Effexor withdrawl and symptoms, please help _{Page 7 of 140}

Also speaking of Dirk where have ya been ya hippy? lol. How is the accupuncture going?

Jami

Hey Jami, how long did it take you to get to no effexor what so ever? How long should I do the half a 37.5 pill every other day? 2 weeks? And then what? Go one day with out and one day with? Now I've confused myself. LOL

Elena,

I tried weaning down like you and several others did with my doctors help about a year ago. I just felt horrible I felt like I was constantly having the side effects. After I started weaning down the second time about 3 weeks ago I decided I felt like I was just torturing myself slowly. For me having the side effects continually over a long period of time was insane. I decided I would just take a few days to kinda get down to a lower dose then I was currently taking and I just stopped taking any. I don't know if it was psychological or what but I felt like if I just stopped and dealt with some REALLy nasty side effects for a week or two that it was better then torturing myself over a period of months. Though for everyone it is different. But I think even taking this drug every other day ..you are still taking it and it takes a few days to get through your system anyways. That was strongly evident when on day 3 of cold turkey I pretty much was a basket case. So however you and your healthcare professional decide is best for you is the way to go. Only for me and Dirk I think we decided that we would rather not prolong the inevitable moment when this drug was not in our system and just attack it head on. Here I am 3 weeks out of this almost and I feel 90 percent better then when I was weaning off and even from when I went cold turkey but for some it does take longer. Use whatever works for you. Your on such a low dose maybe it would be possible for you to plan yourself a long weekend from work take a Fri, Sat and Sunday and make the last day you take the medication the Wednesday before? Whatever you choose good luck and you WILL feel better very soon no matter how crappy you feel during these detox days.

Day 12


Hi folks,

lol at regent!

Big news here is that I found that eating for breakfast Steel Cut Oats slows down the intestinal challenges. At least your back to semi normal movements and the oats are super healthy.

Funny how a bad marriage, tons of financial pressure can create the perfect storm and get an unknowing soul taking Effexor. Well, I kicked to the curb my wife and had to bankrupt myself and my company. This allowed me to stop taking the little devil pills effexor. Best thing I've done in 5 years.

I had a crappy dark day today, but I'm on the upswing.

God bless everyone.

Dirk

After finding this site and reading all of the posts on this subject, I decided to write. The background to my story is so long it would take forever to type, so I'll get right to the point (plus I'm not able to focus on the screen for that long anyway).
I was on 225 mg. of Effexor XL for just over a year, when, 10 days ago, I was forced to quit cold turkey. I am poor (broke), unemployed, and yet still don't qualify for any assistance(?!) It was made very clear to me that if I can't pay, don't bother coming in. None of my recent phone calls to the doctor have been returned.
Nothing in my experience compares to what I've felt in the last ten days. In addition to having almost every symptom mentioned in this forum, I like to add a few: vomiting blood, bloody diarrea, passing out during a "head spin" (this has happened a few times, once falling down a staircase, another almost sent me through a plate glass window), an eight hour migrane that left me pretty beat up from rolling around on the floor, hallucinations (dreams?) so vivid that when I "awoke", I had a razor to my throat. Sadly, I could go on.
The only positive thing I can offer is that I've had no thoughts or desires to hurt anyone other than myself. If this would occur, or if I continue to feel the way I do now, I have a permanent solution ready and waiting.
I'm very sorry if this has made anyone feel worse than they already do. That's not my intention. I just want this to serve as a warning to anyone thinking of taking this anti-life drug, and to question why anyone would support a government that not only condones, but rewards all involved in this chemical empire. By and for who??? Peace to all.

Nohope, I urge you to find the closest free clinic you can find. Most have a no pay or voluntary pay scale. Most have transportation if you can not find it. Contact the mental health department there. I feel for your situation and sometimes life does seem hopeless, but it is not. Hopefully a doctor can give you something else to take not the horrible Effexor but something else to help your obvious depression and that would help cut down the side effects. They usually have plenty of samples to give out so you do not have to pay for the script. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE try to see someone ASAP. Keep us informed please.

Jami

also for some still having side effect issues. Try a herbal detoxing formula, something like a drug addict may take to hopefully pass the drugs from system and a pass a drug test. My husband had a full bottle of something similar the doctor gave him for a sludgy gall bladder. It also said on the bottle that it cleansed meds from fat tissue. Cleaned your liver and intestines and so on...I took one yesterday. Ill take it again today...Ill be the guinea pig lol let ya know how it goes it just made sense to me to try it (shrugs).

