SSRI discontinuation symptoms occur in only about 20% of cases in which a patient stops taking the SSRI "cold turkey", so its not particularly intriguing that I haven't experienced them. I'd say that you were unlucky, rather than that I was lucky.
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vanth said:
Your 20% is incorrect. New double blind studies show discontinuation syndrome is an issue for between 35-78% of people on SSRIs for over 5 weeks of treatment.
This was not cold turkey, this was tapering off...but the taper down fairly quickly over 2 weeks as opposed to the recommened longer period.
Keep in mind I wasn't having a go at you or calling you a liar. I said it was intriguing.
Out of interest, have you quit cold turkey on Citelapram? Also what length of time were you on the SSRIs? If it was less than 6-12months then your results were understandable although the new double blind studies suggest people will have difficulties once they have exceeded the 5 week mark.
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phase_dancer
Bluelight Crew
No vanth, I'm quite sure Effexor can be physically addictive. The definition of "physically addictive" is a bit of a grey area though. What I was implying (as is outlined in another part of the post) was that depending upon other variables such as; the nature of the illness, relief obtained from the drug, duration of use etc, the severity of withdrawal may be more or less, and can certainly be physical. I believe most drugs can produce physical symptoms, even those not normally considered physically addictive. Becasue of the actions of SNRIs and SSRIs I'd say there is a high potential for withdrawal, but again, that isn't conclusive for everyone.
Anyone who takes any drug for long enough can be susceptable to withdrawal, and as said, depending upon the variables mentioned, these symptoms can certainly be physical in nature. I can say this definitely occurs with long term (20+ years) marijuana use followed by abrupt withdrawal. Symptoms can include; cramps, inability to eat, tremors, constipation, joint weakness, tinitus, sensitivity to light, hypertention, chest pains, headaches & migraine to name a few. A GP once told me that some his friends who gave up dope after decades of use were still experiencing some symptoms 18 months later.
A story I've mentioned before; Paxil (aropax) is considered to be right up there with Effexor in regards to physical withdrawal. Some years ago, a good friend of ours went through a rather harrowing time after which she partied madly. This went on for ~ 6 months. We also knew that a mutual friend had been partying with her and also admitted taking Paxil. When we were finally able to sit down and discuss things, the first one confessed she'd been taking 60-80mg of paxil/ day as well as drinking heavily, doing meth, coke, E and acid as often as she could. She'd somehow managed to get these large amounts of Paxil from her GP and had initially shared them with the other girl before she got her own script.
After several hours of discussion, both girls decided they would cease taking rec drugs for a while and also stop the paxil. We were prepared for a rough time, yet only the second of the two girls had any trouble, and her substance consumption (incl Paxil) was far less than the first one. Niether complained of any typical physical symptoms, but the second found it very hard psychologically. Now, years later, the first girl never thinks about drugs, illicit or prescription. She's a very happy and devoted mother and her life is completely satisfying. The second girl by comparison is subject to major mood swings which can last weeks. But if you ask these girls what they were like before their binge period, you'll see that both have basically returned to what they were i.e. one is a happy person as she was typically known, the other struggles on an emotional rollercoaster which she has done for most of her life. However, she has since learned to recognise when she is about to fall and is steadliy improving her ability to avoid the long downward spiral of the cycle.
Here's what the wiki entry mentions:
