1. Community
  2. Mental health
  3. Venlafaxine

Still,struggling to get off Venlafaxine

Posted , 12 users are following.

julia23547
julia23547

hi, I've just started a 3 rd attempt to get off Venlafaxine...I took a quarter of a 75mg tablet today after having a quarter 2 days ago. I'm in agony, pounding headache, crying, and sweating in my sleep. I'm taking the omega3 to try and help. What a disgusting drug!! I will never go back on this one again..if I ever get off. Do I keep on taking the quarter of a tablet every 2 days? How long for?

please, anyone with advice or support, please help. Thank you. 

2 likes, 60 replies

60 Replies

Prev
  • clair10815
    clair10815 julia23547

    Posted

    I've tapered myself from 300mg to 150 in a month. I thought I was doing ok but I seem to have hit a wall. I feel like I'm dying. I have every withdrawal symptom going. I'm sick of being sick (just withdrew from a daily 2 year Valium habit. Also hell)

    I'm 44

    Have 2 boys of 9 & 10. A supportive partner and we run our own business. I'm sick of being bed bound or miserable and totally lacking ANY energy. 

    I can't write no more but thanks for letting me know I'm not alone in this. X

    • julia23547
      julia23547 clair10815

      Posted

      Well done for the reduction. It doesn't matter how much you write, there is always  someone to offer support. How are you feeling day? You are definitely not alone in this awful battle. Good you have support. I'm here if you need to speak, one step at a time...no matter how smal! We will get there.

    • clair10815
      clair10815

      Posted

      Hi Julia. 

      So kind of you to write to me. I appreciate it. Need all the encouragement I can get!

      My boys are are at their dads this weekend- thank god but I still have stuff to do (the school shirts don't iron themselves sadly) I have an hour or 2 till we are sitting down doing some work together (got to price a job up - the office needs me otherwise no ££ 😂wink 

      So  am laying around trying to muster the energy to get on with my day. Feel so bad as every opportunity I get I lay down but I am completely drained of ANY energy. Everything I do is slow and exhausting. The thought of a shower feels like Mount Everest even though I know it will make me feel better. 

      Honestly as I'm sure you know yourself I might as well be depressed!! I have a wonderful partner who just needs a hand typing up some stuff - he works so hard - I want to support him but all he gets is a miserable looking druggie in a housecoat.... same depressed one he had a few years ago. 

      I know he understands but I'm sick of being sick & tired. I'm limping through arranging one of my boys paintball birthday parties next weekend and my step sons are coming to watch football this afternoon with their friends and I want to be serving pizza with a smile not a shadow of my normal self...sorry I'm rambling. Got to liven up & stop feeling sorry for myself. 

      So in answer to your question I feel like I have flu right now. Not too nauseous (thank god) but definitely "hit by a ten ton lorry" type feeling. 

      I suppose the main thing for me and EVERYONE else reading this is  - we've started! It might be awful but we are going in the right direction .... down with Ven. 

      Thank u Julia. Honestly it's places like this where I read that I am not weak or a drama queen. There really are other people who feel and are going through the same. Thank you all of you. 

    • julia23547
      julia23547 clair10815

      Posted

      Well clair, I've got through the day. I saw my brother and managed a walk but now exhausted with no appetite. Just want the ice lollies so my partner bought me 36 of them!! He thought they would last all week, I told him more like Monday the way I keep eating them. They seem such a comfort. Are you still on the 150? When do you come down again? 

  • Anne1968
    Anne1968 julia23547

    Posted

    My psychiatrist is having me reduce by 75mg per week while upping my mirtazapine. I've been on 375mg venlafaxine and 15mg Mirtazapine for 3 months but it's not doing a thing. I told her it's too fast but she said the mirtazapine should keep me going. I'm pretty much past caring now so I'll do as she says

    • lucy1969
      lucy1969 Anne1968

      Posted

      I was on 375mg and dropped by 75mg every week. It was actually not too bad until I got dropped from 150 to 75. Then I had to drop more slowly. In total it took six weeks to go from 375 to zero. This was without the aid of another antidepressant. With hindsight I would have slowed down a little more once I got to 75 but I wanted off of it.

