I have been trying to go off of effexor for 3 weeks now and I am having terrible withdraws. I took 175mg for 4 years and the doctor tried to take me off cold turkey well that did not work so now he is trying to wean me off but I am still getting those withdraw feelings. Does anyone have any thoughts on what I can do to get off this stuff....

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crylt

I'm afraid I don't but I would hope that the people that read your post will offer help or at least support to help you get to the place that you obviously want to be. Don't go away! There is love here for you.

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Gina

Wow - this is news to me. I wasn't aware there would be withdrawal symptoms from an antidepressant. A friend of mine just quit using these simply because she couldn't afford them anymore. Her doc had no knowledge of this, which I thought was pretty risky in a seriously depressed person. Anyway, she said she had no withdrawals at all. However, she was depressed again. Needless to say, I took her straight to the pharmacy and had them refilled, and she's fine now.

Did your doc take you off all meds/antidepressants, or just the Effexor? I mean, does he simply want you off anti depressants, or just that particular med? Bottom line, if you're having trouble with withdrawal, you NEED to speak to your doctor and get him/her more involved. Maybe he can put you on a different med such as Paxil or Prozac.To cut you completely off, change that plan only after you suffer withdrawals and THEN decide to wean you off is both medically and ethically wrong. What happened to "First do no Harm"?

Good Luck - Dawn



[This message has been edited by Dawn in NH (edited 03-18-2003).]

You are never supposed to go off antidepressants cold turkey, apparently your doctor is not very well informed.

I took effexor for a while, I absolutely hated it. I did have some withdrawl, but it went away relatively quickly because I didn't take it that long.

You might get more answers on the depression board, I've heard some people say Nyquil works.

Good luck!

i did the same thing with celexa about 8-9 months ago. even though i have insurance, they were expensive as all get out. they also were making me feel kinda nutty. like i'm not already! hahaha! gotta admit, i did feel like crap for a few days and then levelled back out. however, dawn, you are right. my depression and feelings of inadequacy are back full force which naturally makes me want to drink to feel better. ok, i'm back husband just called. made me feel good, hope he's doing ok. says he is. i'm gonna be out of here in about 15 minutes so dawn, what do you think this guy is gonna talk about tomorrow night?

THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVICE. i AM NOT SURE WHAT I an going to do now I am supposed to be taking the effexor only every other day and it is very hard. My doc is taking me off all anti-depressants which I was only on effexor. He tried to put me on paxil so I would not have withdraws from effexor but it did not work the paxil made me more nervous, see I have an anxiety disorder not necessary depression. I do not no what I am gonna do except I am going to ask my doc for more effexor and try to whean myself off even slower than he is trying to do it.

Hi Lane -

I forget what thread you posted in the first time, but I answered the therapy question and more. Hope you see this before you leave!

Lane - I posted it in the thread you started that says "Detox by Myself"

Check it out - Dawn

Howdy Crylt -

Just a question - if you have an anxiety disorder rather than depression, why doesn't he have you on anti-anxiety meds?

Well, when you go back to the doc for your follow up appointment, make SURE you impress upon him the fact that you are having an unpleasant reaction to having your meds abruptly halted. In fact, it's making you even MORE anxious!

Good luck, and let us know what happens - Dawn

I believe Effexor is supposed to be effective for generalized anxiety disorder, which is probably why the doc put him on it in the first place. It is a really weird drug, I don't usually have bad side effects but that stuff was pure evil in my opinion. Do you have the weird electrical impulses and vision as side effects of the withdrawl? I couldn't stand that. Tell your doctor to read the PDR, you are supposed to wean off that much more slowly than every other day. And it comes in multiple doses, so you should take it every day and just decrease the dose gradually.

Hi blueskys thanks for the advice. I am going to ask my doc for mor pills because I only have nine left and taking them every other day is just not working also I am afraid I am going to run out and then I will have all the withdraw symptoms again. Is that what them feelings are electic impulses. I hate thet feeling. Yeah effexor is good for anxiety disorder it cured me for four years but I decided it was time to go off of them and I just can not seem to quit taking them.

Ok.

I am on 150mg of effexor xr a day. My doctor here (I'm in Canada) has me on them for depression and this is what he told me about Effexor:

Low doses (under 115mg approx) are for anxiety. As you move into the higher doses, they treat depression. I have clinical depression (I've had it my whole life since early childhood) and it treats my depression symptoms of anxiety and paranoia.

My good friend's mother is a nurse who is on 150+ of Effexor and I know for a FACT that you do NOT go off of it cold turkey. I know, as well as you (from having forgotten to take a pill before) that you get withdrawl from it. Not only that, but you can expect to have a bit of a hard time at first while your body adjusts to different serotonin production levels, etc. That's pretty normal.

I know you guys don't get free health in the states which sucks, but GO and spend the money and talk to your GP about it. And if he isn't too smart (like taking you off an anti-depressant cold turkey) try to get in with a specialist like a psychotherapist or psychiatrist to figure out your best options for drug-free control of your anxiety disorders. Psychotherapy (talk therapy) would probably be good b/c you learn behaviour-modification that can help when you feel anxious. Good luck!

Great post Jenny! You should hang out on this board more often. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

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Gina

*grin* Thanks. I feel very passionately about getting help that can modify your behaviour and deal with your issues in order to help you with your life. I don't think that health wholeness can come only from medication, which is why I see a therapist. Not only that, but BTW: ...

sometime it can take awhile to find a good therapist. BUT KEEP TRYING! One bad therapist shouldn't turn you off of all of them. There are good and bad people in all professions and you deserve to find someone you feel comfortable with and that you feel will help you move in a forward direction. Don't settle if you're not comfortable; don't risk your recovery b/c of personality conflicts. I'm on my 3rd and do give them time to get to know you, but if its not helping you grow, try someone new for 6months or so.

WOW! I'm on Effexor XR I've been on it for a while, my doctor switched me from prozac to the effexor because the prozac just wasn't cutting it anymore...

I'm glad I got this information though. I hope your doing okay.. and this is a great board for support if you need it.