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Mental Health  (Expert Forum)
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Withdrawal 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 from Effexor XR

by shelbsassy, Feb 01, 2004 12:00AM
A was on 300mg Effexor XR for a year, and have been tapering off to 150mg, then 75mg and for the past 5 days have been off cold turkey.  Other than a strange unbalancing feeling when I shift my eyes right or left, I don't have any other withdrawal effects.  I am wondering how long the unbalanced weird feeling and occasional tingle in my fingers will last.



I have been sleeping much better and not eating so much, which is a nice change, too!



I have lithium here which they put me on about 6 months ago but it made me so out of it, I stopped taking it within a few weeks with no problem.  My doctors never spent more than 15 minutes to evaluate me on 3 separate occasions and a large part of my mood swings and issues when I started "treatment" was my excessive drinking. All I had to do was tell them what I wanted to be put on and they gave it to me.  



I have now been sober over a year now and fully believe the drinking had everything to do with the poor decisions and mood swings - I used a mental health disorder as a crutch to blame the consequences of my drinking problem.



Either way, I am fully clean now and want to be off of the drugs.  I no longer see the same doctors since my insurance expired Dec 31 and now have to start over with a new doctor and insurance.  But that is something I dont want to have to do if its not necessary.  If it is necessary I would rather start from scratch with a new doctor to evaluate me while Im alcohol free.



Anyways thats my story and I am just trying to get some advice on how long these feelings will last.  I just want a chance to go back to normal with all of the positive changes Ihave made in my life over the past year.



Thanks for your help!

Shel
Doctor's Answer

by Roger Gould, M.D., Feb 02, 2004 12:00AM
Good for you, you are on the right pathway. I believe that medications are over prescribed in just the way you described, and people will feel and function much better if they can get off of the medications and deal with the underlying problems.



You should expect to be symptoms free within ten more days...
Member Comments (15)

by Lincy37, Feb 03, 2004 12:00AM
I had the same weird eye twitching thing, like something was behind my eyeballs. It took about 1 week. I just found this website hope you are well by now. I hated EFFEXOR.

by shelbsassy, Feb 13, 2004 12:00AM
Just an update - I have been feeling side effect free for about a week - total of withdrawals was about 2 weeks.  I feel much better now completely off the meds - except I cry very easily during tv shows and commercials that are sad or emotional *smile*

by eccie, Feb 17, 2004 12:00AM
From experience, your withdrawal symptoms are totally valid and relate to you not taking your effexor the night before. This has happened to me, and my shrink told me it was withdrawal due to effexor having a very short half life (or something like that). I was drowsy, couldn't wake and felt like I'd been hit with a truck. I've been on effexor about 8 years (or as long as it's been available) and I've experienced these symptoms twice, missing my dose twice.

by KHassen, Feb 19, 2004 12:00AM
I have just stopped taking Effexor. I am now on the second day. I can honestly say that I have never been in a crappier mood than I am right now. I have very unusual side affects. Twitches, frequent bowel movements, irritability. I would be OK if I didn't feel these twitches. I can't sleep at night. Is there anything that can be done to control them? I know that I don't need this drug at all and will be anxious when all of this is over. I hate Effexor. I didn't even want to have sex when I was on it. That is very unusual for me.

by meaux, Mar 07, 2004 12:00AM
Wyeth is a disgrace.  To know that they were and are fully aware of the physiological addiction of Effexor XR and have not made such information publically available is sickening.  When starting Effexor a year ago, I was brought up to a dose of 300mg/day.  I was not told of any withdrawal syndromes or addictive potentials of this drug - I checked WebMD and of course that site says nothing because who sponsors it but the pharmecutial companies themselves.  My pharmacist knew nothing of its addictive potential and had not heard of the effects of Effexor on simple things like circulation (blood pressure and 'tingling' extremeties).  The fact simply remains : Effexor IS PHYSIOLOGICALLY ADDICTIVE.  It may be 'non habit forming' because it does not provide the user with a feeling of euphoria - but studies have proven Effexor's addictive qualities.  Mothers who took Effexor for brief periods of time during the pregnancy had neo-natal fetuses suffering from Withdrawal Syndrome.  Who was on Effexor withdrawal but Andrea Yates herself when she drowned her children (supposedly, anyways).  I have tried three times unsuccessfully to taper Effexor.  The last time I tapered to 265 mg/day for a week and it was miserable - I know what it feels like now to be an addict going through rehab.  I was crippled with nausea, vomiting, headaches, spinning head, vertigo, the 'electrical' impulse feeling (like I could sense my nervous system conducting action potentials when my eyes would move).  Several lawsuits exist currently to fight this evil - some that involve sufferers who experience seizures and neuropathy because of this ****.  SIGN THE PETITION, GET YOUR VOICE ACROSS. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE. We can not let the pharmeceutical companies reap the benefit of getting addicts to their medications.  Is there no justice? I am 19 years old. In college and graduate school concurrently; I must take off my fall semester and find a way of support to get myself off this medication starting immediately this summer... after 3 days cold turkey one time I was about to physically die from the withdrawl effects - I could not get out of bed, kept hearing buzzing in my head, had a fever of over 102 and hot/cold spells. My breathing was depressed, and I was at my wit's end.  THIS CAN NOT CONTINUE TO PLAGUE INNOCENT PEOPLE WHO WANT TO FIGHT DEPRESSION, NOT ADD A DRUG ADDICTION TO THEIR LIST OF WORRIES.

