Effexor Withdrawal Finally Successful
Posted , 50 users are following.
I am jumping for joy as i have just finished my 3 1/2 month journey from withdrawing from this nasty nasty drug. I have been on Effexor for approximately 10 to 12 years. I was put on it not because I was depressed, but because I had a tendency to make lists and ut worried me if I didn't complete my lists. Never knew this drug would be so hard to get off of. I tried to get off it so many different times but gave up because of the terrible side effects. I finally qent to a different doctor who had me try it a new way and it worked. Yay! I hope my story helps someone out there to get off this drug as well. This is what i did: I was taking 37.5 mg one time a day. The doctor put me on Buspirone, one pill a day to prevent anxiety attacks that i had previously gotten when trying to withdraw. Then i started skipping 1 pill a week for 2 weeks. Then skipping 2 pills a week for 2 weeks. Make sure you're taking a pill in between the days you're skipping until you get down to where you can't take a pill in between your skip days. Once you get down to your last week of taking your last pill, then take a half of pill for 2 weeks, then 1/4 pill for 2 weeks, the stop completely. I also took fish oil and b complex vitamins to help with brain zaps which I had terrible while trying to get off all my other times. I really believe these helped tremendously because i had no brain zaps whatsoever. No anxiety attacks and no nausea. I couldn't believe I had none of these doing it this way. I believe thoygh that if you're on higher doses of Effexor that you should do this regimen for each strength that your on. My low dose of 37.5 mg took me 14 weeks to get off, so it might take 14 weeks per strength you go down, but tome, it's worth it. Believe me when I say, No withdrawal Effects doing this way. I sincerely hope this may help someone out there.
6 likes, 50 replies
norton77 Shrock79
Posted
Well done, I was going to try the same method only with slower, I'm on 75mg, so i was going to do half a pill every 8 days, give that some time, then introduce another day where I only take half a pill, and so on, untill I was on half the original dose every day, then lower it again,.
Shrock79 norton77
Posted
Good luck on your journey and I wish you much success. Don't give up. If it doesn't work, try a different regimine. I feel so much better being off of it. 😉
Osito norton77
Posted
I’m currently on same dosage and want to try and get off. How are you doing with the half pill?
angwaylee Shrock79
Edited
I am so happy to hear success stories! I have tried several times over the past several years to get off of this poison and had given up each time!
I am now 7 days "poison" free and I feel the best I have in a week. Still have some nausea and feeling a little "off" but I am taking Mega doses of Fish OIl and B Vitamins and I truly believe it has helped tremendously. I have also begun using a half tablet of benadryl twice a day. I can say I feel clearer than I have in years. Going to fight every feeling and roll out of this nasty drug's hold!!
We can do it!!
john059 angwaylee
Posted
angwaylee john059
Edited
Thanks! Encouragement is what we all need to get through this! If someone has not been through it, they just don't believe how incredibly difficult it is. Physically sick. Even my doctor has no clue, I told him how we were gonna roll with this. LOL. Thankfully he listens well and helps me when needed. hahaha. I have begun weeding out all chemically laden junk from my body. I'm not much on government conspiracy but the more research i do, more i am believing. Keep us sick by making us think we are getting better. BULL. Not this chick. Not anymore. I worked in a pharmacy for over 11 years and loved pharmacology. Then I started to really take notice. Doctors prescribe the same stuff over and over, to the point my mother and her friends would bet with me before they go to a doctor or specialist. Really opened my eyes!
John, you white knuckle that stuff and know there is a light at the end of tunnel when the withdrawals start. They will pass!! Just think, your brain is getting ready to do some amazing work. Rewiring itself to life without effexor.
john059 angwaylee
Edited
lynn67615 john059
Posted
Guest angwaylee
Posted
hi ang....ive got almost 4 months into this and just feeling so tired! can you tell me how much of the omega and vitb you took?i so want to be at your stage now but im persevering big time. i have good people rallying around me so im in this to the end like you!! youre an inspiration.....
ruthann angwaylee
Edited
YAY!!!!! I, too am 12 days free of this poison. No one gets it unless they've been on it. Success stories are out there, and we are proof!!
Ruthann
mj15716 angwaylee
Edited
Go to a Compounding Pharmacy. They will make up the pills for you. Check to see if your insurance will cover the cost. Mine did. You're best to drop 10% every 4 weeks. Because I've been on mine for 15 years, I'm doing it over 6 weeks. I also take Omega 3 and Hi-potency B vitamins. I started with 75 mg and at present at 45 mg . I have been doing well until I hit 45 mg. I am now suffering with depression for the first time and sleeping 15 hours a day and still tired. I am also having loose bowels, lack of motivation and nausea. I'm writing this from my bed after 10 hours of sleep. It seems that all I do is sleep. I'm concerned that this is how my life will be from this day forward. Any pointers?
CanadianLynne angwaylee
Edited
Greetings and salutations all,
Effexor 300mg ...yup, 300.
ditto to just about everything...except the success.
ive tried to taper off twice in my decade with this NASTY, HORRIBLE, PIECE OF YOU-KNOW-WHAT "medicine". My Psychiatrist ENCOURAGES me to stay on it, as well as:
Effexor
Wellbutrin
Buspar
xanax
Gaba-Mag- Melatonin
I get night terrors...asking hubby if this is "real life" , migraines, brain zaps, sleep issues, NO SEX DRIVE, vertigo, swooshes of the word spinning. I started this poison due to anxiety of being raised by a mother who suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder....and unfortunately for my amazing girl, 14 yo she battles with: ADHD, OCD, ODD and, at times, debilitating anxiety disorder. ZERO friends, I often feel like i have given birth to my mother...I was adopted at birth, so zero bio there...just PTSD added to my anxiety disorder. I feel like "post pandemic", Effexor is no longer helping. It is poisoning every aspect of my life, and i wish i had never started it. I feel like Effexor is now holding me back from being the mom, the wife, the small business owner, the healthy human that I know I am.
i have a call with my Psychiatrist tomorrow morning...I am TELLING him that i want off this nightmare-ride. He will try to convince me otherwise. Later all, fingers crossed. Lynne
IEJBM CanadianLynne
Posted
I stayed on this poison for 12 years because doctors kept insisting it was such a great drug. Dont listen to them. listen to other people who have struggled to get free. Doctors dont have a clue about this!
teresa76738 ruthann
Posted
That Medication WAS a NIGHTMARE!!!!
Osito Shrock79
Edited
I want to taper off and have read so many ways to try but afraid the more I read. What ways did you try to taper before? I was thinking about reducing a little every 3 weeks for example reducing by 2/3 mg every 3 weeks. I’m on 75mg XR. And was going to open capsules and weigh etc. Did you try this first? Any help from anyone out there?
angwaylee Osito
Edited
Lowering your dose every 3 weeks should be fine. You can do it!!! Start taking 2,000-3,000mg of Omega 3 three times a day, along with vitamin D, and Vitamin B-12. It is amazing the difference and the help they will make! Expect 2-3 weeks of feeling like crap but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!! I am now 15 days Effexor free and even though I have moments I feel "off" or not feel well, I feel better than I have ever remembered. You will have times you want to give in and have just one more dose but don't. Do. It. Get up and move, get and make yourself dance around like your crazy, sing to radio like your life depends on it. I promise you will be so proud of yourself and will feel like a fog has lifted.
mj15716 Osito
Posted
I read that if you have been on these pills for years, you should wean slowly. Try a Compounding Pharmacy instead of trying to weigh the beads as they will do it for you. See if your insurance will cover the cost.