Effexor withdrawl and symptoms, please help _{Page 57 of 140}

Hi, Doris,

It's likely you won't read this until after your doctor appointment. Some doctors know how troublesome Effexor is; others don't have a clue.
Some people have a great experience on Effexor, and when their doc changes the med, they sail through the titration without a hitch. Go figure. (I personally know three such people.)

So, it's your choice if you want to stay on E or switch medications. It sounds like you are not happy with the results and are intersted in switching or stopping all meds. Either way, you will have to go through the process of stepping down and experiencing some withdrawal.
It is survivable. It is not pleasant. But in my case, it was more pleasant than being on the drug.

Good luck, and do report on what your doc says and what you decide.

Laurel

I just started Effexor due to stress related problems. You guys have got me a bit (alot) scared here. Should I not take this drug? I can't shake the fear of dying...afraid of everything, I'm ADD, and am VERY stressed out, crying at the drop of a hat, etc. Has anyone been helped with the drug?

Most of the people who write into this forum have been on the drug from several years to just a few months and are now trying to stop taking it.
My own symptoms of depression were different than yours Cathrineann, and I was not helped by Effexor. That does not mean that you won't and others, even some of the people writing into this forum haven't, although some have said that they wish they never started taking it.
Just know that when you try to get off the drug you will need to follow dr. orders and by everyones testimony here, it is not a easy, nor pleasant experience.

Doris

Well, it took 4 hours after taking my 150mg Effector again to calm me down. I have never felt like this before. The anxiety was unreal, I felt nauseous, my head was spinning, my ears ringing and I felt like I was losing my mind. It took everything I had to make the phone call to my Dr. and write into this forum. Now about 7 hours later, I feel "normal" again, but very concerned. My blood pressure had gone up to an alarming reading. my Dr. gave me a 4 week plan to wean me off the drug. 2 weeks daily 75mg, 2 weeks daily 37.5mg and then 37.7 every other day for 1 week and then stop. She also said to drink lots of water and try steam rooms and liver cleans. I plan on folling that program and will keep you all informed on how it goes.
Thank you Laurel for your quick reply. I was on needles and pinns and your answer helped calm me.
Doris

Doris,

I'm glad your doctor was understanding of your need/desire to get off Effexor. That is a fast titration, but it seems the way most M.D.s want to go. I went from 375 to 0 in 7 weeks.

Don't worry, there are plenty of suggestions on this forum about how to handle the titration blues as well as the post-Effexor experience. I second your doctor's suggestion on steams or other "purification" rituals. :-) If you read previous posts, you'll learn about the Epsom salt bath protocol.

I'm glad I could help. That's what this forum is all about.

Blessings to all the E-survivors, past-present-future!

Laurel

Hi: Being 49 and highly stressed with ADD, wouldn't it be a consideration that I might always be on this drug? (Effexor) Panic attacks and very difficult menopause are 'normal' in woman in my family and unfortunately, none got any type of help. I was also panicking with the thought of dying and not existing any more and the way I was feeling, was not right.

Hi, Catherineann,

My experience with Effexor was that it was absolutely ineffective in controlling panic/anxiety. In fact, it made it worse. So, I'd talk with your doc about other antidepressants that are good for anxiety/panic.

There are many good books about controlling anxiety/panic. Since you have ADD, I'd suggest looking at the books by Daniel Amen (available at amazon.com and Barnes and Noble), a specialist in ADD who also writes about/treats anxiety, depression, bi-polar, etc.

If you're experiencing as much distress as I read into your post, I'd recommend more than just medication. Therapy, support groups, etc. I hear you about the menopause issues and how they can complicate everything else.

Am I the only one on this forum who has an individual therapist, goes to group therapy, and has the trials and tribulations of dealing with a psychiatrist? :-D

Also, the Amen materials are huge on diet and alternative therapies to support the various flavors of psychiatric illness. Diet also is key in controlling menopausal demons.

