Posted , 11 users are following.
Hello!
I've been on venlafaxine for about 2 years, taking a dose of 150mg per day. I used to take the generic pills which are cheaper. To be honest I didn't even know there was an 'original' one, named Effexor, until last friday.
When I changed town I continued the treatment with another doctor, and he suggested i came off the drug. I thought I'd try, and for the first month I reduced from 150mg to 75mg. Nothing wrong there. Then I took another step and reduced from 75 to 37,5mg and in the fourth day I collapsed.
I had this breakdown, feeling all kind of weird symptoms: dizzyness, dry mouth, excess sleepness, confusion, mental oblivions (memory lapses), total apathy, total loss of libido.
I got really scared and tried to go back on my own since I was off town and couldnt talk to the doctor.
I took for 3 days the 150 mg pills but that didnt help. I consulted another doctor and he suggested to take a 107,5 mg dose (75+37,5) for 20 days and then restore the original 150 mg dose afterwards.
It's been 6 days since I started taking this dose and I still feel awful! I feel like I'm not the same anymore!!! It's the strangest thing ever. I had to ask for a job-absent license cause I can't work in these conditions.
One other thing is that a moved from the generic pills to the Effexor (from Pfizer - Wyeth) - the doc suggested that - and I don't know if that is making things worse...
I feel really akward, useless, like my brain is in slow motion. I've been thinking about goin' cold turkey since taking back venlafaxine didnt help.
I appreciate any messages. Sorry for the english, I'm Brazilian and the head also feels awful.
2 likes, 47 replies
lisa03229 ricardo31
Posted
I think the important thing to tell yourself is that you are not alone on here. Lots of people can understand exactly how you are feeling. I've found the supportive messages so encouraging.
I really hope you can get through this. Stay strong & take care.
axlemax lisa03229
Posted
USA here. I have only been on venlafaxine for 3 months. I told the doctor I thought I was having bad side effects. She dismissed my feelings and told me that it was not the drug. I discussed getting off it and she was still adamant that it was not the drug. I called her two days later and had to almost demand that I wanted off. She finally gave me a tapering off schedule. I tried cold turkey, second day to day and finally had to take a 75 mg. It is horrible so glad I have found others that verify my feelings.
anne240 lisa03229
Posted
Thing with withdrawing is that you have to do it really, really slowly so you don't get the awful withdrawals. I am in my 70s and don't consider myself a strong person, but once I made up my mind to stop Effexor I managed. Difficult though. I don't blame you for starting again as withdrawals are awful.
I live in southern England. Glad you are getting brand Effexor now.
lisa03229 axlemax
Posted
Take care.
axlemax lisa03229
Posted
el_shiz ricardo31
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Sukiwarrior el_shiz
Posted
You told me yesterday you were back on the VX again.
suki
leanne61579 ricardo31
Posted
lucy159 ricardo31
Posted
I switched between the generic and effexor depending on what the pharmacist had in stock and not noticed any difference - that may just be me, i know different people react differently to these things.
I was on 150mg and decided i wanted to come off as i feel well and settled etc.. I have tried a couple of times before and reduced too fast and had all the horrible side effects you describe - horrible!!!!
I am now reducing very slowly (i'm weighing the beads out and so far have reduced from a total weight (i.e. all the beads) of 500mg, to 460mg. That has taken me about two months. I've still had withdrawal symptoms but much less debilitating that when i've reduced faster.
Do you actually want to reduce your dose? Having followed the advice of my GP before and failed to come off i've learned that I actually know myself better than they do - both in terms of how i feel in myself, and in how my body handles dose reductions. It's hard but stick toyour guns - if you feel you need the venlafaxine they should be supportive of this.
Best wishes,
Lucy
axlemax lucy159
Posted
lucy159 axlemax
Posted
ricardo31
Posted
anne240 ricardo31
Posted
Having said that I withdrew last year on advice of my doctor as I had taken anti depressants for 20 years. Venlafaxine is very, very difficult to withdraw from without getting withdrawal symptoms, as you have found.
