Effexor withdrawl and symptoms, please help _{Page 88 of 140}

Mikemo,
You are so great. Thank you for your support. I appreciate it more than you know.
Good day to you.
Shelly

You won't believe this but I am back on Effexor after all those months of trying getting off of it.
My depression is so bad and I need to feel better without trial and error of other medications. I had to go back to what I know works.
Here is what bothers me.....I went to a new phsyciatrist (sp?) to get back on the Effexor. She didn't even ask how I was feeling or did she care to talk about it. She looked over my file and grabbed her prescription pad. I was shocked. She barely looked at me. I thought we were going to talk about my depression for a while before she wrote the prescription. This proves that so many of these docs only care about prescribing the meds. Does anyone know if and where I could reprt this Dr?
Hope everyone is well.
Shelly

I am down to 10 mg of Effexor. I am going through some really rough anger times. Snappy at work, mad at the world. Hard to focus, tired, crying, etc. Will this get better?????????????????????????????

Mary

Mary,
Mine did get a little better. Then eventually the depression came back full swing.
Good luck!!!!!!!
Shelly

Mary,

The real question that you are asking is 'Are these drug related withdrawl symptoms, or recurring deprssion symptoms?'

If they are withdrawl symptoms, then yes, it will get better. If it is depression coming back, then more changes are needed, like counseling, herbal remedies, nutrition, excersize, daily routines, friendships, or alternate anti-deprssants, or back up on Effexor.

The way you describe it, though, it sounds like withdrawl (or a little of both). So it will get better. If you have a list of your past 14 days of doses, please post it. I don't want to give you my 'what next' schpeal without knowing what you've been doing.

Mikemo;
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I am at 20 right now. The anger and snappy part aren't me. I feel very tired.
I think it is just the Effexor as everything else is going ok. I am edgy for no reason.

Any suggestions??

I meant to say in the 1st post that I was at 20 , not 10 yet.

When do you just stop????

Here's what we did. It worked pretty well, but there were snappy and crying spells for the first couple of weeks. After you get to zero, I would suggest getting onto 5-HTP from your healthfood store. You can get through it!

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0!!!!

I really don't want to go back on anything for awhile. It has been very stressful at work so that adds to it maybe more than I am realizing.

Mary

Thanks will do the schedule. We have 5 HTP at home.

Deep breath.....

Mary

I just wanted to say how much reading this forum has helped me. I have been taking Efexxor for 7 years at varying doses, always upping the dose when I became depressed. I have only recently realised that the low mood may just be a withdrawal symptom and not clinical depression. I have been totally off the medication for three weeks, having dropped the dose gradually.

However the withdrawal has been awful and I feel as if my nerve endings have been sandpapered. Benadryl seems to have taken the edge off the worst of these symptoms, but I cannot seem to find out how long I should expect to feel this way. My GP cannot tell me and I can't find any other references to a time scale.

Can anyone help?

I'm not real sure how long it could last. It depends on how quickly your body can adjust with increased serotonin production. You could use St. John's Wort as a transitional herb. It does about the same thing that Effexor does, but naturally. Weaning off St. Johns Wort is pretty easy, too. That might be just enough to take the edge off. Don't use it in conjunction with any other serotonin type drugs (like prescriptions or Tryptophan or 5-HTP)

You've been off Effexor for long enough that it would be perfectly safe. Do a little internet research to get a good dose.

Thanks.

According to the Mind website the therapeutic dose is between 400 and 900 micrograms per day. I'm not feeling depressed, just really ill and agitated so I am going to try a much smaller dose to start with and see how it goes.

Incidentally, my psychiatrist has offered to prescribe Diazepam at a very low dose for 2 weeks, has anyone tried this before? I am reluctant to try this at the moment and feel I have lost my faith in doctors at the moment.

I know it's tough, but don't lose faith in your doctor. It is the pharmacutical companies that need to change thier tunes. They just need better disclosure and tapering packets for drugs that require slow body adjustments when ceasing. But they would prefer that you NOT cease because they can sell more that way. It's evil.

But the doctors aren't really at fault. They just want to help and these drugs are the tools that they've been given to do that. I do wish they would read user reports like those on this forum instead of just reading the watered down 'studies' that the drug companies give them.

I have had a reasonably good week, have been trying to walk durin the day to stop feeling so agitated (am also recovereing from a broken leg!)

Last night was awful, 3hrs sleep and feel horrible today. Will keep going with the St Johns Wort.

Thanks so much for your help

Crooky; AND recovering from a broken leg too! Oh my! When I broke mine 3 years ago I had to have someting to help me through it.

I have gone form 300mg of Effexor (was on for 9 years) to 2.5 for 3 more days then 0! It took me 5 months to wean off. The agitation is better now. Seem to have gotten over the hump and even signed up to orientation for our new Healthy Living Center opening in 2 weeks. Have been house cleaning etc. So am getting back in the swing of things.

Hang in there. I know things will be better; one day at a time! I do take a melatonin once or twice a week if I really can't sleep. That helps. I have restless legs syndrome too. Heck to get old!

