiredness, etc. Again it seems like it is getting better and boom...I feel totally dibilitated today.

How long does this go on? Have others had the up and down of feeling that I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and some days the light is a Mac Truck heading toward me.

My family has been great and encourage me to stay off of this medication (put on effexor to assist with menopause symptoms when other HRTs didn't work.

Please tell me I am not alone in this up and down of withdrawal symptoms!

hecallsmelucy are you taking fish oil? Fish oil has helped me with my withdrawl symptoms. I also take b-50 and vitamin e everyday and sometimes magnesium, but the fish oil I take three times a day. It really helps alot and you will notice a difference within about 15 to 20 min. of taking it. Good luck!

Bernadette

Thanks Bernadette...I will have my family get me some, pronto. Not being familiar with 'fish oil' is it just fish oil...or more specific than that. I will get the B50 as well.

Is it normal to have these ups and downs. The beginning of this week I was sure the worst was passed...and boom seem to be right back.

My joints and muscles don't seem to have been the same since effexor...is this a side effect of the drug and withdrawal or am I finding a reason to complain?

Speaking of fish oil, I am a BIG fan of Coromega brand fish oil. It isn't a capsule, but more of a dessert! The absorption rates are awesome. CHeck it out here:

http://www.coromega.com

You can take two a day for a few days to boost up. Then just take one a day. You will notice.

The fish oil is also called omega 3. I have been off of effexor 2 weeks today and I know that it would have been much worse without the fish oil. I have joint and muscle problems but I can't say that they are because of effexor. I have scoliosis and so my back problems are because of that. I was told about three years ago that I have rheumatoid arthritis so there is my joint problems. I can say that I have been more achy than before but not exactly sure why. I am very moody too. I hope things get better for you. I don't really know if I answered your question or not but I do think that it will take a little longer before we feel back to normal. I have asked how long withdrawl symptoms last, Mikemo (mikemo has posts on here, but it was actually his wife on effexor)has said is wife had effects for about 1 month, but everyone is different.I remind myself all the time it will be better. I can say that I feel much better as time goes by but still taking fish oil.

Bernadette

Yes, Bernadette, you did help. My daughter brought me fish oil right away so I am hoping I have the same success that you have had.

I appreciate the quick responses I have had.

It does give me hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is not the Mack Truck.

Bernadette...when you told me I would feel better shortly after taking the fish oil, as much as I wished it would be true quite frankly I didn't believe it.

OMG...it was unbelievable...I had cancelled going with my family to a baseball game but changed my mind at the last minute.

I still don't feel great but 1000 times better than I did. THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU.

Your welcome!

Hi everyone

It's been a long time, but I am happy to report that I have been off of effexor since April. I did the tapering method that Mikemo suggested, and it worked great. A little withdrawel, but not enough to stop me from stopping.

I have a question for you all who are off of it: have any of you noticed after affects, such as loss of memory?? My memory, esp. short-term, seems non-existent, and it is very frustrating on a daily basis when I used to have great memory. It has been the main thing that has bothered me most. With that said, I have still seen a doc to prescribe me Klonipin....I know, I know, why get off effexor and be on Klonipin? I have Generalized Anxiety, and the klonipin has helped, and I have gone up and down on doses and not seen any effects. I don't feel addicted, but I'm staying on it until I can find something else that will help with my anxiety.
My last two trips to the doc, she has tried to get me on antidepressants again, even after I told her that I stopped the effexor and explained why and that I didn't want to get on another 'drug'. So much for listening.... This last visit, I reiterated to her that I know my memory has been affected by the effexor, and she went on to tell me that it was the klonipin doing that. I call BS on that, bc I didn't have any problems before the effexor, but if any of you know of factual info on benzos causing memory loss, please let me know. On that note, is there anything natural I can start taking to help with my memory, or is this a phase? I do need to seek a natural antidepressant and anti-anxiety med, but I don't want anything else affecting my memory. I cannot afford to go see a naturopath, but some of the gals at my local health food stores are savy on what I may need to do. Just wondered if there were any suggestions here.

Anyways, I want to encourage all of you who are weaning off. Keep it up, this drug is horrible. I feel like I'm scarred from it, and I'm still dealing with some depression, but I would rather deal with that than be on that drug ever again!!

Best Wishes
Laniblue

Laniblue
You do give me hope. I have only been off the drug for just over two weeks. Two weeks of hell until I discovered this site. Thank goodness for Bernadette and Mikemo...fish oil capsules are like a gift. Symptoms are still there but not as bad.

I am noticing my short term memory loss more (or should I say my family is noticing it more).

How long did the severed withdrawal symptoms last? After about 1 1/2 weeks I wasn't feeling too bad and then the symptoms came back big time...which is when I discovered this site.

Any insite you can give me on this would be appreciated. You guys rock on this site...saved my life for sure.

