Venlafaxine withdrawal ~ how do I get through it.....

Hi

You really cant take that much less in such a little amount of time.  It might take a couple of months or probably more to get off of them.  You have to cut down your dosage slowly and over time.  Shame on your Dr for not wanting to help you as mine was great and knew exactly what I wanted and how to do it.  I went from 150 and then 75 and have been on 37 now for a few weeks of every day to every other and my final day will be Wednesday and then hopefully I will be off.  You cant go cold turkey as I found out and many others.  Its a possessive drug and needs to be tapered off very slow over time. Please get a little more help and we are always here for you.

 

Lisa, I have been here before. If you are climbing the walls like I was some diazapam should help. Phone 111 and you will get an appointment at an out of hours place very quickly. They will assess you and prescribe you a low dose to counteract the horrendous withdrawal. please make that call. U dont have to suffer. Let me know how u get on x

Oh yeah I forgot to say I had read that taking diazepam can help, sorry!!

Me again, just reading trough other parts of ur conversations and I can honestly say when I tapered down slowly the smallest being a quarter of a 37.5 tablet as soon as my body knew it was gone the extreme withdrawal kicked in. get the diazapam.  Its the only thing that will help. I really sympathise.  I had to get off mine as I wanted a baby. Had withdrwal last aug. Preg by end of sept and had a healthy baby boy in june. Bk on venlafaxine as its the best anti d out there. But will taper down and use diazapam to come off same way as before to concieve nxt time.

Hi Lisa

I agree with Leanne's excellent advice below - I think you are trying to reduce the dose far too quickly.

Also, you have an illness that responds to SSRI drugs, and the symptoms of that will return when you stop the drug, or reduce the dosage.  Lots of the withdrawal symptoms can be attributed to the return of the disease.  Try not to confuse them - so many posts on this forum are from people who are trying to get off Venlafaxine, and it seems that many of them are experiencing the symptoms of the return of the illness, but either do not realise it, or don't want to believe it. 

I agree that being on Venlafaxine cane make you feel numb - unable to experience normal emotions - including joy, as well as sadness - but it does help with the agonising reality of depression.

One of the things that you really need is the support of a decent GP - so find another one! 

I am very fortunate that mine has experienced the same illness, and completely empathises.  However, anyone that has never experienced the debilitating effects of depression is unlikey to be able to understand.  My last GP, now retired, was a wonderful man, but I always thought that he felt that my depression was something to be amused by ... and not a real illness at all.

Also, if you are doing work in a psychiatric hospital, it may be that this is absolutely the wrong time to stop taking it, even though what you see there may make you feel that you absolutely have to.

I think it is easier to withdraw if you have some personal time, in which you can sleep, rest, and try to relax.  That may not be possible while you are working, especially in a very stressful environment, and one in which you might not feel comfortable explaining what you present personal challenges are.

If you are thrsty, then you need to drink more water!

Also, if you can get out and walk somewhere in the fresh air, I am sure that it helps.  Your natural endorphins will increase, which makes you feel much better, even if only for a short time.  Far better than withdrawing under the covers ...

Now is not the time to give up the fags - I am a fellow smoker - but do try not to up your intake of alcohol - it just makes you feel far worse. 

I took Venlafaxine for nine years, and had to give it up for practical reasons - it made me vomit two hours after ingestion, and at the time I had a broken pelvis, so it wasn't practical to carry a sick bucket in a shopping bag around with me on my crutches.  Can you imagine?!!  So I just stopped it.

I was fortunate, in that I didn't have any withdrawal effects, (possibly because I was taking morphine at the time, which may have masked them), although I have experienced these before, withdrawing from Seroxat, years ago.  It took months to stop the drug - mostly because of brain jerks & zapps, if that makes any sense, and the feelings of dizziness and separation from reality.

I was OK for a few years, and then crashed again, after a series of events, including the discovery of two breast cancers and the surgery and radiotherapy involved. There were other things, I lost my Dad 36 hours before the second cancer was removed, my beloved dog died etc. etc.

Everyone has a breaking point - I am now on Sertraline - another SSRI - and feel heaps better.  I now accept that it is very unlikely that I am going to be able to stop taking these drugs.  Ever.  So I may not be the best person to advise - however - I absolutely understand the hell that you are experiencing, and hope that my small input may help you in some way.

The more help and support you can get from friends or a partner, the better you will be.  Do try to eat properly, get some fresh air, and try to emerge from under the duvet.

Although I entirely understand your wish to stop Venlafaxine, it may be that you are just one of those people who simply does not manufacture enough 5HT to get by without something of that kind to restore the level in the brain to something that makes life bearable.

If that is the case, then try not to feel a failure over it.  So many wonderful people over the years have been a martyr to depression - Winston Churchill, for example - he had to deal with it without the help of anti-depressants, and still managed to win the war for us! 

He said, wrt depression, that 'when the going gets tough - keep going'.  He also coined the expression ' the black dog is back'. 

I shall be thinking of you.

Take care, and try to look after yourself.

M xxx

 

Such wonderful advice you gave and so true.  A good Dr would work with you and help you wean off of this drug.  Its a long road and you have to have patience and support.  Wish you the best.

Hi Lisa, I took Benadryl to help with the withdrawals. It helped me get through a horrific time.