• The Dark Side 💕 Welcome Guest 💕
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads Urgent Hotlines
    Bereavement Mindfulness
    Suicide Support Anger Management
  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

Mental Health Does anyone have experience coming off effexor?

feedtheSoul

feedtheSoul

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 5, 2015
Messages
132
Note: I apologize if there is a double of this thread. I went to correct a typo and I believe I accidentally deleted my original post.


About 3 years ago after a self injury incident, I was switched to the SNRI Effexor (venlafaxine). Previously, I had been taking prozac for several months, which did not seem to help.

Unfortunately, it just didnt help, and my prescriber at that time was a quack. Each appointment, he would up my dose followed by decreasing again the next visit when I told him I just felt worse.

I asked about different anti depressants. Apparently since effexor and prozac didn't help, I was more or less "$#@! out of luck." That's practically what he said. With my frustration, I desperately searched for a new psychiatrist.

I have been seeing this new psychiatrist for about a year now, and he has been able to help me to a better mental state! Hooray! We decided that it was finally time to taper off Effexor after being on it for 3 years without luck.

I went from my normal dose of 225mg daily to 197.5 daily. He planned to lower by approximately 25mg each month.

I did not so much experience physical symptoms when I started tapering, but my mental state? Not good. My xanax did not help in any way, and each day I grew more paranoid and depressed. I had a full blown panic attack at work for just being there. My boss told me I needed to figure out what I'm going to do about this, because with it being holiday season, mall traffic is much heavier and he needs to be able to rely on me. That was day 6 of my 197.5 dose. My doctor told me if it was truly unbearable to just go back to my normal dose, which I did. Within two days I felt like a new person and wondered if in fact the effexor helped without my acknowledgement. But this feeling wore off and I have returned to consistent zombie mode again.

Does anyone have success stories, tips, or anything about coming off effexor? All responses will be read thoroughly and greatly appreciated.
 
I've never tried to come off my Effexor but it must be very difficult and I've always heard it has some of the worst withdrawal symptoms of any antidepressant. If I miss even one dose or am late taking it I get nauseated and my face starts feeling numb and my hands tingle.
 
Sorry, that's probably the opposite of what you needed to hear.
 
I have the exact same issue when missing a dose or taking it late. I hear many others do too. I'm probably gonna be stuck on this bad boy for a while. I appreciate your response, Mmp.
 
I was not on it for very long but when tapering off try to think long term. Don't expect to feel ok all the time. The next few months will most likely be hell for you but stick it out and hopefully you will be able to regain a positive mindset.

Otherwise - eat healthy, exercise (if possible), get fresh air, try new activities and visit new places. Surviving Antidepressants may have some more tips for you: http://survivingantidepressants.org/
 
Well you could try substituting the effexor for a different antidepressant.
One with a longer half life that way if it doesn't work it will be easier to taper off. Effexor is hard to get off of so is Fluvoxamime in my experience.

Wellbutrin?...
If you do switch you might take the effexor and the new medicine at the same time until you adjust to it. You would gradually introduce the new med at a tiny dose. Then if you feel better you could start lowering the effexor.

OR just take the plunge and start a new one.

You could also add an atypical antipsychotic like seroquel or abilify or some other one. Sometimes these are taken together with antidepressants to enhance the effect. And also help lower anxiety.
Such a drug could pick up the slack for you as you come off the Effexor.

If I switch meds I don't come of the other one first. That would be bad. I just start the new one.

Oh and if you don't respond well to typical antidepressants you could try Wellbutrin as mentioned above or Remeron.
I have no experience with Remeron but my doctor has suggested it before.

There's a lot more than just Prozac and Effexor.
Some SSRIs have different effects and they are not all the same (but are similar).
For example I didn't like Prozac but Lexapro was better for me.
 
Last edited:
Wellbutrin is known to make patients paranoid - something from which the OP is already suffering.

The xanax may be causing the paranoia - I am not sure if the OP is taking it on a regular basis. If occaisional then maybe consider avoiding it whilst in withdrawal. If regular user then maybe consider quitting ust one drug at a time. Neither drug is easy to stop.

I would definitely recommend avoiding anti-psychotics - the side effects are horrendous.

At the OP - try to think long term and avoid short term fixes with debilitating/permanent side effects.
 
Well, this may seem surprising when I tell you how many medications I'm on, but over the last 3 or 4 years they slowly got added on. I'm only 22 by the way.
All my doctors that I've seen for my problems believe that none of them interact too badly, but I wonder if it puts stress on my body.

Effexor, Risperidone, Omeprozale (sp?), Adderall (I take like 3x the dose most people need), Xanax, Lexapro, Pregabalin, and a 28-day contraception pill.
I also rotate between mirtazapine and trazodone each month for chronic insomnia (have had this before the adderall too!)

To answer casual1, the xanax I take regularly, .5 mg twice a day. I am extremely reluctant to up my dose on this just because of how it feels when I don't take it.
I am diagnosed with ADHD, chronic depression/anxiety, and fibromyalgia. The risperidone is prescribed to help my rumination, which I have always thought it helps. Keep in mind it is a dose of .5mg twice a day. The Lexapro was added about half a year ago to build me up a bit mentally before we started tapering the Effexor. We just started the lyrica for my fibro pain as it has gotten much worse, we did this when we started tapering off of Effexor as he thought it might help with my insomnia.


It probably seems like all of those meds are the exact reason I feel like crap, yet I had the depression and anxiety since I can remember at 5 years old. I have always had severe insomnia from my fibromyalgia and anxiety, before I started any medications or using drugs -- I am a poly substance abuser and addict, but do I take my meds as prescribed. I do smoke cigarettes and cannabis. I have been wearing a nicotine patch lately, which helps for about half the day before I give in lol.