It took me 10 months to withdraw so I would not get withdrawals, and it worked. I had gone cold turkey once before on Venlafaxine so know what it is like. You have to withdraw really slowly. Eventually I had to go on the generic tablets after 37.5mg dose as they come in piils. I got a pill cutter and then cut the pills into smaller and smaller doses over months. I went from 150mg to 75mg to 37.5mg, alternating them as doctor directed, then I worked out for myself how to cut the pills. It did work, but a long slow progress.
Hope you feel better soon.
ricardo31 anne240
Posted
This thing is like a roller-coaster, today I woke up a little dizzy again... Feels weird
amanda25783 ricardo31
Posted
I took Venlafaxine for nine years, and it was a godsend to me at the time.
I am now back on antidepressants, but this time Sertraline.
I don't really understand how the generic form can be different from the Effexor version, as the drug is the same chemical - but it may be that the fillers and preservatives and so on that go with the drug itself may be different, and alter your absorption of it, or whatever.
Either way - it is really important that if you try to stop taking it, that you do so in very small increments, over a long period of time. I completely agree with Anne (below). Cold turkey is not the answer!
I also think Lucy has given you great advice. If you feel well when you take the drug at an adequate dose, then why stop?
During the time (about two years) between my stopping Venlafaxine, and starting on Sertraline, I had a series of stressful experiences including having breast cancer and the loss of my Dad. One thing and another caused me to have a complete breakdown last Christmas. How I wish that I had stayed on the Venlafaxine long term! I recovered remarkably quickly, however, and my GP feels that I should stay on an SSRI forever. I don't feel there is anything wrong with this, really, as any side effects or other problems are far outweighed, for me anyway, by the onset of severe depression.
Depression is a dreadful illness that is difficult for people who have not experienced it to understand, and that includes doctors. Only you know where you are along the scale of it, and it is important to have a supportive and empathetic doctor.
I wish you happiness and health, and send positive feelings to you through the ether.
Take care & best wishes
Manda
PS - You English is fantastic!
ricardo31 amanda25783
Posted
I`m back on the meds, as I said, but haven’t got much better and that`s really scary for me. It feels like I`m gonna be in this dull-zombie state forever.
Today I woke up feeling really strange. There`s no dizziness or any other painful symptom, but I feel disorientated, like I`m a totally different person.
Sometimes I feel like a child, staring at things I wouldn’t normally stare at. I couldn`t read the newspaper because a flush of thoughts invade my head and can`t make me concentrate. I`m kinda drunk 24-7, the reflexes are a bit slower.
I feel like taking this drug is now blocking my thoughts, the opposite of what has done for so long. I was really productive, dynamic and ongoing for the two years that I`ve taken it.
I find it strange that I didn`t have any of these symptoms when I started taking the Venlafaxine. All the problems started after I tried to discontinue it.
Thank you again
anne240 amanda25783
Posted
I thought I would be on anti depressants for the rest of my life. Had been on them for over 20 years. Last year a doctor suggested I try without when I went for a review. Scary, oh yes, but I thought give it a try.
Well it took 10 months to withdraw as IU did not want any withdrawal symptoms. I had gone cold turkey before and the depression returned within 6 months. Well it has now been 17 months since I stopped. The longest ever!! I am doing OK. Taking lots of supplements, which I think helps.
I am so glad you are feeling better as you have had a traumatic time, bless you.
anne240 ricardo31
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leanne61579 anne240
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anne240 leanne61579
Posted
Perhaps you could do what I did, and get a pill cutter and cut the pills into smaller and smaller doses. In the end, after months, I was taking a tiny amount on a finger tip. Takes a long time, but that way you don't feel defeated and feel you have no alternative but to go back on the medication. I worked out how to do this myself, and it does work.
leanne61579 anne240
Posted
anne240 leanne61579
Posted
Take care and I hope you continue to improve.
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