Effexor withdrawl and symptoms, please help _{Page 136 of 140}

So, I think I know what 'brain zaps' are now...
Annoying to feel like I want to do things but my body is just all over the place.
Bleugh.

Hope anyone else is doing okay.

M

hallo - thanx for your responses.
AnneT i agree - Valium is addictive so i am not filling the prescript. i am going to use natural means for when i am totally granule free. yesterday i started 1000mg of fish oil omega 3 and mega b's, and my muscle cramps feel diminished already.
today i bought 5-htp 50mg, which i read is good for symptoms. should i take this while still on granules or wait til finished?
tomorrow i'm down to 30 granules. yeah!!
best wishes to all for an awesome new years' eve and a much much better year ahead.

Marthabelle,
I developed what I think of as fibromyalgia-type pains about 2 1/2 years ago (about 6 months into trying to wean off Effexor). They are getting better, but I have had to reduce my exercise (25 pounds weight gain on my little 5'4'' body).

I have been seeing a Chronic Fatigue doctor for a few months, and she is really helping me cope, and pace myself. It made me think - the difference between CFS and Depression is very subtle, and the meds can muddy the picture. So, for those of you struggling with depression and fatigue, it might be worth bringing up the question with your doc - because if it is CFS, the meds are likely harming you, holding you back.

For those of you pushing, rushing to get off the Effexor... all I can say is - if you feel awful,you are reducing too fast, no matter what the doc says! (and I'm one of those docs!) It's not a race. You'll get there.

hallo
happy new year!!
thanx annet for your reply. i wont be using the valium prescript. i am finding 1000mg of omega 3 very helpful with muscle aches.
i bought 5-htp. anyone using it?? i havent yet and wonder when i should??
maybe once i'm granule free?
that is next week already - yeah!!
wishing u all a wonderful symptom free new year ahead.

Happy New Year to you all!

It is hardly a rock n roll one for me! Still feeling wacky, brain zaps...very near tears often but in a sort of amusing way, like laugh crying but aware it could switch to upset in a second!

I am suddenly aware that I have only one more week of holidays before I am back to uni, with a fair bit of work to do AND going away next weekend with some friends....it makes me start to wonder whether this was a good idea/good timing... But then again is there ever a good time!?

AnneT- I used to have CFS...for about 4.5 years in my early 20s (am 31 now)... I know that was where my depression started & obviously the fatigue thing. There are times when I worry that the cfs is coming back, but I know I am past it, just need to beat this effexor!

Right, should try to celebrate a little!
Here's to a great 2010 for us all!
Mx

good morn. i am so achey i decided to slow withdrawal down so my first day effexor free will be jan. 14th, instead of the 7th.
i am just so grateful i am not experiencing the dizziness i felt when i went to half dosage. that was debilitating.
i can function now but just feel twice my age from all the muscle and joint pains.
any one effexor free and free of the acheness, too? i don't want this hurt to last.
i do notice hot baths are very helpful. i'm having 2 to 3 a day.
bfn

Hello to everybody at this forum! Six month ago, I was on 225mg of effexor a day. I've been very very slowly reducing my dosage by about 10 mg every week (some weeks not reducing atall, just staying still at the current dosage!). I'm now on 40mg a day and I'm hoping by March, I'll be completely finished. My experience has been that if you are suffering pains atall, you are reducing too much, too quickly!
I think getting off this filth, is primarily adopting a healthy mindset and playing the long game with this stuff!
It seems to require a dedicated long term plan and I think the longer you take to come off it, the easier, and more permanent the results will be!
God bless everybodys efforts, and make 2010, the year when we blow this filth out of our bodies for good!

Hi All,
Well, I am at the end of Day 5 off effexor, and although I am woosy at times with little brain zaps and pretty tired... otherwise not too bad.
I hope I can get on to some work tomorrow before I feel the pressure which in the past has led to stress and then depression... boooo!