After writing this, geez, I put a lot of crap in my body. I am reluctant to go off every medication except for my Effexor, which I still am dreading. :\ I think it has got to mostly be my willpower to cope each day during the tapering and know that if I get through those months it'll be worth it in the end. I appreciate your responses!
 
I have gone through the withdrawals of Effexor a few times, usually from neglecting to reup my scrip and being without for a time and once from my Doctor passing away I didn't get a new one in time.. I can honestly say it was easier for me to go through meth withdrawals than Effexor, at least with meth there were plenty of ways/substances to calm/quiet that urge to reuse. With Effexor after even a day or 2 without it the effects are immediate and all encompassing for my life. Physically, it feels like lightning jolts from toe to head with each step while leaving me exhausted yet unable to sleep. Mentally its like the last 4 hours of most (bad) acid trips I've had, overthinking about mostly trivial things that (at that time) seem tantamount to survival.. One definite godsend for me during withdrawals has been marijuana concentrates (dabs!) The instant overwhelming (at times) buzz from a dab or 2 is just what I needed to shut my brain/body down enough to relax and sleep and get me through. My last time withdrawing was the worst and will be the last time at least for that particular drug lol.. I told my doc never again and now am on a low dose of Zoloft along with my doc's reccommended THC therapy. If you want to get away from Effexor expect a suitable opponent to that goal in it's withdrawal pains, but it's a goal worth setting.. Simply put: "Fuck Effexor" :)
 
I was on Effexor for about a year. As I had moved, I no longer was seeing a psychiatrist and did my own taper. I did a quick taper and actually reduced the dose by half every week. It wasn't the easiest thing, but after getting off of benzos years ago I didn't want to prolong the Effexor withdrawal. I told my general physician what I was doing and requested a script for Indural (beta blocker) that helped with the anxiety. During my Effexor withdrawal I primarily experienced "brain zaps", twitching, and was overall very restless and nauseous. It took me about a month and a half to get off it, and all in all not too bad compared to benzos lol. Within three months after my last does I felt normal.

You mentioned you were taking Xanax, paradoxically, that could also make your anxiety worse :/ Just thought I would mention that. I don't know what you're feelings are about taking benzos, but if you're planning to stop them as well, I would do those first then antidepressants. I would not recommend trying to do both at the same time. If you're just wanting to quit Effexor, you may be tapering too quickly and may need to decrease you dose slower and less of a decrease at a time. It may require you to break open the capsule and start counting the little balls out for each dose. Feel free to hit me up with questions. Good luck!
 
Hi all! I have successfully used the 10% taper method to get off of Effexor that worked and did not cause any side effects (no brain zaps):

- http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/
- http://survivingantidepressants.org...ering-off-effexor-and-effexor-xr-venlafaxine/
- http://www.drugs.com/forum/featured-drugs/tapering-how-effexor-method-1-a-32337.html

I recommend getting a cheap but highly rated milligram scale off of Amazon if you don't have one and using it to do this method. It works for whatever form you take your effexor in (mine were beads).

Good luck! If a psychiatrist tells you not to do this, they are certifiably insane and deserve a 1-star review from you on their Yelp page. I used this method to great success and so have many others, and I passed it by my doctor who said it could be used to get people off of heroin safely (lol).
 
casual1 said:
Wellbutrin is known to make patients paranoid - something from which the OP is already suffering.
Click to expand...

That is true. Wellbutrin is similar to khat and therefore also to amphetamines. But those don't always make people paranoid. They make them feel good.

I got tremendous relief from it at the end of two years of abject misery from lingering Effexor/Ritalin withdrawal. After the early morning terror/dread/despair w/pounding heart stopped, I'd been anhedonic. Everything was grey. A month of Wellbutrin SR (200mg/day) let me feel positive emotions. Those were enhanced when I found out my former doctor is about to lose his license.
 
Wow, interesting insight from everyone, thanks guys! Aftermath - fuck effector indeed! I get brain zaps to that extreme as well. It's so uncomfortable.

I think I'm going to print out starkid's links and show my doctor. 10% taper sounds way easier on the body than the approximate 35% plan we originally had.

I really appreciate everyone that took the time to share their experiences.

I will never recommend that anyone should ever try this anti depressant.

BTW, randumbnumber, that's insane that your doc is actually losing his license. He must have been a real quack!!
 
He had me on Ritalin, Prozac, Adderall, and Ativan. Then he switched me to Daytrana, the Ritalin skin patch, and I started hallucinating. Came off ad was super-agitated. Had to switch docs and the new one thought Effexor might help. It did not. Quitting it that time was like being shot out a cannon into a mountain of rubble.

And it was all because I'd been on Effexor a few years back--stressed out because I thought my cancer doc was screwing up, so he got me on Effexor. After a surgery, the nurses forgot to give it to me. I went home and was MANIC. (Effexor withdrawal does that for some.)

Got sent to the bin and told to see a shrink. He said I was bipolar and I kept saying "No, I'm not." Denial is treated as the hallmark symptom, though. The Effexor discontinuation didn't cross my mind. Every drug he gave me made me worse...for 3 years.

I moved and soon-jobless new doc said it wasn't bipolar, it was ADHD.

IT WAS NOTHING. THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH ME.

It's almost three years since I kicked those morons and their crap to the curb. Year one was a kind of suffering so deep I can't describe it. It wasn't psychological sadness...it was a hurting brain, way beyond the approach of reason. Maybe morphine would have helped. Year two was abject misery. This year is okay.

Oh and I was right--the cancer doc did eff up my chemo and my steady recovery reversed I am lucky to be alive, but missing a few internal organs.

Doctors should be more careful with writers, even nobodies. I've spent the last three years networking my way closer and closer to mainstream media outlets.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top