Nohope. I am with Jami on this. It is very important that you go and see someone about this ASAP. It is not right for you to be going through this. These violent side effects are more than enough reason for the mental health department or free clinic to help you. Do keep us informed. There is hope for all of us.

Jami,
I think this detox thing is a fabulous idea. And thank you so much for being the guinea pig :) LOL I would love to try it if it works out for ya! I need a total clean up of my intestines and organs! This Effexor is POISON! I think I may just go with your suggestion, of taking a long weekend and getting these toxins out of my body. I'll just have to figure out a good time that will work out with my boss. Thank goodness she is so kind.

Nohope,

This forum is to post how you are feeling mentally and physically. I promise you everyone here has felt the way you are at one time or another.

Hang in there, don't give up.

Dirk

Hi guys!
Anybody have any extra evil pills we can send off to nohope. Just to help get her through! I don't know if we can do that but it doesn't sound like she/he is being helped. I'm not sure that a free clinic will give her the drug.
Regent

Wow holy crap I never thought of that..it is illegal I will make that point but Im game lol...anyone else? I have about 30 left they are 150mg each of the XR form.

Jami

Hello nohope,
first of all we need to change your name. Let's just take the no out! Take some Dranamine if you have any, (for motion sickness), try and find some stuff called "Chaser" Hangover Remedy. You can find it at your local grocery store. I quit taking it because of losing my job and insurance too. My doctor would give me samples, but it sounds like your's is being a schmuck! Let your people take care of you. Before you go to the nearest free clinic-copy some of the posts on this forum and just hand them to whoever is your triage person and again to the attending physician. Last time I went to the doctor, the attending "Dr?" said he had never heard of any bad side effects from going off effexor!!!! Again, what a schmuck! (I just learned that word watching Lemony Snickett! Oh shoot...I've got to go, a new class is coming in. I'll move to my other lab and write later.
Be strong! We love you!
Regent

I just went back and read my previous posts. Wow, what an emotional, physical rollercoaster! I especially liked the ones where I was up all night and had a few drinks. Yikes! Thanks to all of you, who didn't judge me and gave me encouragement. I encourage you to read from beginning to end again, it's pretty cool!
Love ya
Regent

where are you...
page626, rinky, wendybird and featherston99?
regent

Yes I think that its wonderful to have those who are at all stages here posting even those who are DONE with this drug..it really does help to hear about that light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Jami I agree with you. It sure does help me to read what everyone is doing and going through. I know I am not alone. I go to the doctor tomorrow. Can't wait to see what he says about the effexor. Last time I saw him I was at 75 mgs. a day. I am down to 37.5 now. I had read somewhere else that to get something to clean out our systems. I am going to mention this to him. How are you feeling these days Jami.
Do you feel that you will have to take anything else for depression. Regent, I would like to know if you have to take anything. Are you a teacher? If so, what do you teach.

Thanks again everyone
Bonnie

P.S. This has been a busy place lately.

It has been busy and it sucks so many people need to find this forum but it has been by far the best medicine for me for sure.

As for how I feel...I FEEL wonderful I still have some icky headaches and some zaps now and then but I have regained my land legs so to speak and the room seems to spin a lot less lately. Sleeping is nuts I still have the most outrageous and vivid dreams at night BUT I have been successful at goin to bed without the benadryl last night and I still felt like I got decent sleep.

Today I am taking care of my sisters 10 month old and 3 year old along with my own 3 year old and having a great day so I know I must be coping well lol.

I dont know if I will take anything else for depression. I get scared when I think that I may ever have to take that route but I am not opposed to it and I fear I will need a low dose of something with my history. But I really wana keep an open mind to trying alternative routes such as diet changes and herbal remedies and excersize. I think that some times taking care of ourselves and as a woman giving ourselves permission to be a lil selfish and put ourselves on top of priorities can really help our mental health. But on same note I dont think depression is all in our heads ...it is a biological deficiency...I am so torn back and forth I just want to feel the if god forbid I need to go on antidepressants again that I have tried everything I can try and that I take just what I need to help me live life to the fullest. I just have been so traumatized by this medication I hope to never have to touch any of it again!!!

:)

Jami

You guys are so right, I have watched this forum become busy just within the week I have joined! It really is terrible that we all must go through this, and need a place like this. But I have to say this has been a blessing for me. I am so grateful to have you all to talk to. It is so comforting.
Bonnie good luck at the doctors tomorrow. You are headed in the right direction with getting off this demon drug!
Jami and Regent, thank you for sharing your stories with me, it really helps. This week has been so much better! And I haven't noticed any really bad side effects this week from taking half the 37.5 pill every other day.
(Sigh of relief)

Hi Everyone!

