Quitting Effexor/Venlafaxine Cold Turkey

Hi Purple.

I have been taking it at 8 PM every night for two weeks, I am 19 years old. I have BPD diagnosed so I have always had suicidal thoughts and have even attempted a few times. My GP put me on these meds because I began to have reoccurring panic attacks that would happen several times throughout the day (it felt like it was never ending). I feel they rushed me onto this medication after a week of these panic attacks. I had been to the doctor numerous times and they had given me ativan while there and sent me home with a perscription which i did end up using the 10 they gave me over the next week. This whole thing was a mess. I was on medical marijuana for a few months (and it worked amazingly well) before the week of panic attacks and i stopped it because I was afraid it was what was causing the panic attacks.

I hope I cleared some things up for you..

-Jack

Hi Jack

...yes you have cleared it up for me quite well. You need to be evaluated by a psychiatrist. You need a back-up plan, alternative medication or supervision. Venlafaxine may not be the best first-choice. And if it is (as in case of suicidal ideation or tendencies it is often prescribed for its more rapid action against those impulses) it may need to be given alongside a more calming medication or an anti-psychotic to offset some of its stimulating action. At 19 you are more vulnerable than other patients and a GP should know better.

You need to be started on any new medication under very close supervision to make sure you go through the least discomfort and difficulty and to be able to gauge your responses and modify approach promptly so as not to prolong this step needlessly. You deserve that and have a right to it.

A call to any GP ever reading this: Why is a BPD patient not referred to a psychiatrist at least until therapeutic approach is established???

UK I presume?

Also, who gave you your diagnosis of BPD? GP?

Can you refer yourself? Is there anyone who will refer you?

So sorry for your experience. Rest assured it is treatable and you will feel better. Just look for a way to be seen by a psychiatrist, promptly. Don't let this person waste your time that you could use instead for getting better.

Don't be scared going on or off 37.5 in your case. You were on a small dose for a short time. Call your doctor meanwhile to prescribe more ativan or similar to help through this patch until therapy is established.

Let us know how it goes when you speak to your doctor please.

x

don't worry about panic attacks either. Yes, marijuana can cause them in susceptible individuals unfortunately. But while they feel horrible they are not dangerous. Therapy will address those too once you are on the right medication, dosage and better frame of mind

Hi Purple

I was diagnosed with BPD at 18, by a psychiatrist and he told my mom it was "the worst case of BPD he had ever seen". I have never been hospitalized despite years of begging for help. I have a psychotherapist I began seeing a while back but I only see them once or twice a month and it barely helps. Though this counsellor has actually stuck with me for awhile, I have never had a steady counsellor due to them either giving up on me, money problems, or them just leaving and never seeing them again. It is very stressful and I even cried to my GP yesterday that no one wanted to help me but she just continued to say that people do care and do want to help me but where is the proof I guess? My mom always yells at me because I am not "trying hard enough" and it really gets to me because I promise her that I'm not laying in bed not doing anything I usually like to do for fun, or to "guilt" people. I physically cannot get out of bed because of the pain the anxiety causes me. The last time I had anxiety this bad was when I was visiting my father for the first time since I was a child (was not a good relationship) and the anxiety lasted for maybe 1-2 weeks but never this long it doesn't seem like there is an end in sight. I don't want to die, I really don't. I have one person I live for and they do their best to keep me going but I would be lying if I said I don't think about.. well dying a few times a day. I try my hardest to keep my faith in buddhism but with all these thoughts constantly throwing themselves around in my head it really messes with my identity and it hurts.

One other thing I thought I should mention is I am an anorexia survivor, and was admitted, but 6 years later I am still recovering. It shocked me to find that they gave me this medication (Venlafaxine) knowing it has a side effect of anorexia (and I have dropped 30 LBS in the last 3 weeks because I haven't been eating properly and some days not at all) which has triggered my anorexic thoughts greatly.

All the best xx

Thinking about death during what feels like desperate times, when we feel hopeless and battered is not reserved only for those with BPD, manic depression or any depression for that matter. Everyone sometimes gets tired and allows the mind to wander towards these thoughts and more. You are tired. You are frustrated, probably afraid and feel under pressure.

