effexor withdrawal symptom help

My dr prescribed Xanax at my request. I decreased slowly and still had withdrawals. I will be Effexor free in 10 days. If I have anxiety or crying fits I take a 1/4 or 1/2 Xanax. I take as little as possible I don't want to be dependent on that .  My husband has been a great support for me. You can do it hang tough . It really sucks! I am on a blog in US as well and people have suggested Benedryl helps with some symptoms , NyQuil to sleep. Good luck you can do it!!! We all need to get off this crap!

Everyone is so different during their withdrawal period. It can take much longer for some to feel symptom free.  For me it seems I am finally getting over the last of the symptoms, and I've been off completely since May (of this year). I was on it for 7 years.  Hang in there!! The clarity of mind at this side of recovery is worth it!! xo

Hi,

I am still in my first month off and I'm having similar issues. However, I'm having a CBT in parallel and I just increased its frequency. I would very much recommend any sort of psychotherapy as a support until we get our brains and psyche back. I was on venlafaxine for 13 years.

i have been totally off Venlafaxine for aittle over 2 weeks now, after being on 150mg for like 8 years + ....I can only give positive info on this and my experience. the Venlafaxine medication is horrible. It took me like a month in a half to come off , sometimes slowly, sometimes faster. You must listen to your body. No body is the same. I'm a very positive person. Its hard to say which feeling are real and which aren't. Because your brain really is a "battleground" for your thought. I have only had 1 day were I have felt some what down. And for all that is going on in this season in my life and know thats amazing. I am a Christian, a man of faith. God has answered my prayers of being on my kness and crying out for him to help me get off these meds. So i know God was the one who actually got me off these meds. I got to a point when i was tappering off at the end that i didn't know if I had taken my small amount ( which was like 5 beads )..then before i knew it it had been a week or 2 ~~~ i feel ike I have my life back again ~ I forgot what it felt like to be me again. and its great. I don't really know what brain zaps are. I do get twitches in parts of my body, but I brush it off because I know thats a normal thing that my body is going through. Please feel free to send me a personal email

Chris

thank you everyone for your responses. I am still really worried that this may be my depression coming back, but its so weird, when I am not crying and feeling panicked, i actually feel really good. My mind has never been so crisp and clear, and I dont feel foggy or numbed. I cant believe how numbed I was feeling while on effexor. 

I am going to the walk in clinic today to see about my crying fits. Maybe they can send me to a cbt cousellor, or maybe there's another drug I can go on at a low dose for a few months just to get over this hump. It feels like 2 months is a long time to be experiencing the side effects still.

well, i went to the walkin clinic. The first thing the doctor recommended was Pristiq... haha... nice try doc! I told him what I have been going thru, and explained why I am reluctant to go back on any other sort of pill. He started understanding where I was coming from, and said to A: give it another month and see how I'm doing, or B: up my dose of wellbutrin to 300mg, (Im currently on 150mg, and have been on it as long as the effexor), he said I could try taking 300 every second day if I do not want to do the full 300 every day. Has anyone tried this or know how this may affect me? He didnt really say how this might change my mood, he just thought there's a chance it might help my crying spells. I am willing to go another month as I am to see if things change. 

I was on Venlafaxine for 9 years at 150mg.  It took me 10 months to withdraw as I knew if I did it really slowly I would have no withdrawal symptoms.  And I didn't have any.  Hippee!!  That was over a year ago and depression n ot returned, but anxiety has.  

Withdrawals symptoms should gradually diminish with you.  No I don't want to go back on this drug either having taken so long to withdraw from it.  I shall handle my anxiety as best I can.  

How is your diet? Mine changed after my withdrawals. I am eating foods that help my brain out. I had the same symptoms that you had. I started eating turkey believe it or not, and it has helped me with my moods. Sometimes it's the little things that make the difference.