I joined this forum quite some time ago and was very surprised to start getting so many notices that there were posts. I've been reading them and felt like I needed to post.

I have been off Effexor for just under a year. I can't read my blogs from my "withdrawl" without crying because it is painful to read. My "crash" from coming off this drug was incredible. I've never had this reaction from coming off any other drug, except Oxycodone. I have been staying off depression meds because I just didn't want to get back into the side-effects. I have been on Prozac, Zoloft, and Effexor in the past. The hardest to get out of my system was Effexor.

The bulk of the side-effects remained for about 6 months. The hardest to get rid of were the conversations in my head. They are what prompted me to stop taking this drug. I was getting very frightened because the "voices" were so real. Now, fortunately, the only voices in my head are me trying to remember where I put something!

For those of you who have tried this drug and are now off it - push on. You will get better - both from the drug and from your depression, or whatever you were on it for.

For those who tried this and are afraid to try something else - if you need it please talk to your doctor. There are many different types of anti-depressants, please don't be discouraged because one didn't work. I have tried many and have had success. The Zoloft and Prozac worked great for me for years.

I am a success story for withdrawl from Effexor. I never thought I would be. Life was so dark that I thought I'd never climb out of the pit. I know that I have a long way to go in dealing with my life-long depression. It is not ever going to go away. But with boards like this I will be okay.

I always wondered why the horrible things that went on while I was taking Effexor happened - and if one person found hope in my story that one day they will be okay, then it was worth it.

Thanks for listening,

Kim

Hey Regent, I'm still here. I am reading all the posts that have suddenly popped up over the last few days. I must say I am very concerned about "no hope". Please know you have friends here that are worried about you & are willing to help you in anyway we can. Jami has been wonderful in her writings here and Dirk you crack me up!!

I am going to see what I have left of the "evil pills" for maybe sending them to "no hope". Jami said it was illegal? Let's all get in trouble together. Regent, I am so happy you are settling into a new life. I got chills when you said you stood in front of your house when you were 10 years old. Life is amazing isn't it?

I am feeling great with (I believe) no more side effects. I am walking & jogging a little every day to get rid of my weight gain, but other than that I feel pretty good. I even find myself feeling much less depressed and hopeless than before. That kind of stayed around even after I stopped taking these pills. I am starting to laugh about stupid little things again, which is great.

No hope, please email me if you'd like me to maybe research getting you some help. I don't know where you live, but between all of us here, we will find you help, just ask. If you have no pills at all to take, please get some Benedryl or that "Chaser" hangover medicine to help ease the side effects. Cold turkey really sucks, but at least if you have some left you can deal with it a little better. I think just knowing you can take a few beads and get some relief was helpful to me (even though I fought myself not to take them). Please write back in this forum as soon as you can, we are all concerned about you. This forum helped me sooo much, I cannot tell you.

Peace to all who've conquered this crap and to all going through it one day at a time.

Rinky

Hi everyone!
It's great to hear from you Rinky. You rock! Hey Bonnie! No, I'm not a teacher, I'm the middle school systems operator (a nicer term for GEEK) I have two computer labs and the students come in for various classes that fit into their curriculum. So in a way I am a teacher because I teach different computer programs, keyboarding, research work...your basic skills. And...I did stay in a holiday inn express last night. hehe!
I'm with Jami on the whole depression thing. It is beyond our control and I do struggle with it. However...I seem to remember my doctor explaining the illness to me and said that once your brain began it's normal process of creating the "happy bouncers", you should be able to be drug free. And...supposedly the depression drugs are a jump start. Our bodies should at some point take over. I do know that I am not as joyful as I use to be. When I say joyful, it is because although I am very happy...I don't seem to find reason for joyfulness. At it is all around me. I'm sure that I just need to get myself out of the negative thought process. Jami and I talked about ST Johns Wort, which I did begin taking about maybe 2 weeks ago, maybe not quite that long, and I feel like I am "evening out". It worked for me years ago, before pregnancy. I can remember that when I stopped taking it when I wanted to get pregnant, I could tell a noticeable difference. Once I had become pregnant and had my first baby, the doctor gave me my first real prescription depression meds. I'll write back in a minute, I have a group of students that need a little supervision.
Regent

okay, I'm back. Could be the hormonal middle school kids that cause my depression?!?!?!? Just kidding! Haven't heard from nohope. That has me a little worried. I was watching Dr. Phil this morning. Wouldn't it be cool if we could talk to him about this and go on his show? We could all meet! Just a thought!
Love you all
Regent

LOL! That would be so cool if we all went on Dr. Phil! We could start a world wide protest against the evil effexor! Good idea Regent!