      You may be fine dropping by 75. Everyone reacts differently. Try it and see. But don't be pressured into doing it too quickly for YOU. Only you know how the drops affect you. Hopefully the mirtazapine will help enough to make it easier. But many people take both so you should be able to take it as slowly or quickly as you feel comfortable with (unless there's a medical reason why they want you off of it quickly).

      This is YOUR body and YOUR symptoms. Be firm and be honest...

      Good luck x

  • annasim2009
    annasim2009 julia23547

    Posted

    Hey there! I'm also going through the horrible Effexor XR withdrawal symptoms. I saw that you posted a couple months ago, so I'm hoping you feel better now. I was prescribed 75 mg Effexor XR in 2013 and took it for four years. The medicine worked wonders for my PTSD/GAD/Panic Disorder but the weight gain was excessive. I gained about 40-50 lbs. (forgot what I weighed when I first began taking the medication) in the four years that I was on it, so I decided in February of this year to taper off of it. My previous physician (the one who prescribed it) made me take my 75 mg pills every other day for ten cycles (20 days), then one every two days for ten cycles, so it took nearly two months to be completely done with the tapering process. I had terrible "brain zaps" for three weeks after taking my final pill, but the Omega-3 Fish Oil seemed to help a bit. I also had a bit of diarrhea, headaches, and mood swings. It was bad, but I have read stories about people going through a much worse withdrawal. When the withdrawal symptoms disappeared (about three weeks to one month after taking my final pill), I felt so confident and happy that I made it through, but unfortunately in June my panic attacks/anxiety came back full force and I had to go back on it. Now, I have a new physician and she was so shocked and a bit irritated that my former doctor would even prescribe Effexor XR to me to begin with. She AND the colleagues she works with at her clinic never prescribe Effexor XR because of the side effects (weight gain to name a major one) and the horrible withdrawal. She recommended that I taper from it immediately and begin a drug called Trintellix (it's fairly new in the U.S.; I believe it is marketed under the name Brintellix in the U.K.) because this medication causes much less significant side effects and is easy to taper from should one want/need to go off of it. I weaned down to 37.5 mg Effexor XR for about a month and then began the Trintellix immediately after taking my last Effexor pill. While I am hopeful that this new medication works, I am experiencing the Effexor withdrawal horror again. This time, the "brain zaps" aren't horrible, but I have the strangest tingly feeling in my lips. It's not painful, but incredibly annoying. I'm hoping that building up the Trintellix in my system will alleviate this weird withdrawal symptom. Not to mention my mood has been unstable. One minute I'm happy, the next I'm crying my eyes out, and the next I'm very angry and mean. My best advice is to just hang in there. Take the Omega-3 pills. If you notice yourself feeling anxious or depressed, don't feel bad about perhaps having to try a new prescription. Though I feel like total garbage, I am so grateful that I'll never have to look at another Effexor XR pill in my life because I will never agree to go back on it. It shouldn't even be on the market due to how potent it is, how much weight it will put on a person, and how the withdrawal makes one feel as if they are dying. 

    • julia23547
      julia23547 annasim2009

      Posted

      Hi annasim, thank you for your email. Always good to hear from a fellow Venlafaxine withdrawer!! I'm on day 4 of 9.2mgs and I have had quite a good day today. But I have also just started flupentixol 2 days ago and I'm wondering wether that is taking the edge of the withdrawal effects off as I'm feeling ok right now. Last week I took 18.5 for the week, I felt so ill. Sweating, crying inconsolably, and headaches like I've never known, along with diaroaha, sickness feeling and like everything was in slow motion. I thought I would feel worse this week but along with the flupentixol, I'm actually ok. I've walked my dogs today, went shopping, had a shower and feeling like I could go back to work. I don't want to get too carried away. On Sunday, I will stop the Venlafaxine altogether so we shall see how long this good feeling lasts then. I'm also being asked to consider Reboxitine or Votioxitine so just reading up about them both, hence still being awake. Are you in the States? My weight gain is huge too, and I'm desperate to lose it. Anyway, hope you are doing ok? Let me know how you go. I'm always on here if you want to chat. Sunday for me is the biggie, stopping Venlafaxine for good. I'm never going on this one again. Speak soon xx

Back to top
Prev

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.