Mikemo, you seem to be the man with all the good answers on here so I figured I would ask you first. I have been withdrawing from Effexor for about 3 months now and am down to 14 mg a day which is approximately 50 granules. I take the Effexor XR. I am opening the capsules and counting out the beads. I know this is not the most accurate way to do it but I tried the paper method and couldn't get it to work. I usually take my pill around 9:00 AM every day. By 2:00 PM I am nauseous and it lasts for the rest of the day. Can you give me a breakdown of when I should be lowering my dosages? I really want to get off this stuff but it seems like I can't do much more than 2.5 mg about every week. I appreciate any help you can give me.

laniblue,

Sorry to hear about the memory loss. Unfortunatley, I would really recommend NOT taking anything herbal for memory. Ginko biloba and ginsing will play hell with your generalized anxiety.

Here's an idea. Set a goal to work 30 crossword puzzles in 30 days. One puzzle a day. I've seen my memory go up when I work crosswords.

ccooney524,

You could try taking the dose a little later in the day. Stick with 14 mg for a few more days and gradually push towards 10:00.

You could also plan your fish-oil dose around 1:00.

Eat an apple at lunch every day.

See how those things help. Then when it comes to the taper off, I can't over-emphisize the spike drops. Try this:

14mg day1
14 day2
14 day3
0 .
10 .
8
8
8
8
0
5
3
3
3
0
Done!

Going too slow (2.5mg) doesn't trigger your body to respond. I think you will see that going to 8 mg in 6 days like I show above will give you fewer withdrawl than dropping 2.5mg each week for 3 weeks. And if you haven't already, get started with the fish oil! Good Luck!

Mikemo, 'Going too slow (2.5mg) doesn't trigger your body to respond.'
I don't understand what you are trying to say. You think I will have more withdrawal symptoms going that slow?

Yup. I do think there is a limit to how fast you can go, but there is also a limit as to how slow you can go.

Your body just doesn't notice the difference between 14mg and 12mg. The effective dose is virtually the same.

Let's say you've been tapering down at 2.5mg a week ever since you were at 50mg. Now you are at 14mg but your body is still producing just enough seretonin as if you were taking around 40mg of effexor.

You've been teaching your brain to 'get by' with less and less seretonin. And it sounds like it's getting pretty good at it if you mad it down to 14mg!

But what you SHOULD be doing is teaching you brain that it needs to 'ramp up' seretonin production.

There's a big difference.

Those little dose drops don't send any signals. A spike drop does. The cool part is, you don't have to STAY at the low dose for more than one day to effectivly trigger the body to 'ramp up' seretonin production.

Hope that Helps!

Mikemo, thank you for your quick response. I'm going to do your tapering method. I was going so slow because I didn't want to get nauseaus. I'm really hoping I can get off this drug without feeling too bad. I really can't afford to be off of work for a day or two or three. I'll let you know how things are going later this week. Thanks again.
Christine

Hi Mikemo,

I've been away for a while.

It is so nice to see a person like on this site, being so kind, and holding people's hands. Having being through this, I know how lonely one feels going through this journey. I still feel lost, lonely and stressed having to deal with this process.

Just to refresh your memory, I stopped my E, completely in April, after being on the stuff for about 12-13 years But, I have been keeping up and reading all the posts.

I started having some anxiety issues; stiff legs and joints, shortness of breath and now some panic attacks every few days and it can last for 2-3 days, each time.

I never had anxiety before getting on the stuff.

You had recommended L-tryptophan. But, to be honest, I was too chicken to be dependant on anything new.
I am still a little scared, but am wondering if I can take that on as needed basis for a few days and stop it?
Is it easy to become dependant on the stuff? Is it easy to get off the stuff?
Because looking at the old posts, I saw you said your wife takes them on; as needed basis.

I am so very scared. I wonder sometimes; do I need to go back on a medication? I didn’t even have a severe depression when I was first put on this!!! The doctor felt I had depression when I had teary eye at an office visit, feeling frustrated from my Thyroid symptoms.

I remember you were surprised to find L-Tryptophan in U.S. Are you taking it now?

Thanks again for all your help and suggestions.

Thyroid issues are a bit outside what I know. I'm not really a doctor, but I do know a few things about natural type stuff.

The Tryptophan is really just a dietary suppliment(it's a protien). You can't get hooked on it any more than you can get hooked on multi-vitamins or Fish oil.

The idea behind it is to give your body all protien it needs to build the different compunds it needs to be healthy. Tryptophan makes seretonin. So by all means, take a tryptophan suppliment. Also, take a good fish oil, like Coromega. The stiff joints are an indication to me that the fish oil could really do you some good.

Thyroid symptoms may have just been a result, not the cause. I'll bet you'll feel better soon. Take your daily fish oil TWICE a day for 4 days or so to get ramped back up (double-dose). Then take it at the regular dose from then on out. Don't take more then the regular daily dose of the Tryptophan. I would also suggest a low fat, no aspertame, protien shake (spaced apart from the tryptophan and fish oil) You'll feel better in no time flat!