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.
For the love of your body, life, loved ones and your heart…Please stop taking this medication. I am not against all medications, there is a time and place. And never should something like this be taken for prolong periods of time… Hell I don’t think THIS medication should be taken at all, since the severity of it for your WHOLE body!
Waking up to day 4 at 1 AM in the morning, crying, head pounding, cursing the man in the moon, nauseous, all the symptoms of everyone else. This is the first thing I have read since my last dosage. Going cold turkey wasn’t a choice since my meds never showed up in the mail, as they normally do. So I am up and down, experiencing all this awfulness. But determined to fight! FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! I have no family near by, I’m 29 female, barely 100 lbs, and have been on Effexor for almost a year.
It is the last of the smorgasbord of medications the doctors have put me on in the past year, that I am determined to kick! I’ve lost a marriage and the last 2 years of joy to being on all kinds of meds. But after this one, 2016…is my year. I am sick, I have read on up on the vitamins and such. Will start increasing those. I am disgusted and WILL have words with my doctor ASAP. I am sensitive to medications and a tiny woman, NO WAY should she of continued to increase my meds to over 300 mg a day.
I was having nightmares/terrors and not sleeping the night through, and spells of “Wired & Tired” with no relief, so she continued to increase it. Always saying “you have a lot on your plate, let’s just up it a bit, I have no worries of you OD’ing on it.” So I am livid, hurt, and now just down out rightfully so determined to TAKE MY BODY BACK!!! Those of you who have advocated and encouraged people. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. This blog helped me realize that I was not alone.Bless you all going through this. -AT
Took Effexor XR 75mg daily for 16 years. Cut down to 37.5mg daily with relatively few side effects. Tapered off 37.5 mg by counting beads over a long 6 month period. Had side effects but was still able to work, function, get by. I have now been Effexor-free for 6 months. My memory has become exponentially worse since discontinuing Effexor.
I have lost 22 lbs (that is okay!) have considerable agitation and anxiety, especially in the AM hours; worse than before I ever started taking the drug. I am especially concerned about the memory loss and wondering when I will begin to feel better. I do not take any other medications. I do not eat a lot of sugary or processed foods. I am not depressed, but I am feeling discouraged that as time goes on I feel worse rather than better.
I agree. Withdrawal is pure hell. For me this drug is a Godsend. I will take no other.
I have been on this drug for just over a year. Reduced about a month ago from my DR to 225mg. It has almost been 1 whole week since I have quit any and all dosages completely. Although the withdrawal has been possibly the worst nightmare I have ever been through, the ability to FEEL is the most addictive part. I do not recommend anyone quitting like I have without having an alternative plan to deal with withdrawals. I am starting a body flush to help ease me out of this mess. Never again. Kudos to all who make their way through life after having been on this crap.
Thanks to everyone who has posted here – for giving me reassurance that I’m not totally on my own. I feel like I’m in the pit of hell at the moment. I’ve been on Venelafaxine for 1.5 years, 37.5mg three times a day. I did wean off gently, and I’ve been on nothing for about 1.5 weeks, but I feel like the depression is kicking into full swing again.
It’s like the tablets just but a lid on the depression for a time, and despite all of the treatment I’ve had (counselling and Mindfulness), as soon as the lid has been lifted the old me is still there, screaming. Head zaps have been awful; uncontrollable sobbing for no reason; bad stomach upsets/nausea; ‘bad’ thoughts coming in again; and I’m so irritable, short tempered and angry – I hate it, I feel like a horrible, horrible person – please, please tell me this isn’t it forever :(.
I started coming off 275 mg of Effexor 8 weeks ago tapering down from 275 to 150 then to 100 then 75 finally down to 30 mg for two weeks now o for 4 days. I feel nauseated with awful reflux, foggy headed and anxious and very teary. I had be on it for 3 years. I was not told how bad the withdrawals would be.
I will never take antidepressants again. I started to feel like I had serious stomach problems… I feel so sickly and dread eating anything as I feel so awful afterwards and I’m a Diabetic. I could kick the stupid GP who put me onto Effexor… it should be banned.
I am currently on day four of quitting Effexor cold turkey. My prescription was for 150mg. I am doing well. Right now, my biggest concern lies in the effect that withdrawal is having on my body. If anybody could answer me this question, it would really ease my mind (or make me realize that I need to taper off rather than quit cold turkey). Anyway, my question. Is there a potential for heart attack from withdrawal of this medication? Again, my dose is 150mg. I’ve been on Effexor for almost a year. Thanks in advance!
I’m having terrible withdrawal symptoms. Brain zaps that include zaps of tingly/numbness in my fingers and face, zaps where it feels like my hearing fades…I also feel like I an cry at the drop of a hat. Not that I’m depressed but more that I’m feeling things, happiness and grief. I can’t sleep and I feel disconnected from my body at times (weird?). I wish this would end. It’s been a week and I feel like there’s no end in sight.
Where do I begin, I went on Effexor XR after my brother died followed by a long four years of painful life challenges. Not having insurance being one reason and experiencing no sleep as a result of the side effects of Effexor and refusing to go on sleeping pills, I decided to wean off. Well I can totally understand why heroin and other addicts have a difficult time quitting. Massive nightmares, nausea, extreme headache, brain zaps, nausea, lethargy, nausea nausea nausea. I have found that B and B12 vitamins and L-tyrosine help with the withdrawal, also lots of water
Effexor… hmm. This is my story – just hope it offers inspiration/insights… nothing more promised! I was on 75 mg/day for some years, prescribed to offset ‘the sweats’ caused by hormone treatments. For this, they worked. When taken off the hormone treatment, I didn’t need them anymore, but I stayed on them simply as I was relatively pleased with the emotional stability that they gave me, knowing that this was an area of my life that could always benefit from improvement.
The only notable side-effects for me were the vivid dreams. Not at all unpleasant as such, but after some years of them, waking to face the day as if I’d just spent the night wide awake as Indiana Jones or something similar, just wore very thin. So. 1st. attempt, cold turkey. Brain zaps by the end of the first day. Weird, but I put up with them. Some days later, the crushing depression, the explosive, hair-trigger emotional eruptions. Seriously not good. So, back on them.
A few months later, 2nd. attempt… tapering. I can’t say my way has any sound reasoning behind it, it was just the way I happened to choose out of personal convenience. Month 1. For 1 month, every day, I’d open up the capsule (a generic version that contained just 2 tablets of material) and take just 1. So, each day, a 1/2 dose.
Month 2. For 1 month, I’d cut each of the tablets in 2. So, each day, a 1/4 dose.
Month 3. For 1 month, I’d cut each of the tablets in 4. So, each day, an 1/8 dose.
After 1 more month, I stopped altogether. Each time I had cut back, the brain zaps had increased again, and after a few days, anxiety and depressive episodes increased before subsiding again. Notably perhaps, none of the steps (not even the first, biggest drop) was notably different from the others… except perhaps, the final one. The final one was initially, as before – brain zaps, gradually diminishing, but not disappearing, followed by increasing anxiety and depressive episodes.
This time however, they have -not- significantly diminished, (and possibly -continued- to increase,) even after 5 months without any of the stuff. There may well be days when I might feel that “hey, it’s over now,” only to have a recurrence a few days later. And although the depressive episodes come and go ‘quietly’, (often arriving when I wake up for no reason around 3-4 am, still having minor brain zaps,) the anxiety can return explosively in just a split second.
