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Mental Health  (Expert Forum)
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Withdrawal Symptons from Effexor XR
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
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MedHelp Member's Question

Withdrawal Symptons from Effexor XR

by MrsO, Mar 28, 2003 12:00AM
My doctor has been weaning me off Effexor XR 150 mg over a 2-week period while at the same time starting me on Lexapro 10 mg a day.

The first week I took 75 mg a day of Effexor XR and 10 mg a day of Lexapro; the second week 37.5 mg a day of Effexor XR and 10 mg of Lexapro. The third week I was completely off the Effexor XR and was only taking Lexapro 10 mg a day. I began to feel horrible.

I cried non-stop and had electrical shocks going through my head. I called my doctor and he said to go completely off the Lexapro and see him in his office 4 days later (that's the only appt he had).

During those 4 days it was sheer hell. The electrical shocks got worse, I couldn't stop crying, I was on an emotional roller coaster. When I finally saw him 4 days later, he started me on Wellbutrin 100 mg a day.

I've been taking the Wellbutrin 100 mg a day for the past 2 days but the shocks are still happening, I'm still crying all the time, my emotions are going haywire. I'm being nice to my husband one minute and yelling at him the next. I think he's ready to divorce me.

Out of desperation, I took a 75 mg Effexor XR today to try and make the shocks go away. I also took a half of a Xanax. Can you give me an idea of what's going on. I just want to make sure I'm not going crazy. Do you think I'm just not completely weaned off the Effexor XR yet?

Has anyone else experienced these "electrical shocks"? My doctor said he has not heard of those before. He talked to the Lexapro representative and he said he's never heard of that before either. But I'm not sure it was the Lexapro, since I only took it 2 days. I'm thinking I'm not yet weaned off the Effexor. Any thoughts?





Doctor's Answer

by Roger Gould, M.D., Mar 31, 2003 12:00AM
I have very frequently heard patients describe these kind of electrical shocks in this forum. It is almost always a withdrawal phenomenon.   What happened when you took the effexor the other day...did the shocks diminish.   Usually the replacement by the new medications takes care of the withdrawal effects, so wellbutrin will work over time, but you may ask your doctor about small doses of effexor in the meantime.
Member Comments (28)

by Raskolnikov, Mar 30, 2003 12:00AM
ugh, I have heard about those electric shocks people have got after stopping Efexor. I am scared when it is my time to get rid of efexor since I am taking 450 mg per day (plus lithium, depakote and remeron). And basically lithium is the only one that has helped me really.

I hope you get rid of those shocks.

by Mazzcm, Mar 30, 2003 12:00AM
The electric shocks, also refereed to as the "zaps" aren't uncommon.

I stopped xanax and zoloft (w/o tapering) one day.



I had the zaps for a while.

They just went away.



Medication adjustments are difficult, they screw around with ur emotions. So I would try ur hardest to wait it out.



When u get to ur "theraputic level" u should be much better.

Good Luck,

Maz

by skdp, Mar 31, 2003 12:00AM
My brother and I have also experienced these shocks when stopping our meds suddenly-  him w/ Effexor, me w/ Prozac and especially bad w/ Celexa. If I forget to take my Celexa, they happen very quickly. Why haven't more MDs and therapists heard of this???

by MrsO, Mar 31, 2003 12:00AM
Reply to the doctor from MrsO: The day I was having the shocks the worst, I took 75 mg of Effexor and 1/2 of a Xanax. Within a couple of hours, I was feeling much better. The next day, the shocks were completely gone and haven't come back since. I haven't had even the slightest bit of a shock. The whole situation was very strange and unpleasant, and I hope I never have to go through that again. At the present time, I am on 100 mg Wellbutrin SR a day, and I feel great - better than I've felt in a long time. Thank you for answering my question.

by MrsO, Mar 31, 2003 12:00AM
I would just like to encourage anyone who is trying to come off Effexor to hang in there. As you can see from the question I posted, it's an extremely unpleasant experience, and I think more patients should be warned about what they might go through when they stop this medication - but there really is a light at the end of the tunnel and you'll be out of it soon. There are many medications out there, and new ones coming out every day, and I think eventually most of us will find something that will help. I know Wellbutrin is working great for me right now, but I had to go through several medications to get to it. And all during that time, I thought I was going crazy from all the side effects I was experiencing. But now that I'm on the right medication, my whole world looks better. Our doctors try their best to help us, but everyone is different and what works for one might not work for another. It's just that while we are going through the process of finding the right medication, we take a ride on that emotional rollercoaster. We've got to remember that these medicines are messing with our brains, but just think what it would be like if we lived 100 years ago. There would be help for us at all. Good luck to everyone. MrsO

by cynthiaslb, Mar 31, 2003 12:00AM
What you describe is called "Antidepressant Discontinuation Reaction" (ADR). It's a psychiatric euphamism for antidepressant withdrawal. Look up ADR and you will find much more information. The most common therapy I have seen is a single dose of PRozac 20mg because it has the least ADR symptoms of all the SSRIs. Longest blood plasma half-life, etc. I am not a doctor, this is just from my own research.



