As someone who has taken Effexor XR (venlafaxine HCl), I know all too well what the withdrawal symptoms of this medication are like – they can be pure hell. I was fortunate to have only taken this medication for a couple months. However, there are people out there that have been on this powerful antidepressant for years. If you come off the medication cold turkey, you may send your body and mind into a state of total shock, depression, anxiety, and disarray. In other words, you may not be able to cope with what you are experiencing because the withdrawal is that powerful.
Obviously if you were taking Effexor XR, you know that it is an “extended release” SNRI medication. In other words it contributes to the re-uptake of the neurotransmitters Serotonin and Norepinephrine in the brain. This is supposed to help people with depression and anxiety function better in society and cope with their condition. This medication is considered among the toughest to withdraw from due to its potency as well as short half life of the drug.
Factors that influence Effexor XR withdrawal include:
1. Time Span
How long have you taken Effexor? Did you take it for a couple months? Years? Have you taken it for over a decade? The amount of time you have taken this medication means your body has become reliant on this medication for everyday functioning.
2. Dosage
What dosage did you take? The dosage of Effexor that is commonly prescribed is 75 mg/day. However, some people may start at 37.5 mg, while others may fall between the range of 75 mg and 150 mg. The higher the dosage of the drug you were taking, the more difficulty you will have withdrawing.
3. Individual Physiology
Individual factors play a huge role in withdrawal. If you naturally aren’t really affected from antidepressant withdrawal symptoms, you may not be hit as hard with Effexor. On the other hand if you are very sensitive to medication, you may have a tougher time coping with the withdrawal.
4. Cold Turkey vs. Tapering
Do you plan on stopping Effexor XR cold turkey? Or have you set up a tapering protocol with your doctor? These are some questions to ask. Obviously cold turkey is much tougher on your body and brain’s readjustment compared to a gradual taper.
Effexor XR Withdrawal Symptoms
The symptoms of discontinuation from Venlafaxine XR typically are most severe upon complete cessation, but may start to emerge during a taper (i.e. dosage reduction). Considering the fact that Effexor stays in your system for around 1.15 days and its metabolite O-desmethylvenlafaxine is excreted within 2.52 days of stopping, symptoms initially become most noticeable at around day 3 of the withdrawal process.
- Anger – Do you feel like you are ready to rage? This is likely a result of stopping your medication. You aren’t able to feel as good as you did on the medication so your brain is trying to compensate. This may make you become increasingly hostile and a tough person to hang out with for awhile.
- Anxiety – Since the brain will not have the surplus serotonin available that it was getting from the drug, it is highly likely that you will experience anxiety upon withdrawal from this medication.
- Confusion – It may be tough to think and you may experience a degree of confusion when trying to stop Effexor. This is just your brain attempting to readjust to normalcy. It may take awhile, but eventually the confusion will stop.
- Crying spells – If you have severe depression, you may cry for no reason or experience “crying spells.” This is basically uncontrollable crying because you feel so depressed. When coming off a medication that was helping treat your depression, it is natural to experience the opposite of happiness.
- Depersonalization – Do you feel like a zombie or unlike yourself? Do you feel like your soul left your body and you have become someone else? This is natural and it’s called “depersonalization.” This is a very common symptom of withdrawal.
- Depression – You may experience increased symptoms of depression or more severe depression while coming off of Effexor. Try to take a step back and realize that this is totally natural. Eventually you will recover from feeling so down in the dumps.
- Dizziness – Antidepressants are extremely powerful and can really mess with your brain. Once your brain becomes accustomed to a chemical, and you take it away, it attempts to recalibrate itself. Therefore you may experience dizziness upon withdrawal.
- Electric shocks – Some people experience what are commonly referred to as “brain zaps” or electrical shocks when they stop taking Effexor. This is most common with drugs like Effexor and Paxil that have short half lives and are extremely powerful.
- Fatigue – Nearly everyone will experience fatigue, lethargy, and tiredness when stopping an antidepressant.
- Headaches – Do you have a pounding headache or migraine? If you experienced this when you quit taking your Effexor, it could be a withdrawal symptom.
- Insomnia – The inability to fall asleep at night is what people with naturally higher levels of anxiety may experience.
- Irritability – Every little thing may get on your nerves or “set you off.” Try your best to relax and control yourself around others.
- Loss of appetite – Some people may not feel like eating. It’s important to make sure that you are eating healthy and maintain a good diet even when stopping this medication.
- Mood swings – You may be irritable, crabby, angry, etc. If your moods are all over the place when coming off this medication, just know that this is pretty common.
- Nausea – Do you feel nauseated and somewhat sick? This may be an especially prevalent side effect in the first couple weeks of withdrawal from the medication.
- Nightmares – Some individuals experience weird dreams and/or nightmares. These are no fun, but part of the process.
- Pain – You may experience pain within your muscles and joints. Although this is less common, it is still what some individuals experience.
- Panic attacks – Everything may send you into a major state of panic. Your work, your school project, etc. may make your anxiety skyrocket to the point where you experience panic attacks. This is because your brain doesn’t have sufficient stores of serotonin – they will eventually get replenished.
- Vomiting – Do you keep throwing up? If you are constantly puking as a result of stopping Effexor, just know that it’s part of the withdrawal. If this is a big deal, you may want to taper more gradually.
When will Effexor XR withdrawal symptoms subside?
It may take weeks, it may take months, and it may take a year for you to completely recover to 100%. Everyone copes differently with their withdrawal period. If you are withdrawing and have a major panic attack or anxiety that won’t go away, you may think that you’ll never end up recovering. Just give it time and continue about your life the best you can.
As you probably already know, Effexor is one of the toughest medications to withdraw from if you have been on it for an extended period of time. These antidepressants are no joke and some would say that they are more extreme than hard drugs to withdraw from. Although your psychiatrist may consider withdrawal to be easy or a simple process, he or she did not take the medications so really has no idea what’s going on internally – within your mind and body.
Be sure to always communicate with friends and family during your withdrawal period. Try your best to get sunlight, stay outside, eat healthy, and exercise. Eventually you will recover. A lot of people think that they can get permanently damaged from taking antidepressants – this is pretty doubtful. However, it may be a couple years before you are completely recovered and feel completely “natural” again. Take things one day at a time. Gradually life will get easier. If you can make it through this drug withdrawal, you can do anything.
Hi I have been on Efexor for 8 years. I was on 150mg for 4 year and then went down to 75mg for 4 year. I want to stop taking them do over the last month I started on 37.5mg for 2 weeks then took 1 tablet every second day till I finished. It’s been nearly 2 weeks and I feel as if I’m losing the plot. Anger is a big one. I can’t sleep and crying over nothing. I’m at the point that I want go back on them again.