So… here I am, still not out of the woods. So far, I have chosen not to go back to my doc. In the last 2 weeks, I started on ‘something alternative’, in the form of over-the-counter Valerian tablets. A miracle cure? Don’t think so. But on the other hand, I think I can say that they -may- be helping, even if only as a placebo. I usually feel calmer when I meet a ‘rage-trigger’, and most nights, the time I lie awake in a state of anxious depression, seems to have reduced noticeably. Hope this helps. :)
Ive been coming off Effexor for 2 weeks. I was on 37.5mg for a few months then went onto 75mg. I became extremely anxious and panicky after about 4 days. My OCD symptoms increased. I decreased to 37.5mg for a few days and then went onto Sertraline 50mg. That was about 2 weeks ago. I now feel qutie positive but all I want to do is sleep. I also feel mentally foggy.
I wish I had never started taking Effexor. Its like a horrid kind of amphetamine. It shouldn’t be classified as a prescription medication. In 20 years time (hopefully much sooner) the current psychiatric medications will be talked of with the same disdain as full frontal lobotomy is today. I don’t know how the pharmaceutical companies and psychiatric profession can justify the way that they fail to advise people of how horrible these drugs can be and how difficult they are to withdraw from.
I wish that I’d never started taking these drugs when I was 20 and somebody with some common sense had just told me that I needed to exercise more to manage my mood. I’m now resigned to the fact that I will be hooked on SSRIs for life.
I have been dealing with effexor withdrawal for years. I’d always go back because it would get so bad that I couldn’t function. I couldn’t think straight, my head felt so heavy, and I just felt like I was always “high” in some manner. Until…I got a cold and took Sudafed. I realized the Sudafed was getting rid of the withdrawal symptoms.
I looked it up, and Sudafed seems to cause more norepinephrine in the body, which is what you’re withdrawing from when discontinuing effexor. I know that it’s not a good idea to add another drug, and that taking Sudafed long term is a bad idea…but I was so depressed and so unable to function because of the withdrawal symptoms that I would do anything to make them go away.
It’s not a permanent solution, but it helps temporarily. I’m putting this out there just in case there’s even one person that it might help. I wish I’d known this years ago…I would’ve saved myself so much agony.
I am here writing this, because I am in around day 5 of Effexor-VenlafaxINSANE-withdrawl, and I am really pissed that this type of withdrawl- yes withdrawl- like opiate withdrawl-is what I have to go through! It has been that freaking painful that I did a search to see what other people might be going through, and there are many, many testimonies on this thread, about how ridiculously difficult this drug is to get off!
I was on 300 mg for about a year and a half year to two years, and began decreasing my dosage over the course of quite a few months, and I have been on the 37.5 four maybe five months or so, and please forgive me for my not being quite sure of the time periods, because right now I can’t even think clearly, and the depression that I have now, is far greater than the depression that this medication was supposed to treat! This crap should be illegal!
The pharmaceutical companies are getting away with murder in this country! I mean, going through 3-5 days of discomfort getting off a medication I can deal with, but from what I’m reading here, this could go on for months, and even up to, or beyond a year! Already, I know I have to call my psychiatrist and get something else to combat the symptoms, because I can’t go through this for the next freaking year! It’s like a heavy gray blanket has been laid down over my field of vision, and I mean, my perception, my experience of what is going on around me, and finding something positive in that is impossible!
Whatever my depression was before, it was nothing like this and quality, intensity, and just plain is much much worse than what I began taking us for! On this thread people spoke of the anger, yes big-time, irritability, and the dreaming, which is actually amazing, because I’m having dreams that are otherworldly, and it’s like I’m really there! Some of them are actually interesting, but there are those that have a sad, depressing aspect to them, that when I wake up I carry that feeling of sadness throughout the whole day, and even several days I’m finding!
This medication is insane to take, and if you are thinking to take it- DON’T take it!!! Get something that will not involve a protracted- prolonged withdrawal! The reason I’m even writing this is because I had to go on the internet, as soon as I woke up, to find out how long it’s going last, and almost everyone, that is getting off this medication, is talking about months of pain and discomfort!!! I don’t have it to spend months feeling like this! I’ve gotten off of powerful opiates like morphine, and oxycodone, because of back problems, and the depression I feel from the withdrawal of this Effexor, is just as bad in some ways, and that is wrong, that this drug is allowed to be prescribed without proper warning, concerning discontinuation of this drug!
I just woke up a little while ago, and my stomach felt like somebody had sandpapered the inside of it while I was asleep, and it raw! I am only into maybe day five, and the thought of going through this another week seems like it is an impossibility-let alone another few months, or year or more! I had heard it was going to be difficult, but I thought it was going to be 3 or 4 days maybe, and it appears that people are suffering for months because of this crap! Even if they have a medication that can minimize the side effects, like an SSRI, it involves three weeks of this comfort in the adjustment period before they kick in- for something like Zoloft, or Paxil, it’s all crap!
All I know is I don’t have the time, to have my life turned upside down like this for a prolonged period time! That is a no-brainer! I’m going on a long time here because I am really pissed, and I’m sure some of that anger is coming from this withdrawal also! I’ve had moments over the last couple of days, where I wanted to rip the heart of something, because of the frustration I was experiencing when I was trying to tie my shoelaces and one of them broke! I have no choice apparently, than to go to my psychiatrist, and I hope he has something in his bag of tricks, that can reduce this discomfort/pain, because I just don’t have time for this!
I heard they have a class-action suit somewhere, against the company that makes Effexor, and now, I know why! If I can find the place to add my signature in a lawsuit against the company, that’s what I’m going to do!! If I find anything that helps with this, I will come back on this thread, and I will post it. I hope whomever is going through this, which it appears there are many, judging by the length of this thread, I hope it passes quickly for you! Namaste
Thanks. Needed to know I’m not alone in this detox nightmare.
Just found this today as it’s driving me mad trying to figure out why this is so full on. I’ve been on venlafaxine for around 4 years. Gradually went up to 225mg when I was doing badly, then back down to 150mg for a long time when I got on top of things helping or I felt then causing my depression. I stupidly tried going cold turkey from 150mg and the nightmares/voices (the latter being something I have never suffered in my life so you can imagine how freaked out that made me) and oncoming of hallucinations were so ridiculously strong on night 2 that I had to quit that plan.
After finally seeing my doctor and saying how much the medication was now actually causing me to be depressed (my positive emotions feel numbed and I feel zombie like a lot so I want off them to be myself again now that I am on top of previous issues) he agreed to help me taper off them better. I dropped to 75mg but am now finding it tough to get to see my doctor due to his hours and difficulty in getting appointments through that surgery. Because of this I have been cutting my tablets in half for weeks and am now so low on those that I’ve tried taking half a tablet every other day. So in theory I’m getting 37.5mg every other day rather than daily but the symptoms are still ridiculously severe.
The headaches and brain zaps are the most difficult thing to deal with. I’m eating painkillers like sweets and still suffering. Work is a nightmare due to me feeling so rough and tired as my sleep is also all over the place. I’m also confused easily and my memory is shocking at times. Of course I’m fatigued but that would be expected with the lack of sleep anyway. Between the headaches, brain zaps and lack of sleep though my patience and tolerance is next to nothing which means I am becoming infuriated dealing with certain people and it’s very apparent to people that I’m not doing well with stress.