I had a similar reaction to withdrawal from Lexapro. As soon as I took a 5mg dose (I was on 10mg and was stopped abruptly due to seizures from some unidentifiable source), the next day I felt better and the day after the symptom disappeared.



You are not supposed to be switched or stopped abruptly from any antidepressant. Doctors should help you manage a 1-3 month taper, and supplement by starting a low dose of the new antidepressant and doing a slow dose increase.

by chrismary, Mar 31, 2003 12:00AM
I am still having the shocks after 6 months off Prozac. I am taking klonpin to relax me. I want to try Wellbtutrin again. Does this help the shocks? I think should because I am having bad cravings and squeezing pain. How can I find out what ADR means? I am sorry for all of us. I was not weaned off Prozac either. I was crashed off it. I think I will avoid SSRI's however.Thanks. Chrismary

by nefarious, Apr 07, 2003 12:00AM
I have been a very happily retired man for

over 4 years, with nothing in my life about

which to be depressed. However, from time to

time over the last 8 years I've had oppresive

bouts of tinnitus (ringing in the ears)that

last 2-6 months and wear me down. My doc has

said that I'm not depressed but I sure am

stressed by the noise when the time runs on

with a "noisy bout"

     He put me on effexor xr 75mg over a year

ago and I felt much better as the tinnitus bout

ran its course over 3 months. Doc said to stay

on effexor 'till 6 months passed and I certainly

returned absolutely to the happy retired golfer

I always wanted to be---but he kept me on 'till

I insisted I didn't want a long term "cure" for

a problem of infrequent occurence.

     I suggested that weaning of a medication

of a year's duration seemed like a strategy I'd

imagine one would follow. He said that I could

go "cold turkey" or wean myself at my own discretion.

I did a little weaning over 3 weeks--every other

day, every 3rd day, and felt a littlw "woozy"

but I thought it was from a bad throat infection

and cold. WELL, the cold left, I cut down to zero

effexor about 10 days ago and WOW!!!

     I immediately felt extremely irritable,

had very negative reactions to any situation

(waiting in line 3 minutes!), and felt always

on the verge of vomiting from a kind of nausea

that I got as a kid on a merry-go-round that

went too fast for too long. I have said daily to

my wonderfully patient wife that I "have the

dizzies" again and every little thing I need to do

is a pain in the butt and I feel like exploding

at the simlest request!!

     Fortunately I found this site and have read

of similar reactions with different weaning stategies.

My personal desire is to tough it out and get past

these apparent reactions and to avoid using another

drug to escape withdrawal effects from a previous one.

     MY QUESTION: Has there been any "max" amount

of withdrawal time noted with previous patients and

am I being stupidly "macho" about toughing it out?

  ***I know I could go to my own doc with these

questions, but he was so blase about carrying on

well beyond recovery from tinnitus and so casual

about going "cold turkey" that I'm not sure I

want to trust his recommendations completely

when this site seems to have so much direct

experience from which to draw



by chrismary, Apr 07, 2003 12:00AM
I have the same question!!! The shocks are bad. They are giving me klonopin for it and to me that is stupid. They just make me tired and relaxed a bit but they don't cure anything. I was considering acupuncture. Anyone have this problem with a resolve?

I am told it could take several years.

Thanks

Chrismary

by frecklesag29, Apr 07, 2003 12:00AM
I have taken 75mg of Effexor XR for three months.  It hasn't seem to do much for me so I am tapering off.  I am doing so very slowly.  I have read on-line where one woman counted the amount of little spheres in the capsule and started by taking 6 out.  Then a few days later, she would take a few more out until there were very few left in the capsule.  Hope this helps.  You can buy empty capsules at your local pharmacy.



hey

by tokyojoe, Apr 08, 2003 12:00AM
I have been on effexor for around 12 months and have just stopped becuase of weight gain. 2 questions:



1. I originally started taking it because of irregular heart beats, racing heart etc. I had all the symptoms of tachycardia but for some reason the Effexor stopped the symptoms almost entirely. Anyone have any alternatives to suggest that take away what seem to be nervous system linked irregular heart beats/fast beats without weight