I’ve been on Effexor XR 37.5 mg for about 10 years now, alternating bw 75 and 37.5 mg over these years. I would say past few years have been 37.5 mg. I decided to stop taking it all together and have read quite a bit on the withdrawal symptoms. I stopped taking it on Wed and I’m on day 2 today. My symptoms for past 2 days include brain zaps, fogginess, extreme tiredness.
I also have a really bad sore throat, I’m not sure if this is related or just a fluke. Its quite scary to think that this med could cause such withdrawals. I’m hoping that because I have been on such a low dose that my withdrawals don’t last too long but I guess only time will tell. I told me doctor about stopping it and was told it won’t be bad because I’m on such a low dose, but I haven’t seen that yet. Thanks for all the posts above, it is helpful to know I’m not the only one going through these awful withdrawals.
I have just completed a course of withdrawal from Effexor without experiencing any serious side effects. I had been taking a dose of 150 daily for about 25 years. I reduced the dosage by exactly 5 beads a day. Each capsule contained about 500 beads. Each day I carefully counted and noted the reduction in the dosage. The courses took me 100 days, but at no time did I feel any side effects that I’d call even unpleasant… in the last two weeks or so some very mild brain zaps, but nothing else. And the zaps faded quickly. I recommend it: very slow, very steady.
Oh I have a symptom I haven seen among the messages. The first few mornings I was off Effexor I would wake up in a semi comatose state. My mind was awake but my body wasn’t and I couldn’t talk. That lasted nearly a hour. The second day my dogs were trying to get me up to let them out. Hubby was in the room but didn’t notice. I fought to speak but only could grunt sort of garbled cry finally came out after 10 minutes. An interesting experience. I thought this is what it’s like to be in a coma.
I have gotten off abruptly, due to the fact that I had no more prescriptions and doctor wouldn’t refill unless I went to see him. I don’t have money to pay off medical bill right now, so I AM sort of up a creek. Been taking this medication for at least 10 years, since the birth of my son. Had bad post partum depression. Anyway, what I can say that has been helping me cope, with all the side effects is essential oils. I have a friend who believes in them had me seen and OMG what a difference they have made. My nightmares have subsided. Not feeling the anxiety and feeling of nausea has subsided also. I can keep food down. I am continuing on this journey of oils and all natural health care. I will keep you guys posted.
I have just stopped 275 mg of Effexor XR cold turkey. I had been on it for about a 2-3 years maybe. I was disgusted by the weight gain that my doc said could have been related to taking it. I just notified my doctor of this decision today, it has now been 4 days off of it. (The nurse and the doc praised my decision to want to stop taking it…so I could stop having my emotions controlled by man made meds, and just wanting to feel like myself naturally.
I started taking it secondary to bout of depression from getting hurt on the job, etc.). For the first couple days off of it, I had terrible headaches in the a.m. that would gradually subside. About the second to third day I was easily angered and irritated by the smallest, stupidest things. Now on the fourth day I have been crying at just about anything.
I am glad to see that is a common withdrawal symptom because that had me a bit worried. I also feel a little “cloudy and lightheaded” at times but it’s not really that much of an issue. I don’t know what other emotions are to come, if any, but I am feeling a little better right now; feeling normal and not a “medicated happy or normal.”
I have been taking 75mg Effexor XR for about a year for PTSD, bipolar disorder and depression. The shrink I was seeing wanted to put me up to 150mg and I am so glad that I didn’t listen. This is my second day off it completely. A new doctor thinks that I have borderline personality disorder and perhaps just traits of the other stuff. She has been really supportive of getting off of this nightmare drug and has put me on 100mg Wellbutrin and I have some ativan just in case.
Coming from 75 to 37.5 was tough with all the brain zaps, shaky eyes, irritability, borderline mania (which is nice for a change!), nausea, dizzy, horrible dreams, fatigue, inability to concentrate, all that and a bag of chips! I did that for a little over a week and around day 5 the severity of symptoms decreased. Now I’m 2 days off it and the withdrawals are much more severe but at times it feels like I’m on psychedelic drugs. No way that I can drive, probably shouldn’t be at work, but gotta pay the bills.
I’m going to try some of the natural methods (Vitamin B complex, fish oil, Vit C) my doc also recommends vitamin D. Also might take some gravol to help with the nausea. One thing I haven’t seen here that has gotten me this far is marijuana. I know it’s illegal and all and has its own problems, but I have found it the most beneficial for the nausea and irritability and crying spells. I don’t know if I would have been able to get this far without it. And it’s not a forever thing, just until this storm passes.
Lots of funny TV and movies and sex (with someone else or just yourself!) has also helped. Help your brain all you can by doing pleasurable things that will help your serotonin levels! What you are experiencing is a TEMPORARY withdrawal syndrome caused by your body’s inability to produce certain chemicals and it will eventually even out, so will you. Stay strong and believe that you can get off this terrible drug.
If anyone has any other suggestions for ways to combat the terrible withdrawal symptoms, please share! No matter how bad it is, at least I’m starting to feel creative again and I’m starting to look forward to life rather than dreading every day or feeling completely numb. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, they’ve really helped me.
I stopped taking Effexor XR 225 mg 5 days ago and immediately switched to 40 mg Fetzima and will work my way up to the right dosage. I was on Effexor for about 5 years and have not been sleeping and have been trouble thinking clearly for a long time now so finally decided to try something else. After going home from the doc and five days of crying, headaches, and all day stomach pain (new drug, coming off the Effexor?).
I am not sure why my doc had me quit cold turkey at such a high dosage. Has anyone else stopped Effexor without weaning off first to start a new anti-depressant and had a good result? It seems irrational to me to go back on Effexor to wean myself off when I am 5 days into the new anti-depressant, but I have no idea how long to expect this to last and my doctor sadly just seems to give me the latest drug the rep drops off, tell me everything will be peachy, and come back in 3 weeks so she can get another co-pay.
It’s been about 15 years on Effexor for me. It was helping me with menopause and depression. Under my Dr’s care, started to wean off from 150 mg mid Jan./15. Last pill 37.5 mg March 25/15. Its been rough..crying and wailing, horrible anger, screaming at the walls, feeling like I’m going to just explode. Dizziness and poor balance. Restless legs at night…even a brain zap or two and terrible taste in my mouth that won’t go away. I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel finally, but it still seems a few miles away. I wonder who I’ll be when I finally get back. Good luck to you all.
Hey there, just in need of a bit of support or reassurance. I have been taking venlafaxine for the past 3 years. Reduced last summer to 75g. Since End of January 15 I gradually reduced the dosage. I was still taking a quarter of 35.5 every 3 days last week but decided not to take any more. I am so exhausted since I started to reduce in January. Now I wake up feeling like my eyes are already wet. I get up from bed and burst into tears. It is like a tap that I can’t turn off. I feel like every little thing is a huge effort. It feels like my depression at worse time.
I am so overwhelmed by these feelings. I am so anxious, have vertigo, but the worst is the exhaustion I think. I had to stop this medication as I would like to get pregnant. If I did not have this objective or the support of my husband I would go back on it immediately. I have done so much work to fight my depression, seeing a therapist and have changed a lot. But at the moment I feel back in time and it is so awful. Could someone who has past the first month or 2 months completely off, tell me it is going to be OK and that it does get better?
I was on this awful medication for 9 years!! 37.5 mg to 350 mg!! I got off it cold turkey!!!! Never want that inmy body again!! Apparently I have ADHD! Was diagnosed wrongly!! All good now 2 years later!!
After 10 years on 150mg a day of Effexor XR, I decided two months ago to get off of the drug because I miss myself. Started out taking a dose every other day. Had some withdrawal – nausea, dizziness, brain zaps. After three weeks, I went to every third day. Withdrawal symptoms intensified and dogged me for two weeks before they subsided. I’m now taking just one dose a week. Mild withdrawal symptoms continue, but I am kind of excited about actually experiencing my real feelings again.
I guess this got me through a difficult time in my life – legal problems that resulted from someone thinking I needed Zoloft. But it has been a decade. I lived a really great life until 10 years ago when someone thought I needed to mask my feelings with antidepressants. I’m ready to make life great again, free of emotion-numbing drugs.
New to this website. I have been off 150 mg of Effexor XR for a month cold turkey. I have take it for 9 years at 75mg and went up to 150 mg a year ago. Took it because I was going through menopause and the hot flashes, crying at any and everything and the black hole depression was more than I could take. It was great at first. Within 3 days I was myself and celebrating. I stopped crying but started forgetting words.
I would know the meaning of the word I wanted to say but could not for the life of me remember the word. I wasn’t so worried about it because friends of the same age were having the same problem. Never got better. The Doctor said it was a lack of Serotonin and I just needed more mgs.. I was very resistant but after nine years had started to cry at anything and everything again. Therefore 150 mg was prescribed.
The brain zaps were awful if I forgot to take it and I would get nauseous. I decided this was not a good thing for my brain and when I ran out I decided this is it. I prayed about it and God has helped me tremendously. The brain zaps are very, very light now. I sleep better than I have for ten years and feel rested when I open my eyes in the morning. I believe all of this is due to my conversations with God.
I try to repeat every scripture and promise from the Bible as I have been going thru this and He has helped me every step of the way. This is a vile drug and is from the pits of hell in my opinion but it will not overcome me!! Be encouraged because this too will pass. Hope this helps someone.
I have RA and have had depression since the onset, years ago. I have tried a few antidepressants over the years and none really made a difference. As a last ditch effort, I recently went on Effexor and was suffering brain zaps before the end of the day so I changed my dosing to night and had brain zaps half the morning and sometimes in the middle of the half life. I switched to XR and still experience brain zaps while on a steady dose. Withdrawal symptoms while taking a steady dose. Has anybody else experienced this? I switched over to cymbalta the other day hoping to not have so much trouble since its kind of a lateral switch. Agreed, these drugs are handed out to people that were depressed before they took it and now they are depressed and sick.
I’ve been off it for about a week. pounding migraine for three days straight combined with vomiting. I had horrible nightmares and was sleeping through the days. just taking excedrine to cope and drinking lots of water and trying to eat three meals a day. I didn’t mean to stop but I kept forgetting and then I decided I wanted to stop taking so many medications and thought I should try it naturally. I didn’t discuss it with my psychiatrist because she left for a new a job and I haven’t found another.
I had no clue about the withdrawals. I wish my psychiatrist would have warned me about stopping effexor. I figured it out by looking it up online then one night I couldn’t handle the headache and went to the ER. they gave me a silly prescription for nausea. The day after the ER I got some excedrine. I’m trying to cope. I hope it ends soon. I’ve only been on it for it about three months so hopefully it will end soon but it’s scary. I hope you all get through this. Just keep truckin. We’ll get though it.
Hi want to thank everyone for the comments. I think I would have freaked out if had not read the comments. I have quit about 13 days ago and I’m going skiing when I’m done with this comment. It was indeed very tough but knowing the facts I have stayed calm at home for the first 6 days. Took some occasional Tylenol pills, melatonin everyday and slept a lot. Got much of the described symptoms, but no headache. Brain zapping is a weird think to experience, but whatever, it happens, just stay calm.
I was on effexor 112.5mg for a year. Dropped 37.5 mg every month over 3 months. Kept 3 pills in case I couldn’t stand it but didn’t use them. It’s alright, you can survive this. I have had worse hangovers than that from alcohol. But those don’t last 2 weeks of course. All in all I wasn’t able to do much from day 2 to day 6, but then it started to get better and now I am off to go skiing.
I have always been depressed and turned to street drugs when I was younger to cope. I went to treatment center to get help and the doctor said these would be temporary to help me deal with my recovery and what had happened in my life. Little did I know, these would be even harder come off of. I have wanted to get off of these for years but tried once and couldn’t function with the withdrawals.
Today is day one of tapering down for me. I usually take 150mg XR daily, but am going down 37.5mg monthly. Fingers crossed that it is manageable this time, although the I doubt it will be. My job is very fast-paced and requires a high amount of focus and attention to detail. I can’t screw it up. I wish that I had educated myself more on the effects of these before going on them, since doctors never seem to.
I have been taking up to 150 mg Effexor daily for over ten years. I just completed weaning off of it for over two months and I have been Effexor free for five days! I have vomiting, nausea, brain zaps, dizziness, headache, fatigue and crying spells. However, each day these symptoms are becoming less intense.
From what I understand, it takes the brain about one year to heal and re-calibrate to it’s normal. I searched online for hours looking for an answer as to when this will be out of my system and found nothing promising. I am choosing to believe that many people have gotten of off Effexor and live a good life and don’t post about it because they forgot about how horrible the come down is!
