any anger issues coming off Effexor?

[sarah]

I've been totally off for 6 days. I was only on a 37.5 dose, but for 4 years. I'm experiencing the usual - dizziness, headaches, sobbing, and generally feeling crappy, but I'm having serious problems with Anger. I become livid, enraged and generally pissed off very easily. I can joke about it at the moment because it's been a few hours since my boss pissed me off but I've been ranting most of those few hours. Any advice or experience with this? Thanks... and good luck to everyone.

[jarren]

Hey Sara -

I have anger issues too on it, like very agitated, but sometimes people are deserving of that anger. You have to look at the route of the problem. It's not a miracle drug, you still experience regular emotions

[Ben]

My wife is coming off 225 mg / day of venlafaxine at the moment. She is getting real mad and is having trouble with agitation/restlessness/sleeple ssness and cried watching Kenny the Australian movie about the toilet cleaner. not a real sad movie. Happens when there are not enough neurotransmitters to go round.

[Brigid W]

Manic behavior, anger, restlessness, even violent behavior isn't uncommon during withdrawal. It can be decreased some by tapering off the drug very gradually under a competent psychiatrist's care.

Some people also develop manic, aggressive or violent behavior while on this medication. If you are one of them get to a good psychiatrist ASAP to help wean you off safely and stabilize your mood.

The FDA has a website where you can document these types of adverse reactions. You can google FDA medwatch to find it.

[Ian]

I am tapering off effexor right now. I'm down to 37.5 mg and experiencing really uncontrollable anger right now. The smallest thing sets me off. Hopefully it will stabilize soon.

I've been tapering for several weeks from 150 mg and this is the first really terrible withdrawl effect I've had.

Not sure what to do except hang on. I don't want to be on this drug anymore. Don't let a doctor prescribe it too you for more than a short time.

[Brigid W]

Ian wrote:

I am tapering off effexor right now. I'm down to 37.5 mg and experiencing really uncontrollable anger right now. The smallest thing sets me off. Hopefully it will stabilize soon.
I've been tapering for several weeks from 150 mg and this is the first really terrible withdrawl effect I've had.
Not sure what to do except hang on. I don't want to be on this drug anymore. Don't let a doctor prescribe it too you for more than a short time.

Prozac has a much longer half life, and it is easy to taper off of. You might want to ask your doc for a script of 10-20 mg. prozac daily and switch to that for a few weeks to lessen the seratonergic results of the effexor withdrawal. This really helped me a lot. I don't think I ever would have gotten off effexor with out adding the prozac for a short period of time. You still have plenty of withdrawal symptoms, but they are much more manageable. Prozac basically self-tapers because of its long half life. When you have stabilized fram the effexor withdrawal, you just stop taking it and it gradually leaves your system.

[Going Crazy]

Brigid W wrote:

<quoted text>
Prozac has a much longer half life, and it is easy to taper off of. You might want to ask your doc for a script of 10-20 mg. prozac daily and switch to that for a few weeks to lessen the seratonergic results of the effexor withdrawal. This really helped me a lot. I don't think I ever would have gotten off effexor with out adding the prozac for a short period of time. You still have plenty of withdrawal symptoms, but they are much more manageable. Prozac basically self-tapers because of its long half life. When you have stabilized fram the effexor withdrawal, you just stop taking it and it gradually leaves your system.

Thanks for that information! I went down from 75mg to 37.5 a week ago. My emotions are on overload. Last night I yelled at my 6 year old and even scared myself. We both ended up in tears. I will see if I can get my Dr. to give me some Prozac because I don't like myself right now! Let us Pray for all who go through this - we need it!

[Dave in NC]

I started taking Effexor a year ago and gradually worked up from 37.5 to 75 all the way to 300. I was well aware of the withdrawal symptoms--at least he physical ones. I did NOT tell my doctor that I wanted to get off of Effexor. Since Effexor is often considered a "last resort" med, I really didn't want to have the conversation with him. I didn't really feel like it was working, and I don't need the weight gain and hypertension it brings on.

So over about six weeks or so, I've been cutting down. 300 -> 225 -> 187.5 -> 150 -> 112.5 -> 75 -> 37.5, about a week per dosage--I suppose two weeks per dosage would've been wiser. I haven't had the physical symptoms, so I thought I was doing fine.

But my anger has been so intense of late. I attributed it to simple realizations that certain people I just couldn't tolerate any more and they deserved my lashing out at them. But I've been feeling the urge to do some destructive things.

