venlafaxine withdrawal- please help!!

#rebecca......so sorry to hear of your withdrawl problems after such a low dose and short duration.....I also am of it 5 months and feel dreadful....sinusitis and anxiety....I wish I could offer you some solution....I'm taking magnesium and an over the counter medication......my doctor is clueless ...looks at me in disbelief....I'm still hanging on but suffering God bless....us all

Over the counter anti histamine sorry

Sorry Getting There! My Dr didn't really understand either, but he at least took my word for it.

Thank you Cat Lady and getinthere for your swift & comforting replies.

I have purchased some antihistamines & will try my disbelieving GP again. I have been referred to a Chronic Fatigue clinic so hopefully I'll be able to get on the post viral road to recovery which I probably should have started out on in the first place.

Could hardly get out of bed due to crushing nausea this morning & as for leaving the house (childrens birthday party to attend), the anxiety levels are through the roof. Cannot wait for this hell to improve

Thank you for your support lovely people x

I've been on Effexor and its cousins for 20 years. I tried to wean off by skipping doses about 10 years ago and experienced most of the horrors outlined by the other posts, above.

Now, I'm off of that stuff and I did it without any head zaps, nausea or anything. Here's how.

First, you need to get on to the XR type because its formulation inherently has fewer ups and downs as your body metabolizes the drug beyond its half life. This is also required because you need to be taking a type with the little "beads" inside of gel caps.

Next, get your dosage weaned down to a single 75mg XR capsule per day. At one point I was at 300 per day but didn't have much problem dropping the dosage over about a month.

In the mean time, purchase or otherwise acquire a milligram scale. Bought this cheap one from Amazon: American Weigh Scales GEMINI-20 Portable MilliGram Scale, 20 by 0.001 G

Once you get your scale and learn how to use it, weigh out the contents of one of your XR caps. Mine are around 253mg of little beads. [If yours are different weight, you need to use that number in the formula below.]

You need to buy or create a tiny little spoon or "shepherds crook" tool to scrape a very tiny quantity of beads out of capsules.

Count out 30 full capsules. One at a time, squeeze the capsule base slightly and twist off the cap. Into your scale's pan, scrape 5% of the beads out of the capsule, then put the top back onto the capsule and save it into a pill bottle. [Assuming that your capsules contain 253mg of beads: 0.05 x 253 = 12.65 so you want to scrape out 13mg of beads -- a very tiny amount.]

Take these "reduced strength" caps, 1 per day, for a month.

Next month take 10% out of 30 more caps and take them for a month.

Reduce the strength by 5% per month until you're down to 50% strength. You should experience ZERO withdrawal symptoms.

At 50%, I began removing 10% per month and continued until I was down to zero. Again, there should be no symptoms.

I never had any physical symptoms using this method and since I'm now retired and essentially stress-free, there is no reason for depression. I'm off that evil drug and feeling great.

Hope this helps someone else.

I wish I'd found this an hour earlier. I'm on day 5 cold turkey from 75mg XL.

I've just given in and taken a capsule as I've had the day from hell.

Feeling so ill, I haven't left my bed and crying a lot.

I tried 10mg diazapam, but it didn't help. I have Nytol so I should have tried that.

I've a load of people coming round tonight for New Years Eve, so if I can get through that hopefully I'll be okay as I've another 5 days off work.

I just hope this capsule works soon and gives me some relief as I've so much to do.

Managed to get through tonight. Now off to bed for a week!

I tried weaning myself off so many times, and ultimately failed. My doctor prescribed Zoloft (another SNRI) and told me to drop the Venlafaxine. But the Zoloft gave me a crushing headache, I couldn't stand it. The Doctor prescribed a lower dose of Zoloft (25mg) By that time I was off the venlafaxine for over a week so I stopped taking the Zofoft. I now officially gone "Cold Turkey" and that's pretty much how I feel, like a big sweaty, cold turkey. I hate venlafaxine. It should not be on the market. That's the only thing that is keeping me from relapsing.

Hopefully this time next week Geraldine we'll be feeling better.

Venlafaxine was the best one for me when I needed it so all in all I consider it the price to pay now I no longer need it.

