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coming off venlafaxine?

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talulabelle1982
talulabelle1982

I have been taking venlafaxine for over 7 years and can admit that it saved my life a few times in the early stages. I have tried to come off them numerous times,during the past 3 years but have failed every time. The gp honestly dosent know how to help, cut down slowly, miss every other dose...I've tried everything. The side effects of withdrawal are horrendous...shaking, sweating, panic attacks, sickness, violent outbursts, suicidal thoughts. Ive read all the horror stories and truly feel sorry for anyone who has ever taken ven. I'm desperate to quit them but it seems impossible. Any advice would be much appreciated!

13 likes, 362 replies

362 Replies

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  • sara72221
    sara72221 talulabelle1982

    Posted

    What are the brain zaps, I take mine twice a day n I wish I never started these tablets
    • damian310
      damian310 sara72221

      Posted

      for me they are like a weird short buzz in my ears, can feel like its coming from the head. quite hard to explain.
  • pooja7
    pooja7 talulabelle1982

    Posted

    Hi all,

    I'm writing this here for EACH and ALL who are here whether they are still on or trying to wean off these evil drugs. I criticise the day I started this medication (300 mg earlier ,now on 225mg venlaflexine , weaned gradually) as I was unaware of homeopathy at that time. If I knew about this pathy, things would hve been far more better than now. No side effects, might be completely cured. now I m taking help of homeopathy to counter the horrible side effects. At least it is there otherwise I wld not dreamt of even tappering off. I would suggest anybody who is not on too high dose or who are not on these allopathic medications for very long should consider homeopathy as they have really good scope to recover and cure. I have been thru and still in hell which made me write about my experience so that u guys can be benefited. When n number of people are getting advantage of it, so y not we??

    • laura43429
      laura43429 pooja7

      Posted

      You're in India, right? I've heard good things about homeopathy there. I've tried some homeopathic remedies from Europe, but they didn't help much. I don't have money anymore to go and see homepaths. So I need to practice "do it yourself" homeopathy. 
  • kaz16
    kaz16 talulabelle1982

    Posted

    Geat to read all about Veniafaxine thought i going mad feeling very poorly coming off the tablets . Feel i cannot go on with the side affects but want to contiune . My mind is not mine at the moment feel like i got flu no energy at all and work in care on 12 hour shifts . I had to call in sick to day could not manage the aches and pains . And the upset stomach . Feeling tearful all the time . Trying to call GP but getting no reponse as usual . So sat smoking my head off and feeling i just want to be in bed . Losing money due to being off work which is another big problem being a single women. Hope everyone gets throu this awful time . and soon feels like themselves again soon . Hoping i manage it to . Big hope. x
    • betsy0603
      betsy0603 kaz16

      Posted

      Kaz, how long have you been off?  What was your highest dose, how long were you on them, and what dosage did you jump off from?

      Depending on how long you've been off, you may be wiser to reinstate a tiny bit and then do a slower taper from there.  I know, no one wants to go back on these but it is a harm reduction approach to ease horrible withdrawal symptoms, and then take it much slower so that you can still function while coming off.  There may still be some withdrawal once totally off, but if you are totally unable to function and work, it may be better.

      I was on ven for 12 years, came off way too fast, and had terrifying withdrawal for 10 months before reinstating out of desperataion.  I reinstated at 37.5 mg and am now at 27.5 mg. I feel much better now than I ever felt on the drug at higher doses!  Since I was on for so long and have had protracted withdrawal, I am going to have to take it VERY slow to come off.  My brain got very used to having the med on board and it's going to take some very slow tapering to get it used to functioning with less or without.

  • kaz16
    kaz16 talulabelle1982

    Posted

    Hi i have been on them for years but for about two years i not been sleeping and its got so bad i am having about 3/4 hours a night . So GP said to try to come of them and then try something different . So i have done 2weeks at 225. then 2weeks 150. 2weeks at 75 and now trying 37.5. . But things are not good feel very depressed having terrible night sweats my head feels like someone else when i close my eyes at night getting flashing and noises in my head . awful bad stomach with horrible wind . Flu feeling ache everywhere head aches too. you name it i seem to feel it.
    • betsy0603
      betsy0603 kaz16

      Posted

      Hon, your taper is way too fast!!!!  You were on quite a high dose, and on this med for two years?  Your system remodeled to take the action of the drug into account and now you are quickly yanking the drug away and leaving your nervous system stranded high and dry!  