I can’t understand why taking 37.5mg every other day is still causing such severe withdrawal symptoms. Well I couldn’t until I read this today. Also the nightmares are shocking. When I can actually sleep I’ve been having dreams which are like the worst horror films you could imagine. Where this stuff comes from I have no idea but it is pretty heavy going. Today I’ve decided to not bother doing every other day and just go a second day without taking anything.
I have a few days worth left of half tablets and seeing as the withdrawal symptoms are so bad now I figure I might as well just stop altogether and try to ride it out from here now. Just the timescale this site says it could take to get this shite out of my system is scary to say the least. I never realized any of this when I was put on this drug and how bad it is to get rid of. If I had I’d never have gone on the stuff.
I have been on Effexor for over a decade, never more than 150 mg. I told my dr. I wanted and he argued with me and told me he wouldn’t let me. I had to go a psychiatrist and “talk about getting off”. I finally started crying and told him I’m getting off it. I never went back to him. I’ve been on 75 mg and started missing every other day. Now I skip up to 3 days until the symptoms are unbearable. I’m going to 37.5 mg this week. I want to be completely off by Christmas.
My withdrawals are horrible! I can’t sleep. I’m very moody! I cry reading Facebook and watching commercials. I want to be alone and purposefully isolate myself from everyone because I feel so “weird”!I literally think I’m going to die. I constantly think death is imminent. I dream about myself dying and then wake up sweating and have panic attacks! I hate this medicine. I thought I needed it for all those years and now I’m begging for my life without it!
I am only on day 5 of coming off cold turkey from 75mg I have come off many drugs the same way over the years including diazepam 70mg and have to say that this is up there with the worst of them. I feel sick and dizzy all the time. If I move my eyes I feel like I’m going to fall over or pass out. I have ringing in my ears that changes to a whoosh whoosh sound when there is background noise outside. I’m an emotional wreck and feel like crying constantly.
I keep telling myself to keep going but if I’m honest I’m not sure I can. I’m scared that I will do something stupid I get so suicidal and low. I have a great wife and family to support me so I’m very lucky but it’s so damn hard. I am on a train typing this into my phone with a tear in my eye it’s embarrassing and distressing. I feel for all those who are doing this and all those that have this to come.
It helps to read others hopes and struggles with this hellish drug and know you’re not alone and going mad. It helps but it doesn’t take away the pain of doing it. I took solace in that when I was withdrawing from diazepam that it was my own stupid fault that I had become addicted and abused it so it was a kind of punishment if anything but this stuff is handed out to put you right with no consideration to what it will do to you.
I have no answers and can only add my experience so far to this blog and cling onto the hope that one day I will wake up and not feel as bad as I did the day before. The day that happens will be a good day and in some ways my first day. Good luck to everyone on here. Stay strong and give hope to others that have this to come….
Tapered myself off from 225mg down to none. I have been on the medication for 8 years. I have been tearing up at the silliest things, thought maybe I needed to restart. Very irritated, angry over small stuff, worst thing is the dizziness, brain fog I hope it will not last for weeks. If so I might restart it doing a piece of the pill to help. Thanks for all stories, we can get through this (with tears in my eyes).
I quit cold turkey after being on 37.5mg xr for 4 years. I did not take supplements to do it other than antacids. It was rough and at times didn’t think I would make it. Took about 3 weeks to feel markedly better physically but much longer for the fogginess to decrease appreciably. Had I known how long this would take I probably wouldn’t have quit but once I started I just crossed the days off and looked at each day without it as a victory. I made it!!
I have been on antidepressants for 8 years on and off, I’m bipolar with tons of anxiety. This is the worst drug I have ever taken, I took it for about eight months and my brain was so foggy I couldn’t even function. It was awful, so I weaned myself off and found out it’s also the worst to come off of. It’s been almost three weeks, some days I feel fine other days I feel like I have the flu.
Not to mention the constant anger and mood swings. So I did some research, I now take st johns wort for the depression and fatigue, multivitamins so I know I’m not missing anything important, and passion flowers extract drops for anxiety. I’m still not feeling %100 everyday but it has helped tremendously. Keep in mind if you want to try this stuff do a lot of research for drug interactions. Good luck everyone, hope this helps.
Wow. Reading these stories makes me want to cry! I was on it for sixteen months. 37.5 to 75 mg per day. Then down to 37.5 with the agreement that after two months I could go off. Auth only about a week to go I had forgotten to take it one day coincidentally as a result of getting a cold and feeling crappy anyway so I just threw the rest out. It’s 7 days later and I’m so dizzy and nauseous still that I googled how long is this going to last?
And found this site. It’s devastating to hear what so many are experiencing from this and I really am kicking myself for not researching this prior to taking it! I’m hoping that my symptoms will subside in the next several days and never never never again will I take stuff without questioning or researching! Wishing everyone else all the best in getting through this! We can do it – just knowing there’s others to support me and each other helps!
I decided to quit Effexor recently after discovering that it can cause lack of motivation. I think it may have been Friday Sept 25, 15 when I decided to go off it. I’ve been out of work since December 1, 2015 and finding it very hard to get motivated. It was a real surprise to discover that Effexor could be the source of that. I first started Effexor in 1997 for anxiety and it helped well for that. It’s so hard to tell what else you pick up with something especially because it takes weeks to months to have drugs like this come into full effectiveness.
For most of the years I’ve been on 75 mg from 1997 to 2009-ish when I went to 150 mg. I was on 150 mg until the end of 2011 when I went off Effexor cold turkey. I went off Effexor cold turkey at the time due to a divorce and moving countries. I don’t want to write a book, so won’t expound on that. I was already wrecked from the divorce, so I don’t recall how horrible it was to quit from 150 mg as well as I should. The biggest symptoms couldn’t have lasted more than a month during which I was unemployed.
I went back on Effexor perhaps in 2013. If I check my records I could find out pretty close to when I restarted it. I restarted on 75 mg daily which I maintained until a few days ago. So, I know that I can turn away from Effexor and be okay. My motivation to go off it again is primarily due to lack of motivation. I’ve been out of work for months in an economic area which has spiralled down in the last few months.
It has been so hard to get going some days since I don’t have a job to go to. I’ll often look for work and then go right back to sleep on the couch. There are so many things I could have been doing and I haven’t been doing them. I know most of us are this way and aren’t 100% self-actualized. So I’ve vaguely described how much I was on, why I was using it, and why I’ve decided to quit. Moving on to symptoms of quitting so that others can know what to expect.
Dizziness, minor nausea, and some disorientation have been the biggest effects for me so far. I think I took one 75 mg pill since I decided to go off it. Having done it before cold turkey I imagine I can do it again. Last night as the night drew on I found that I was becoming very weepy at emotional things on TV and books. I’ve been a more emotional person for all my life when it comes to sentimental things, so this appears to be just that trait amplified.
I have felt angrier than usual at some things as well. I have the news on TV a fair bit while doing things on my computer. I’ve probably always been someone concerned with social justice and fairness, so again this appears to just be an amplified feeling. I did manage to hop the bus yesterday and go to a fast food place for a bite to eat, and also get some groceries. When I say that my lack of motivation has been the decision to stop Effexor I really mean it. I’ve had such a hard time just leaving the apartment for any reason.
