Effexor withdrawl and symptoms, please help _{Page 104 of 140}

Congrats to you EffexorFreePlease! Way to go! And good for you too Ems. Now that you have a wedding to plan, and I do understand that that can be stressful, but hopefully for you, it will be just what you need to get over the hump! You have a wonderful new life to look forward to as do we all that are winning the Effexor free battle!
Pam

effexor free please - well done! im so pleased for you! i am almost 72 hours now without any effexor and i do feel better today than i did yesterday. i managed through work yesterday despite not really getting much done. going to push myself a little more today.

hoping that by the end of the week ill be feeling much better..... i was a bit concerned driving home last night coz i just felt sooo spaced out and the zaps and dizziness was bad everytime i looked in my mirrors - i find moving eyes makes head zappy whereas moving head and eyes together helps minimise those. its so odd - being able to almost hear the zzzzing noise! well anyway, my guy has dropped me at work today and picking me up so thats better.

Good morning!!! Isn't it grand! Thank you Pam and ejb and Mike, I feel great. I just woke up after sleeping for 12 hours straight in my own bed instead of on the couch. Swweeet relief! No night sweats. Still bad dreams, but not quite as horrifying.

I encourage anyone who is thinking of getting off Effexor to use this board for support to get through it. It made the difference for me.

Those were some pretty hard days, but with the stimulating ups in the withdrawal it gave me somewhere to focus the energy and to feel heard and that I wasn't going through it alone. I don't know how I would have done it otherwise.

If I hadn't read experiences here first, I would have freaked f'ing out on that withdrawal not knowing these things were normal and would pass.

Anyway, Mike that's a pretty frightning story about that vaccine!

I can't believe you worked while going through this elb. I could not have done that. You must be one amazing person.

You know, a month ago I was afraid I was getting Parkinsons Disease because my toes and fingers would never stop with little twitches. They are gone now.

I feel calm inside; my heart isn't pounding and agitating me like when I was on Effexor.

Thanks and hugs to everyone who helped me so much by being here and telling your withdrawal story on this board for me to read. It gave me the knowledge and inspiration to quit SUCESSFULLY!

Effexorfreeplease- so pleased that another day is down and you are doign well. LOL im def not amazing for working. ive hardly been pushing myself these two days!! fortunately my work is good though as in i can be as busy as i want to be really. my doctor was happy to sign me off if i needed but i really dont want to have to explain to people at work. we are a small office so everyone would want to know the ins and outs! it has been tough but ive been taking breaks and drinking tons of water!

Pam - so plsd another day is gone and your effexor free too!! im pleased its been over a week now for you hasnt it.

i must admit i have been a bit up and down today - dizziness still here and after i had lunch i felt a bit yucky and nauseas but have managed not to work myself up into a panic about throwing up.
i did take a kwells (hyoscine) after lunch but i dont think its done much really. well hopefully tomorrow will be even better than today. surely im over the worst now...?

ems x

Hi! Em. Glad to hear that each day is getting better for you. Knew you could do it and still can do it the rest of the way out. Glad to hear that Effexorfreeplease is doing so well also. It has been over a week for me now, 8 days I think and each day is better and better. Still some minor brain zaps and dizziness but I got in my car today and drove for the first time in a couple of weeks. Thankfully my husband has been able to take me places that I needed to go to or wanted to go to. I'm sleeping better each night as well. Having some night sweats which I think is because of the hormonal thing and I'm working on finding something to replace the big, bad 'E'! Take care all and I will keep checking in to make sure we're all doing good! Thank God for having found this board and the support of so many others.
Pam
Pam

Hello, I thought it was all over, but I still had hot flashes then freezing about every 20 minutes all day and some mild zappiing, pretty regular but less frequent. Pam, I never had hot flashes before this so don't be too sure it's hormonal just yet! They last 10 minutes on average, keeps me from napping or relaxing. Glad I am not all hyper anymore though and knowing each day is one day closer to relief in full. I wonder when that will be?

Please everyone post when your symptoms are gone to let everyone else know!

oh im not doing so well today guys. im coming up to 96 hours/4days effexor free but the dizziness is back today - prob more than yesterday. the nausea too. why has it come back? its stressing me with the vomit phobia and then that leads me to hyperventalate and then feel more dizzy!

when will it go? when will it go? im sat here at work and my desk and just want to cry my eyes out. every time i think about what this horrid drug has done to my poor brain it upsets me even more.

oh pants

do you think if i was going to vomit because of this then surely i would have vomited by now? i just want my head to be back to normal.

right come on - get on with work and dont concentrate on it. im sure its worse when i sit and wallow in all my thoughts.