Spiritwoman, oooh those damn aches! I got them as I slowed down, even though I was doing it very slowly. I found that I wanted baths all the time, and started adding epsom salts to them. Although they made me sweat quite a bit after, I did find them helpful (whether it was the salts or the baths I'm not sure but it worked for me)

She Wolf - yeah to getting off this syuff! Sounds like you are doing it the right way, slow and steady wins the race!

M

congratulations marthabelle!!
hang in there! are u taking any natural supplements to help? and how slowly did u wean off?

i have added epsom salts to my bath routine - very soothing. and now, instead of reducing 5 granules a day, i am reducing the 5 granules every other day. i'll see how it goes.

best wishes to all. with each others support we can do this.

Hello again!
I wanted to write another posting because I felt it was important to say this to anyone who is suffering aches and pains at the hands of withdrawal. I read this months ago, and it worked for me: If you are suffering atall with withdrawal, take your dosage to a level where your body is neither up nor down. It might feel like you are backtracking on your efforts, but believe me, you aren't. Take a dosage that means your body doesn't protest, and stay at that level for two or three weeks. Once your body is stabilised, then... and only then is the point to start a planned, gradual withdrawal. When I say gradual, it should be so gradual that the body doesn't have much option but to allow it without too much protestation. In my case 10 milligrammes a week was ideal, maybe for some it will be 5 mg, but who cares how small the amount is, its the bigger picture that's important. You are fighting quite literally to get your life back, so whatever it takes is what needs to be done!
For anyone who can't figure how to accurately measure a low dosage like ten mgs, read mikemos posting on splitting the capsule. It works!. I don't mean to sound as forceful as this is sounding, but I want very much for people to get on top of this, because I know only too well how debilitating it is! Effexor and other anti depressants rob you of all joy and all feeling!
God Bless!

Hey spiritwoman,
I'm taking B12 & Omega3 at the moment...as yesterday am still a bit 'off' but able to do things. Does NOT help that I have my hubbies cold (he swore it was man flu!).
I followed Mikemos cut down regime from about page 85. I have the 37.5 tablets so I don't know about taking out granules (sounds fiddly!) but I went 37.5, 18 (am rounding now), 9, 4.5 then off... All over a number of weeks. I agree with shewolf that it should be done slowly, twhen I got bad joints/aches I slowed down... though I am also aware that even at snails pace your body will recognise & react to a drop in dosage, particularly to 0, it's inevitable. By going slow I think you are just letting your bod get use to the drop before going further. After all, if it hasn't gotten used to a drop of 5mg & then you drop another 5 quickly...As far as your body is concerned you just dropped by 10!

Oops, realise I missed out a whole step in my weaning process!
37.5, 29 (ish...my maths is terrible! Basically it was 3/4 of a tab), 18, 9, 4.5, 0. As I said, this was roughly at the speed suggested by Mikemo.

There are two things I have read about effexor which I just thought I'd mention as they made sense to me & what I was feeling weaning off. (Though I will preface this with a) I'm not a doctor & am only going by what I've read here & there so it may or may not be correct...it just made some sense! & b) I am really stuffed full of cold so not at my most eloquent or precise!)
They were...
That apparently 37.5mg (& therefor the same must be true for below that) is used as a 'teaser' dose to get people up to, or down from, 75mg. It is called this (again, apparently) because it is too low a dose to provide the effects of the drug continuously for a 24hr period, but eases one into it... Fine if your going up, not so great if your going down!
Hope that makes sense. (& if I'm wrong do let me know!)
Second thing that stuck with me, though again I don't know much about it, itjust made me think, was the fact that effexor apparently (that word again! Can you tell I'm wary of anyone taking my non medical word as gospel!) acts as an analgesic, a painkiller. It just made me think as surely there would be adverse side effects coming off a painkiller you've taken everyday for x-many years!

(other thing I read was that it acts as a long term, low dose genital anesthetic...now this totally makes sense to me given the circumstances...but I couldn't find anything to back up just one persons statement so who knows!!)