I have been allowing my food to run down to just about nothing before going out for anything. It’s been horrible how easy it’s been to procrastinate and say I’ll go get something tomorrow. I think some of the months since I lost my job I may have left the apartment maybe a couple times a month. I have had all these goals and if someone asks me why I haven’t moved on any of them I can just shrug and say I don’t know. I’m thinking of walking everyday which should increase levels of serotonin by a bit at least.
I’m a bit nervous about this though because feeling as out of sorts as I do it seems that I must look as out of sorts as I feel. I’m really fortunate that I’ve got a nice bike path that goes right by my building and runs along the river. It’s crazy how many opportunities I actually have. Like I said though, I’m a bit nervous that people will see that something is off with me due to how off I feel. It’s a small concern, but we sometimes allow those to derail us.
I’ll guess that today is day 7 of my withdrawal. I live alone and actually spend almost zero time with anyone, so its difficult to get an impartial view of how I’m behaving as I would like. However, I don’t have anyone here to tell off when I’m feeling a bit more on the angry side either so that’s an upside. We’re all different in our experiences and also in biochemistry, so your results may vary. Just because I can go off Effexor without weaning doesn’t mean you can or should.
I am unemployed at the moment and don’t have to worry about weeping openly at work. I don’t own a car or drive, so the dizziness and disorientation are not a safety risk in that regard either. Today my motivation is to get off the couch and go for a bit of a walk. I hope that I can help someone out by talking about what I’m going through.
It’s unpleasant to go through withdrawal from Effexor. I recommend taking time away from work if you’re planning on going cold turkey. I’ve napped when I desire and had a lot of weird dreams. I don’t have nightmares, or what I would call nightmares so having 2 in the last several days is out of the ordinary for me. Additionally I’ve had many crazy dreams, which I generally find amusing.
Today has been quite a bit better. I’m feeling a lot more motivated than I have in quite a while. The dizziness and nausea have subsided a lot, but I don’t want to get too comfortable with that for fear that it’s going to come back again. Should I need to go on something again for anxiety I’ll choose something else.
Many drugs are fat soluble. They stay in your system until until that fat is used. I’ve no idea how much can be released at one from from fat reserves, but it’s something to consider or research. I hope that what I’ve shared has been of use to someone. I’ll share more as the days pass.
I think I’m almost totally done with symptoms of withdrawal. At least the big ones that make me feel horrible. One big thing to remember (and I try to keep in mind myself) is that the reason you went on Effexor in the first place is likely still with you. It’s so difficult for a person to objectively determine how something is affecting themselves. I recall reading a couple different things about Ted Turner and his taking lithium to combat mood swings.
In his Autobiography has him saying that it affected him very little. A different source indicated that those people around him found him easier to deal with. I have found that small things make me angry now whereas they would not have when I was on Effexor. I’m working with those feelings though and hopefully can become a better person for it. Crying spells – check. Electric shocks – no, but I have had weird audible events which are shock like. Sound changing momentarily.
There are things about my behavior and feelings that Effexor stopped or reduced. I tend to be a person of extremes and I’m trying to find balance where its needed. I did a major apartment cleaning since going off Effexor. I am sure I’m not OCD, but Effexor made me not care as much about how messy my place was. Effexor helped me a great deal for many years. I do wonder if there could have been a better more targeted drug for me, or perhaps some form of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) which would have helped me better.
I’ve been on Effexor XR for years and my psychiatrist had me up to 300 milligrams of it when I went to my medical doctor for other problems and he took my blood pressure and it was too high. I told him how much Effexor I was taking and he said it was way too much and causing my blood pressure to go up. Effexor is not good for people with high blood pressure and he said he wanted me off of it. So I’ve gone down from 300 milligrams to 225 and my psychiatrist said I could taper down by 37.5 milligrams every 3 days, yeah right.
If I had been on a lower dose. I checked with a pharmacist and it’s more like you down once a week not every 3 days. Anyway after not being on the 225 for very long I tried to go down and got very sick with diarrhea and extremely tired and a headache. I’m staying on the 225 until next week and trying again How could my psychiatrist not know how to go down on this awful drug? It just astounds me that they truly don’t have any idea. This drug is just awful and I hope when I go down next week I don’t get sick.
Quick follow up on the withdrawal. I should note that I was on 150mg per day for most of the last 20 years. I cut down over 2 weeks, reducing by 37.5mg every 4 days. It’s been a week now and all the symptoms have gone steadily down. Brain zaps are not as prominent. But I don’t know that I got them as badly as some anyway. For me, I only feel the zaps when I move my eyeballs back and forth. Yes, strange, but true.
It’s definitely tied to the visual system, though. Fortunately, they’ve gotten a little less prominent day by day this past week. Today is the first day I have not taken Ibuprofin to combat a headache. Still have a minor headache off and on, but not nearly as pervasive as the first few days. Shoulders are still a little achy, but much better. All in all, the withdrawal seems about on par with the couple of times I’ve gone off Effexor over the years.
Noticeably bad the first few days but tapering off. This time, though, I do believe am NOT going to resume the Effexor. Not that I want to try something else, like a mood stabilizer, but to see, at 50 yrs old, if the old black morass from 20 years ago returns. And whether I can handle it better as a more mature individual. Guess we’ll see! Best of luck to all you others dealing with Effexor, irregular brain chemistry, and the travails of “mental health issues” as a partner in life. :-)
I am so glad I’m not alone in this battle. I was taking Effexor for a year and have been off of it for a month and am now on Bupropion. I am living in hell and feel like I should be in a mental hospital. I can’t believe the withdrawal symptoms and I am going through all of them! I didn’t realize nausea headache and dizziness were part of it. I thought I had a migraine last weekend and I have never had one before.
Didn’t know it was one of the withdrawal symptoms. I too constantly cry at the drop of a hat (and the award for best supporting actress in a drama goes to ME). I’m so tired of crying. I feel out of control. I planned to go off of it with the help of my doctor too- to taper off since I was on a high dose. After reading all the comments , we kind of failed in that area so I am on the sucky end of it.
Like the article said, if I can survive the withdrawals of this, I can survive anything, but man this is awful and no telling how long it will last. Some days I want to hit someone, some days I want to crash my car into a tree because I’m so depressed… I hope to see the light soon.
Wow, what an interesting thread! I’ve been on Effexor for 20 years, but since I’m genuinely biploar, not purely major depressive, I’ve had to stop the Effexor in the last week in the hope that an unusually prolonged period of hypomania will stop. (Yes, I’m biploar, but was only visited by mania once every 1-2 years, and I’ve always coped OK for the 2 weeks it occurred. This time it’s going on a month of hypomania and my doctor suggested halting the Effexor. Then again, he also wants me on lithium, which I will not try, thank you very much.)
I guess I’m lucky because I haven’t had the plethora of negative side effects since going to zero Effexor five days ago. Brain zaps? Check. Headaches? Check. Joint pain? Check. Some minor disorientation and feeling out of sorts, but nothing like what some of you have gone through. So, five days in, days 3 and 4 were pretty bad. Day 5 is not quite so bad. We’ll see what the next few days brings, but after reading many of the comments here, I’m now very tempted to not go back to Effexor.
I haven’t had major depressive symptoms for 20 years, so I’ve considered Effexor highly effective, in my case. But I think I’m going to give non-medication shot and see if the depression returns. Will let you all know! Thanks, fellow biochemically-challenged people for sharing your experiences here!
