Effexor withdrawls

[annavalen]

I have been on antidepressants and antianxiety medications for 18 1/2 years and because of no medical coverage I was forced to discontinue use of the drugs.  I was on Effexor XR then started using generics Venlafaxine 100mg and Citalopram 20mg.  I thought I had the flu after stopping the drugs.  Until I read the posts I didn't know what I was experiencing.  My withdrawl symptoms have been getting sweats,  chills, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, dizziness, vivid dreams, overall feeling awful, anxiety, .... How long does this last?  I am taking Melatonin 5mg by Natrol strawberry flavored fast dissolving that is great for helping me sleep through the night.  What else helps get though this??? I am going to an educational class on eating and depression but until then ...

[doingitalone]

my mom went through the same thing.. she was a mess for a long time.. eventually i had to bring her home to my place so we could take care of her. she says she cant remember most of the time she stayed with me now. she said she had the "brain zaps" too, thats exactly what she called them. my heart goes out to you, i would taper if at all possible. good luck. god bless.

[Ann2497]

I went off of Effexor CT and it was a huge mistake.  You should wean off of it.  I didn't realize it at the time.  I was really naive and didn't realize that all I needed to do was slowly taper instead of going CT.  I almost went to the ER but my daughter was young and I had no one to take care of her.  I had brain zaps really bad.  Have you had those?

[gnarly_1]

it burns me up to read these .....these so called non addictive drugs giving off major withdrawals ....antidepressants work on the serotonin in your brain there no fun to come off of they leve your brain scrambling for serotonin
or the happy hormone your best bet would be to see if you can have the doctor call in enough for you to ween off tell them you lost your ins and that you need enough to ween off safely  going C/T you may be sick for a few weeks and your depression may overwhelm you most doctor will call in a script with a taper plan if you tell them your situation the generic for those meds is about 12 bucks it shure beats whet your going threw keep posting to let us know how you are good luck and God bless......Gnarly