effexor withdrawl

[Joe]

You've only been on it for three months and the lowest dosage. Hopefully it will only take a few day to detox. I had anxiety too and was prescribed 75mils yea it worked but when all the other stuff started happening I looked up "effexor side effects" well....and here I am! another one ready to JUMP OFF and band wagon! NO THANK YOU! I've had a few anxiety,scared moments weening from this drug and try the valerian root mention many times in these posting and it worked. Just take it slow if you decide to completely go off. Listen to the others here, I took all the pellets out of my 37.5 today and only took 50. I'm still feeling like crap, ya know, sick to my stomic, nervisous, dizzyness, weak, brain humming and mild zaps, etc. like a REAL BAD hangover but worse, its not easing up at all. Mose people are saying its going to take anywhere between 5-10 days to feel normal again. I'M COUNTING THE DAYS! its been 6, I was taking 75mils for two years.

[cel]

beenn on the stupid evil pill for one year. now i want to get off cause i hat e the way it makes me feel. now ive been on half the dosage for 2 days from 75mg to 37mg. i feel like im losing mu mind and am going to the er in 10 minutes. if it werent for my husband to help me through this id be .... i dont know where. but not good. we havr two kids i cant even take care of right now

[Midland]

I hear all of you..or atleast I think I do. This dam ringing in my ears is driving me nuts. I was put on Effexor after cancer to help me cope. I didn't want to go on it then cause I don't like pills but my oncologist insisted and said that it is defenetly not addictive or bad. "BS--t". I quit cold turkey because they are putting me on subitramine to contol my appitite and weight and believe you me I wish I never went on it. Withdrawl is a night mare. I work in an office and can't function at all. This stuff should be totaly banned or at the least people should be informed what could happen to them when they stop taking it. By the way as well as all the symptoms posted includind zipo sex life i gained 35 Lbs.
HATE THIS CRAP.

[yes]

OMG! I'm so glad I'm not going in sane. I just ramdomly decided to google effexor withdrawls and this what i'm going thru! Hell! I just had missed a few doses thinking it would be no big deal because i just hadn't gotten to the pharmacy yet and boy was I wrong. This is the last thing I need to be going thru considering I am trying to battle stage 4 met breast cancer too! The withdrawls I've been experiancing the past few days were worse than my side effects from chimotherapy, no joke! Well I'm pretty scarred of getting off this stuff and switching to something else but I know I need too! At least I know I'm not going out of my mind and others have gone thru the same crap! This drug SUCKS!!

[Lexus08]

I started on Effexor 3 mg 5 years ago, and was not told by anyone that this drug would be this hard to just stop taking it. So I figured that out quickly. and got back on it. Now 5 years later I am off of it again. it's been 8 days off now. the first few days were horrible I thought I was going to dye. Nausea the Brain zaps, severe insomnia. but my anxiety seems to be diminishing. but I am still feeling zaps a little. and I am not letting myself get back on it. I am fighting so hard with the withdrawls you get from this worthless crap of a pill. I just went to a new doctor and asked if there was anything I can do to make these feelings stop permanently. and just as I thought she wants to put me on something else. I agreed to let her call in cymbalta. but I told her I would pick them up from the pharmacy and not take them as long as I could possibly hold out. and so far again it's been 8 days and each day seems to be getting a little better. so I wrote this to tell everyone out there. HOLD OUT AS LONG AS YOU CAN IF NOT FOREVER. and I have also been taking tylenol for the zaps and the headaches. and maybe if REALLY NEEDED a xanax.
you can do this everyone out there, who has a feeling of loss hope of getting off this medications. you will have to go through some HELL. but IT DOES GET BETTER... well so far for me it's been ok. Good Luck you guys ...

[Lexus08]

oops sorry... in the beginning of my post I typed in the incorrect Mg of medication.. I meant to type 37 Mg

[Shelly]

There is hope for us. I was on Effexor XR 75mg for about 4yrs before losing my insurance and had no choice but to wean off properly. Like everyone else on this board I experienced the Brain zaps or Brain shivers and new this was a symptom of withdrawl. However, I have always been into nauturopathic medicine so I immediately started doing what I could to get the horrible withdrawls to end ASAP. Well it is close to a week since stoping the medication and I report that I have not had a "Zap" yet today. How did I do it. Well, I have combined high dose Omega3/6/9 EFA with this amazing supplement I recently bought at my health club called Neurolink. I kid you not I think this supplement is a god send for us folks and will post my knowledge of it on every blog site I find. Neurolink is about 44 dollars a bottle but it is well worth it!! It's like the supplement has completely rewired my brain in a good way...naturally. I will find the link for this product and post it. Also, I have being doing yoga, steamroom and aerobic exersise which has probably helped with the detox as well. Hang in there yall.

[Angela]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. It helps me to know I'm not alone. I've been on Effexor 225mg/day for 4 going on 5 years. I've cut back by 37.5 mg/week and am currently moving from 150mg to 112.5mg/week. I was getting a lot of the withdrawal effects mentioned by others then (as recommended by some side-effect sufferers) I tried taking a vitamin B complex, omega 3-6-9 complex, and benadryl every day. It REALLY HELPED. Tonight though, I'm getting some really serious intestinal distress issues. I think the "churning" that's going on in there is causing an over active bladder too. Ain't fun, to say the least.

Anybody have any recommendations?

I did miss the multi-vitamins today, so maybe that's why the withdrawal effects are back with gastro-intestinal vengeance.