Right, enough of my babbling! Theories/facts/effexor gossip aside, I hope you are all doing well!
M

Last post for now, I promise!

AnneT- I meant to say... When I suffered CFS I tried many things & the one thing that really seemed to make a difference to my way of living was a very low dose of the anti depressant Amitriptalene. May seem crazy suggesting this on a forum where we're all trying to get off an AD but apparently the dose was below what one would use for a depression. I took it a few hours before bed & what it did do was help me to have a deep & satisfying sleep. Within a month or two of being on it I didn't need to spend the whole day in bed & was functioning so much better...much like a real person! I was great up until this major depression hit 2.5 years ago or so...
Just thought I'd mention as it seemed to change my world.

Hopefully back to the real me again soon!

Good luck.
Mx

Hi Spiritwoman,
I think what you said about your body reacting to small reductions is correct, I believe it does react slightly even to small changes, but hey,its far easier to live your life with the body reacting slightly, to huge jolts which mean we find difficulty doing even the slightest things!

I think the thing is to 'keep on keeping on...' and once the body is clear of foreign substances, we can then look to tackle the demons that put us onto anti depressants in the first place!
Best Wishes to everybody!

A homeopathic doctor told me that a drug called L theanine would be a fabulous thing to take while coming off Effexor! I don't know if this is a generic name or a brand name. Sorry, but looking out for it would be worth a try!

thanx all for thoughtful advice.
she wolf i looked up l theanine and am interested in it as it is a natural component of green tea and claimed to be calming.
(i have been drinking tons of organic japanese green tea, which i just luv) so i'll check out the supplement next visit to the health store. thanx for that.
tho my body aches i am very pleased that my energy level is up, and i feel more connected emotionally. i am expressing more anger, and feel more stubborn about what i do and don't want.
why is that good? lol!
at my age (52) it's time to stop being too accommodating and sweet.
so i think, anyway.
thanx again for the feedback on my aches and pains. i'm glad i found this forum.

Hi All,
Regarding pains - getting 9 hours of sleep per night keeps my pains tolerable. Using an electric heating blanket at night, and for a few rest times during the day, seems to help my pain and fatigue.

Regarding 5HTP - I used it (and fish oils) while tapering off Effexor, and certainly came to no harm from it. If I took too much before bed, sometimes I wouldn't sleep great, which seemed backwards. I am still on Melatonin 3 mg and Imovane (rhovane aka zopiclone) for sleep.

All the best to all of you 2010.
AnneT

Yep! I'd go with that! Sweet is for little girls!

I think what you said is good that you are holding true to your convictions and your inclinations about what you do and don't want! That's probably the fog of effexor beginning to clear!

I think the drug industry would rather suppress the masses and keep each and every one of us in our own little fog if they had their way.

'Keep on keeping on' that's what I say!

I concur!
I am perhaps a little tetchier, and I get teary at soppy tv... but I used to do that all the time & giggle about it through the years so thats more old me, and I may not have realised it at the time, but I've missed the old me!

Most importantly I am laughing more than before...
So long stupor! It may have worked to get me through some tough times but as a way of life ... well thats not living!

By the way, it is so nice chatting to you all!

My dear Effexor friends - that sounds weird :)

I am off effexor now 3 weeks.

I am very very emotional and dealing with it.

I posted a while back about how I was coming off and want to offer my 2 cents.

There are some who are replacing effexor with other drugs and this is not such a wise idea (unless you cannot take the supplements to replace the drug due to finances or engage a serious yoga / breathing practice to also address the depression and anxiety you had in the first place before effexor - details to follow)

What worked for me:

2 things:
1: 'depression free naturally.' a book by Joan Larson, PhD. My holistic MD and she are friends and when I told him I want off Effexor last year he said lets use Joans guidelines. Once I got down to 37.5 we reduced one granule per day (it took 100 days)

Her book details natural supplement therapies (orthomolecular medicine) to replace the drug you are on for depression. IE: effexor targets serotonin and norepeniphrine (?) and she recommends L tyrosine, L tryptophan and their co factors.