I am going to post again in a few months and so on in regards to my withdrawal symptoms in hopes to help others. I feel that getting off of Effexor is like getting off of alcohol or street drugs. Research says it takes a year for the brain to heal. Although I am not an alcoholic or drug addict, I am taking a recovery approach to get off of Effexor. I am going to focus on living a balanced lifestyle over the next year while my brain heals! I already feel better – lighter, more real.
My battle with depression was related to situations that occurred. I think that I have resolved emotional issues related to this and I’m ready to be med free! I think that it’s important for anyone on this blog to treat themselves nicely while they withdraw – and all of the time!
I am so happy to have found this site.. I thought I was going insane until I found this site and the withdrawal symptoms it has listed. I have been taking Effexor XR 150mg since last summer. I found out I was pregnant 3 weeks ago and made the decision to taper off the medication. My obgyn advised me to take a pill every other day for a week, then every two days for a week, then half of a pill twice during the last week.
Today was my last half of a pill. I have had the worst brain zaps or whatever you want to call them since the first day I missed the pill. I have also been unbelievably exhausted, nauseated, and all over the place emotionally which could just as well be from being pregnant, but I am not convinced it is considering I am so early in my pregnancy. It has been hard for me because no one understands why I have not been myself or what I am talking about.
This withdrawal process has definitely been the hardest thing I have put my body through. I will not start the medication again once I have my baby. I wish that this would have been discussed in more detail before I was instructed that this was my only option for my anxiety, depression, and panic episodes. Good luck to everyone trying to taper off this drug :)
Today is my first day without effexor… I was on it for 6 months taking 150 mgs daily. I tapered off for 3 weeks, and today is my first day pharma free. I am finding it unbearable to do anything. I couldn’t go to work, I can’t make myself do anything productive. The brain zaps are almost debilitating. I can’t remember what I was doing a half hour ago, I’m irritable, can’t stop crying and I am so disoriented.
If anyone knows of anything I can do to help, please let me know. I feel like I’m being a big baby about this, but I’ve never experienced this feeling before. I feel like this is hopeless and I should just start taking it again, and I really don’t want to. I worked so hard to get this far, and going back on it will erase everything I have done.
I was on Effexor 37.5mg for 7 months. I decided to come off of it – gained at least 15 pounds!! I exercise daily and eat right, too! Started taking 1 capsule every other day for 2 weeks(per doc’s order) then stopped it. That first week was brutal! Nausea (tums helped), and sudden bursts of dizziness occurred. I’m getting better every day! Hang in there people! YOU CAN DO IT!!
I was on Effexor for 9 years. I went off of it cold turkey almost 7 months ago because of side effects. The first 10 days were pure hell, but I managed to get through it. At 3 month off of the Effexor, I experienced a severe depressive state which continued for over 2 months, so I went to my Dr. and was put onto Bupropion, which caused an even more severe depressive and semi-suicidal state, so I stopped taking it.
As time goes by, I admit that I have wondered at times whether the prolonged use of effexor might have caused permanent damage, so I wanted to thank you for your statement. “A lot of people think that they can get permanently damaged from taking antidepressants – this is pretty doubtful. However, it may be a couple years before you are completely recovered and feel completely “natural” again. Take things one day at a time. Gradually life will get easier. If you can make it through this drug withdrawal, you can do anything.”
It has been so reassuring to lean that despite the Doctors’ claim that stopping antidepressants causes no or minimal withdrawal symptoms, there are people out there who have also experienced extended withdrawal symptoms/syndrome from stopping antidepressants, it makes me feel much less alone and isolated. Again, I can’t thank you enough for your articles. They have been very up-lifting on some of the lowest days of my life, not certain how I would have gotten through some days without the comfort of reading them. -Joan
I’ve taken Effexor for about 7 years now. Started out it was suppose to help reduce my hot flashes, it worked. I realized that it also had a great calming side effect, which helped greatly with my special needs child. He had some stressful behavioral problems. But the last few years, I noticed that I was perfectly happy letting life just pass by. I only did what was absolutely necessary.
I’ve had trouble completing my online classes. I didn’t care if my work was done on time or not, or if the bills got paid on time, or any other paperwork. Everything was late… I didn’t care. Anyway, I decided it was time to get me head clear again. For two months I’ve tapered down. I’ve been off for the last 6 days now, sleep is hit and miss. I do feel dizzy 2/3rds of the day, I never know when it’s going to happen.
I haven’t had many mood swings, and my son hasn’t driven me crazy yet. After reading some of the other posts I think I’m doing pretty, good. I just need some real rest, and I hope this dizziness stops soon, it’s weird. I hope everyone come out feeling better than they started. Hang in there, all my fellow withdrawers.
Today is day 11 without Effexor. I was put on it 5 months ago for severe depression and anxiety. It was only partially helpful, but most of the time it just increased my symptoms. So, I tapered off pretty fast. I was put in Remeron, but that has not done much to help. So here’s my experience: 1. increased depression, 2. brain zaps or clicking sounds when I turn my head, 3. headache, 4. increased anxiety…
I am so upset that my doc kept me on this med even when it was clear it was not helping much. My doc keeps saying that my withdrawal should be over by now, but it isn’t. I went to the emergency walk-in mental health clinic yesterday and the P-doc there said he did not think the increased depression was from coming off Effexor!! What?? I have an appointment in two days with my regular P-doc to figure out if I need a different med other than Remeron to help me with my depression.
It is weird because I’ll have a day where I’m not crying and feeling so deeply depressed, followed by a day of depression and crying a lot. Is this withdrawal? Or does anyone think it means my current medication is not helping me enough? I want to feel like me again. I’m in therapy. I’m doing all I can. I’m thinking of just getting off all antidepressants and trying natural methods to help with depression and anxiety. I’m taking fish oil, amino acids and a multi-vitamin. God give me the strength.
I took the 37.5 mg dose of Effexor XR for a year and stopped taking it 5 days ago. My doctor didn’t want me to open the capsule and count out the beads because she said they aren’t consistent in the amounts because they are different sizes. Hmm. You’d think they could fix that if they wanted to pretty dang easily. I’m not sure I agree with her but I’ll try it her way first. If it gets too hard I’ll wean off by counting beads. For now, I’m substituting exercise, working out every other day.
Within 36 hours I had the foggy head, headache, nausea, body aches and brain zaps. Within 48 hours I had the nightmares and difficulty sleeping. I had to take a sleep aid or I wouldn’t have slept at all. After 4 days the physical symptoms were definitely passing (just a mild headache, occasional brain zaps and fog) but I felt the irritability creeping up. Five days and I’m feeling pretty pissed off at everything. Frankly, the physical symptoms are far easier to deal with. I really hope this passes soon!