Hi Gary. I have read a bit about Bipolar II in Ronald R Fieve’s book and it’s agreed with what you said about symptoms sometimes mellowing in a person’s late 50’s. I’ve sometimes wondered if I am bipolar, but get shut down by health care professionals when ever I mention it. It’s been a little while since you have indicated how you’re doing. I wanted to indicate that someone is ‘listening’ and curious as to your progress. As I’ve indicated in my posts, I’ve been on Effexor so much that I’m not sure of who I am without it. I’m making an assumption that it could be similar for you too. -Jon
I’m so happy to be reading this. I actually started laughing at some. I’ve been on Effexor for around 10 years. Last week I asked my Dr if there was something else I could try so I can get off the Effexor. He said he would like me to try Wellbutrin. He called the pharmacy to check on dosages. Anyways, I was told to stop taking the Effexor and start the Wellbutrin the next day, “last week”. I’m not handling quitting the Effexor cold turkey very well.
I can think very clearly now and I actually care about things and people again. My problem is my anger and my rage. The smallest of things make me snap into a very mean and nasty person. I feel like Jekyll and Hyde. I think my wife may actually care how I feel this time. But her questions make me furious. I really hope I can get though this hell soon or I’m going to have to start Effexor back.
Taking 300 mg of Effexor for last twenty years; very happy and content. One year ago, started weaning ten beads at a time since I began having less than stellar liver panels; I also take multiple meds for seizures that I cannot stop taking. Thought I’d give the real world a try. Made it through the withdrawal but the real world sucks. I’ve been off the Effexor for two months now, cry at everything, find happiness in nothing, want to kill everyone including myself (but I won’t). I want my meds back. Will this resolve with a little more time or do I need my meds? Help?
I was on Effexor for several months. For most of that time I was taking 150 mg/day. Because of me screwing up by not going to my usual pharmacy, and not paying attention to my number of refills left, I was forced to stop cold turkey 6 days ago. I have abruptly stopped taking SSRIs in the past, and I was fine. This is different, though.. I knew I was in for a bad time but this is way worse than I expected.
The mood swings I noticed first, then the brain zaps. My symptoms are gradually getting worse and worse: some sweating during the day, horrible sweating while sleeping, vivid dreams that have me wake up screaming, confusion, anxiety, dysphoria… the list goes on. My brain zaps are annoying but aren’t too painful. What I hate the most is the aggression. I’m naturally not an angry person at all but I’ve been getting almost violent towards my boyfriend lately.
I definitely want to get back on Effexor as soon as I can, because I can’t stand the withdrawal and I have no idea how long it will last. Eventually, though, I do want to slowly taper off. Sooner rather than later. As great as Effexor is for my depression and social anxiety, just the chance of me accidentally missing a dose and starting to lose my mind in front of God-knows-who is way too scary.
I went on venlafaxine (Effexor) when I was having anxiety due to my husband passing away, couldn’t sleep- would wake up not being able to breathe. My dr put me on 75’s and I have been on them for about 10 years now. Recently been wanting to know if I can get off them so I cut my pills in half for about the last 4 months or so. Went good; went to dr and told her what I am doing and she said take one half every other day for a week then cut that dose in half for a week.
Around lunch time everyday I felt like I had the flu, had fever, chills, head ache, body aches so bad. I didn’t even know they were withdrawel symtoms till I looked online! I went back this past weekend to taking the half dose and I feel more like myself. I am going to try to cut that down by a forth in about 10 days or so for another week and try it that way til I can get rid of this mess! I never knew it was so addictive to my brain or I would have never started! Good luck to all!
I had been on Zoloft 200 mg a night for years with no relapse of depression. When I decided to detox from extended release pain meds and percs after being on them for 4 years after a few surgeries I experienced major panic attacks and increased depression. A new psychiatrist decided to switch me to Effexor and Remeron. I was OK for a few months but began experiencing gastrointestinal issues and increased depression.
Later I found out the Effexor was causing gastroparesis (the muscles in my stomach and small intestines meant to crush and move along food were not working, it was horrible). My doctor decided then to DOUBLE the amount of Effexor, a month later I went back and said I felt numb and hopeless so he added another dose a day so 3 a day. I ended up in a mental hospital where they took me off Effexor cold turkey and increased Remeron.
No one told me I would go through withdrawal. It seems like it may have been the responsible thing for them to do. It has been maybe 4-5 days off of Effexor and I feel like I am going insane….rage, depersonalization…everything on the list. I thank God for being able to educate myself and not relying on a doctor’s word (they also told me it was impossible that it was causing gastroparesis yet miraculously after I stopped taking it my stomach got better).
I’ve been on Effexor XR 150 twice daily for years. I’ve finally had enough. I’ve gotten off it cold turkey before but this time it is harder. I went off it Thursday, but took one on Sunday (2 days later) then again today (4 days later instead of 2 days later. The brain zaps are my main side effect other than some dizziness and not being willing to put myself behind the wheel of a car. I know I can get OFF this crap (I’m also taking Toprimate 100 BID so that may be helping with the side effects to some degree) I’ll NEVER take it again.
I have been on Effexor for about 4 years now. I am on 150 mg. I have run out of the meds far to many times and the side effects were horrible. I would end up having major attacks that would just pull the life out of me for 3 -4 days at a time. I just recently went through a major total ear mastoidectomy where I wasn’t able to swallow any thing for some time which meant no meds either. Oh my gosh, between my surgery and not being able to take the meds I have been in bad shape. I have also discovered my immune system is not good.
I decided to take the medication and get a hold of my Dr to help with the weaning process. If I would have known this medicine was going to have such a major effect I would NOT have started it in the first place. I am so not a lye around person, I exercise, eat right. Its time this gal look into all natural from here on out. My days spend with my family are more important than lying in bed barely functioning because of one pill.
After 3 days I am ready to start taking the pills again. Almost! But, I am going to try to tough it out. I just got out of bed… Literally crawled to my tablet to look up withdrawal symptoms. I was at 100 mg morning and evening. It ‘s been three days now. I do not think I can stand the headache, the vomiting, the sweating, the crying and the pain much longer. The dizziness and fugue state is horrid.
The nightmares and illusions are driving me nuts. The pain fro my MS is almost debilitating. I have to tough it out! But, I was feeling so very depressed, hopeless and outright angry on Effexor that I needed to do something. It wasn’t helping. I don’t know how to be angry. I don’t want to be angry. It was prescribed to me to help me go through a hard financial time (losing home) and for the chronic pain of MS among other things.
I am not going to start taking it again. Please, those who do not use it, do your homework on it before beginning. If you are on it, please taper off slowly as it may help. Hang in there and be patient with yourself!!
It is so helpful to read the posts of people who are all going through the same thing. I also had an extremely difficult time weaning off Effexor. I have been on and off Effexor for the past few years and finally got to the point where I wanted nothing to do with the medicine anymore. I was taking 150 mg a day and it took me 6 months to stop taking the medicine.
Those 6 months were pure hell…I went from 150 mg to 75 to 37.5 and then I began counting the beads. I tried to Prozac bridge to help with the withdrawal symptoms and it seemed to help a little. However, on my last dose of Prozac I began to feel extremely anxious..I couldn’t sleep for a week and I suffered from intense panic attacks. It got the point where I needed the panic to stop and I needed to sleep so I had a weak moment and took a my regular dose of Effexor for three days until I could meet with my psychologist.