Yeah, I must say I am concerned as well about nohope. I am really hoping that we get word soon on his/her condition. I can't imagine how brutal this must be for that poor soul. To be just off that high of a dose all at once! That's just so not fair. My prayers are with him/her. And of course all of you.

This afternoon I have been so uncomfortable I thought I was going to have to leave work. Yikes. I was so irratible everything was bothering me. I could hear others in the offices around me and I was wondering why they were being so loud and obnoxious when really everything was normal around here. Before I snapped and made an ass out of myself, I put some music on my computer and hooked up my headphones. I just started humming to the music and doing my work, and surprisingly the afternoon flew by and I felt better! I'm still feeling a little scetchy and dizzy, so I think maybe when I get home I'm going to go for a jog. That should burn off some negative energy, even though I feel like I have been hit by a bus!
lol

OK Guys I went to a doctor today that I used to go back way back when like 8-9 years ago. I stopped seeing him cause it was a pain in the ass to get into see him. I have come to the conclusion HE IS WORTH WAITING FOR AND THERE IS A REASON NOONE ELSE WAS WAITING FOR THE IDIOT THA PRESCRIBED ME THIS MEDICATION. Not that the medicine itself is bad ..It is a life saver. Anyways I was the first appt of the day and this doctor spent 30 minutes in the office just chatting with me and explaining how all these different anti depressants work in terms I could understand.

Regent is SOOO right about the nerves being repaired. He told me that the nerves in our brains can be radically repaired in about 9 months just like if you were to have surgery in your arm and the nerves start to repair etc. WIth these meds it stimulates new cell growth and repair in the brain. Some people can get off the meds and in a sense have fixed the issue. Others he said sometimes have relapses where the nerves sort of shut down and stop working and therefore some people may need a small dose for the rest of their lives or they may need to return to the medication because they sincerely need them.

He could tell I was just shell shocked from Effexor that I really wanted to never touch anti depressant meds again but he also had my old med charts and saw I had a history of depressant episodes and is concerned that I may be reluctant to ever take them again if needed.

He did say he really has studied a bunch of these antidepressants (more so then normal general practioners have) he said that the there are two major chemical reactions in our brains that regulate our normal innate ability to handle stress etc. Effexor stimulates one of these chemicals and not so much of the other and some people have a really fuzzy feeling while on them. He said Welbutrin stimulates the other and that chemical is centered to do most of the frontal lobes work...the critical thinking and that may be why we have a fuzzy feeling on the effexor vs the Welbutrin...he said if you suffer from severe anxiety though usually they dont give you Welbutrin to start with or alone because it really kinda stimulates your brain and if your prone to anxiety it could be exacerbated by the meds BUT if your feeling really lethargic and sleepy and stuff after a couple months on a medication like Effexor he more then likely would want to try to put you on the Welbutrin alone...and so on..Thats why the doctors often use the Welbutrin to counteract the Effexor withdraw side effect with it...it makes you less tired etc. But it may make you more antsy and irritable when coming off effexor..and so on.

He said he just got back from a psychiatric conference in New York two weeks ago (I live in the boondocks in California farmland). He said he has a confidante in San Diego a psychiatrist that he kinda shadows on these trips so he can stay informed on antidepressants along with anti pyschotics so in his words he knows what to prescribe for which symptom instead of treating the "diagnosis".

So basically he had some excersize tips for me hes a health freak all the way around and I go back in two months so we together can monitor my moods so I don't regress into depression and to monitor my weight.

Soooo my lesson of the day may only be for me and it is no news. You get what you pay for so to speak. If I only see this doctor for my depression regulation I will try to make my appts early in the morning but hes worth waiting for. The other doctor can see me the next time I have the sniffles and need to get in to see someone asap. No wonder noone is waiting in his office he never once sat to explain a damn thing to me in terms I could understand and I am an adult I should have realized he stank and switched 3 years ago instead of almost 4. GRRRR.

Thank god for those doctors that despite healthcare plan pressure etc that they work through it and are truly doing what they were meant to do and loving it!

JAMI :)

Elena how was your appt?

jami

Also hi everyone!!!