Sorry to sound preachy. I've been around the block several times, and I'm a compulsive researcher. :-)

Best to you,
Laurel

Hi Laurel:
Thank you for your response. First of all, I appreciate ANY information you can give me....thank you! My husband was mentioning yesterday that I should consider therapy as well, and I think it's a good idea. I will read the books. Funny how I didn't even know that I was ADD until a little while ago. I just thought I was 'different' and didn't understand why. I am very scared of coming off of Effexor, but again, maybe I won't, who knows. This is my third day and a couple of interesting things have happened already on the drug 1) I went swimming and had a glorious time swimming back and forth not thinking about dying or anything tragic. 2) I notice that I am less irritated and am wondering if I was really that annoyed so easily. 3) I notice a ringing in my ear off and on 4) I have heart palpitations that I am aware of 5) I dreamed of one of my dogs last night in VIVID colour and that was interesting 5) I have already gone from sleeping approx. 10 hours a night to waking up feeling refeshed with 6 hours sleep. What do you think?
Thank you! Cathrine

Cathrine (sorry for misspelling it before),

I don't know a lot about ADD, except what I've learned from friends and therapy group members who have it. Are you on a medication like Adderall (sp?) for it? I have a friend in her mid-30s just recently diagnosed, and it first came as surprise to her, then an "of course!" when she looked back at her life. Perhaps you would like to exchange e-mails with her. I will ask her if she would be interested in that. She is a social worker by training and a very caring individual.

Regarding the vivid dream about your dog, Effexor is famous for provoking that degree of dream experience. Some people have dark, scary dreams on Effexor. Some people actually miss their dream life after coming off E.

Whether this is the drug for you, I can't say. I'm pretty much of the opinion that it is a problem drug. I've called it Evil Effexor many times. I had terrible side effects from it. Ringing in your ears could be a drug side effect, as could the heart palpitations. On the other hand, heart palpitations are also an anxiety symptom. It's often difficult to comb out the tangles of what is causing what.

It's good to hear you found some relief while swimming. I know that anything that soothes the distress of anxiety/panic is a great blessing.

L.

Hi:
Yes, I would certainly like to exchange e-mails with your friend. Thank you!

Can I ask why you call Effexor 'Evil?' And also ask how long you were on the drug? I was under the understanding that the drug 'leveled' off seretonin (sp?) in the brain and after a few months, I would feel normal again.

I just came back from a one hour hike with my dogs and found this experience to be just as enjoyable as the swim! I haven't cried in three days and do feel very calm to the point where I told my husband that he is very hyper today, when I am usually worse! lol

Anyway, I am open to your opinions and advice, so thank you again!

Cathrine

I am so terribly grateful to all of you. I have only been on Effexor XR 75mg for about 8 months, ran out for 3 days and was so freaked out by the withdrawl symptons......I literally thought I was going crazy or had a brain tumor. I had no idea it was the Effexor doing these hellish things to me until I stumbled on this site. I went back on the Effexor today and for the first time in those three days feel "normal." But I want off this evil drug ASAP and have called my doctor with a very angry request for his help (?) in getting me clean of this sh*t!!!! Thanks to all of you I know what the brain zaps are now and they don't scare me as much, but they are still frightening. I couldn't move my eyes too fast or I'd get really dizzy and driving was a total nightmare! The cars zooming past and all the things you had to watch.....I startled so easily and a number of times had to pull over while my heart returned to normal, which at times I was terrified wouldn't! One thing that scares me is that nowhere in all these posts have I read of anyone getting off this crap and returning to feeling like their old selves. What the hell have we, or should I say our doctors and the drug companies done to us? Will we ever feel "right" again? I understand there are class action suits against this drug and I would like to add my name. I don't care about any money except for maybe the three days I was too scared to go to my job in a hospital and take care of sick people when I felt it was ME that should have been in the bed, not them! I know I am sort of ranting here, but I am so angry that my doc would put me on something like this for a fairly mild depression. Money talks, eh? I feel so much better knowing I am not alone in feeling the way I do, that was perhaps the spookiest of all. So, since my question got lost in my rant, I'll repeat it and I would so appreciate it if anybody has an answer for me. Has anybody gotten off this junk and returned to their old selves? Thanks so much.
I'm a 54 yr old woman, if that makes any difference and I'm post-menopausal. Good luck to us all.