My fellow victims:

I am now on day 10 of 12 mg. Finally the pain in my joints has subsided. I will continue for another four days and then I am not sure what to do. I've read Mikem's suggestions, but I still cannot figure what the next move should be. My husband is having a hard time splitting at this point.

I continue to practice Bikram Yoga every day because this yoga is in a heated room (105) which makes you sweat like a bandit. I think this helps me feel better. It was difficult on the painful joint days but I just did what I could.

I would very much appreciate any help you can provide for withdrawing further at this point.

Best wishes to you all.

EJB: hang in there dear
Jewelkid and Effexorfreeplease: stay with it - you are amost there.

Hi EJB, I am so proud of you going to work like that. I personally think that if you were going to throw up you would have done it by now. I think we are just getting mild traces of the worst symptoms, don't you?

Twis, I am laughing at sitting in a heated room because these hot flashes I have and am getting from withdrawal have made me tell my husband I feel like I put on a fur coat and walked into a tin shack in Texas during a heat wave. I never sweat so much as the last week and I am not more than 10 pounds over weight.

Personally I read through the posts and it seemed to me that everyone sooner or later had to pay the piper and go through their last dose, and it didn't seem much worse for the cold turkey folks, so I just tapered a couple of days from 37.5 then quit. I just wanted to get it over with. But, I didn't have to go anywhere. I am glad I didn't drag it out. That's my experience just quitting, but I was not on a high dose to begin with.

I would be curious to read more from people who did the long taper to see if it was any easier at the end. Everything I read prior to quitting is a blur to me now.

I like the safety net thought, that if your symptoms get too bad you can always go back to the last known effective dose. I kept that in mind, then just quit.

thanks for support guys - i have been ok and clamed down after initial panics. have eaten lunch too and think it may have been hunger nausea kicking in and adding to the mix! argh!

to be honest the withdrawal symptoms are not bad at all now - yes i feel dizzy and a bit sick and yuck but i can work and i have enough energy to carry on pretty normally i would say. in some ways i think if i did stay home it would then allow me to sit and wallow about in my own self pity! at least at work i just have to get on with it!

my husband to be said that too - that if i was going to be sick then i would have most likely been sick pretty soon after time from taking the last dose. its been like 100 hours now since last dose.


Twisi - are you splitting the pills? when i got this low, i found it useful to split the next dose into a size and then model say the next weeks worth of doses on that size - to try and get them as similar size as possible. you are so so close so be patient and still take it slow but what ever you do dont give up. there are so many times the last few days where i have thought oh stuff it ill just take a bit of pill - but no - the longer we keep taaking these little bits, the longer the withdrawal will be prolonged i think. i have felt pants the last 4 days but like i said, for me its been bearbale to be honest.

i looked into bikram yoga in my area and they only really ave centres in london. i have been showering tons though and taking baths to really try and sweat it out. ive also been trying to get exercise - walking and gentle jogging to help sweat it all out! def going to go for a jog after work as its a beautiful day here in the uk. i found brisk walking helped clear my head despite feeling dizzy before hand. gues we just have to keep going guys and be strong and keep helping each other with the support.

ems xx

Effexorfreeplease - just in response to your question about people who tapered right down - i tapered for about a month from the 37.5mg to literally about 2-4mg at the end. i guess ill never know if the withdrawal would have been worse if i hadnt of gotten to the 2mg. But i know if i had stopped at say 10mg or so and i had felt like this, i would be thinking, oh would it have been easier if id gone to 2mg or so - does that make sense. i think even if i had gone to like 0.5mg or even less(is that poss with a splitter lol!) then i still would be feeling the withdrawal now. i dont know what this drug does to our poor brains but its something awful and even the tiniest amount makes a huge impact if the brain doesnt receive it.

elb, I just looked back on the posts and see that you are the one getting married in July! I am so excited for you. I am so glad you will be off this poison for a good long time before your marriage.

I also got married in July, last July. It was a beautiful wedding. I am excited about getting off Effexor because once I was on it for about a month I lost the ability to have an orgasm. I used to be very sexually to my now husband before that, and he really misses it. I haven't had one orgasm since before we got married. I always suspected the Effexor, but now I found out that is a known side effect.

I guess we will both be having honeymoons not too long from now!

I read posts elsewhere from women who had the same experience and their sexual function returned to normal after getting off Effexor. I am looking forward to it. My poor husband has been so patient.