Ally, I wish you the best luck. I know what you’re going through. My syptoms have gotten better, but all of them are still there (this is the third week off it). The worst is terrible anxiety and electric shocks, but the shocks are less frequent and less intense. Also, the nightmares are still there – or very vivid dreams. Sleeping, though, has thankfully gotten easier.
I have also had the same experience with being pissy all the time. It’s been really easy to get on my nerves. There’s been a few points where I just wanted to fight or hurt someone for no reason whatsoever. It’s horrible. Not like me at all. I hope this passes sooner rather than later for both of us. It’s extremely stressful! And just no fun.
I used to take 225mg/day. I did that for more than half a year. It ended up doing much more harm then good. My depression skyrocketed and so did my anxiety. My psychiatrist recommend increasing my dose to 300mg/day. I should have listened to my gut and said no. I’be been on it for almost another half year and things even got worse. I decided to go cold turkey a few days ago.
It’s beyond belief. The electric shocks and depersonalization are my most severe. I can’t move. I just shake and feel freezing but I cant stop burning up and sweating at the the same time. I just want these symptoms gone and this drug out of me honestly. Maybe this wasn’t a great idea, but honestly I just need effexor gone. I am going to be useless for the next week I’m guessing haha
Please let me know how it goes. That seems like a big dose to just stop taking. I went cold turkey off the 37.5 mg five days ago and the physical symptoms seem to be fading already. The irritation is setting in now. I’m really pissy and no fun to be around, though I’m trying not to lash out at others. I’m hoping that the short half life will benefit us in getting it out of our systems faster.
So happy to have found this site. I took Effexor XR 150 for close to 10 years. I have been totally off this drug for 5 weeks. It was torture. I tried many times to stop and failed. The brain zaps, body twitching , brain fog, confusion, etc. made me continue taking it. I found a compassionate MD that helped me wean off of this evil drug. I was afraid, so I did it very slow. The drug was in my system for so long. For 2 months I went to 112.5, then for 1 month I was on 75, then 1 month I went to 37.5…then nothing.
I had brain zaps, weepiness, etc. I now feel much better, but still not 100%. Still emotional, brain fog, etc. and I haven’t lost the weight. How long until this drug is out of my system? I think this drug should be illegal. I was never told about the side effects or how difficult it would be to get off this drug by the MD that first prescribed it.
I have everyone of these symptoms of withdrawal, it’s awful I am completely debilitated with the quitting of this medication… 150 mg was my dosage. MY advice is don’t trust anyone with your body and brain! These drug companies are shameful and need to be stopped. Please research what is out there with natural and herbal medicine! Tell these dirty drug companies to kick rocks!!!!
Wow! I cannot believe what I have learned from everyone here. Thank You! First of all, I am not good at taking a pill everyday at a certain time. I try to take with food, but you know how it is. Sometimes I have breakfast sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I work through lunch. I have been on 250 effexor for a year. I had no idea that the problems I am having is due to taking this drug!
If I missed a dose I would get the brain swirls and knew that if I took the pills it would go away. Finally 3 days ago I decided to wean off. I thought that I could just go to 75 mg then quit and I would be ok. NOT. So I Googled weaning off of this drug and I feel so much better that it is not me. I realize now that the severe sweating, horrible gut aches, headaches, sleeplessness and the emotionless feelings are from this drug.
My husband has told me sometimes I act really weird and confused, but I have no recollection of any of this. I feel like S—! I am going to stick with 75mg for another week and then I am only going to take one when the withdrawals start and hope the gaps in between keep getting longer. I don’t know what else to do. If anyone has any help to offer, I would greatly appreciate it. Or, I would love to hear from someone that has gotten through it. I just want this to be over…
I’d caution you NOT to take a pill just when you have symptoms with this particular drug. It basically puts you right back on the full dose when you do that. Effexor has a short half life so you are playing ping pong with your brain. On the drug, off the drug, etc… I tried it that way and it simply did not work. It just made me MORE unstable. Try slowly stepping down until you are at the 37.5 dose. Then you might be able to step off completely. That’s what I’m trying to do now.
Hello… I am 23 years old, I only weigh about 100 lbs and I’ve been taking Effexor XR for a year. Despite my size, I take 375 mg. Today is Saturday, and I won’t have a refill until Tuesday. I feel extremely sick, anxious, dizzy and tired. I don’t know what to do to get through this… honestly, I want to sleep as much as possible.
No doctor ever told me that this drug is addictive. Effexor has helped me more than anything else, but I don’t want to be on it for the rest of my life. Even if I take my pills too early, by night time I have horrible nightmares and wake up drenched in sweat. I feel so lame and helpless right now…
Don’t you just LOVE how doctors will put you on a drug that you absolutely cannot miss a dose of but then refuse to just call in a prescription when you are out? My doc would make me come in (driving two hours) every three months in order to get that precious refill. If I ran out before it was renewed I’d have to wait until they had an opening. If they’re going to put you on something this volatile, they should be responsible enough to follow the medical recommendations that go alone with the drug. Just so you know, a lot of primary care physicians will renew your prescription for you in these cases. Mine did. I got it renewed for a full year with no game playing.
Hi everyone. My story is not as severe, but I do want to caution the cold turkey or break open the pill method you might read about online. I almost died two years ago by breaking open the pill and take out granular at a time. I was on the extended release. I messed with the chemical make up of the drug. I had convulsions, severe dizziness, passing out, blood pressure through the roof, feeling like I was having a heart attack.
This lasted about two weeks and I swear, I almost died. I landed on one 37.5 pill a day and have been too scared to come off of that amount. I felt at least I had back down from the 125 mg I was taking and the doctor was suggesting I increase it, really!?! I’ve now begun the taper off approach. It is much better. I’m not worried that I will stab my husband anymore. I still get some anger, but I can work my way through it without hurting anyone. I went every other day for a week, then every third day for a week and I have now not taken a pill for a week.
It is very weird, I can be feeling good one day and totally confused and dizzy the next. I don’t sleep well and I have a little bit of zaps here and there and some eye twitching. Not being able to think through a problem at work is probably my biggest concern right now. I am lucky enough to have a boss that I confided in and asked for her help in watch my calculations. I am literally responsible for wiring out millions of dollars a day to customers and I will get fired if I send out the wrong amount.
So yeah, I worry. So, on for the helpful part. I find Valium helps me with the confusion and dizziness a great deal. Now, of course, Valium is addictive, but I have experience with Valium and have no problem coming off of it when needed. Initially, I was taking Valium, small dose 0.5, on the every other day when the symptoms started, usually two a day. When I got to every other third day, I back off to one valium on that third day and now that I am not taking any effexor, I am taking half a valium only as needed.
