venlafaxine withdrawal- please help!!

Hi Kerry. Thanks for your reply. 3months off the venlafaxine, and apart from the constant stomach upset everyday and the fading brain zaps, I am feeling much better. I will never go back on anti depressants again. My life in much more in control, and I feel like I have woken up from a long sleep ;-)

Been off the drug for several months now and on Citalopram 40mg. Still getting the "brain zaps" mostly in the morning. My GP also looked at me strangely when I mentioned withdrawal symptoms especially "brain zaps".

There must be a way of starting a petition so that the makers are made aware of the withdrawal problems so this is listed on the enclosed leaflet.

It has been something of a revelation and a relief to read these comments. I was on Citalopram for around 13 years then felt like I was getting dementia (my mom has it and I am now 55 and my brain is in freefall!). The "experts" assured me I was not suffering with dementia but was clilnically depressed - lots of similar symptoms apparently. They put me on 75mg slow release Venlafaxine capsules, which, after 4 weeks off work and no improvement was increased to 150mg. My mood definitely improved but my bowels stopped working. This I could not live with. GP told me to stop taking them and start on Cipralex instead, but I decided it was about time I tried to do without anything. I went back on to the lower dose and then started cutting them down myself, increasing the time gradually between doses - and experiencing the dizziness/brain zaps/whooshes that everyone describes. I finally got down to one every 3 days and GP told me I might as well stop them altogether, which I have done. I have not taken any now for around 1.5 weeks and am still having severe withdrawal symptoms - the dizziness etc. as mentioned above, severe sweats, unpredictable bowels, uncontrollable crying episodes, headaches and, this morning, I woke up feeling like I was underwater. My ears were "humming" and every sound seemed to reverberate - could this be another side effect or something else entirely. I had gone back to work once I was established on the 150mg dose, but am now off again due to the dizziness, crying and bowel problems. I saw that someone else had mentioned tinnitus as a side effect. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Does anyone have a rough idea of how long I can expect this to go on. It is proving to be a considerable strain on my family as I am miserable as sin, irritable as hell and often get really angry over nothing. Thanks for any relevant info.

I have just read with with great interest all the information you have reported on your experiences with withdrawl from Venlafaxine, I have been on various antidepressants over the years but I have never felt anything like this. I found the Venlafaxine wasn't working so my doctor has put me onto Mirtazapine and told to just stop taking the Venlafaxine. It's now day three & I have been suffering from some of the same symtoms mentioned previously. Dizziness, Brain Zaps, whooshing in my ears & probably worst of all - unable to stop crying & constant thoughts of suicide.

I'm going to give my doctor a call tomorrow & see what advice I get there, as I don't think I will be able to cope if this goes on much longer.

I also want to say thank you to all the people on this forum for sharing their experiences & advice........hopefully there will be some light at the end of this....Alice

Hi everyone,

Tracey, i've now been off the venlafaxine for 5 months. The good news is there is light at the end of the tunnel - it took about three weeks cold turkey to get it out of my system, and for the symptoms to stop. Sickness, dizziness, ears buzzing/wooshing, brain zaps and crippling [nightmarish] anxiety all occurred on and off for 3 weeks but have now disappeared.

The british national formulary (BNF) has a yellow card system for reporting side effects of medicines - if everyone on this thread could complete one i'm sure someone would have to listen!

Here is the link

https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

Love to all, hang in there!

It's reassuring to read that others have experienced the same withdrawal symptoms I am, but when is it going to end?

I took 37.5ml for only three months following reactions to 2 other ADs for post viral depression. GP advised me just to stop taking them.

That was 7 weeks ago & I'm feeling worse & worse every day :-(

At first I had the intense dizziness, nausea, brain zaps, ear pain & tinnitus, trembling, lack of coordination, unable to speak properly etc etc, which was just awful in the middle of a phased return to work.

I rallied a little for a few days in week 4 and then after a particularly physically & mentally challenging day at worked I "crashed" & haven't had a good day since.

Two different GPs think it's a flu like virus but I'm convinced it's withdrawal related. As the lone parent of a lively 7 year old life is relentless & I'm not coping well with no time to rest properly. I do not seem to be getting better; ear pain & 'whooshing', panic attacks, intense exhaustion, upset stomach, anger & irritability, crying spells, and muscle twitches are worse than ever. Some symptoms I'd never experienced before the drugs.

I DO NOT want to start taking anything again but am not sure how much longer I can go on like this. Has the medication caused me permanent damage?

Started taking a good multivitamin, omega 3 & a supplement for 'adrenal fatigue'. I am running out of paid sick leave & just want have a few hours of feeling even vaguely 'normal'.......

Please believe me it's going to get better. I have been off since Jan. My father recently passed but I didn't want to go back. It felt for four months my brain was foggy. It does get better. I still take adavain at night to sleep but its mild so when I have the panic attacks I take one just to relax. Hope this helps!

I first posted in October last year after taking my final Venlafaxine tablet. I wrote a blow by blow account of withdrawing and thought I would update ...

I had had a year on various mad meds before going onto 225mg of Venlafaxine. I realised it was "my" drug within two weeks and happily put up with pretty rotten side-effects in order to recover from a serious breakdown. Almost the minute I stopped Venlafaxine, I started a run of colds, sinusitis and laryngitis. More than 5 infections in 3 months! Of course, as Venlafaxine is a very strong antihistamine as well as an antidepressant, I had been free from colds etc all the time I had been on it. I made up for it by having two years worth of bugs in 3 months. My GP kept me logical - I tried all the usual "natural" remedies without success (naturally) and, as he promised, just the process of getting plenty of infections boosted my immune system and I have been remarkably fit and well since. I am still seeing my consultant psychotherapist (thank-you NHS, you are wonderful!) but, after nearly three years, I am weaning off that too. Venlafaxine was brilliant but, without her I could easily have started to struggle again when life-stress got the better of me.

