Rapid weight gain after stopping venlafaxine

After an endoscopy, CT scan, AND a colonoscopy, still no answer.

Then a google search turned this up.

https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/symptom/bloated-belly

im so glad i found this discussion! ive been tapering off and also experiencing sudden on set weight gain. it took me a little while to put two and two together, but i already knew effexor had terrible withdrawal effects from missing dosages. has anybody had success losing the weight?? is it caused by water retention or the loss of adrenal boost from discontinuing the effexor?

to the concerned mother of the teen-

perhaps have your daughter's thyroid checked. it sounds like she may

be exhibiting symptoms of hashimto's disease. i was diagnosed a year and a half ago. unfortunately, most doctors dont perform a full thyroid panel, and therefore, overlook this autoimmune disorder. i highly recommend looking up information on the internet BEFORE going to a doctor for the blood test because of most doctors unfamiliarity with the disease and appropriate panels to run. it would also be helpful to see if her symptoms match. its worth looking into if youre still at a loss. hope this helps.

Gaaaah I am so glad I found this forum. I started tapering off effexor, 225 mg, in Sept 2018. I did a fast taper. 225 mg to 150 mg in September, to 75 mg in December, then started counting those stupid beads in Feb 2019, down to 67 mg until the bead counting seemed ridiculous and jumped off in April. as my mg decreased, my weight went up! I'm even eating less now due to not having an appetite from the withdrawal nausea. I have gained 20 pounds since September and that is the only thing that's changed. since my last dosage in April, I am so puffy. my face, my feet, my fingers..I can hardly wear my wedding rings. i even started going to the gym.WTF is happening? I am so depressed. this is life after antidepressants?? seems like a cruel joke.

it all has something to do with how the medicine alters the brain my husband had another panic attack one link for him is gluten his stomach swelled more and he felt like he could not breathe.

there is a website called The WITHDRAWAL Project. It has a lot of info explaining why you are experiencing the bloating and offers ideas that have helped others

Stopping venlafaxine abruptly may result in one or more of the following withdrawal symptoms: irritability, nausea, feeling dizzy, vomiting, nightmares, headache, and/or paresthesias (prickling, tingling sensation on the skin). Depression is also a part of bipolar illness.

hello all, i’m so glad to find this forum

Thank you all for sharing. Pardon the poor punctuation for some reason the text box won’t let me punctuate

I tapered down Effexor and my last Effexor was 10 days ago. I did not like the blunted affect and I felt like I was getting some sort of cognitive dysfunction. I am horrified because I have gained 14 pounds in those 10 days. What can my doctor prescribe or do to fix this? My rheumatologist gave me affects her because I have systemic lupus although it’s very mild and the only medicine I take for it now is thyroid

I’m already on a prescription diuretic because the lupus ..

What can be done about this weight gain? I don’t want to take another meds to combat it but if the body needs to adjust for two or three months and curious what everybody’s experience is besides the keto diet? I’m a vegetarian

thank you!

mortified,

HP

hello, I know this post is old but i have to say, wow. i thought my weight gain had something to do with this effexor withdrawal.

i have gained over 20kg in the last 8 months while tapering off.

nothing fits, i feel seriously fat and not ok with this.

naturally on me 75 to 80 kg is a good weight for me, am a size 12 at this weight, anything pess makes me look sick due to my height.

i am now in a size 16 and am eating 1000 calories, sometimes less per day but still, it keeps piling on.

does anyone have any tips?

Usually when taking mental health medication, a person loses weight not gains it. Its unusual to gain weight after coming off the medication. Just keep doing your thing and staying healthy.

I can't believe I found this forum. To everyone who has gained weight I feel your pain! I've gained 20 pounds since stopping effexor. I don't even know why I stopped it. I just did during Covid. I had no side effects going off it or so I thought. I thought the first ten pounds was from too much sitting around on Zoom but then less than two weeks later I had gained 20 pounds. I was shocked. I told my regular doctor. She didn't even blink. Doctors don't seem to get that a lot of people with depression also often have body image issues. I do. Of course when I lost thirty pounds during a very bad depression some years ago no doctor thought much of that either. I guess because that 50 pound range is considered in the normal average range for my height. It isn't normal for me however. Now I am on 1200 calorie a day diet. It's not that bad. I think I lost 2 pounds in about ten days. I eat fairly healthily anyway so it's not that bad but 18 more pounds to lose feels daunting. Good luck to everyone dealing with this and to everyone who has to diet to control their weight or lives worrying about their weight I have total respect for you. It's hard!