I plan to do that for only a week and then I will stop the valium as well. I too have a really hard time understanding why Valium helps me so much, I don’t feel addicted to it and I don’t really get side effects when I stop taking it, yet the doctors won’t prescribe it. They push effexor, which has almost killed me. Maybe we are doing this all wrong. Maybe we should get the manufacturers to get incentives going for the doctors to prescribe more valuim.
I’m struggling badly. Ive been on 300mg of Effexor since 2003. I suffer with Fibromyalgia & they helped me to cope in chronic pain. The past 3 months I’ve been tapering down from 300mg to 150mg for 3 weeks, then 150mg to 75mg for another 2 weeks, then just 3 days ago I stopped completely. My GP wants me to begin Cymbalta. Right now I feel so sick. Every minute I go through an awful wave of anxiety, the brain zaps, heart palpitates fast, I want to vomit & have had the runs.
Before I stopped completely as I was weaning down I felt I was going ok & coping well. However since not having any of it in my blood stream now, my body is reacting big time. Ive gotten angry with bouts of & outbursts of tears, anger, depression, pain, nausea, & so so dizzy. I feel like I’m losing it & am scared to death. I cant stop crying & my whole body shakes uncontrollably at times.
I’ve taken 2mg Valium as Doc said to do, but that seems to make it worse, I want to be sick, sit on the loo in pain & dizziness & feel like crap all over. I’m so upset about it. Do you think I should take up 75mg again? Or ride it our for as long as it takes. I’m so pissed off & angry at the makers of this drug. Please help an Aussie girl out. I’m 46 & ready to meet my maker the way I’m going I probably will. Thanks for reading. From a very worried woman. -Cath
Hi Cath, I have been taking effexor 150mg for 20 years. Weaning to 75 mg then 37.5 that was ok until I stopped altogether. How are you going now? I am a strong person who was feeling confident about going off this drug but have found it to be very scary. I can understand why you are worried, do you have support around you? I am in my first week of no medication and not feeling good at all.
For the second time in six months, due to problems of communication between pharmacy, behavioral health at local hospital, and insurance company, have been 5 days without Effexor. I’ve noticed that I do not do well going cold-turkey from 350 mg a day to 0. Side effects of this have been sore muscles, teeth-grinding, anxiety, dizziness, mild sparks in brain and irritability to the point of rage.
Update: I am in complete shock and I’m literally holding back tears of gratitude right now. It’s only been 2 days and already I am almost withdrawal-symptom free! I was on 100mg of Effexor for a couple of years, so you I’m sure many of you can understand that this is not typical. I tried Dramamine and Bonine to help with the vertigo and nausea, which were my two biggest problems, as far as quality of life is concerned. Neither helped tremendously, but the Bonine did assist more with controlling my nausea, which was nice. Otherwise, I’m not sure I would recommend spending the money on either of them to help control symptoms.
The irritability and crying spells come and go, but I still feel like I can regain control. On the whole, I’m feeling so much better! Much happier! By this afternoon, the dizziness began to subside enough that I could walk without feeling like I was going to vomit. I’m pretty sure I owe it all to the Grace of God and to the new stuff I’ve been taking. But my point is this: it really will end. Thank you so much for all of your comments. They were so helpful, especially when it came to setting expectations for how the withdrawal process would go. I truly hope you all find peace and happiness–no group deserves it more.
It’s nice to know that I’m not the only person going through this. I have been on Effexor XR for a little over three years. I decided to get off of it because I lost my health insurance and because I did not feel that it was helping me. I have tapered down quite a bit on my own and will be completely off of it soon. I have experienced the “brain zaps” in the past when I was late on a dose and I am really not looking forward to that.
Since I am lowering my dosage, I have been extremely moody. I cry for no reason and get angry for no reason. My husband is not very supportive because he doesn’t understand. If I am this depressed just from lowering the dosage, I can only imagine how bad it will be when I completely stop taking it. If anyone has any advice, feel free to share! :-)
After starting a new product that has improved things for me drastically, I made the decision to cut out Effexor. I did not make it lightly, as I have been on medication for Bipolar disorder for many years, and have started/stopped/tapered many times. The days are already tough, but I do still feel that I’m making the correct decision for myself and ultimately for my body. I have gained so much weight on all the medications I have ingested over the years and although I’ve finally found something that helps with that, taking Effexor out of the picture should certainly help as well.
My biggest demons are the vertigo/dizziness and nausea. I have experienced some irritability, but nothing I haven’t been able to control if I stop and take a minute. Yes, I feel like crap and this is really not a fun thing to be doing right now, but I’m choosing to look at it from the other side, thinking of how great I will feel (hopefully soon) once it’s all over with. There is life after Effexor!
Was on Effexor 112.5mg for 12 years. Had fatigue, massive sweating, no libido, high blood pressure, screaming and flailing in my sleep, BUT missing a dose for just 5 hours resulted in massive headache and sobbing… And terror I was “getting sick”. Missed one dose over a 26 hr period. Woke up to total madness. Pounding headache, fear, dread, anxiety, crying, brain zaps, weirdness, suicidal thoughts… reinstating no help.
Resulted in massive number of new drug trials, all disasters. Still sick. Had no vomiting, dizziness, physical symptoms… Would prefer that… Feel totally unhinged. Do not start this drug, ever… Most doctors are totally ignorant of withdrawal. Call it “relapse” and aggressively drug a person, further injuring a ravaged nervous system.
I spent the last hour reading through this trail of posts. Thanks, I will be back. On my fourth day off Effexor XR cold turkey. Still peaking in terms of symptoms. Panic attacks: 2. Diarrhea: bouts of it several times a day. Crying spells: wow, this symptom has been the most active since yesterday. Anger is starting to build. Woozy and light headed all the time. One minute at a time. I do feel ALIVE no matter how unpleasantly so, that is awesome! Namaste’
It’s been 17 days since I stopped Effexor XR cold turkey. Granted, I was taking it for stress as opposed to anxiety or depression, but I was taking 150 mg a day for over a year. I’ve had very minimal withdrawal symptoms, and I feel SO much better. Further, I haven’t slept away a weekend since I stopped it. Hang in there everyone!
Hi, I can’t seem to find anyone who has been OFF effexor for more than a 6 month or a year, who can give me some answers. Maybe I can get some on here. I weened myself off the drug over a 2 month period. ( I had been on 75 mgs, then 37.5 mgs. for 3 years). I wanted off of it because I gained 40 lbs from it that wont come off, no matter what I tried.