I am excited about your wedding, it's just the most exciting thing a woman can do!!

oh thank you sweet - yes i am very very excited about the wedding. all the planning is keeping my mind busy too and it hasnt really been so stressful. im a very organised person which kinda helps!

with regards to sexual functioning on evil e - i have been ok actually. although alot of the time i just dont feel in the mood. i dont know if thats purely down to effexor or just coz im tired or that me and hubby 2 be can be quite lazy! hehe - we just love snuggling up on the sofa, watching a good film with a bottle of wine and then come 11 pm we are both too knackered for anything else but sleep! i also havent had any sleep probs with effexor either and know this is common too. guess im one of the lucky ones in so much that it hasnt affected sexual stuff or sleep.

although while i was on effexor these are a few symptoms which i reckon appeared due to the E:
-excessive itching
-allergies to dust and hayfever. i NEVER had these before. They also lead on to the itching which is sometimes unbearable.
-also put on wieght - maybe an extra stone.
-quite bad skin - spots (not acne tho) especially on face. since ive been tapering, my skin has been really clear.
-excessive sweating espec at night - literally dripping sometimes when i wake up - just really gross
- the vivid dreams - although not too bad - quite fun really lol!


Now its just the withdrawal - and right this sec the left hand side of my necks is really painful when i turn it round. dizziness still here too...blurgh.

THIS WILL GO AWAY THO - just need to keep strong. i felt better yesterday though compared with today so thats slightly worrying....!

Hey Guys:

I am splitting the Effexor XR (which is capsule). I suppose Ill go half again for a few weeks and see how that goes. I have a ski trip planned and do not want the sore bones for that.

I too put on weight. This Bikram has really helped trim my waist. I have more work for sure, but it helps me mentally to feel as if I am taking control. Any form of cardio type exercise is helpful.

Orgasms come back! YES~! (my poor poor husband) -- Thats reason enough to stop.

Heres my list of side effects:
dizziness
weight gain
loss of sex drive
sweating at night (less since yoga)
vivid dreams
achy joints/muscles
mad as a bear at a barbeque (sometimes)

Hey Mikemo.. I am trying extremely hard to get off effexor xr & I am now down to taking a 75 mg capsule & emptying out 120 beads (75mg=about 180 beads per capsule right) & so I am trying to figure out what to do now that my dose is getting very low & I am seeing withdrawal symptoms so much quicker with each drop. I usually take 3 beads out per day but decided to stay at taking 120 beads out per day until I get back from vacation next week so I can enjoy it. I tried your method before but it was too hard for me to put the beads back in the capsule so I tried the 3 bead per day method. Also, I see so much info on fish oil etc that can help with withdrawals but I am unaware of what would be good for me, I am 24 yrs old & 105 lbs so I figure I don't wouldn't need as much as say a 180 lb guy. Any help is GREATLY appreciated!!

Jdubsx3,

I don't know how long you've been on Effexor or why you went on it, but my experience was that dropping 37.5mg every 2 weeks worked fine.


I was on 37.5-150mg for about 7 months. I started reducing very early January and have been off it for 3 weeks. Felt a tiny bit dizzy and nauseaous off and on for a few days after each drop, but nothing that bothered me much at all. My dreams were very weird and vivid, and my it seemed to take me longer to fall asleep at night, but all that has seemed to be mostly or all gone.

The very gradual reduction may in fact be the answer for some. But for me, the bigger drops worked. My doctor explained that your body reacts better to this method than to remove minimal beads at a time. When you just remove 2 or 3 or 4 beads every day or every other day, you're brain doesn't catch on that it's not getting the help with keeping seratonin bouncing around that it once was. The 37.5mg drop makes your brain/body get in gear.

Actually, my doctor recommended dropping from 150 to 75...then to 37.5...then to 0. But I was nervous about the big first drop.

We're all different, so don't take my pointers as the gospel, but it worked for me.

funkytown

You really should try to get good at the pouring of beads back into the capsule. The easiest thing to do is to use empty gelcaps that you buy at your local healthfood store. They are much larger than the effexor capsules, and therefore easier to pour into. The beads should be held in a folded peice of paper in a long line and then slowly poured into a capsule. Once you find a technique that works, it really isn't hard. Just be sure to do it over a sink. You don't want kids or pets to touch spilled balls.

3 beads per day is too slow for a spike drop. Plus, I really couldn't tell you how many mg 3 beads are really worth. They vary in size so much. It's important to divide the balls into 'fractions of the original dose' if you want near certainty of the dose you are taking.

If you are down to 75mg, I'm curious what your original dose was, how long you were on it, and how long it took you to get down to 75mg?

Fish oil dosing isn't a major concern for people of different weights. For the most part 1000mg is the most you can buy, so that's fine. If you want to take 500mg instead, that' fine too. You need to be confortable with your own decisions. But don't stress about overdosing on fishoil.