Like many who have written, I am generally very mild-mannered, but I feel like I am ready to pick a fight with the first person who crosses me. The first person who slightly offends me is gonna get it. I know that's not good.

[stellar]

am on effexor 75mg for post natal depression..my "baby" is 2! Still have that unreality feeling sometimes, and go thru some really bad days when am on a really short fuse. I am biting my nails worsr than I ever did as a child which is disgusting and weird. This is like virtual confessional isn't it? hahaha.Anyway, read Dorothy Rowes "way out of your prison book" and its very good. apparently, on the Rpyal coolege of psychiatrists u.k. website, since this month they have given up on the theory of chemical imbalances in the brain, serotonin blah blah. so, where does that leave us diagnosed with a neurotransmitter disorder-when we try to cut down the meds we get horrible withdrawal-plus the real fear of a worse relapse than before we ever started effexor in the first place. theres the cost too..can you beat depression whilst on it-it giving you a boost to get up in the morning-or is it worse than the original problem?anyone else totally exhausted all the time? started yoga which is great.Trying to get my abs back!!Did anyone lose /gain weight on effexor-its not meant to affect weight?also-back to the confessional bit-its the catholic in me..When i was on a higher dose 2x 75mgs of the xl type, i had this mad compulsion to shoplift-everything -didnt care-not expensive or needed stuff. stuff like bandaids and cough syrup/spoons/a lipstick. can't believe it now-and am really ashamed of it..really ashamed:(

[Ezin]

Tiredness, lethargy, exhaustion as long-term effect - yup, found to be true for many.

Weight gain - acknowledged as standard long-term effect. Short-term it can go either way. If someone told you it doesn't affect weight, then they were either fibbing or unaware of the truth.

e.g. From 9 years ago: http://www.seroxatusergroup.org.uk/Long%20Ter...

Shoplifting - yup, standard adverse effect. Some people gamble, some have affairs, some steal, some spend like crazy, some go heavy on the drink... impulse actions. Linked to the 'loss of inhibition' effect of the drug - this is one that can be a life-wrecker, with people who have completely crime-free backgrounds ending up in prison for all sorts of stuff, or divorcing spouses out of the blue, or evincing behaviours completely out of character which destroy/damage family/frienship ties. Well documented. Mania and hypomania in here, too.

"am really ashamed of it..really ashamed" - it was the drug, stellar. It has happened to people left, right and centre.

[ally]

Brigid W wrote:

<quoted text>
Prozac has a much longer half life, and it is easy to taper off of. You might want to ask your doc for a script of 10-20 mg. prozac daily and switch to that for a few weeks to lessen the seratonergic results of the effexor withdrawal. This really helped me a lot. I don't think I ever would have gotten off effexor with out adding the prozac for a short period of time. You still have plenty of withdrawal symptoms, but they are much more manageable. Prozac basically self-tapers because of its long half life. When you have stabilized fram the effexor withdrawal, you just stop taking it and it gradually leaves your system.

What were your withdrawal symptoms? Did you have the brain zaps even though you used prozac? How long did it take before you didn't have withdrawal symptoms? Did you immediately take prozac when you began withdrawing from effexor?

[Brigid W]

ally wrote:

<quoted text>
What were your withdrawal symptoms? Did you have the brain zaps even though you used prozac? How long did it take before you didn't have withdrawal symptoms? Did you immediately take prozac when you began withdrawing from effexor?

First I tapered the effexor gradually down to 37.5 mg/day. I started prozac 10 mg/day on the last day I took effexor. I took the prozac every day for three weeks. The first 3 days of withdrawal was fairly bad with frequent brain zaps, vertigo, irritability, anger, tinnitus, mania, nausea etc. But it was much better than the time I tried to quit cold turkey from 37.5 mg. without the prozac. After the third day, things started to get a little better every day. I have been off the effexor for nearly one month, and off prozac for one week. I am feeling nearly back to normal. I still have some moodiness, headaches, short term memory lapses and difficulty concentrating as well as residual aching joints & muscles. All this is very manageable, and it is still getting a bit better every day.

I am soo glad I stuck it out and got off that poison. I have tried quitting a few times before using different strategies. I tried opening the capsules and counting grains to slowly taper my dosage, but when I would try to quit completely, it was unbelievably awful. I thought I was going to go insane, and I was incredibly physically ill as well. The prozac took the edge off. When I stopped the prozac, I didn't notice any withdrawal from it.

I also took b-complex, multi-vitamin, fish oil capsules, benadryl for sleep, ibuprofen for pain.

I hope this helps, and I wish you well.

Brigid

[hopeful]

Effexor should be illegal!

