I did it!
Posted , 10 users are following.
After being on Venlafaxine 225mg for 18 years, I stopped cold turkey. It's been almost 3 weeks now and I feel so different. But in a good way! The first week was awful but still not quite as bad as I had anticipated. I'm still having moments of extreme irritability, sensitivities to light, and problems sleeping. Ironically, sleeping was all I used to do. I stayed sleepy. I could write you a book about my experiences taking that terrible medicine!
0 likes, 35 replies
angela64068 Ksbabiesx4
Posted
Iv been trying to get off this medicine for bout a month now was down to taking a half a pill a day and now immediately only taking a half when u feel like I need it. But the headaches are killing me. It's good to know it's worth getting off of thou
Ksbabiesx4 angela64068
Posted
jacqueline69942 Ksbabiesx4
Posted
OMG. You are the one I have to talk to. Everyone is scaring me to death regarding the withdrawals from Venlafaxine. I have been on 225 mgs. for 12 years. I want to get off because of the extreme sweating that I have been suffering for all of these years..Other than that I feel fine on Ven...It has helped my anxieties immensely! It never made me sleepy. It has been wonderful for me..I had no side effects at all except for the sweating all day and night. I don't even own a sweater or a pair of socks because I am always HOT, HOT, HOT... Your post was so encouraging to me. WOW...You stopped cold turkey and did not suffer the withdrawal of nausea, headaches, dizziness, brain zaps, depression and thoughts of suicide?? I have been told it is impossible to get off of it, even if a person tapers slowly. I would love to hear how you did it and what withdrawal symptoms you went through. Please write back..You are the first person who has given me hope...Thank you..
Jackie
Ksbabiesx4 jacqueline69942
Posted
I did suffer withdrawal. Brain fog, nausea, brain zaps ( felt like I was being popped in the head with a rubber band!), sensitivities to light, forgetfulness (I would forget in mid sentence what I was talking about and after being reminded, still couldn't remember! I'm still going through this.) The withdrawing is bad. Really bad. However, I expected the worst of the worst. Maybe that helped. I don't know. But after 3 weeks, I feel like this is how I should feel. I haven't known myself in so long. I felt like a zombie all the time. I had no emotions for the most part. I couldn't cry when I needed to or laugh when I needed to. My emotions feel like they're coming back and I feel somewhat normal finally. Everyday without the meds is an accomplishment for me and so far I feel great!
Ksbabiesx4 jacqueline69942
Posted
I've always thought I was just really really hot natured. I have sweated extremely for so long. My clothing would be soaked. I always wear my hair pulled up because it stays wet. I never wear make-up because I can't stop sweating. When in public, OMG!! My anxiety goes out the roof because I'm sweating so bad that my clothes have wet spots, literally dripping off my nose sweat. I feel like everyone is staring. All this time I have dealt with social anxiety that mainly stems from me feeling like everyone is staring at me because I sweat so bad. Now that I'm not taking the meds, I'm not sweating profusely. I am still sweating, but it's a lot ( and I mean it's different as night and day) less. In my first week of withdrawal, I had night sweats. I couldn't sleep. I slept in front of a fan that was in front of the air conditioning vent and still was miserably hot. At almost 3 weeks without, the night sweats have stopped. I have even been in public shopping and not had to run out of the store to my vehicle to breathe because I was dripping sweat. Maybe this winter I can actually dress for the season. In the past, I've always worn shorts, tank tops, and flip flops year round!
jacqueline69942 Ksbabiesx4
Posted
My GP and gyno told me the sweating was menopause related. I knew that could not be because with menopause you only get hot flashes. I sweat all day long like you. I never realized that it was from Venlafaxine until I went on this Patient Forum...So glad I found out the cause of my sweating...Now, I have to get off Ven because I can no longer handle the sweating...But...I also see from this forum that the withdrawal symptoms are awful..Do I stay on Ven and sweat for the rest of my life, or do I wean off and put up the the withdrawal symptoms? I don't know what to do....
neil91349 jacqueline69942
Posted
Hiya Jacqueline
It's def the Ven that makes you sweat, I had it terrible.
Ta
Neil xx
jacqueline69942 neil91349
Posted
neil91349 jacqueline69942
Posted
Hiya
One thing I've learnt about being given drugs either by a psychologist or your GP is the price of the drug.
Doctors office have a budget so if a person comes in with depression, first protocol is prescribe them Prozac, sertaline, escitalopram, if these don't work they move up but rarely give the most expensive. It's a case of cheap first and see what works. Sod the side effects.
I'm off Ven completely now! 3 days but I feel great.
Thanks
Neil xx
liz05654 Ksbabiesx4
Posted
Hi,
thank you for your message, it has also helped me. And I'd also,like to share my story.
ive been on Venlafaxine for over 6 years at various dosages but mostly 225mg. I take the XR tablets. One 225mg tablet at night.
over the last 6 ypears I have put weight on, not a lot but absolutely nothing. Would shift it, had very vivid dreams, night sweats and was tired all the time. However it did vastly inprove my depression symptoms and stabilised me.
About a month ago I asked my psychiatrist if I could start to taper down and eventually come off it. The reason being purely because I wanted to see if I stil needed it. I wanted to feel "normal" and not as if I'm always on an even keel. Don't get me wrong, it was a wonderful drug to get me better when I need it, but I needed to know if I could function without it.