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i've been taking eddefor for about 2 years, and my doctor refusefd to take me off of it when i brought it up to him last, so ive been working on weening myself off, ive been splitting my 75Mg pills to 37.5 and taking then every other day as i was my 75's, but i still am in a constant state of mild withdrawl, ive had the brain zaps regularly, and a general crappy feeling. I know that it is unadviseable to go off meds withough medical supervision, but as my doctor was unresponsive to my request i kinda have to do this. Im moving in 3 months across country and cant afford, nor want to be tied to a pill that basicly locked me into a limited range of emotion hovering right at the depression line. all thei really ever did for me was make a deep hole a little bit more shallow and completely block any feeling of happiness. has anyone else suffered mild chest pains while dotoxing off of this drug, or is it just my symptom? and has anyone else tried the every other day approach for a faster detox, i dont mind feeling like total crap for a few weeks if it will get me off of this sooner, but i could use some basic advice on what i can do to try and at least minimize the symptoms, as im starting a new job next week, and will be more physicly active than usual. also, i generally experience my most intense complications at bed time, i believe it to be for the seratonin boost you get when your brain prepares for sleep. the symptoms include restlesness, the mild chest pain and occalional palpatation, my BP and pulse are within normal levels so im pretty sure its just a physical feeling, also the brain zaps, and the occasional mood swing for the worse. amy advice would be greatly appreciated, id dig through all the past posts but i ahve trouble reading that much on a PC screen at once. thanx in advance

i appologize for the ypos in my post, my keyboard has few letters on it anymore, just to clarify i was reffering to effexor

Well, I just stopped Effexor. Everyone has gotten me so terrified of the withdrawal that I quit. Now, I am back to my messed up, depressed, confused, hopeless self......I was only taking it for 4 days, but I felt better. But, I got very paranoid about getting off the drug from reading years of withdrawal symptoms by so many people. I thought there was hope for me....

Catherine, I read your first post then your second after you took the drug a few days. I too had great results and fast on this stuff. I was able to calm down and not have irrational thoughts AT FIRST. Then after a few months I felt little or nothing. I stopped caring about my house about my friends about my job about MYSELF. I just was sort of numb and I had little or no clue that I had gotten that far until I climbed out of the meds.

I am not against any antidepressants etc or whatever you need to help you feel like you but I strongly caution this one ...STRONGLY. Goodluck!

Also hello to all my old buddies Laurel I see your still popping in from time-to-time :) Also I am down 40 pounds since the end of my Effexor experience (bowing)and I feel like a new woman. LIFE IS GREAT!

Jami

I haven't been here for a while. I started my decrease in Effexor back last April and each drop has been pretty tough on me. I am back now because today is officially my first day absolutely Effexor free. I usually take 1/2 a 37.5mg capsule in the morning so I expect the withdrawal will start this evening, but so far so good. I can't wait to be clean of this stuff and start to lose some of the 30 lbs I have put on and continue to put on.

I have switched to St. John's Wort and have been on that since October or November of last year. I believe it works so fingers crossed my depression doesn't return. There are certainly more ups and downs on it than on the Effexor but I figure that has to be a good thing, feeling nothing wasn't exactly much fun.

Anyways, hi to all still on here from my last time of visiting and hello to all the new people.

Jami, when did you manage to start losing the weight? How long had you been E-Free?

Kerry

I have been on effexor (different mgs) for several years now. I started it because my Zoloft quit working and effexor worked well for my mom (she's on disability for depression). So it's not working very well now..I do alot of self medication with beer..and xanax for anxiety. But the withdrawl is UNBELIEVEABLE! Why was this med supposed to help us, but left us with a WORLD OF PAIN....the last thing I need. But on the topic of being yourself again... my mom is off effexor finally, but she is NOT the same person..How do we help ourselves? I am thinking about the lawsuit myself... Thank you all for your stories..glad to not be alone in EFFEXOR-DONIA (you know..like methadone)