Here’s my experience so far:
1. I cut back each week, via opening the capsule and taking less and less each week for 2 months.
2. When I finally stopped taking effexor totally, I experienced brain zaps for a month, but not too bad that I couldn’t live with them…..a bit of nausea, I could cry at the drop of a hat, bad diarrhea, very tired.
3. Its been 6 weeks since I’m effexor free. I am still very tired, ( I could sleep 20 out of 24 hours a day), diarrhea is still bad, and I haven’t dropped a pound.
MY QUESTION FOR ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN OFF THIS DRUG FOR A WHILE:
1. When did you finally start to lose weight…or am I stuck with it forever.
2. When does the diarrhea stop.
I would love to hear from anyone who has been off this drug for a while and your experiences post Effexor. I can’t seem to get any answers about it. Thank you.
Hi Kirsty, I am now about 3 months off Effexor and now have been suffering from joint pains and tiredness. I’m finding the agitated moments are happening less. I am also wondering how long these symptoms will last. The lack of physical strength and joint aches make life difficult.
I was taking 150 mg Effexor for 2 years. I had been on Prosac for more than 10 years and was doing fine with that. But I was having a lot of hot flashes from menopause and my doctor talked me into starting Effexor to help with the hot flashes. It did help with that but had I known the facts about Effexor I never would have changed. I stopped the Effexor mainly because I ran out. My doctor decided to double my dose to 300 mg ( something I disagreed with), and my insurance company wouldn’t fill the new script without a pre authorization due to the high dose.
So when I went to pick up the med I was told by the pharmacist I had to wait until they heard back from my doctor. I asked if they could just fill the lower dose but they said I would have to contact my doctor. I called the office and told them I only wanted the lower dose. I then proceeded to wait for 2 days to find out that the doctor got authorization from the ins company for the higher dose. In the meantime I began to have these wonderful withdrawal symptoms. They started the first day I stopped the Effexor but I didn’t realize that was what I was experiencing.
At the end of day 2, I began to wonder if the Effexor was causing these symptoms and it wasn’t the flu. I started researching online and was shocked to read about the severe withdrawal symptoms this drug causes. I sent a message to my doctor and requested to be put back on prozac. Well I didn’t get a response until I got a call saying that my new script for 300 mg was ready to be picked up from the pharmacy. That was 2 days ago. I haven’t picked it up yet, nor do I plan to. I somehow managed to get through work this past week.
And I figure I have come this far, I’m not going to start back on this drug and have to go through this again. Stopping cold turkey is not the best idea but I have come too far to stop now. I’m on day 6 with no Effexor. I have all the classic symptoms: dizziness, ringing in my ears brain sparks, irritability, confusion, fogginess, fatigue, feeling like my brain has to catch up with my head when I move, weird dreams, loose stools, some nausea, and an overall feeling of disconnected with the world around me.
Thankfully I have a wonderful, and very patient husband who is trying to help me through this. I am trying some natural things like b-vitamins, magnesium, calcium, multivitamins, fish oil, and St Johns Wort. I don’t know how much the natural things are helping, but I figure they certainly won’t hurt. Mostly I figure I will just have to plow through this and hopefully,at some point, be able to look back and see that I got through it.
My advice to others is to always research new meds before you start them and don’t let your doctor talk you into starting new meds until you know what you are getting into. I NEVER would have taken Effexor if I had any idea how terrible it would be to stop! And, by the way, I am changing doctors… this one apparently has not been listening to me!
Have found all your comments very interesting and reassuring. I was on Effexor XR for 10 yrs. my Doctor prescribed it as I was suffering from severe anxiety attacks. Have since found out that the attacks, palpitations were due to a congenital heart defect and have since undergone open heart surgery to replace my Aortic Valve. I always felt that I did not need Effexor as I was not depressed. But after starting the drug I felt dull, mentally not as sharp and the sex drive was non existent! Have others found this?
After having my surgery I was determined to go off Effexor. My doctor suggested I wait 6 months after my op which I did. 2 months ago I began my withdrawal by gradually reducing the number of pearls within the capsule. After a month I was down to 10 mg in the capsule so thought this would be a good time to quit. My withdrawal was still a nightmare! The brain zaps and dizziness were the worst, they lasted at least a month! The last couple of weeks I have been feeling extremely tired and lethargic. Also have been experiencing episodes where I feel agitated.
Have been self talking myself threw these and has worked well. My concern is the last couple of days the brain zaps have returned as has the agitation. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I am in for the long haul. No way will I ever, ever go back onto such an insidious drug! Chees and hope you are all progressing well I your journey to be Effexor X-RAY free. -Glenda
Glenda: Yes, like you I have been living in a “fog” for years on this drug and my libido went totally down the drain. Yet, doctors say these anti-depressants are not “habit forming”. LOL. I’ve been on 37.5 for 3 weeks now and I think I’m feeling better. I still am a little anxious about coming off totally, but I’m going to give it my best shot!
Good luck with your journey Terry. I was on 37.5 for 12 months but my doctor put me back on 75mg last year. She said that the smaller dose was so minimal that it would not be doing much. Think it was more she could not be bothered ring to get approval! I am feeling good today so hope it continues.
I’ve been taking Effexor XR for stress – 150 mg a day for a year and 75 mg a day for 6 months prior to that. I also took Celexa and Wellbutrin for a few months before the Effexor. The Effexor doesn’t seem to help with my stress levels anymore, and many times I don’t take it on the weekend and don’t notice any difference. It seems that the side effects (weight gain, no sex drive, sleeping away my weekends) now outweigh the benefit for me.
Because of this, I decided I would stop taking it, and took my last dose on the morning of 11/7. And no, I didn’t check with my doctor first. So far, so good though. I only seem to be having very minor withdrawal symptoms – a little bit of brain fog, some numbness & tingling in my fingers, and today I had a couple unexplained crying spells (after I awoke from sleeping the day away). Hopefully, this will be as bad as it gets for me.
Hello all. I tried the Benadryl, which seemed to help some though it made me too drowsy for work. I’ve been diagnosed with ocular migraines since this all started and did a little migraine research. Long story short, I switched my approach to a low dose of Adderall, which is sometimes used off-label for migraine treatment. It really helps cut through the cognitive fog I’ve been experiencing.