2: another book: 'Kundalini Yoga Meditation: Techniques Specific for Psychiatric Disorders, Couples Therapy, and Personal Growth.'

The only book of its kind with empirical research (not much though) on how yoga (not what you are thinking - taking a class of poses)- but specifically precise breathing techniques that will alter brain functioning and endocrine system secretions (which tell the brain how much serotonin, etc to make and so much more to bring balance to the nervous system).

Professionally I used to be a psychiatric social worker and can tell you drugs are not the way to go - even ones that do not have evil side effects.

It is quite an honor to know some of you and hear your struggles and successes.

PS: My depression is non existent but OCD (or in yoga we call it 'habituation')is running my life and the breathing techniques from the book are starting to release me from this insane patterning and compulsive life.

I am so glad there is stuff out there for me to reclaim 'me' and can say effexor did numb me for 12 years (in a good - no OCD symptoms way) and we will see how the Winter plays out.

marty in charlotte.

Hi everyone,
I'm not sure if the same people are still on this forum but I was looking for advice a while ago when I was at the start of my pregnancy.
Well my daughter is now 7 months old and I am still on 37.5mg of Effexor a day. I dropped to this amount during pregnancy from 150mg a day. I still want to stop taking it completely but I am too scared to try it with my daughter so young. I don't want to be out of it from withdrawals when I need to be there for her.

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who gave me advice previously. And I hope that everyone is doing well.

Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year.

Kelly (and baby Eva...lol)

thanx bodyworker. i will check out those books.
i am very interested in orthomolecular medicine. i believe margot kidder is successfully treating her bipolar symptoms with this method.
i am a step in the right direction with vegetarian organic eating and no alcohol.
but i cant seem to quit sugar and i like a morning coffee.
would following orthomolecular medicine qualify one as being OCD?? lol!
it's so hard to be perfect - ha ha!
as i reclaim myself and all my messy feelings i am going to have to make some life changes. not easy. even scary. but avoiding changes led me to taking mind fogging medication.
maybe our withdrawal pains can be looked at as rebirthing pains.
hi kelly1984. do u know about opening the capsule and counting granules? there is a lot of great advice available here. welcome back.

Re birthing pains: Yes spirit woman I like that. Sugar can be curtailed with L Glutamine. its an amino acid. Get it in capsule for and take 1,000 mg on an empty stomach 3xday. after a week you maybe able to drop to 500 mg per dose. (this all comes from the orthomolecular world.

Time to do yoga :)
marty

Hello again!
Just a thought, but I was reading that anti depressants desperately rob your body of vitamin c and magnesium, and it is recommended that 1000mg of vit c , 3 times a day is a good supplement. Another thing that I think would be good to do is a general detox that can help the liver to get rid of rubbish: If you look up a site called A Vogel Homeopathy, they do tinctures called: Solidago, Milk Thistle, and Calendula. apparently these are all good for cleansing the liver, colon and other organs - it can only be good. One last thing - there is a website that gives a free dvd on the drug industry and how its plan is to manufacture illnesses so that they can design a drug for it: look at http.www.cchr.org/freedvd.html/?source=gaw&gclid=CO6iy5O...

Sorry but one other thing!
A homeopathic doctor told me when I was withdrawing, that if you are doing anything atall creative, embarking on new projects that involve using the imagination, then you can be sure that healing is taking place... I found that very heartening and I thought that others might also!

thanx so much bodyworker and she wolf.
i get so much out of your advice.
re:creativity. i am an artist and art teacher.
i am self-cleansing to help reach a higher level of creativity. i want to be as clear eyed and open to beauty and adventure as i was when i was nine years old. before drugs, alcohol, teen angst, compromising, ect.
that's my journey and i so appreciate your help on the way.
i'm off to the health food store with my list.
thanx again and wishing you all a wonderful day.