I am now on buspirone and clonezepan and they seem to work OK. I have horrible headaches, nausea and brain zaps and I wonder if it’s the Effexor withdrawal kicking in again. Crazy to think that could happen after just three doses of Effexor. I am so sick of feeling this way!!
I am one of those people who is of the view that I will not recover from a venlafaxine addiction that I developed. A year of 225mg, followed by cold turkey after several aborted tapers and a prescribing doctor who refused point-blank to admit that the drug had turned me into a useless zombie with no interest in doing anything. I do not have any mental health issues and sought the help of the medical profession, a group of people that I now view as a complete danger to public health due to their irresponsible prescribing of seriously dangerous drugs, why should doctors care, it was the medical profession who carved up a system for the prescribing of drugs just over 100 years ago.
That means they can give pretty much whatever they see fit at any point in time without having to worry too much about negative consequences for themselves. In effect the system for doctors prescribing is akin to a system for bus or rail travel where the driver and the train/bus company have no responsibility for making sure the passenger gets to their destination safely. Avoid doctors if at all possible, THIS PROFESSION IS DANGEROUS AND RUINS HELATHY LIVES, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE AT RUINING HEALTHY LIVES. Work stress is not an issue that a drug as dangerous and notoriously problematic as venlafaxine should ever be getting used for.
Venlafaxine is in fact blacklisted with the National Health Service in Scotland. Due its cost and it’s fondness for destroying lives, it is only supposed to be used in the most extreme situations where no alternative course of action is available ie no other drug. The GP prescribing when I found this out shortly before cold turkey told me than he can ignore such recommendations if he thinks that they are inappropriate. I tried to sue for it as I was completely unemployable for 3 years after cessation, however got advised that even though my case against GP was ‘Prima Facia’ i.e. no legal defense i.e. he shouldn’t have been doing what he was doing.
I was only looking at £5000 for having my life wrecked by what was a clear case of deliberate mismanagement. There has been no improvement in my symptoms for 3 years now. I was that healthy that I hadn’t even been to see a doctor for 4 yrs when I when to get signed off with stress as I needed a good break myself due to the social care service that I was working for at the time being itself short staffed. Could I also point out as I did 8 years ago to the insult the doctor who done this to me that a worker being burnt out due being overworked as a social care service is understaffed is not a problem that has been caused by low serotonin.
Perhaps the chief medical officer in the UK could explain why the scenario that I have just described is caused by low levels of 5HT, it’s not. Is it not about time GP’s were somehow or other stopped giving these serotonin boosters out as some kind of cure all for everyday life ups and downs that are clearly nothing to do with 5HT, 6HT, 3BT, 7AC, B5321HT,etc. – a workplace being short staffed is not a problem that is caused by low levels of any neurotransmitter. By the way the GP concerned ran off to Australia after my case got investigated by a government body.
I got no compensation and by the time that he had ran away to Australia he had been for several years in the town I’m from been nicknamed ‘Harold Shipman part 2’ and was also being to referred to as ‘That nasty evil little sh*t’. Why cant that health center get rid of that guy, they must know that he’s doing it deliberately cause he’s getting his kicks out of screwing up other peoples lives, there’s no other explanation for what happens to people with that guy. Medical profession can you do a bit more to protect the public from the psychopathic element of your profession please.
You get them in all walks of life and the medical profession is no more immune to the psychopath, the incompetent and the charlatan than any other trade or business.
I’ve been on Venlax for a year now. I’m twenty years old and I started off with 150 mg/day. My psychiatrist increased the dose to 225 mg/day in late January. At present, I feel much better and I’m attempting to quit. I’ve decreased my dose back to 175mg/day. The problem is, for the past few days, I’ve been slightly nauseated, somewhat depressed and rather teary-eyed. I’m thinking of keeping the dose constant for another week or so and then going down to 75mg/day. I don’t really feel like telling my psychiatrist about it…
My insurance is transitioning due to job, so I was without Venlafaxine (generic Effexor) for 4 days. I went to a clinic and they mistakingly switched it to the one that is not extended release. I don’t know whether to take it or not. I’ve taken Venlafaxine 37.5 mg 2x/day for 5 years. I am considering going off of it, but don’t know if I should accept the tablets instead of the capsules. It’s a little harder to taper off with tablets, isn’t it? I thought about take 1/4 of the tablet 2x per day, and then 1/4 once per day after about 30 days. Has anyone else tried tapering off with tablets? I’m foggy-brained, dizzy, night sweats, weepy & over-reacting to things.
I was on Effexor XR 75 for 12 years. I never had any problems starting it & it always helped with my anxiety. I decided I wanted to go off of it & discussed it with my doctor who agreed. (My ONLY complaint with Effexor XR was the excessive sweating & yawning. I couldn’t do anything without my head sweating, it was very embarrassing & seemed to me to be getting worse.)
On Thursday, June 4th 2015, I took my last regular dose then went to every other day. On Saturday the 6th I felt like a zombie when I got up. I had the brain zaps & felt like my brain had to catch up with my body when I moved. I continued with that for a week. Each time it was a little easier. Then I went to every 3 days. It was the same as before with the brain zaps & my brain catching up to my body but it wasn’t as bad as the first week. On the 14th of June, I decided I wanted to see how long I could go without taking any pills.
Today is July 1st & I haven’t had one since the 14th. Yes, there were days that weren’t the best but I only missed one day of work because of it. (That day all I could do was sleep & that I did for 15 hours. I NEVER sleep like that, I always have problems sleeping.) I still have some brain zaps but nothing like they were at first. I never felt like I wanted to go back on them, I only wanted to move forward.
It can be done, don’t give up!!! I am a 54 year old female in good health. I wanted to see who I was without the Effexor XR. Twelve years is a long time to be on it. I haven’t had any problems with depression, crying spells or some of the other things that have been mentioned. I wanted to do this & was determined I would/could do it. I may be able to tolerate things better than others but don’t give up! You can do it!! My very best wishes to everyone on this journey! :)
Just wanted to give an update. I feel great! No more brain zaps & no crying uncontrollably or anything like that. Don’t give up & don’t give in. Yes, it’s tough but it can be done.
Story time: About 3 or 4 years ago, when I was 24, I went through a period of depression lasting several months. I eventually saw a psychiatrist and was put on Paxil. The medication helped me to work out the issues that were bothering me. As I returned to normality, the medication’s impact on my thought processes became more apparent, and I tapered off it without issue and moved on with my life.
Fast-foward to November of 2014. I was experiencing a bout of anxiety since the prior month that simply would not end. My primary care doctor wants to put me on something. I decide on Effexor XR. Again, it helps me to work through my issues, while also causing some milder issues of its own. I have faith in my doctor, and he and I were both aware that it could be quite unpleasant coming off Effexor, but you can’t really be prepared until you try it.
I started tapering off it in late May. The experience was unpleasant but tolerable. Then after taking 75mg for about a week, I drop it completely. A day later, the dizziness and the zaps start, and I end up going back on 75mg. Started taking half the beads out a few weeks back, and as of 5 days ago I discontinued completely. The zaps come and go, never quite a severe as last time but still thoroughly unpleasant, with occasional anxiety, headaches, fatigue, confusion, and some other mental sensations that defy description.
That said, the side effects seem to lessen during the day, particularly after taking my recently-prescribed dose of Strattera for ADHD, something I’ve known about since childhood but only very recently started treated. As Effexor and Strattera both affect norepinephrine, there may be something to that. Here’s hoping I start feeling better in the next week or so.