Adderall can make anxiety worsen, so it may not be for everyone. My troubles are migraines with aura (mostly aura), crying spells, confusion and memory problems. This is a bit scary. I haven’t felt like myself for too long. It feels good to be more effective at work, so Adderall has really helped in that department. I had a full cardio and neuro work up done in July. All are excellent. Blood work was also excellent. I’m waiting to get blood work back on my hormone levels to see if early menopause could be causing my symptoms. I’ll keep you posted. Take good care and God bless you all!
I just happened upon this website so I figured I would share my experience, I was on effexor for about 12 years and I took 150 milligrams 2 times a day. I felt that it did nothing for me anymore and If I missed even a dose I was violently sick for days which I got fed up with so I decided to wean myself off it(without help from a doc). I went from 150 to 125 to 100 to 75 etc until I was down to 0 which happened at the beginning of this year (February I think).
I felt like complete and utter sh*t for 2 or 3 months I had brain zaps, I was tired, brian fog, emotional outbursts and loss of interest in EVERYTHING I felt like a zombie 24/7. Then it gradually went away but then in July I started getting fatigued again I thought it was stress related my dad died, I got divorced, I had no place to live, I had medical problems (ear infections, GERDS (endoscopy), hydrocele (had hydrocelectomy), bladder infection and I was never really sick before this), money was tight, my son was having issues etc., so I waited till things died down a bit.
Four months later I am worse than I was before. I have major anxiety, mood swings, I’m still tired as hell, I’m always thirsty and hungry, I don’t sleep very well, the brain fog is something fierce, and I just feel like giving up on everything as I find no enjoyment in life anymore. My bloodwork came back normal so it’s not my thyroid or anything like that. I have a neurologist appointment next week so I hope they don’t find anything major, but I keep coming back to effexor because that’s when all this started happening.
Hang in there, folks. Have been on generic Effexor 20 years, most recently at 150 mg — 10 years plus? Honestly it’s been so long I can’t remember. Had a reaction to the generic they gave me this time — I swear they bid out the generics to whatever company will give ’em a bit of the real drug with the most filler in the capsules for the lowest price. Wound up in ER scared to death — and I was a health care professional for 30 years. Saw my family MD who tried me on Pristiq — that lasted 4 doses — then the same symptoms as the generic — another reaction.
Right now, I’m in Day 3 of cold turkeying it. Scary as heck. First 7 days had a feeling of bees under my skin, and what felt like the never-ending-hot flash — men, you have to women of a certain age to know what that feels like (!), extremely weak, uncoordinated, and goofy. Definitely not safe to be driving, problems at times thinking straight. Slowed reaction times. Just today I felt that slowly my cognition is coming back to normal. So far, I haven’t been sad or depressed, but have basically a week of my life that I recall very little of.
Of course I couldn’t get a straight answer out of anyone as to what was happening — reaction to generic effexor? To the Pristiq (same results after dose 4 of that?) My prescribing GP just doesn’t have the experience in this specialty, and the pharmacist couldn’t/wouldn’t tell me, (for liability reasons, I’m certain) Finally today talked to a psychiatrist acquaintance who said no, this is just the normal withdrawal side effects. I can’t tell you what a comfort it was to hear that. Will give the fish oil and VIT C a try — can’t hurt, might help.
The cat will at least love me more if I smell fishy. And yeah, I’m experiencing the buzz in the head, weakness, GI system changes, appetite changes. What’s giving me the courage to hang in is that finally, day 8 into playing “What is wrong with me? Am I gonna die?” I now know that every weird symptom I feel is evidence of more of the toxin leaving my body; telling myself that gives me courage to hang in. Sending up prayers for all of us — here in the club we would never have wanted to join had we been forewarned about the nastiness of this medication in the first place.
Thank you all for your support – without your comments I think I would have checked myself into a hospital, only to have more drugs administered. Seven years on 150 Efferxor. 45 days ago I tapered to 75 and then 37.5. No pills at all & on day three. Brain zaps are more scary then they are painful. plenty of crying and yelling at loved ones. They are coping with me – God Bless all of us. Hang in there… I am using FISH OIL and VIT C (1000) a few times a day and they really work. Also, getting ready to include OMEGA 3 & vit B.
I was on Effexor XR for 3 years. Anytime I missed a dose I suffered terrible brain zaps and severe headaches. I was terrified of ever having to come off them. I have also gained 28 pounds in weight which was really getting me down. I read up on loads of sites about quitting Effexor XR and could not believe the awful stories I read and how so so many people have suffered withdrawal symptoms and continue to do so. Anyhow, I just want to put up a positive comment that it can be done and without any other drugs.
I did it in 3 weeks. I dropped to 75mg for 10 days with no side effects, then 37.5mg and then I just stopped. I did get the mentioned side effects but the brain zaps were a lot less severe than I anticipated. They were frequent but reduced every day. It wasn’t easy, I slept loads, felt like I had an awful flu, my joints ached, headaches and sweats but with couple of paracetamol when I felt terrible, I got through it. It wasn’t easy but after 2 weeks I felt lots better and now 6 weeks off the tablets I feel amazing.
I had forgotten what the real me felt like, I had almost become numb to everything. It is brilliant to be me again. Stick at it, it can be done. I am a single mum of 3 kids so I had to literally drag myself through some days but that didn’t last long. Have faith in yourselves. It can be done :)
I have felt so much better after reading all these comments and knowing I’m not alone. I have been on Effexor for nearly 2 years and have suffered from profuse sweating day and night and have been to docs numerous times but they never once indicated it as a side effect of the meds. I have been off them for 3 days now and the dizziness is flooring me, although have already noticed a difference in the sweating. Just knowing other people have been through this and came out the other side has given me hope. So I will continue with my withdrawal and look forward to feeling normal (ish) again soon.
41yr old white female. On no other meds.
I was on Effexor for less than two months at 75mg 2wks and 37.5mg ~3wks. Quit cold turkey on PsyD’s advice because my dose was “subtherapeutic” anyway. Here I am after six months of the emotional rollercoaster, visual/language disturbances, brain tingles, memory loss, confusion, migraines…yada yada yada.
I had NO idea until last night that it could have anything to do with a med I took for less than two months. I am SO thankful for your posts. Keep your chin up and tough it out. You will kick this…and so will I.
I read some UK blog posts last night regarding the use of Benadryl to mitigate withdrawal symptoms. Anybody try that recently? I had NO idea this drug had such severe withdrawal symptoms. Never would have taken it if I did. NEVER. I’m going to try Benadryl. I’ll let you know if it helps.
God bless you all. Peace and rest.
Benadryl is helping its the only thing to be honest that and beta blockers 100 mg of metoprolol and 60 mg of propranolol. It’s not complete help but it is help.