Your age complicates things a little and requires experienced handling. Are you afraid of taking medication or feel like a failure if you do?

Telling you you have the 'worst kind of BPD' he has 'ever seen' was really stupid to be frank. Makes you feel almost hopeless when in fact there is no right way to compare two people on a scale of 1-10 and establish who is worse off in terms of their depression. If you are the worst he has seen he has likely not seen enough. I am sure of that because if he had seen enough he never would make such a comment. What he basically said was that he is incompetent. I see you were not very lucky in terms of your doctors so far. Keep trying to get seen by another - make it their business. A doctor's job is to get you well. Here you must get stubborn. Your job is to get stubborn about demanding to feel better. You are in charge of that. Ok and cooperating but mainly demanding, trying. Only so that you can push away from this feeling of despair and hopelessness and panic and never look back. The fact that you are here bouncing stuff off means you are ready to.

You are an anorexia survivor, but anorexia was just the first acute sign that you are in severe discomfort - and first signs in children with more complex backgrounds uusually bubble over at start of puberty - which fits perfectly. Since the issue has clearly not been addressed in sufficient depth yet (nor could it have been due to your age at onset and obviously some complicated background), it is no wonder you have had some resurfacing of old habits and urges. This too is expected and normal and will improve greatly as soon as you have rested and your condition restored a little.

On the bright side, you are now reaching the end of the adolescent hormonal turmoil and with that, comes an easier mental and emotional ground on which to address any imbalances you picked up on the way. In other words, it is a good time to get this treated, sorted, any issues finally digested, reprocessed and bring you to a much more comfortable place within. It may take a bit of time - brain soothing and reconditioning is a process. For all of us not only those with confirmed disorders

Venlafaxine may slash apetite only at the beginning (first few weeks). Most people proceed to pile on weight after the adjustment period. It is actually one of the more notorious ones for weight gain - given time your apetite would restabilize if you continued on it. I was on it for 12 years total. My apetite returned to normal after about 3-4 months and my weight stabilized at my normal levels (low end). I was one of those who did not gain weight however - and this specific the medication fit me perfectly in every way. It is important to work out what helps you if this one does not. But to do this - again a doctor who knows what he is doing is required.

I was treated for complicated GAD that escalated to brief psychosis. I started therapy when I was about 22. Was undermanaged by GPs and a few bad psychiatrists. Once I escalated to psychosis about 4 years after starting the drug i met my final doctor who helped bring it all under control by properly monitoring and dosing. I improved steadily from that point. I have now been off medication for 4 years or so and am 39 years old.

Once you find a doctor you trust and you yourself get stubborn it is a matter of weeks before you start to feel more comfortable.

So...that psych last year did not prescribe anything after informing your mother that you are the 'worst case of BPD he has ever seen'? What was his plan?

Your mother is likely yelling at you for not 'trying hard enough' because she feels powerless and guilty like most mothers. I would not take anything she says to heart. Unless it is something nice. It pays to be selective at times like these.

What can you do to get another doctor to evaluate and help treat this?

I have been on Ven 150mg for 2 years. I have been losing weight. I only eat because I cook food for the family. I eat dinner only. I am about as thin as you can be "normally". I lost 27 kilos in a year. 5foot6 and 50 kilos. I can't digest more food than that, I feel sick. I'm taking myself off Ven because I seem to have Parkinson's, and I want to rule out Ven as the cause. I'd rather go cold turkey (where did that phrase come from? Do cold turkeys shiver a lot?) I'm just impatient to know what's really going on. My doctors are useless. It really makes me angry that they gave me this drug without even considering other conditions may have been causing my tremors, anxiety, muscle cramps and cognitive problems. I'm going to a movement specialist and don't want them to write it off as a drug induced thing, as I have had these things going on for a decade. The same doctor prescribed my 18 year old daughter Ven and I want her to be off it too. She was a kid depressed by 11 months of total lockdown. Now she sleeps all day and won't go to school. Horrible drug. Should never be given out like lollies.