Hugs, Mary

Hi Mary,

Thanks for your encouragement,
I had another awful night last night, couldn't get to sleep as breathless and felt like throat closing up, all anxiety type symptoms I guess. I'm off to the doctors this morning as I am desperate although no depressed. I'm considering going back on th venlafaxine at 75mg and weaning off over the course of a year instead. Am seeing a locum as my doc's on holiday so hoping they maybe able to cast a fresh eye over my case. Seeing the psychiatrist on thursday too so am hoping to come up with a solution for the long term. I really thought I could do this but the withdrawal has been so much worse than I ever expected.

Thanks again, Crooky x

greetings all ... i cannot believe how many of us there out here, and yet nothing seems to happen ...

i don't want to sound like a victim totally ... but man oh man, i didn't know about the side effects ... and the withdrawal when coming off the med??? unreal ... while on the med i experienced wild mood swings, sweats, agitation, nervous ticks, much more ... when coming off the med, i had violent outbursts of anger ... i would yell horrible things at people i know i love ... my wife and i are now separated, and my chances of ever winning her back are virtually nil ... i don't know what to do ... i'm off the med for almost two months now, and i'm still experiencing some of the emotional stuff, namely, emotional waves ... not the anger any more ... just severe down moods ... i suppose it's best that i live alone now cuz i bawl like a baby at times ... not something i'd like my wife or my kids to see ...

talk to me people ... please ... it's so good to know i'm not alone ...

Where do I start...I am happy to see that I am not alone with these horrible side effects.

I have tryed a number of times to get off this pill. Tapering was the reccomended way. Well this week I have decided to go Cold turkey. I was getting terrible side effects anyways (while tapering off!). The Electric shocks are the worst effect for me, almost every 2 seconds i get zapped. Night Sweats, dizziness, bloating, anger, crying spells all the time, sometimes I even fell my face going numb. I can't stand this!!! Why do we have to go throught this. I am so angry I want to sue the makers of this dangerous drug.

Please help me....

I wrote in this forum a few weeks ago because I was gradually taking myself off of effexor. I will admit it was horrible getting off of it, but so worth it. I saw my dr. last week, and she is concerned about my anxiety, and how I will handle it in school ( I am a senior in college this year) she wants to put me on Lexapro, has anyone ever tried it? Does anyone know of any natural approaches besides 5 http?

2000toNow,
I so know how you feel! The shocks were awful, I also got horrible nightmares where I am half awake and I kept thinking someone was in my room. But I would sugguest to not go cold turkey. Your body is already going thru a lot by not taking the full amount of the drug, it is worse to stop all together. I tapered down (and it was not easy) then towards the end I only took 37.5 mg when my symptoms got really bad. Now I am not on it at all. I had all of ur same symptoms, and they all got better, the only issue I have now is anxiety. I feel the same about the makers of this drug, its like they want you to get hooked on it so they make money. Sounds corny, but stay strong, you are stronger than a drug

okay, we seem to all experience the same withdrawal symptoms ... which is bizarre to me ... especially when i read about the dream about having someone in your room ... twice this past week i awoke and actually jumped out of bed ready to 'take on' whomever it was ... just weird ... and the 'shocks' through the body where you just can't sleep ... it's just not right ...

i will say that i have been using valerian root extract as a natural means of 'calming' and anxious feelings, and it seems to work nicely ... i know i don't take the recommended dosage, but i take two tablets (400 mg ea.) about every three - four hours ... and it works for me ... maybe it's psychosymatic, i don't know ... i don't even really care ... all i know is it seems to work ... when i get the electric shock thing happening, it seems to hit my legs moreso than any other part of my body, but i also deal with the virtual constant ear ringing ...

i hope the valerian root idea works for others ... i'm no doc, and no natureopath ... just someone who is sick and tired of these chemicals messing up my life ... m

I am finally 3 days into ground Zero! No Effexor for 3 days! I weaned off very slowly. I still have some nightmares. I want to hang in there as long as I can before giving in to any other drug. I know things will get better. I try to avoid the anger and outbursts even though it seems I am mad at the world.
Hang in there everyone... we will survive.

at what cost? i'm not the person i was while on the meds, and especially while coming off them ... i went to my doc to get help ... and things got worse, to the point of losing my marriage,part of my family, my home, and my dog ... ultimately i know i want someone who will stick it out to the bitter end with me, as i would with her, but still ... this was just too much on a new marriage ... my mood swings scared her ... and i guess they scared me too ... many times i was afraid i was 'losing it' ... she rode it out as best she could for as long as she could ... my mood swings were even more intense when i would try to come off the med, or even reduce the dose ... to the point that she just couldn't be assured that i wouldn't harm her or the kids ... i HATE that ... but nothing i can do about it now ...

well it has been 5 days without Effexor, I decided to go cold turkey after many attempts to get off it. Although I am only on 37.5 it is still impossible to get off. Today i couldn't take the shocks, dry mouth and mood swings anymore..so I decided to break open one of my pills and take 10 little tiny beads. It looked absolutley ridiculous, but I feel better. I am going to try tapering down by taking the little beads.

Does anyone out there that suffers from the Electric shocks feel freaked out about getting behind the wheel?

maybe the shocks effect me differently ... it's more like a pins and needles thing ... can't even sleep because the touch of the sheets is almost too sensitve ... i haven't had any concerns about driving though ... i haven't noticed the head zaps too badly ...

is that what you were meaning?