I am fit, healthy, happy, running my own business (I left my NHS midwifery job 18 months ago as a happy by-product of my psychotherapy!) and enjoying a better work-life balance. I understand myself and why I became so poorly. As time goes on, I become less and less worried that I will go mad again (when I first came of meds, this was my biggest fear). Venlafaxine is a VERY STRONG mind-altering drug. Let's be clear about this, if you can beat your madness in a different way, you don't need Venlafaxine. But, if your illness is beyond other forms of help, Venlafaxine can actually save your life. Side effects and withdrawal symptoms are the price you get to pay for getting over a serious nervous breakdown. I would have struggled without the expert help of a good psychotherapist and my ever-patient GP. Getting over this degree of illness takes time and there are still little reminders lurking for me - stress can still make me stutter (something that I NEVER did before my breakdown) - but illnesses do leave their mark. Venlafaxine is not perfect; no drug is. My advice if you are coming off? Take a week or two off work and go to bed. Be poorly and accept that getting over a mental illness takes time and is no picnic. Eat well, rest well, exercise gently, walk in the fresh air and spoil yourself in whatever way pleases you. Above all else, see someone trained to help you understand why you became unwell and support you whilst you recover. Accept that such a profound illness might leave its mark and that is not the fault of a drug, or you or anything else. Birth leaves us with stretch marks, accidents leave us with scars and mental illness can leave us with unique reminders that we are human, frail and deserve the same compassion that we would show others. You will come out of the weird fog of withdrawal; the zaps gradually stop (sometimes I miss the weaker ones that reminded me that my brain was reawakening); the nausea disappears and you will feel better day by day. Even now I sometimes remark that it is only as I continue to feel so well that I realise how unbelievably ill I was, how long I had been slipping into my breakdown and how grateful I am that I had the support of my family, my GP, my shrink AND Venlafaxine, without which, despite all the side effects and the withdrawal symptoms, I would not be typing this now. Good luck to all.

I'm now on week 2 of my withdrawal, just about coping with the brain zaps, but finding the heart fluttering bit harder I also find I am having moments when I feel quite manic, but I don't know if that has anything to do with coming off the medication and am also find till having very vivid dreams & will start crying at the drop of a hat, but reading all your posts does give me hope that it will end. Just have to stop my obsession with suicide, but have great people around me who listen & check up on me but unless you suffer from depression no matter how much people care, they will never understand the pain, sorry folks that does sound a bit rambling, but hey if we didn't ramble we might just go mad xx

Thanks for the support it is appreciated.x

Hi people,.. I have been on and off Venlafaxine for almost 10 yrs...my highest dose was 500 mg a day, prescribed by my psychiatrist. I have recently weaned my self off..it has taken me a year!! Its almost 4 weeks since i had my last 25 mg dose...and i feel shit!! I still get the "clicky clicky" or electric shock in the back of my head, i sweat like hell, ...am sometimes completely vacant!!! I know i am not depressed, i do not need these meds...how long will i feel like this??

hello.

I am replying from the U.S. - San Francisco.

Yesterday I ran out of my venlafaxine 300 QD, so was without my dose for ~ 30 hours.

So interesting (and uncomfortable) that the withdrawal (which is a real thing) occurs so quickly! After ~ 6

hours without the meds - my brain got fuzzy, I am uncoordinated, my vision is almost "blurry", and I have GI symptoms.

Does anyone out there also have amazing, vivid and sometimes really frightening dreams at night if you are withdrawing or forget a dose of venlafaxine? Wow! I wish I had a camera in my brain to capture my

dreams last night! I could make a movie out of the content (or at least a cool, crazy painting)!

I renewed my Rx, so back on meds as of 30 minutes ago. Wondering how long for the SNRI "magic" to take effect?

Hi looking for a bit of advice my doctor has put me on so many diffrent tablets and none of them seem to work I got put on the venlafaxine and they up my doesage after 2months I couldn't handle the higher doesage so they put me back down to 37.5mg I Tain it but felt really ill and was very sick so I Tain it upon my self to stopThem but now I am having lots of withdrawle symptoms and was wondering how long they would take to go away as am back seeing the physactric doctor in 2months any advice would be great thanks

Hi everyone and thanks to tg for starting the ball rolling. Xx

After abreak down through prenatal depression then losing my life partner and father of my boys when my

eldest was 4 1/2...I was upto 225 venlaflexine, over the last few month's to a year I have been up and down to 37.5mg and back upto 150mg last month,for the last few weeks I have taken 75mg.

Saturday morning was the last 75mg tablet. ..I am going cold turkey!!! I am in my third day....horrible

symptoms the electrical brain zaps are the worst fortunately I only have them at night....going to try diazapam tonight....

I can't help but keep in a positive mind after all its a chemical I have been taking for the last 9years..

Our brains have to rebalance as do our emotions, I can only think that this drug has masked my emotions for long enough to get e through the last few years

Hiya , I'm new to this site . I've been taking venalfaxine for 8 months now at 225mg but 3 days ago started to reduce them to 150mg . Should I be getting headaches,nausea and feeling sick already ? X

For sure sam, my gp normally gives me an anti sickness drugs to help me with the sickness. ...you can get complete withdrawl symptoms when you drop your meds, I knew if I was a couple of hours late taking them. I didnt mean to post my comment three times. .. stupid phone