I am on day 8 of withdrawal from this god awful medicine. I am only 18 years old, my doctor put me on this medicine when Prozac wasn’t working for me. I wish she hadn’t. I was only on Effexor for about 9 months. I have never felt so awful in my life! I feel like I am moving super slow, I’m dizzy, nauseous, shaking, chest pains. My brain doesn’t seem to be going as fast as my body. I just feel horrid. Effexor made me gain So much weight. I was only 115lbs now I weigh 145.
I was recently taken off of Effexor and put on bupropion. But my doctor just said I could switch and take the bupropion the next morning and she said I shouldn’t have any problems at all with this. Well I had no idea how bad Effexor was. I regret doing this. I should’ve tapered off of it. Now I am on day 8 of withdrawal symptoms. I need some kind of relief from the awful dizziness and nausea. Anyone have any ideas on how to make this awful process go a little faster?
I came off 225mgs Venlafaxine over a period of three months gradually cutting down the dose myself. The one thing that made it work so well for me was taking massive amounts of vitamins every day – this is a hidden health secret I am so glad I found out about. I read Andrew M Saul’s book on how to Doctor Yourself and haven’t looked back. Vitamins and green vegetables really healed me for more than antidepressants could ever do.
I’ve only taken 37.5 for about 5 months. I went down to every other day two weeks ago as per gp ( I wanted off the effexor) . Last one was Sat.. Today is Tues.. I still can’t move my eyes and my head at the same time. When I walk, I have to keep my eyes still to avoid the second “snapshot”, and dizziness. How long does this take to go away? My psych says it’s not withdrawal ’cause of the lower dose. Ok then, what is it?
I’ve been on venaflaxine for over 2 years then the past 4 weeks I was weaned off of it by my doctor since it wasn’t working anymore. First week I was told to take 150mg plus a 75MG a day. The second week only take 150mg a day then third week a 75mg a day and last week to 37.5 a day then to nothing. I’m on my 4 day of pure hell. When I say hell it’s that bad.
Everything listed above is what I’m going through, not to mention being very tired and sleeping the day away. If I knew what I know now about Venaflaxine I wouldn’t have taken it at all. For people out there wanting to stop please do it safely by your doctor. Withdrawals are horrible and it really messes with the brain. I wish everyone the best of luck with this journey.
Hi All, I tried to taper off from 150mg Effexor XR after taking it for nearly 12 years. It was hard but I got down to about 75mg by counting the pellets. I came to the realisation that no matter how far down I got in dose I would always end up with the nasty symptoms when I stopped so I took a brave decision and stopped 26 days ago. I went through hell for the first two weeks and could not even work or function at any real level.
Day 15 I went back to work and was okay for a few days but still felt terrible in the evenings with head spins, nausea, crying bouts etc etc. The last week has been the worst with a sense of dread, anxiety, crying and an overwhelming feeling of being alone and not in control. It does not help that I have recently separated after a 42 year relationship / 37 year marriage which I am sure the Effexor contributed too in a negative way.
I am just hoping and even praying which is rare for me that things start to settle back down to an acceptable level. I can put up with the physical stuff but the emotional stuff is so debilitating. I hope all those who read this understand that the medical profession downplay this so much that you will get very little support. Tough it out, never give up and DO NOT EVER EVEN THINK OF PUTTING ANOTHER AD CHEMICAL into your body. Cheers everyone.
PCP prescribed low-dose Zoloft for about 3 years. Then preferred the medication be handled by a mental health care doctor (they are all putting these new controls in place). One year ago the psychiatrist changed the Zoloft medication to Effexor XR 37.5 mg. No warning, just one day it happened. Cold turkey from Zoloft was difficult for 2 – 4 weeks but the Effexor XR eventually kicked in.
After one year of visiting the new doctor every 4 to 6 weeks it became gradually clear that his job was about owning my soul through the use of particular drugs and dosages. He became increasingly rigid, always wanted to increase the dose and not very negotiable. He was subtly manipulative by utilizing staff members to create conflict and disagreements in order to artificially asses anger and flash points. Essentially he secretly measured how much he wanted to go up in dose.
That manipulative behavior also extended to the pharmacy by his slowing down refills by days and days risking another cold turkey. He was hoping I would call in with anxiety/dependency and give him possible cause to increase dose. I never gave him the satisfaction. Suddenly it was clear that these medical offices – once a patient is dependent on an addictive drug like Effexor XR, their goal is to own you, manage you and control your state of mind through the use of powerful medications and mind games.
It is all about power, control and money. One week ago I took my life back and said “no” to their power and control. Since finding this blog and others like it I’ve been tapering slowly from 37.5 for a few days now – 15 to 25 granules a day. My plan is to taper down to 8 to 4 granules a day within 14 days. Then after that, a few days more, no more Effexor XR. So far the withdrawal symptoms are mild to moderate – brain freeze, nightmares, tiredness, flu-like feeling, etc.
But in the end it will be worth it not to be in the control of these people. We all need to be very cautious of the medical system. A dear friend was told for 3 years she had the flu and was given different pills and antibiotics by the same PCP every few months. Finally, we rushed her to ER one day and discovered she had cancer. She died 30 days later. I was in the 2nd best hospital in the country for 3 days assessment and they said the heart pounding and arrhythmia’s at the time were in my head.
Three months later they called apologetic and said a medical intern student found a golf-ball sized tumor in the x-rays. The entire system can not be trusted and each person needs to take full control, management and ownership of their medical care. The professionals, for the most part are driven by power, control and money. Helping people is not the fundamental motivator of the medical profession as it once was years ago.
I got prescribed this awful drug about 3 years ago for hot flashes after an estrogen positive breast cancer diagnosis & subsequent surgery/radiation. I had taken HRT for 26 years because of a hysterectomy at age 28. Of course, with the breast cancer diagnosis, I had to quit taking the HRT. I refused at first because I knew it was an AD and in spite of the cancer, I wasn’t depressed.
I had never been on any psych med except a very short script of Xanax for post partum anxiety 30 years ago. Doc says you’re going to need it. Started on 37.5–didn’t touch the hot flashes until I got up to 150 mg. I found a naturopath who gave me some things that help the hot flashes; so I decide to wean off. Had been on not quite 2 years. I went too fast the first three months & was in hell. I tapered down to 37.5 in three months. I did some research and found that you need to go really slowly.
So I took 9 months to get from 37.5 to 0. I started out cutting up some leftover 75 mg tablets. When I couldn’t cut them up any more, I started counting beads out of some 37.5 capsules I had.. I weaned all the way down to 1 bead. I was still a little wobbly the first week coming off the 37.5. But I turned a corner after that & there were many days I forgot I was weaning. I got off 7 months ago with no side effects & still don’t have any. It can be done–you just have to be patient. Within 48 hours after my last dose, the “cog fog” was gone, I was clear headed & felt great!!
The other things I did during weaning was take 5000 IU of Vitamin D, 1000 mg Vitamin B12, 1400 mg fish oil twice a day–and I made sure to get some exercise every day. Some days I could only manage a walk around the block. But many days, I went for a run or took a spin class or did yoga or Pilates. I also tried to eat well–no junk. These are the things that worked for me. Everyone is different & reacts to meds differently.
It also helped to have a very supportive husband who helped me count out the beads & make up my new capsules every couple of weeks. I wish you all good luck in getting this crap out of your bodies.