      It doesn't suit our immediate gratificaiton mentality these days, but these drugs must be tapered much more slowly!  The taper authorities, folks who have been in the trenches and learned by past experience, advocate 10% of the previous dosage every MONTH.  At the very least, a drop from 225 to 150 should be followed by a hold there for a month.  During that month, your system will take a little time to register the change, do some remodeling in response, and then stabilize.  Then you would do the next cut, only if you are feeling no withdrawal symptoms  If you cut while feeling symptoms, you are adding more instability on top of instabiliity!

      So, 150 down to 75 would even be rather dramatic, but you might get away with it and then hold for a month for the above reasons. 

      The fact that at 37.5 mg you are doing poorly means that cut from 75 to 27.5 mg was premature, your system not keeping pace with the cuts.

      You could reinstate to 75 and hold there until you feel better, stay there for four weeks.  From there you are going to have to do smaller cuts than 50%.

      I strongly recommend you join Surviving Antidepressants, the support forum that is the source for the topic Reducing ADs using a 10% withdrawal method in this link:

      https://patient.info/forums/discuss/depression-resources-298570

      I hope that helps.

  • blacksoybean
    blacksoybean talulabelle1982

    Posted

    hi guys, i just wanna say thank you to everyone here, this post is the only thing that keeps me sane and knowing that so many people suffer from this is really sad and no one should ever start taking it.

    i have been on venlafaxine for 6 months only, 75mg, the drug makes me numb and didnt really care about anything. work, friends, things i used to have interest in, like movies and music. theres just no life, no ups and downs.

    i tried to drop the dose to 32.5mg and felt awful. but the worst part is how to get from 32.5 to nothing. my doctor is strongly against the idea of stopping the drug, he told me not to believe things on the internet!! Doctors can never understand coz they havent been there. i insisted to stop the med without his permission. he believes that the symtoms have nothing to do with the med but my depression.

    the days from 32.5mg to zero is the worst nightmare. I tried taking once every two days and its really bad. i got nausea and wake up crying asking myself why am i not dead. im lucky that i don't have the brain zaps that many of you experienced. but the bad thoughts are awful. i kept coming back to this page and read about your experience on how you guys got thru this and wish to feel alright someday.

    after that i tried to take out beads from the capsule and slowly reduce the dose to about half of 32.5mg then stop everything.

    today is my 4th day without anything, starting to feel like myself again.

    to anyone whos going thru this, hang in there. it will end someday.

    talk to friends and family, don't let the feelings control you, its just the chemical messing with your head. 

    good luck xxx

    • betsy0603
      betsy0603 blacksoybean

      Posted

      Hi blacksoybean, 

      I'm glad you figured out you could remove beads.  I just wanted to warn you that it is common to feel quite good after jumping off, but sometimes as long as two months out you may get hit by a wave of symptoms.  Withdrawal occurs in a windows and waves pattern, and sometimes the waves later on are worse than the ones earlier on.  If you get hit sooner, you can always go back to taking a small percentage of the beads and then do a micro taper after you have stabilized.  How many beads were you at before you quit altogether?  

      Good for you for knowing what is right for you.  I know what you mean about the numbing out.  That's part of how the drug works; numbs you out so you don't care that you are in fact still depressed, that you just don't register it as much.  I'm glad you didn't get stuck on the AD treadmill and take this stuff for years the way I did, 12 years!  Much harder to come off when your nervous system has adapted to the action of the drug for that long.  Six months is even enough to cause withdrawal, but hopefully it won't be as long as some!  

      Good to understand that the symtoms are not you and a recurrence of depression but due to a chemical imbalance from coming off the drug!

    • mjps
      mjps betsy0603

      Posted

      I know where you're coming from... be strong and you will overcome the ad times and reactions

       

    • blacksoybean
      blacksoybean betsy0603

      Posted

      thank you for your reply!i took out 15 beads out of the capsule before i quit all.

      i got a little depress but more grumpiness in the past two days. didn't go back and take the ven tho, i feel that handling my emotions by myself is actually easier than don't know what the drug is doing to me..

      hope you are feeling alright and everything's working out!

    • betsy0603
      betsy0603 blacksoybean

      Posted

      Thanks, blacksoybean! Doing ok though have an upper respiratory bug developing - Grrr!  You have a very healthy attitude and will surely succeed!
  • mjps
    mjps talulabelle1982

    Posted

    5 years on Ven and a fairly slow discontinuation over 6 months.  Have now been Ven free for just one year...  But still have recurrent downs and agitation, but it only lasts for hours... I am hopeful and I hope you are too
    • julie53220
      julie53220 mjps

      Posted

      Hi, have you been taking anything else since the ven?
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