I have been off of E for three days now. This is after going from 150 down to 12.5 over approximately a months period of time prior to stopping completely. I am just getting so impatient with tapering down the dosage. Like everyone else, I just want this crap out of my system. Today I feel really bad. I am completely miserable, sad, mad, dizzy, sick....I am so afraid that I will cave in and take the drug to feel better. I have been useless at work and also at home. It is so frustrating that I cannot say to my boss and/or co-workers that I am suffering becuase I, at the suggestion of my all knowing MD, took a drug that I thought would help make me feel better, but instead is making me sick. Worse than that is trying to explain to my sweet little girl why mommy doesn't feel well, still. And how not feeling well means she crys a lot and feels sick to her stomach and gets dizzy, and yells at her for stupid reasons. And, also like many of you who have posted before, my doctor thinks that I am inventing symptoms. Thank you for this site and all your posts, without it I would feel so alone. It is not easy hiding the big Effexor lie from almost everyone in my life. I too feel like a E junkie.

Geesh, I can only thank all of you for steering me clear of E. I quit after taking it for only a couple of days. Even after that short period of time, I was a MESS! I started taking SAM-e and 5-HTP together, three times a day and after a couple of days, feel MUCH better. I did a lot of research on the internet about these two medicines and they work very well for mild to moderate depression, crying spells, perimenopause, grumpiness, etc. It took me a couple of days to get the SAM-e and 5-HTP dose right for me....one day I was too jittery, then I didn't take enough, etc. My pharmacist thinks I am wacko for even SUGGESTING that E has any negative withdrawal symptoms. Man, was I choked that he wasn't even interested in the slightest to what I was saying! Anyway, I still have a 'new' MD appt. on Feb. 22nd, but I will keep with the SAM-e and 5-HTP maybe forever, if the new doc tries to push some other crap like E on me.

I too am on day 3 off Effexor. Day 1 and half of day 2 were fine, the dizziness and lightheadedness hit me yesterday. Last night was really restless because of it and that isn't helping me get going this morning.

I am trying to look at it that these symptoms are those of the E getting out of my system therefore are worthwhile dealing with. I have never hid the fact that I am on Effexor as I have refused to feel embarrased about it, a diabetic isn't embarrased to say he/she is on insulin so why should I feel that I have to hide it. Therefore I have a wonderful support group both at home and work that are totally encouraging. After nearly a year of tapering I am finally off and that feels like one heck of a huge accomplishment. Now I just have to battle the constant desire to lash out at anyone that irritates me, my poor poor children...lol

Kerry

Thank you so much for reading my post. Ms. mum2two said that a diabetic shouldn't be embarrased about insulin..so why should we hide our E problem..??? That statement is VERY true! But the sad fact is that "most people" don't look at our depression as a disease. If I told my boss I had cancer, he would do everything in his power to get me the best care (he is a DR and knows lots of peolpe) but if I told him that I needed a day off for E withdrawl...forget it! Peole who don't live with us, don't know that we can't "just get over it." I'm so gald to hear those of you being strong and dealing with the withdrawl...I hope you start to feel better soon. I had to cave in to the E withdrawl because I had to go to work the next day. I am by myself for 28 days with 3 kids and I work a full time job..plus my 45 minute drive each way. My husband works on an oil rig..he's gone 28 and home 28.. So maybe that's why I'm crazy!? This all started long ago(my depression) but I can't get off this crap by myself and when my husband is home I want to be with him as much as possible...not dealing with withdrawl.
My question is for those who take herbals...can I start those while tappering down off the E to "help" with some of the discomfort? If you know more on that please let me know! Thank you all for sharing your stories, it truly helps!

I was only on E for less than a week and when I started the SAM-e and 5-HTP pills, I had had a couple of rough days off of E already. I was very frank and truthful with the local guy who owns the healthfood store out where I live, as I wanted to get the best suggestions for my case that I could. He told me his son was 'depressed' and was on these two pills for over a year, feeling great. I haven't cried since I got my SAM-e and 5-HTP dose balanced, haven't freaked out or had an anxiety attack that ended before it happened. I am praying that this continues on being good for me and I will post my progress. I was also VERY preoccupied with the fear of dying and not existing and not knowing when it would happen, etc., and this fear has diminished about 90%! Now, when I get the thoughts, I think, yeah, whatever, and move on. I didn't have that kind of strength a week ago! But I will still see the doctor and want to see a shrink too.