by meaux, Mar 07, 2004 12:00AM
Wyeth is a disgrace.  To know that they were and are fully aware of the physiological addiction of Effexor XR and have not made such information publically available is sickening.  When starting Effexor a year ago, I was brought up to a dose of 300mg/day.  I was not told of any withdrawal syndromes or addictive potentials of this drug - I checked WebMD and of course that site says nothing because who sponsors it but the pharmecutial companies themselves.  My pharmacist knew nothing of its addictive potential and had not heard of the effects of Effexor on simple things like circulation (blood pressure and 'tingling' extremeties).  The fact simply remains : Effexor IS PHYSIOLOGICALLY ADDICTIVE.  It may be 'non habit forming' because it does not provide the user with a feeling of euphoria - but studies have proven Effexor's addictive qualities.  Mothers who took Effexor for brief periods of time during the pregnancy had neo-natal fetuses suffering from Withdrawal Syndrome.  Who was on Effexor withdrawal but Andrea Yates herself when she drowned her children (supposedly, anyways).  I have tried three times unsuccessfully to taper Effexor.  The last time I tapered to 265 mg/day for a week and it was miserable - I know what it feels like now to be an addict going through rehab.  I was crippled with nausea, vomiting, headaches, spinning head, vertigo, the 'electrical' impulse feeling (like I could sense my nervous system conducting action potentials when my eyes would move).  Several lawsuits exist currently to fight this evil - some that involve sufferers who experience seizures and neuropathy because of this ****.  SIGN THE PETITION, GET YOUR VOICE ACROSS. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE. We can not let the pharmeceutical companies reap the benefit of getting addicts to their medications.  Is there no justice? I am 19 years old. In college and graduate school concurrently; I must take off my fall semester and find a way of support to get myself off this medication starting immediately this summer... after 3 days cold turkey one time I was about to physically die from the withdrawl effects - I could not get out of bed, kept hearing buzzing in my head, had a fever of over 102 and hot/cold spells. My breathing was depressed, and I was at my wit's end.  THIS CAN NOT CONTINUE TO PLAGUE INNOCENT PEOPLE WHO WANT TO FIGHT DEPRESSION, NOT ADD A DRUG ADDICTION TO THEIR LIST OF WORRIES.

by kimmientx, Mar 11, 2004 12:00AM
Reading about the side effects of coming off of Effexor scares me to death.  I will begin tapering off of this drug tonight... dropping my dosage to 37.5 mg for one week and then off for good.



I am in the process of interviewing for a new job and I'm totally freaked out because I am afraid the side effects will effect my ability to sell myself in a positive way.  What if I forget what to say or start to shake?  This is awful timing for me, but being unemployed, I cannot afford the high cost of this drug, nor do I feel that remaining on the drug is healthy for me.  



Has anyone had a positive experience coming off of this "addictive" drug?  I have read many posts and see that some have used over-the-counter stuff like Benadryl and Equate.  Any others that will help me through this transition?



Your shared advice and experiences are greatly appreciated.



Good luck.



Kim

by happy now, Mar 12, 2004 12:00AM
i've just stopped taking effexor cold turkey and i'm experiencing vertigo, nausea and excessive tiredness right now.  but i was feeling so toxic on it that i'm willing to put up with this for a bit...its good to be able to read people's personal experiences with this horrible drug. and i'm mad that no one told me it was addictive and had such evil withdrawal effects. i believe that the doctor prescribed me effexor without ever actually considering whether or not i needed it. good luck to all of you who are coming off effexor and i hope i will lose these side-effects soon.i sympathise with those of you who are suffering really badly. the advice i would give to anyone considering taking this drug is DONT!!it creates more problems than it solves.

by kma1114, Mar 16, 2004 12:00AM
I have a question that I hope someone can answer.  I have been on Effexor XR for 2 1/2 years now.  I have tried unsuccessfully two times to get off of this drug.  I am now on my third try.  My DR. put me on wellbutrin while he tapered me off effexor.  I have not taken effexor for about 5 days now.  I know the withdrawal