Effexor Withdrawal- Is this normal?

[Erin_ann]

I'm new to the forum so hopefully someone can help. I've been on Effexor 225mg for a few years and started weaning off a few months ago. We are going through fertility treatments for our second baby and I didn't want to be on it while I was pregnant. I have tapered off very gradually and am now down to half a 25mg tablet a day.  I have been lucky and other than s little stomach trouble I have had a relatively easy time. However, the past few days I have had some very bad anxiety. It comes on all of a sudden and for no reason. It started with worries about "not feeling good". Just worried that I would feel sick. Then this morning I just felt crappy, emotionally. Like I didn't want to do anything and that feeling like that feeling would never go away. Just a general sense of anxiety - almost a panick attack. This is something I've never experienced before. My anxiety/depression was always associated with something specific.

Is this normal for weaning off Effexor? Will it go away? I appreciate any insight.

[Erin_ann]

Update: Things have gotten much better. On Monday this week I went to my psychiatrist and she prescribed Prozac to help me with the withdrawal. I don't think that has kicked in yet but I am definitely feeling better. I still wake up with some anxiety and have waves of depression and anxiety, but it's much milder. I have had a few really good days with just a little bit of anxiety in there.  My concern now is that I have this fear that I will go back to that really bad time. So every time I don't feel "good" I start to get anxious. I think this is alla part of the withdrawal. I just wonder when it will all go back to normal. Believe me, I'm grateful to be out of the worst of it. I just want to go back to feeling normal.

[Erin_ann]

Things are not getting better.  I've had severe anxiety all day today. I just don't want to do anything. It feels like I can't function. But I really don't want to go back on Effexor. I don't want to go through this withdrawal hell again. I tapered very slowly, maybe a little quicker toward the end (25mgs a week) and I don't want to do this all over again. I just hope it gets better soon.

[Paxiled]

If it doesn't go away soon, and I hope it does, do consider going back on it and tapering off more slowly.  Don't let it fester too long and become a chronic problem.

[Erin_ann]

Thanks for your comments. After reading what you said and some other info I think it truly is the withdrawal. I just hope it goes away soon!

[Paxiled]

It is a withdrawal symptom of antidepressants for some people, as it's hard for some of us to live without the drug once we get used to it.  Since you've been on it for a long time, it can take a long time for the brain to adapt back to working normally.  My only advice is, if you get new emotional problems you never had while quitting a drug, it's probably withdrawal, and if it continues I'd go back on a higher dose of the Effexor and taper off even more slowly so you don't end up with new problems.  You can also just grin and bear it and hope it goes away.  But yes, this is very common, especially with the really hard drugs to quit such as Effexor and Paxil.