Where did everyone go?

I just wanted to share that I am now 1 week and 2 days off Effexor. I think I am over the worst of the withdrawal with just a little dizziness & lightheadedness still there (mostly if I am trying to focus on something like looking for a lost item, that makes me completely nausious). My stomach has started playing up which has happened with every drop but not too bad.

Well the really good news is that I stepped on the scales this morning and for the first time in 2 years it went down....I have lost 4 lbs....whooooooo hooooooo. Probably mainly to do with my stomach and the amount of water I am drinking but I don't care, I haven't seen a drop in 2 years....I tell ya, had to stop myself for crying (oh right, another symptom...I have been really tearful for silly things).

I am going to do the lemonade cleanse in a 1.5 weeks (start on the weekend) for 10 days so that I can get as much of this crap out of me as quickly as possible and also to jump start my diet.

To all those out there in the process of dropping, for nearly a year I have been waiting and waiting to get E-Free, feeling a little jealous with each new post that said they had done the final drop. Trust me, your time will come, take it slowly...it is totally worth it and the reward at the end is beyond words.

Kerry

Kerry, thanks for the encouragement. I am in the process of dropping my dose of effexor and am happy to announce that I am down to 37.5 as of today. When I went from 150 to 75mg I noticed that I have at least some sexual sensation again, but still not able to have an orgasm. It really makes me mad, but I guess hope is in sight. I also find that my hip and lower back pains are coming back and my restless leg syndrome seems to be rearing it's ugly head again, but at least my state of mind is improving and I feel less dull.
Kerry, I'm interested in the lemonade cleanse. Never heard of it, but think it might be good for me do do a cleanse when I'm completely off the Effexor.

I have done alot of research on this cleanse (diet) and have found nothing bad about it. A girl I work with introduced it to me and my chiropractor even endorses it. Basically, you drink a concoction of fresh lemon juice, water, maple syrup (the real stuff, not flavoured) and cayenne pepper. You drink about 6 - 10 glasses of that a day and don't eat anything, it has enough nutrients, vitamins and calories in it that you don't need food or apparently feel hungry. The cayenne pepper is the cleansing agent. At night you drink a herbal laxative tea and in the morning you either drink another one or drink a salt bath to cleanse the bowels. There is lots of info online about it. You do this diet for 10 days (although you can go alot longer apparently) and then take 2 days to get yourself back on normal food. I will let you know how I feel and how it goes once I start if anyone is interested.

Kerry

Well, i've never written a post before, but i'm really glad i found this forum. I am currently going off Effexor for the second time. I was off for a year and then caved in and went back on when I started grad school. I've graduated now and am finishing my last fieldwork. What really pushed me to quit is slow, but steady weight gain over the past 18 months. I also have PCOS (poly cystic ovarian syndrome) and 4 years ago began taking Metformin, which was a wonder drug for me and reversed nearly all my symptoms and allowed me to lose 50 pounds of weight that would not budge, at the time I was off Effexor. I kept it all off until I began taking Effexor again, the weight came on so slowly I didn't really connect it with the drug...I just thought I had no self control! What really hit home is that twice now I have had patients (i'm an occupational therapist and work with brain injuries) have asked if I was pregnant because all the weight is in my stomach! It has crushed me, rationally I know I am not obese (i'm a size 12) but I'm 25 and this should be the exciting part of my life, but i've been reduced to having absolutly no self esteem.
Ha, that said (I really didn't mean to use this forum as therapy!!) I just wanted to let everyone know that I appreciate knowing there are people out there having the same difficulties I am getting off this horrible drug! Dizziness is my biggest problem, I'm gonna try the Chaser stuff I've read about here. Good luck to everyone else, I'll keep reading because its nice to know you're not alone!
OTgrad24