Personally, I prefer Coromega. Orange flavor tastes good, no fish burps, and some of the best absorbtion rates around. Check them out!

Hey Funkytown & Mikemo, thanks for the fast response!! To answer some of your questions I was first put on 75 mg in July, then up to 150 for Generalized Anxiety Disorder & at the most 225 mg per day when my ex boyfriend died in a motorcycle the next month. I have been weaning since October. I jumped from 225 to 150 mg again no problem, stayed at that for a couple weeks & then tried to jump to 75 but the withdrawals were unbareable so i stayed on 150 for a couple more weeks n then jumped to 75 sucessfully.

To begin with I was overly sensitive to this med. I would wake up shaking all over & I couldnt control it at all. My dr still said to stay on it & finally it went away over time. My dr doesn't know much about the withdrawals ppl experience at all so that's no help either.

Since I got on the 75 mg I have just had such a terrible time going down so maybe the 3 bead drop isnt really working. I just want off this med so bad that I have conteplated going cold turkey & heading to GNC for a good multi-vitamin, etc to help me with the side effects. I know what just the withdrawals have done to me in the past (thinking im losing my mind, anxiety x10, throwing up, & the headaches ughhh) so I am so worried about this overall, & I really don't want my boyfriend to have to see me like that but if it's only for days to maybe 2 weeks it might just be worth it??

I dont know. I just feel like I'm a prisoner in my own body on this med & I want off.

I hope this info helps you guys to give me some more good advice/info

Thank you so much!!

ARe you all leveled out at the 75 mg now then?

If so, I'd try a spike drop and then try to level back out at 60mg. This is a big step, so the first day needs to be a spike even lower than that. Like, 37.5mg. For one day only. Then start the 60mg doses and see how long it takes for you to level back out. This is just to 'test the waters' on a big drop.

75 today
37.5 tomorrow (the spike drop)
60
60
60
60
60 and evaluate.

Whatever you do, don't make the mistake tomorrow night of saying, 'this 37.5mg drop was easy! I don't need to go back up to 60mg'

the next day is when it catches up to you. That's why you should go back up to 60 for a few days.

Mike

Mike-

I'm not sure what I'm at now but it is way less than 75 mg :) I have been taking 120 beads out of the 75 mg capsules for more than 2 weeks now & since there are about 180 beads in a 75 mg capsule I should only have about 60 beads left right?? So since 90 beads would equal a 37.5 capsule (180/2=90 beads) & I'm at 60 I must be taking less than a 37.5 mg amount right? LOL so confusing!! Let me know what you think! haha

Hello all,

The hot flashes are almost gone finally! Relief! I just had a couple today and they weren't as bad, compared to every 20 - 30 min yesterday.

I just want to know when the whhoosh wooo whoosh is going to stop, it's really getting on my nerves. Does anyone know? I am happy it is really the last withdrawal affect to hang on, but it's getting on my nerves. My last pill was one week ago tomorrow.

Thanks for the info re:sexual function, I appreciate that hope.

My side effects on E were:
constant twitching of toes and fingers
loss of sexual response
pounding heart with constant agitation
high blood pressure
insomnia (I slept the last two nights in a row and it was wonderful!)
weight gain
lethargy
inability to laugh and smile (I am loving the reversal of this already)

Hi! all. I've been reading the last few posts since I last posted. The hot flashes that I have are hormonal most likely because of the total hysterectomy I had several years ago. But while I had some while on Effexor they were less intense than they are now. The one side effect that I noticed the most was not caring about sex and thank God, I have a husband who has been very understanding through this entire mess. Hope that part of our lives will take a turn for the better now. I am still having that whooshing sound in my brain at times, but that's a little less each day too as well as the dizziness. There is a light at the the end of the tunnel and I can see it better every day. Thankfully for me, I have only been on 37.5 tabs since I started taking it and when I tapered down, I started with 3/4 tab for a few days, then 1/2 tab for a few days and then 1/4 for a few days, and then nothing. I only did each step about 3 days because I was determined to get off Effexor. Em, you'll have some dizziness for a few more days, but it will get less and less each day. I'm on day 9 of being free! Hang in there all who are just starting are working their way through.
Pam

thanks Pam - yes i do still feel dizzy but better today than yesterday. i think my panic attacks were making it worse yesterday to be honest. my necks is hurting too when i turn my head. dont know if its to do with withdrawal or just a coincidence and i have tweaked it or lain on it funny.

i have found my appetite has increased loads since stopping the effexor - like i really could eat tons! will have to be careful - want to fit in dress for wedding lol!

Pam are you still getting dizziness or anything like the zapping or popping sensations in your head and how many days since your last dose please?