1. Community
  2. Mental health
  3. Venlafaxine

Feeling 'high' during withdrawal

Posted , 7 users are following.

lucy159
lucy159

Hello, I'm coming down off venlafaxine really slowly. This seems to be working for me and i've not had any withdrawals bad enough to stop me going to work etc... However...after the worst of the side effects (headaches, nausia, brain zaps) disappear i start feeling really excited and happy and positive. I know this is as much a side effect as the other things and wondered a) if anyone else had experienced this?, b) if i'm about to come crashing down?, c) what's causing it? Is it something to do with adrenaline/norepinepherine? My brain over-producing serotonin to compensate for any decrease caused by my dose reduction?

Thanks smile

0 likes, 16 replies

16 Replies

  • Phoenixstar
    Phoenixstar lucy159

    Posted

    I haven't felt that yet!! I hope I do!! And I have no idea what's causing it unless you're very lucky and that's the real you 😄

    With any luck it will last for you and you won't experience a crash!

    Good luck xx

    • lucy159
      lucy159 Phoenixstar

      Posted

      Hehe...it's definitely a side effect...i've looked it up and it's called hypomania...apparently it wears off (i've just been to the gym and that's helped a bit) but fingers crossed i don't crash.

      Good luck to you too xx

  • anne240
    anne240 lucy159

    Posted

    Hello Lucy.  Well I came off last year over a 10month period so I did not get any withdrawals, but I never felt like you do.  But who knows what withdrawing from an anti depressant can do?  I think if you are withdrawing slowly then things should settle down.  You should not have any withdrawal symptoms at all if you are really coming off slowly like I did. 
    • lucy159
      lucy159 anne240

      Posted

      You're so lucky Anne! According to my dose reduction plan it's going to take around 55 weeks/reductions for me to be completely off it...and i'm still getting crazy witdrawals...yesterday really hyper...today no energy at all. I must be rediculously sensitive to this drug. 
    • ncoules49
      ncoules49 lucy159

      Posted

      No I'm the same way . Last night I was like a lunatic . Some days I feel like I need to be locked in a padded and Al though people say they understand they don't 
    • ncoules49
      ncoules49 lucy159

      Posted

      Do you get crazy?? I get lock me up crazy :0 I am going to therapy too.  My husband takes the brunt of it the poor man. He called my therapist I got so bad. If you do the reading up on the withdrawals it explains alot!
    • lucy159
      lucy159 ncoules49

      Posted

      Not crazy crazy but crazy symptoms...i am so tired today...dizzy too. I had a dream i had to gen my venlafaxine from a drug dealer...was so glad when i woke up that it wasn't true!!
  • krista04883
    krista04883 lucy159

    Posted

    I have been completely cold turkey from Venlafaxine for 3 days, my insurance has canceled me and I don't have the $75 to pick it up! I feel like I'm going through out of body experience. I have been wanting to sleep the day away for the last 6 Mo. No energy. Not sure if it's related. I wonder if I should try to go off it completely?
    • lucy159
      lucy159 krista04883

      Posted

      Aghhh, your health care system is crazy!!!!! I'm coming off it at my own pace because i choose to. I really hope you start to feel better soon...the withdrawal must be completely debilitating going cold turkey...Maybe you could reduce the dose to ease tiredness?
    • ncoules49
      ncoules49 krista04883

      Posted

      You poor thing. I read taking benadryl helps with brain zaps and some one else said try zzzzquil or nyquil for sleeping..
  • kam321
    kam321 lucy159

    Posted

    Hi Lucy. Glad you feel so great. I had that "high" for the first two months after reducing, but unfortunately a couple of months later I hit rock bottom and am now back on old dosage. I hope your experience will be different. I really do. If it isn't then be glad the medication is there to help you feel better.
    • lucy159
      lucy159 kam321

      Posted

      Hello..I've just replied to your new post!! And totally agree with what you say about being glad the medication is there to make you feel better. I am trying to take it as slow as possible and the high only lasted a day...who knows if it will work this time...fingers crossed :-/
    • kam321
      kam321 lucy159

      Posted

      Just one day! Please don't feel disappointed. Let that day become a precious memory like a holiday that you enjoy but must come to an end. Now find joy in little accomplishments. For me that can be anything from having washed to " had a laugh with hubby". Or I cleaned the toilet or got out to do some shopping. Reward each accomplishment as you would a little child because this illness turns you into an infant learning to live again from the beginning
  • froggy2
    froggy2 lucy159

    Posted

    I have a job that is very very process driven by many processes. (Technical Library)

    I found that coming off the tablets also gave me that high, but I suspect it was because the VevFax retarded my observance and other things (think wearing an aquarium which everything has to go thru first)

    I found:

    1. reactions were RIGHT IVE SEEN THAT THE LIBRARY HAS STUFF TO DO SO ID BETTER DO IT, and this time doing it. This gave me some completion highs 'High', later all my 100s new tasks that i'd never contemplated or bothered addressing over took, and now i have 12 tasks, and 4 piles of 30 books to process. Funny but I feel low now smile .

    2. I think the crashing down is that you suddenly realise that even though you have got all this energy, you can't handle 120 tasks. Maybe a food thing cause i've put on 4kg, and that would be an depressive issue for some.

    Example is I was doing 4 things last thursday and somehow lost my large key chain. [I'll talk about reaction somewhere, cause I recon no VF allowed me to think things thru better so i didn't chuck myself else off the rail bridge.]

    I usually connect keys to my trousers, but I was wearing shorts and don't know what happened. I couldn't re-trace cause My thought process hadn't got back to that reality of having stuff done.

    Other depressive is I see clearly and want the Library processes changed, but I'm being blocked. I've also notified people at work / home I'm off VF and there is one person who talks down to me "Why did you stop the meds? surely if you had them this would not have happened." YEAH, but I would not have been doing ANYTHING !?!. Doing something differently IS going to involve making mistakes. Especially if it hasn't been done for a while.

    • froggy2
      froggy2

      Posted

      [Lost Keys]

      Keys had everything!

      Work cabinets, including the only electronic ignition device for car, house keys, etc etc. I was stuck in another suburb, could not drive back. (I'm effectively on my own) I *really* took a walk to the station thinking "this wasn't the day i thought I'd die but... "

      THEN after the walk which was the best thing I could have done (washed out all that negative crap..)

      I sat on a wall for a while and talked to myself

      OK. what keys were there? "a,-g"

      a,b,c,d,e have copies at home don't they? "Yes"

      so..... they don't matter OK? "Alright"

      So really this is about two keys, not 7? "Um OK, yes".

      f is house key? "I can get into house cause the window was only pushed shut not locked"

      g, is car key?. "I can't do anything about that."

      yes but the car is safe, ie it won't get a ticket, I just feels strange leaving it there for a couple of days. "um yes"

      Ok so I only have one thing to do and that is get home. "I still have my wallet"

      Good so you have money for train / bus ticket. "yes"

      OK so catch train, (you are at the station already) have some food, then catch bus home.

      This sort of "make up words on the fly stuff" is really difficult, so this was a real effort/completion for me.

      Talked to brother and they are sorting car out for me at the moment Bless Them.

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.