I was taking this medication for two months, I started at 37.5, then I went to 75 mg once a day for five days, then 150mg for the remainder of the month. I didn’t have the money to see my doc this month and now I’m having withdrawals. I’m feeling like I’m bipolar now, I can’t handle my emotions. I’m also having the WORST feelings of electric shock. I feel like someone is zapping me all day at random times, and I hate this feeling. I also cannot stop shaking my right leg. It’s like I’m super anxious all the time. I hope this ends soon, or I can have enough money left over after bills to be able to afford my doctor visit to get more.
I noticed that a lot of these comments were from in the very first stage of quitting — a week at most, usually? — so I wanted to add something hopefully valuable for later stages. 6 weeks ago (it feels more like 6 months!) I was finally able to get in to a consistent therapy program. I’d been on Effexor from emergency room doctors for just about a year and a half, and it was having some very strange effects; I later learned that I was likely misdiagnosed as having major depression + PTSD + OCD, when it’s more likely based on my symptoms that I am bipolar.
As people probably know, mixing BPD with a drug like Effexor can = mania. Not fun. So, I ended up cold-turkeying from 225mg said six weeks ago. When people ask me how I’m doing my reaction is usually just, “I have a pulse, so I’m fine.” The head zaps persist 6 weeks later, and throughout the first 2 – 3 weeks I was having extremely terrifying hallucinations. I found that taking a cocktail of fish oil and st. john’s wort helped a bit – but be cautious with the latter, as it can definitely interact with/interfere with anxiety and depression medication in a nasty way.
Throughout the start I was also vomiting half the time, only sleeping 1.5 – 3 hours a night, and had a couple seizures. Fun times. Thankfully things are getting slowly better — I feel less “crazy” than I did at the start, where everything was hallucinations, paranoia, and extreme crying/screaming /fighting/etc. fits and spurts that would veer wildly throughout the daytime. Now it’s mostly just some mild dizziness and the occasional zaps, usually towards the evening.
I’m finally starting to be able to keep food down consistently, and I’m getting more than 3 hours every three or four days. Based on the time frame this has taken, I think it’ll be another 2-3 months before I feel okay again (I’m refusing new medication until I figure out where my mind and body is once my brain chemistry has recovered a bit more sans the drug cocktails it’d been subjected to in the past.) Hopefully that makes anyone starting out feel a bit better — it is hell on earth itself, but you *can* get through it, and it *does* get better.
And now? Is there even more hope further down the line? I’ve made two months, feel better than last month but how long do I wait until I know that this is as good as it’s going to get? This is what ‘okay’ feels like?
I’ve been on Effexor for depression and anxiety for two years and have been up to 150mg for 9 months. I’ve finally woken up from the fog to realize that Effexor hasn’t been helping me much. It took away the anxiety, but it took all motivation with it. I’ve gained 25 pounds, I no longer feel like cooking for my family, I don’t care to wake up or to go to sleep, I don’t care to eat breakfast or lunch and I don’t care that I eat junk food all night.
If I can summon enough energy to care about something, then I get anxious about it, so I go back to not caring after that. I’m not sure how I let things get this bad, but I know I’m doing something about it now. Thank you to all who have written about their withdrawal effects. There is a scary education in these comments, but I’d rather honesty than my psychiatrist insisting that I might be “a bit uncomfortable” or if the effects of withdrawal are severe that “[my] body needs the medicine for now and we’ll work around it.”
I don’t want to put this off any longer and I don’t want to add any other medication to the mix without knowing how I feel without any medication. I do know that if I accidentally miss two doses of the medication (my memory is terrible on this medication!) then I feel tragically heartbroken. I feel like my husband and I are about to get a divorce even though we are doing just fine in reality.
I get deep heavy sadness in the middle of my chest that I can’t explain to anyone else. I anticipate that I’ll have some more of that ahead of me. I’m starting the taper at 112.5mg and I’ll stay on that for at least a week or two and assess how I feel. I’m already starting Omega 3’s, walking more, getting outside to the garden, and increasing my visits with my therapist. I plan to report back here regularly.
I’ve noticed a lot of comments on this post where I’d like to know what happened next in the story. In the meantime, I’m sending out a supportive fist-bump to anyone else on this Effexor withdrawal path.
I’m following up on my own post to report how my taper/withdrawal from Effexor XR has been going. I was on 150mg originally. I went down to 112.5mg for 9 days, then 75 mg for 8 days and now I’m on day 5 of 37.5mg. I’ve been having fatigue, irritability and headaches as well as some increase in anxiety. I had my first brain zap the night that I went down to 37.5mg.
I’ve been taking extra naps, using ibuprofen for the headaches, continuing my melatonin before bed and added two Benadryl before bed so I can sleep well. (My ability to deal with life is much better if I’ve had enough sleep.) My doctor wrote a prescription for 20mg of Prozac to assist with the withdrawal symptoms. She said that the long half-life of Prozac means that I can stop it at any time without any withdrawal issues.
That sounds nice, but I’m not sure that I should take her word on it. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll take the Prozac. I’m trying to wean off of all antidepressant medication so it is hard to start a new one. However, I’m not sure that I’d have the patience to count out granules and do an extremely slow weaning from 37.5 to 0mg like some posters have described.
This is my final update to report on my taper/withdrawal from Effexor.
I decided not to use the Prozac prescription to wean from the Effexor. I spent 18 days on 37.5 mg. Then I decreased the dose to 19mg by counting out the granules in the 37.5mg tablets and buying some empty gelatin capsules from the natural foods store. I felt really good on 19mg of Effexor. I felt capable, motivated, happy–honestly, I felt good enough to stay on that dose. My psychiatrist told me that she didn’t think it was an effective dose and that I might be feeling hypomania. She suggested that I continue weaning.
I went down to 9mg. After a few days on 9mg I started having some mood swings, irritability and occasional fits of rage. After I was on 9mg for 2 weeks I realized that the timing was terrible. I was going down to 0mg at the same time that I was on a 2 week road trip with my son and husband and we were going to stay at my parents’ house for a week. I called my doctor and she suggested that I stay the course because I was just starting to have the mood irritability. She said that it might be a side effect of the withdrawal.
Going from 9mg to 0mg brought on nausea and vomiting. The mood irritability has continued on the 0mg. I can’t say that I’m coping great on no medication, but I’m generally much more functional and happier than I was when I was on Effexor. The hard part is that when things go bad, they go so bad, so fast and I feel out of control. It’s been a week since that happened, though, so I’m crossing my fingers that it is temporary.
Just started withdrawing from 9 yrs. of 37.5 Effexor XR for menopause symptoms. Read a lot about it and I’m going through all of the hell that you folks have. This is the worst drug ever. I cannot imagine any compassionate doctor putting someone on this drug. My GP prescribed it and knows nothing, obviously, about SRNI meds. I have taken the advice I’ve read so much about; B+complex with B2, B6 and B12, 6000 mgs of Natural fish oil including Omega 3 DHA, EPA, stick with this dosage for 6-7 days and taper to 3000 the second week.
Dramamine really helps with the nausea. Also, take calcium with extra vitamin D. I caved and took my last Effexor xr last night because symptoms were unbearable, but my loving husband, who’s a biochemist, took pity and got me on the supplements and they really do work. I will update this post to let you know I made it through. I’m 57, so I’m more worried about having a stroke/seizure from this.