I'm stocked up on diazapam and Nytol so onward and upward!

Hi debi25 how do you know when it is time to stop taking this medication, I have taken venlafaxine for 4 years I dont think it is working anymore but I don't want to go to the doctors as he will try to up the dose, as I take 150 in slow release capsules, I have been following this forum for a while now hoping something will make sense in my head but I am so used to this medication I'm not sure what feeling normal is anymore. This was the only medication that worked for me I'm worried that if I stop now I will need to go back on this at a later time

I'm just confused all the time what if can't cope again.

Hi Sue, I was off anti depressants (tricyclic) for seven years and although I still had periods of depression I learned how to cope with it.

I needed the venlafaxline for a year after a particularly traumatic time in my life and stayed on them three years because I knew it would be so hard to come off.

In your case I just don't know as if you feel they're not working so well it might not be the best thing to reduce or stop.

If I felt I still needed them I would certainly have stayed on them for as long as it takes.

Do you feel you could cope if your depression returns?

Only you can know what's best for you as an individual.

I do believe they are good if nothing else has worked for you, so don't be in too much of a rush to make a decision.

Good luck. x

Hi. January 1st I went to spend a couple of days with family and forgot to pack venlafaxin. Went to bed petrified of how I would feel the next day because whenever I have forgotten to take a dose (225 slow release), I have felt awful. Flu-like symptoms, terrible headache and unable to function. Surprisingly I woke up not feeling so bad this time. A little light headed and nauseas, but none of the dreadful symptoms I have had before. 2nd day came and felt a little emotional, but not sure if this was because of not taking venlafaxine again or other factors. Came home yesterday and decided to stay venlafaxin free. My head feels strange and I was very emotional; for example I feel like my heart is breaking when I think of starving people or suffering children. This pain feels like it is going to overwhelm me and paralyse me. However praying and talking to my husband helped me to get a measure of peace and control. Felt better after a good cry. Was itching all over. Not sure if related to nerves or what, but I took an antihistamine and this helped. It is now four in the morning and I woke up after dreaming of events in my childhood. I don't know though if these things actually happened. It feels like I have had this dream before. I will think about it tomorrow, or rather later in the day. I have wanted to come off venlafaxin for a while now, so I will press on. I haven't told my husband though because I know he would consider what I am doing to be dangerous.

I can sympathise with all of you trying to break free of this medication. It is scary. I hope to get support from you over the next few weeks, so please keep posting your experiences.

Hi debi25

Many thanks for your response I think maybe your right they really did help me when I was going through a bad time and although the majority of the time. I feel okay there are still some periods when I feel unable to cope alone. I always thought I would know the right time to come off this medication because I would feel well and positive and although I think i am getting there maybe this isn't the right time. When I first started reading these threads it really frightened me because so many people are having such a hard time coming off I suddenly thought how am I ever going to stop taking this medication, everyone on here is so determined to stop taking them it made me think seriously about doing the same but worrying at the same time how it would affect me. I hope I will know when the time is right- thanks sue

Hi. This is not the first time I have tried to come off. The other times I was so unbearably ill in a matter of hours that I just went back on. This time, the withdrawal symptoms have been manageable although uncomfortable and unnerving. I think this is the right time for me because I don't feel the pressure I used to to be super woman and do what I used to and please everyone,. I am ready to take time out as necessary, I am accepting that my worth does not lie in performance and achievements. This shows me that my thinking has changed. Therefore, I will carry on getting through this difficult time.

Debbie and Sue, keep going. We know when the time is right to come off, and we know when it is not. Trust your instincts even when they make you feel scared. Hope this makes sense

I've just woken up after 14 hours sleep and feel semi normal!!!

The last two days have been the worse ever, feeling so ill and unbearable itching all over my body.

I took a Nytol and a diazapam at Midnight and woke up at 2pm today.

Hopefully I've reached the top of my "hill" and will improve from now.

Keep going Kam and beware of the itching, it will drive you nuts!

Sue, take your time pet and don't be rushing into things. x

I can't wait to have a bath cos I'm rotten!