I was on it for 10 months and just quit cold turkey 1 1/2 weeks ago.

Being on effexor: I was numb, didn't care about life, or my appearence or my house or job. I gained 18 pounds and didn't go to the gym, had NO energy, Let my family fall apart, detached myself from most of my friends. Wasn't interested in doing the fun things I normally enjoy. But I wasn't stressed out. Nothing bothered me really, BUT, this is NO WAY TO LIVE!

Describing effexor now that I am off of it: It is like being in a mental coma!

Coming off effexor: It has been approx 10 days since I quit cold turkey and I feel better than ever! To get here I experienced major dizziness, my brian would electricute my body, Dia RE AH, I had nightmares, nausea, doom, I felt ashamed for being where I was for 10 months. It is like all of the feelings that you should have had come back to you and run you over like a mac truck! I consider myself a very attractive, confident, succesful and cheerful person. I am married to a police officer. I went out with my friends last Thursday night and had some drinks (MY BAD) I fell into this depression where I thought everyones lives would just be soooo much better if I were gone! I came home and found the key to our gun cabinet. I fortionatly don't know HTF to use a gun, but I did wake up with a shot gun beside me and two boxes of bullets! HELLO!!!!! THAT is messed up!

I think the most important advise I can give you is to stay strong! My god, it is just you fighting this hell of getting off, BUT it is worth it! Some advise that helped me is this:

THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING REALLY GOOD ABOUT TO HAPPEN TO YOU EVERYDAY!- YOU JUST NEED THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE TO SEE THAT!

"FEELING" MAKES YOU KNOW YOU ARE ALIVE! "FEELING" MAKES YOU STRONGER AND MAKES YOU WANT MORE!!!

Please stay strong getting through this is a test and you know you can pass it! You want to feel alive again believe me! If one person read this I would be happy! I wish I could scream it to the world!

GOOD LUCK! If anyone needs to talk or has any insight for me, please email me @ [e-mail]

[am-i-going-INSAN E]

my doctor told me to go ont this medication over a year ago, as you all know, weening into it up to 100mg. first. then just about the time that venaflaxine came out (the generic brand) he upped my dosage to 300mg. i couldnt handle the non-time release, i would ALWAYS puke 30 minutes later even when taking one 100mg pill at a time. so i can't take the sickness, the tight jaw, the anger ouburst, hating my family for now reason!!!!
i never took the full 300mg dose, now i wen't cold turkey, got real dizzy, it's about day 6 now. someone lastnight broke my car window and stole my tom tom gps device and a few things, i grabbed my AR15 assault riffle and my lab and seriously walked around outside for an hour!!! almost sicked my Lab on one of my neighbors. DONT TAKE EFFEXOR or VENLAFAXINE!!!!!

[am-i-going-INSAN E]

i know i just posted, but i should have made it longer. like i said, it's only been six days now cold turkey. i work nights which cause the deepression that got me started taking this medication in the first place. for depression, not anger. i am. well was a very calm person, never got angry, it would take allot to piss me off. i'm having a rough time, my 9 month baby girl, my life! simply woke up from her nap which was just a little shorter than usual, and i got so mad instead of punching anything i shoved my knuckle in my mought and almost bit off my finger!!! my wife (thank God for her) is thankfully understanding and trying to help as best as she can. like someone said, it feels like my emotion from the past year and a half are all coming to catch up with me know. ZOMBIE PILL! the only emotions i had on the pill were random anger outbursts. weight gain of 30+ pounds, no sexual desire AT ALL!!! since i stopped taking it, i had the most amazing intimate time with my wife last night, i'm only 23 years old, way too young to not have any interest in sex.... PLEASE!!! if there is someone reading this contemplating going on effoxor cause your doc. told you to, take something else. my dr. told me that it's my body, and my reaction to the med's wouldnt be like everyone else's. well i wish i could have picked up smoking weed, it would have been easier to quit! it's only been six days, but i am already starting to feel alive again!! i'll take a little depression any day over ever taking effexor again. i dont know yet if it is due to effexor or not but i recently have been getting hives all over my body with something called "auto-immune" wich means there's something in my blood that my body is reacting to as if it were some kind of an allergic reaction. well, wish me luck, and likewise, i'll be hoping for the best for anyone else that has to go through this.