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Anyway, my psychiatrist advised me to wait a few months to think it over properly. And we'd review the situation again in the future. I did try to taper off it a few years ago and I was ok until I got down to 37.5mgs but the side effects of withdrawal then got so bad I gave up and went back up to 225mg where I've been ever since.
however, because my psych told me to wait, I decided to take matters into my own hands and try to reduce myself. I know it's the wrong thing to do and goes against all advice but I was determined and at least wanted to try.
So 2 weeks ago I bought a pill cutter and started cutting my pills in half. After 4 days I cut them into quarters. Last Friday, after 4 days of quarters I stopped them altogether.
I had read every forum I could find and every piece of advice I could find to try and alleviate the withdrawal symptoms. And I stocked up on the following:
Omega 3 capsules -1000mg each
VitaminB supplements
Benadryl
St Johns Wart - high strength
Multi vitamin and mineral tablets
and High strength 5HTP
Saturday, Sunday and Monday were awful. I felt nauseated constantly, couldn't sleep, dizzy, disorientated, very weepy (I cried watching The Chase because one man only got 1 question right! Lol), diarrhoea, really painful headaches, but by far the worst was the brain zaps. They were constant and painful. Often sending shocks to my finger tips and legs. I tired going for a walk but couldn't do I and had to turn back. The only thing that legend the zaps was if I lay perfectly still and dint move my eyes.
i must also add that I have also been taking A sleeping tablet every night that had previously been prescribed, so that at least I could get some sleep at night. They helped but the zaps still woke me up numerous times but I wa able to nod back off again but my sleep was broken.
On Tuesday I went back to work (Monday had been bank holiday). In the. Or img I could hardly function and couldn't concentrate at all but it eased during the day and I went to the gym at lunchtime. By the afternoon the zaps seemed less intense, but I think that was only because I had started to concentrate at work.As soon as I left work they were back with a vengeance.
neil91349 liz05654
Posted
Hey Liz
Good on you for trying because (personally) find Ven the worst antidepressant there is.
However you should also have another AD to help, to be on Ven you must have depression quite bad, therefore coming off completely can be a complete nightmare with nothing to fall back on. Also I've seen that a few people take Omega 3 and Benadryl, why these. I would speak with your doc and ask for another AD straight away.
Thanks
Neil xx
liz05654 neil91349
Posted
Thanks for your response Neil.
I did have very bad depression. I attempted suicide on numerous occasions but I need to know (for myself) if I would still be depressed if I come off medication. There were situations in my life that didn't help with the depression and all of those situations have since gone away, so I may no longer need an anti depressant but unless I spend a while without medication I will never know. So I don't want to switch to an alternative until I've spent a while being "me".
I take Omega 3 because it's supposed to help with brain function (I've always taken 1 1000mg tablet per day) but I'd read that taking up to 8 a day can help to reduce the zaps. I'd also read that Benadryl can also help with the zaps and stops the itching, which incidentally I'd never had before, but did for the first few days of withdrawal. Within half an hour of taking the Benadryl the itching stopped.
The supplement I was really interested to read about was 5HTP. Apparently one theory for the brain zaps is because the brain is reacting to not receiving Venlafaxine. Venlafaxine treats depression by "rewiring" the brain and affects the uptake of serotonin and alters the synapses (?) in your brain. When Venlafaxine is topped suddenly the brain responds by trying to "rebuild" or "reprogrammed" the synapses - hence the zaps. And apparently the longer you've been on Venlafaxine and the higher the strength, the longer it takes for the brain to adjust - hence everbodys experiences, intensity and length of the zaps is different. Some people may not get any at all from withdrawal, some may last a few days or weeks but some people get them for years. I'd read that 5HTP can speed up the brains recovery process, increase levels of serotonin (which reduces anxiety and depression) and promotes the production of melatonin which helps sleep (which is why I take 2 at night).
since taking the 5HTP 3 nights ago I've definitely felt better. Whether that's a result of the 5HTP or the natural reduction in withdrawal symptoms I don't know but until the zaps stop completely I will continue to take it.
Hope it helps someone else.
Liz
neil91349 liz05654
Posted
Hi Liz
5HTP is good it's my multi vits, there's loads of stuff out there to help the brains chemicals balance out, sometimes though this is not always the case, I was reading a story about this who went on intensive study and established his body wasn't producing enough adrenaline which powers the serotonin. He was given some to help him and completely changed his life.
It's only recently they've established there's far more chemicals in the brain which may be causing our depression. It can takes years to identify what chemical we are lacking in unless you have a brain scan.
My psychiatrist has also recommended that I have a ECT which has 80% success rate. This kind of scarred me so I declined but he says it's that bad and your sedated. I suppose it kick starts everything.
Thanks
Neil xx
liz05654 neil91349
Posted
I've never been offered or even talked to about ECT and it would scare me as well. Apparently my great aunt and grandfather both had ECT but I only found out about it a year ago. It was kept very secret at the time and they are both dead now (not cos of the ECT I must add 😁
so I can't talkto them about it, but it would be interesting to hear people's experiences.
The other major side effect I had from being on Venlafaxine was severe constipation. I could honestly go 2 weeks or more without going to the toilet, and there was absolutely nothing I could do to alleviate it, other than take laxatives when I had to. I tried everything, eating the right foods, drinking loads of water, exercise loads etc etc but nothing worked. That in itself is an awful experience as eventually it makes you I'll and constantly nauseated, it poisons your body sort of if you can't go.
since coming off Venlafaxine I've been twice a day, every day. Again that could be a symptom of withdrawal, but I'm not going to complain about that one! Lol
Liz
neil91349 liz05654
Posted
I had the same problem and went to Tesco and bought some Lacatose sachets which really helped.
Thanks
Neil xx