I've quit Effexor. Bad side effects help.

Hi Linda

Going cold turkey is very difficult. I was on 175 mg for 12 years. With help from my husband I decreased from time released capsules about 10 % every 14 days I think it took 3 months and still had brain zips, flu like symptoms, stomach problems, uncontrollable crying spells. It was very difficult going slow never mind cold turkey. Try to get ahold of your doctor and decrease slowly. There are a lot of people on this site to give their story. And the ones I've heard going cold turkey ended up going on the drug again and reducing slowly. It just plain socks. I have been ohhhhh of Virginia for 5 months now and feel so much better! I do have a couple of bad days a Month. Try benadryl for brain zips I also took or still take omga3 and b12. Also I've heard to easier to reduce on capsules to cut them in half and the in quarters. I hope I have shed a little light on things for you. It is a tough road but you can do it!! Hang in there. This sight was a saving grace for me!!

Hi Linda

I had withdrawals for about 3 weeks it is hard but you will get there and just keep telling yourself you won't feel like this for ever. I'm feeling a lot better now and not taking any meds at all, I returned to work recently and have been ok. When I was on the meds there was no way I could work as j

Sorry I didn't finish what I was saying I clicked send by mistake. What I was trying to say us that there was no way I could work when on the meds as they just turned me into a hopeless zombie

Ncoulees and others are right, withdrawing is tough, and even the most drawn out, gradual plan can fail.

have u asked yourself tho, if u need to withdraw? Does it feel wrong to be on them?

some people see depression as having different causes in different people, and if a biological basis, such as a deficiency in serotonin, does apply to some of us, then u could theorise that that is why the drug may have helped u, and that's why withdrawing is going to be not just tough, but impossible.

Ive been on Venlafaxine for 10 years, and and my depression has been pretty minimal - have tried to withdraw but failed. No big side effects.

venlafaxine, despite its several problems, has saved me (it feels).

u don't have to feel guilty if u stay on them.

cheers

Linda,

You definitely have to do what's best for you! Get to a Dr and get more Effexor. If it helps you. There is no shame in staying on it. If not get the pills an withdrawal as slowly as you Can. I know Anne withdrew over a year's time with next to no withdrawal symptoms. I wish I had done it that way. You need to do what's best for you. I also go to counseling to help deal with my life and anxiety.

Do what's best for you. I know it's difficult when you are in that frame of mind. Hang in there! Try to find a friend or family member to support you!

Keep writing and asking questions on this site. I know it has helped me immensely.

hi all i wanted to put my story out thier , ive been on venlafaxine for over

14 yrs , late 2014 i started to attend a weight group due to putting weight on over the years, while i was attending we had to fill out the usual forms and answer questions on how we felt , this went on for a period of ten weeks , afterthis they suggested that i needed counselling again which i have had on 3 seperate occasions over the yrs, the therapist that i spoke to at the weight clinc said i had been on venlafaxine far to long and that it wasnt doing anything for me now, he gave me some suggestions on other meds and natural alternatives.

so i decided to see my gp,

after explaining to my gp about what the therapist said , i must say at this point my gp sent me to this clinic for my weight. anyway my gp said that i shouldnt come off venlafaxine and that i needed counselling , i didnt know what to think so decided to send for counselling and to take me off the venlafaxine,

after a week of reducing my venlafaxine from 150mg a day to 75mg a day , i started to feel shocking the thoughts of i be better off not here went to me feeling very vunrable and the possibility of really acting on this, so went to doctor and i saw a different gp who put me on metazapine 15mg to be taken at night then 37.5 mg of venlafaxine in the morning for a week then the following week to stop the venlafaxine,

i stopped the venlaxine and that same day i had terrible dizzyness waves of nausia,shakes constant ringing in my ears. so the next day i took half of the venlafaxine tablet and i felt better. yesterday sunday i didnt have a tablet and all the symptoms returned , i just put up with it for the day and was hoping that a good nights sleep would help ,but today i feel terrible, the symptoms are still bad and on top of it i feel realy irritated and every little thing just frustrating me, im going to speak to my gp tomorrow and see what she says, i should do.

the metazapine that ive been on along side with the venlafaxine as helped me sleep great for the passed 3 weeks and the thoughts of suicide have dissapated for now. on the other side of metizapine im feeling bloated, stomach ache and diarrhea, out of breath sometimes when walking i cant get my breah, my legs ache, first 2 weeks i was exausted thats eased now,

i feel very confused at the moment dont know what it is if its withdrawl fron the ven or the side effects of the mertizapine.

any advice would be helpful.

It's maybe been said, but a drawback of Venlafaxine is that U.S. has a short half life. That means that when u take it, it doesn't last around in your circulation long before it degrades. The effects of therefore reducing or stopping the drug occur much more quickly than with a drug with a longer half life.

But if venlafaxine works for u, it may be worth putting up with this drawback.

i sometimes wonder when I've gone a bit gaga and I'm in an home, who will remember to give me my venlafaxine on time!

 

Hello Linda,

How are you doing with your side effects ?

One thing i know for sure, is to NEVER just stop taking effexor completly.

You should ween yourself off VERY slowly. I have been on effexor for about 5 years now and i am slowly decreasing my dosages every 4 weeks by 10%. I virtually have no side effects. Since effexor only comes in certain dosages such as 37, 75, 150...... this is how i did it.

For example from 150 to 75 is waaaay to much of a jump you should only decrease at the most 10% every 4 weeks. I found a compounding pharmacist and he specialized in making the exact dosages that you require. I was on 75mg then i went down to 65, 55, 45, 35 and so on.

To me this is the ONLY way of doing it right with little side effects. The taking out beads in the capsules is the WORST think you can do because the pharmacist told me that not 1 bead is the same in the capsules, this is like yo yo ing with your brain/nerves. Never do this. Another bad thing is to take 1 capsule one day and not the next, again this is like yo yo ing with your brain/nerves, you will get really bad side effects with these 2 methods. Honestly doctors have no clue what we go thru coming off of these so i did my own extensive research and found out the best way that worked for me. I am not saying you won't get any side effects cause you will, but i was still able to go to work every day and function with my normal daily routine. Hope this helps someone. One more thing, to find a 'Compounding Pharmacist in your location, type in key words in to google like "componding pharmacist' with your state and city.