[Evelyn]

I am coming off of Effexor as well and have had anger issues. My highest dose was 300 mg, and I have slowly tapered off to 75 mg. I hope to come down to 37.5 in a month. I am normally a pretty patient person, but I too feel like I am going to lose it at the smallest things. Last night I was at a hockey game with my family, and a teenage boy in front of me kept coughing and coughing w/o covering his mouth. He also ate a pizza and then proceeded to get every last drop of pizza out of the box with his finger and then lick it off his finger. I normally would have just ignored this childish behavior, but I felt like screaming at him at the top of my lungs. I could even feel my heart rate rise!! This is not like me at all. I'm glad I kept my cool, because this poor boy did not need my wrath to ruin his day, and I surely would have embarrassed myself and my family if I had acted on my urge. Crazy, isn't it!!!

[let me guess]

Evelyn wrote:

I am coming off of Effexor as well and have had anger issues. My highest dose was 300 mg, and I have slowly tapered off to 75 mg. I hope to come down to 37.5 in a month. I am normally a pretty patient person, but I too feel like I am going to lose it at the smallest things. Last night I was at a hockey game with my family, and a teenage boy in front of me kept coughing and coughing w/o covering his mouth. He also ate a pizza and then proceeded to get every last drop of pizza out of the box with his finger and then lick it off his finger. I normally would have just ignored this childish behavior, but I felt like screaming at him at the top of my lungs. I could even feel my heart rate rise!! This is not like me at all. I'm glad I kept my cool, because this poor boy did not need my wrath to ruin his day, and I surely would have embarrassed myself and my family if I had acted on my urge. Crazy, isn't it!!!

okay, let me guess...the sound AND site of him licking the pizza off his fingers..and actually ENJOYING himself while you sat there suffering made you wanna kill him..didn't it?...Admit it, you wanted to roll that paper plate into a tight ball and shove it down his throat..right?...right?......
I KNOW YOU DID.....cuz I was on effexor as well, and even some old fart on the bus clicking thier false teeth made me want to commit murder..!!!!!
I understand your suffering...talk to your doctor IMMEDIATELY!!!!!

[JAW]

Stay strong everyone. Your loved ones are there to help you, listen to them. Remember that it is the drug making you feel this way, and the withdrawl is your brain adjusting to not having it. Stay strong, don't give up, keep fighting, even though we don't know each other, we are fighting the same fight. We are here for each other.
JW - Coming off Effexor... It hurts

[effexrorcist]

I was on effexor for 4 yrs......quit cold about 2 1/2 months ago.....it has been living hell....I have been dealing with intense anger issues....I ended a 25 yr. marriage while taking effexor....I was numb...had no emotion
Now....dont you dare cross me....stay outta my way.
I stay away from people. I can become real mean....real fast
effexor trashed my life...i lost everything i cared about....and then some

[insomnia in seattle]

am-i-going-INSANE wrote:

i know i just posted, but i should have made it longer. like i said, it's only been six days now cold turkey. i work nights which cause the deepression that got me started taking this medication in the first place. for depression, not anger. i am. well was a very calm person, never got angry, it would take allot to piss me off. i'm having a rough time, my 9 month baby girl, my life! simply woke up from her nap which was just a little shorter than usual, and i got so mad instead of punching anything i shoved my knuckle in my mought and almost bit off my finger!!! my wife (thank God for her) is thankfully understanding and trying to help as best as she can. like someone said, it feels like my emotion from the past year and a half are all coming to catch up with me know. ZOMBIE PILL! the only emotions i had on the pill were random anger outbursts. weight gain of 30+ pounds, no sexual desire AT ALL!!! since i stopped taking it, i had the most amazing intimate time with my wife last night, i'm only 23 years old, way too young to not have any interest in sex.... PLEASE!!! if there is someone reading this contemplating going on effoxor cause your doc. told you to, take something else. my dr. told me that it's my body, and my reaction to the med's wouldnt be like everyone else's. well i wish i could have picked up smoking weed, it would have been easier to quit! it's only been six days, but i am already starting to feel alive again!! i'll take a little depression any day over ever taking effexor again. i dont know yet if it is due to effexor or not but i recently have been getting hives all over my body with something called "auto-immune" wich means there's something in my blood that my body is reacting to as if it were some kind of an allergic reaction. well, wish me luck, and likewise, i'll be hoping for the best for anyone else that has to go through this.

<br>Oh, my friend up north, be sure to keep your wife near by for support. I can't say enough about my husband helping me keep a grip on reality right now. And do call your doctor if the anger gets any worse. I'm right here with you too. Took my last dose x-mas eve night. I can't sleep. I got pissed off at my husband this morning because he closed the blinds I had just opened and then I proceeded to cry uncontrollably for 20 minutes. I just keep telling myself this can't last forever. We'll both feel better soon!