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Anxiety Community
This patient support community is for discussions relating to generalized anxiety, anxiety and eating, anxiety and sleeping, mood swings, and phobias.
effexor xr withdrawls how soon will it go away along with xanax
by vickie44, Dec 21, 2006 12:00AM
hi i been on effexor xr since july 2006 in jan i had a ovary and tube removed and 2 weeks later i had a bad panic attack i then went to my family dr he gave me xanax 1 mg 3 times a day in feb i stayed on them then in may i was in walmart and had a very severe attack but this was all due from too much stress on me at once i dont like the effexor xr 75 i started out on 37.5 they made me feel great then he upped them to 75 then 150 well the 150 was too strong so im now back on 75 i sleep nonstop im awake some but most times i fall asleep i cant sleep all throught the night i wake up in the morning and im very shaky and nervous so i have to take a xanax i take the effexor at night i tried stopping them once and i was so scared and i cried and cried my husband had to come home and stay with me cause i couldnt handle it im at the point where i want to go to a mental hospital untill i can get off them for good cause i cant do this alone unless it dont last long i may be able to do it it did help with my panic attacks and my depression and being afraid of being home alone but i feel like im all better now i have no life on this medication cause alls i do is sleep i have no energy no motivaction i never leave my house i cant get nothing done cause im too tired i feel like i slept for days and i just dont do nothing i have 2 girls 14 and 10 and a husband and i need help getting off theses meds i go back to my dr dec 29th 2006 and also i go for my yrly checkup in jan 2007 i was due for my period this month but nothing so far my last one was in sept thanks
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The Xanax should help with the intense anxiety. Are you also taking it in the daytime (or just in the morning?)
The side effects / or withdraw from Effexor is variable, meaning some don't experience any sides or withdraw syndrome, while others can experience terrible symptoms for days or weeks (and some longer.) Effexor can also cause drowsiness and lethergy (and ironically, hyperactivity and insommina.) You can become exhausted because you aren't sleeping good, and you can experience insomnia at night because you are napping or sleeping in the daytime.
The good news about Effexor side effects / withdraw is - once a patient who is experiencing these symptoms is totally off the drug, the terribly unpleasant symptoms eventually DO go away, and they report a great improvemenet in their quality of life. How long this might take is different from patient to patient, but it is usually not too long for most patients.
Do you have anyone you can call (a friend, a neighbor, a family member who might be home during the day) who you can talk to or you might be willing to come over to your house and stay with you if you begin having these panic attacks? Just telling someone and having someone available if you need them can help ease some anxiety. If you don't have someone you can call (or even if you do yet feel like you cannot do this with them available OR alone), by all means - I think you should call the doctor's office before your next appointment and tell them you feel terrible, that you are having panic attacks, and that you feel like you cannot do this alone. Ask to be seen sooner than the 29th.
Best of luck to you.
Also, if you do stop the meds, why don't you try stopping them one at a time? Like, keep taking the Effexor in the morning, but start tapering down on the Xanax. Sometimes I only take half a pill. Especially if it's during the day because I hate how tired it makes me. Good luck!
What I ended up doing was tapering off and ramping up on an SSRI at the same time. My regular doctor did a good job of balancing the two, and I was able to make an easy transition.
I'm not sure how much Xanax will help, and I don't know if you plan on staying on antidepressants. However, gradual replacement with an SSRI helped tons.
Hang in there!
SWJ
Tony