Effexor Withdrawl

[wren]

I had been taking Effexor (150mg) for a little over 2 years and in the last three months, gradually reduced my dosage as per the advice of my doctor, since I wanted to come off of it entirely.

(I had missed two days in a row before and knew that, each time, going cold turkey was something of a nightmare; lots of crying, splitting headaches, brain zaps, nausea etc.)

I tapered to 75mg then 37.5 half of that, until I came off it entirely. I have been off it entirely for a little under two weeks now, however, and find that the withdrawl symptoms are still around and are quite unpleasent. I have bad headaches, I'm frequently dizzy or a bit nauseated, and I can barely stand.

Doing very simply things like drying my hair or taking something out of a package are exhausting, and my hands shake. Every so often I still get the "brain zaps" or a feeling that there is a wave rolling through my brain.

I'm fortunate in that I do not have to go to work through it, but I hate that I am lying on the couch when it is so sunny outside. I'm told this is one of the hardest anti-depressants to come off of, and there seems to be a lot of personal testimony online from people who found it miserable, but I'm finding it hard to actually get some information on how long I can expect it to last.

Did anyone else have experience with this? How long did it last for you?

---------- Post added at 02:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:31 PM ----------

Correction: I tapered to 75mg then 37.5, and then half of that, until I came off it entirely.*

 

[AmZ]

Hi Wren,

I was on Effexor and up to 300mg, but tapered quickly as I went in to hospital so they can taper faster there. I luckily had no withdrawal.

My question to you would be if you have spoken to your doctor about what you are experiencing? This should be your first port of call.

 

[Retired]

Wren,

How long were the intervals you took each stepped down reduced dose and what was the total length of time from maimum dose to complete discontunation?

 

[Andy]

Hi Wren,

Effexor is a horrible drug to come off of, IMO. One of the nick names it has is "sideffexor". Did your doctor mention putting you on something else as your coming off of it?

When I came off of it I had to come off of it rather quickly. I felt rather sick for almost a month and the brain zaps stuck around for a good two months. I understand it is horrible but be patient and the after effects will go away. Slowly but surely. I hope you start to feel better soon.

 

[AmZ]

I've heard that it's pretty bad too.

I must have been so lucky to not have experienced the withdrawal.

The day I went in to hospital they moved me from 300mg to 150mg, then did that for 2 days and then stopped it completely! I didn't even switch to another SSRI or anything.

 

[Andy]

Yes, your lucky. Obviously not everyone will get the bad side effects but it is one of the worst I have ever come off of and it does have a bad rep.

 

[AmZ]

For sure.

 

[Retired]

Effexor is a horrible drug to come off of. One of the nick names it has is "sideffexor".

Discontinuing a medication such as Effexor (venlafaxine) requires very strict adherance to a tapering schedule that can last several weeks depending on the dose and the duration of treatment.

This medication has many important benefits in the way it works, but some of these advantages are the reason for the tapering on discontinuation.

Unfortunately the internet contains a lot of distorted information about this and other medications, usually posted by individuals who do not fully understand the phamacology of medications and who post exxagerated reports for self serving reasons.

This medication is one of the most widely prescribed antidepressants worldwide; as such the exposure to such a large population increases the numbers of people experiencing adverse effects, or of people who simply don't follow instructions.

There is no "heaven on earth" with any medication, and some adverse reactions are to be expected, and discontuning any medication should be done under the guidance of a physician, and adherance to the discontunation instructions must be followed to avoid unpleasant results.

We'll be looking forward to hearing the details of Wren's discontinuation schedule, to perhaps better understand why she experienced difficulty.

 

[wren]

Hi Steve,
I did as my doctor prescribed, which was a varied schedule for two weeks.
For two weeks it would be
Monday - 150
Tuesday - 75
Wednesday - 150
Thursday -75
Friday- 150
Saturday - 75
Sunday - 150

I think I actually did that a little longer.
Then I'd move to 75 for a few weeks.
Then the alternating schedule would be 75, 37.5, 75, 37.5 in an alternating schedule.
Then I'd move to 37.5 for a few weeks.
Then I halved that (18.75)and alternated between that and the 37.5 for a few weeks.

Finally it was 18.75 and no medication, alternated for a few weeks.

Now I am on nothing.

I do talk to my doctor, but I do find that she is very rush you in, rush you out. I've had a temporary doctor before where you could tell the person really understood mental health issues and some of the intricacies of taking the drug, but I don't know that this doctor prioritizes mental health issues. She's better than some of the more dismissive doctors, but I'm not always sure if I'm getting the most up-to-date information.

 

[forgetmenot]

How are feeling now hun . Do you feel stable not being on medication , let us know how you are doing okay hugs

 

[wren]

My moods are all over the place. I became quite depressed the last few days, when I'd been quite positive for a while. Still getting headaches and brain zaps.

Of course, I've been out of work for just about a month now, and feel a little isolated because of it. So that doesn't help.

 

[Retired]

What alternative is being offered or prescribed to treat your mood disorder?

 

[wren]

I want to come off the medication, because I do not like a lot of the side effects while I'm on it for what little benefits I seem to get from it. Because of the cost associated with taking medication, as well as the side effects, I'm hoping to avoid medication. I think the real work is in psychotherapy or changing some of my thinking or behavioral responses.

 

[mcx]

I guess I'm a bit late to this, but I came off from two or three years at 150mg of Effexor and it was terrible. I was out of commission for a good month mainly with nausea and headaches (but no brain zaps). It wasn't until about two weeks after I had weened myself to nothing and was feeling terrible that I decided to look into weening schedules for Effexor and they are pretty intricate. I can't remember some of the more complicated ones, but one of them suggested that once you were down to the smallest capsules to open the capsules and each day take out one more little ball than the previous day.

I'm curious as to how you knew when you had missed your doses previously you were aware that you were feeling withdrawal; I had gone over a week on two different occasions not taking my medication without realizing that what was making me feel so sick was being in withdrawal.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Not every one experiences discontinuation effects with Effexor or other drugs in this family, and for those who do the intensity of symptoms varies considerably.