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Venlafaxine Withdrawal - Thoughts?

Posted , 15 users are following.

penguinteacup
penguinteacup

Hi there,

I have been on antidepressants for 11 years, for OCD, and on Venlafaxine for roughly 6 years. At its highest i was on 225mg plus 5mg Abilify. About two year ago my OCD had been under control for a good few years so i wanted to come off the medication for that reason but also I was suffering with chronic tiredness (falling asleep at work) and headaches that the drs could find no explanation for and I thought the drugs might be causing this. So I started reducing my meds.

I am off the Abilify and have got the Venlafaxine down to half a 37.5mg tab in the morning and a quarter tab in the evening. This has not been without its problems though. I could deal with the nausea/head zaps etc but about five/six months ago I tried reducing from 37.5mg every day to every other day (on the 'advice' of my GP who said it was 'such a baby dose you should be able to come off it in two weeks' ha!) and this resulted in my having heart palpitations (rate of 130bpm) and severe shakes and ending up in A&E. GP and doctor in A&E were both sceptical that withdrawl could cause this. GP made me do a 24hr heart ECG thing which came back normal so she put it down to 'anxiety'.

There were other (less severe) instances of heart palpitations in the following months that became less frequent. Then yesterday I couldn't remember if i'd taken my Venlafaxine in the morning so I took a quarter of a 37.5mg tab in the afternoon and a half of a quarter (crazy maths i know) in the evening. I then woke up suddenly at 1am and proceeded to get violent shakes and a feeling of a burning sensation in my brain. I got my partner to call an ambulance but by the time the paramedics got here the shaking had stopped and they said i was ok to stay home.

Has anyone had similar problems with convulsive shakes or heart palpitations with Venlafaxine? I want to come off it but these symptoms are alarming and no one in the medical profession seems to understand, all are dismissive of Venlafaxine withdrawal and even more so if you mention what you've 'read online'! But reading other people's experiences of this nightmare drug are reassuring me that i'm not insane (or at least no more than i was anyway)

Thanks for reading

 

1 like, 32 replies

32 Replies

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  • amanda1970
    amanda1970 penguinteacup

    Posted

    I'm 46 and stopped taking Venlafaxine suddenly when I fell pregnant at 38, my body crashed and I was so suicidal!! Now if I very very occasionally miss a pill, this breakdown returns within hours. Deadly medicine that I never want to be without!!! I've been taking them for 15 years! xx
  • louise79427
    louise79427 penguinteacup

    Posted

    Hi Penguinteacup

    Sorry your hear withdrawal has been awful. I tapered off rispiridone and had 12 weeks off Tully withdrawal. I wanted to know if when you were on venlafaxine did you feel groggy in the morning?

    • penguinteacup
      penguinteacup louise79427

      Posted

      Hi,

      I'm still on venlafaxine, down to 18.75mg now. I always feel extremely tired in the mornings, I am only able to work afternoons because of it. When I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms, ie after I've just done a reduction,then I get very vivid dreams and I feel pretty spaced out when I wake up.

  • Yammy1
    Yammy1 penguinteacup

    Posted

    Hi I was only on vedixal 37.5mg for 16 days, got chest panos and really bad anxiety so doc told me to stop taking them. This is day two and I feel extremely sick and the stomach cramps are almost unbearable, could this  be withdrawal 
    • penguinteacup
      penguinteacup Yammy1

      Posted

      Hi, I've not had stomach cramps from withdrawal myself so I don't know whether they can be caused by withdrawal but I certainly feel very nauseated when I make a venlafaxine reduction and frequently dry retch (although am never physically sick)
    • louise79427
      louise79427 penguinteacup

      Posted

      Hi, yeah I am on week 3 of coming off venlafaxine and in the morning I fetch and have upset stomach. How did you find the abilify as my doc wants me to go on it?
    • penguinteacup
      penguinteacup louise79427

      Posted

      I can't really remember to be honest, sorry! I was only on a low dose alongside venlafaxine and I don't remember it making things better or worse.
  • Yammy1
    Yammy1 penguinteacup

    Posted

    Day four of withdrawal, my emotions are all over the place. I am so angry and I just want to cry all the time, not to mention the anxiety. I can't believe that 16 days only on this horrid drug can cause such turmoil. They should be takin off the market, worse thing I gave ever taken in my life, never ever again 
    • ellebi
      ellebi Yammy1

      Posted

      I know I was the same and I was on it 4 months, it does get better though, are you taking anything to help the withdrawal or just doing it without anything
    • Yammy1
      Yammy1 ellebi

      Posted

      Not taking anything else, how long does it take for side effects to ease. Doc gave me a couple of xanex just in case I need extra help, haven't takin any yet. Chest sore and waking up at night with palpitations but I guess it's just anxiety although I have an hiatus hernia and a lot of acid in my stomach so this may be causing chest pain and stomach gurgling during the night. Oh please let it ease soon a good nights sleep would be nice. My doc seems to think there are no withdrawal symptoms razz yeah right 
    • ellebi
      ellebi Yammy1

      Posted

      Yeah I took some lyrica and xanax when required and they were both helpful. It took about 4 weeks for the withdrawal symtoms to ease for me :p I took fish oils, vitamin b and multi vitamin capsules as well to help.

      Feeling a little better now, still depressed and anxious but hopefully things will get better over time.

      No the docs dont understand how bad the side effects and withdrawal symtoms of Effexor are.. them tabs just didnt work for me at all

    • ellebi
      ellebi Yammy1

      Posted

      I have IBS, Hiatus Hernia and Colistis as well so I think thats why the stomach problems are bad but I find the anxiety problmes definly make it worse
    • Yammy1
      Yammy1 ellebi

      Posted

      Day five of withdrawl and I actually had a good day yesterday, biggrin hopefully that horrid drug is out of my system. My tummy has settled down and I m feeling a lot more optimistic, still getting the shocks, zaps but overall not too bad at all, hang in there if your withdrawing it does get better. I m under no illusion that I'm out of the woods, but I'm taking one day at a time and I'm sooo happy to be free of this drug. 
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