Does everyone hate effexor xr who gone off it?

Question

Does anyone in the world not hate effexor xr who has had to stop, or discontinue usage. I don't care if you even "taper" off, the withdrawl symptons are unmatched, just google effexor withdrawal, there is more info there then one can read in months. I am the only person who has gone from 300mg/day of effexor xr, to NOTHING. Everything that was described by other posters is accurate and im sure it depends on the dose and frequency and individual to see how bad the symptons will be. I tapered down from 300 to 150mg a day using 37.5 mg pills. Then in 1 week I went from 112.5 down to 0 mg a day. This drug is evil, every doctor should experience the withdrawal of this drug prior to prescribing it. I am a huge tattooed, gun toting BOSS. I will never let this ***** *** drug hold me back, stay informed and nobody take effexor xr. Short term cure, long term hell. FREE YOURSELVES like i did. There is a lot of help online, but the only real way to do it is take a **** ton of xanax and smoke og kush marijuana all day, good luck.

hisham101 · Accepted Answer

Have no experience of Effexor but I do know that withdrawal off any antidepressent can be hellish.
Luckily have good results with Prozac 20mgs. daily
Xanax is helpful when used with great care but I think withdrawal symptoms from this may be terrible too so try to use only as needed.
As for marijuana have never tried it.
Wish you Luck
Elizabeth

bbxx · Answer

Sorry to hear that. Its terrible poison in my opinion. Thats why in spite of the grief I am in now, I am convinced had I stayed on it, I would have destroyed my brain completely.

CAH1 · Answer

I too have done this. Taking 5-10 pellets out over a six month period. I got to the point where I was down to 30 little pellets when I started over to the generic of Zoloft. After about 3 days I quit taking the Effexor XR and only took the Generic Zoloft. About 2 weeks in I was getting terrible stomach aches and quit the generic Zoloft. But I began experiencing nausea and brain problems. I don't get zaps, how I describe it it feels as if my brain is not attached to my skull. I have to move slowly and not turn my head to fast. Even blinking while turning my head would give me this terrible brain issue. 
Sadly, I am back on 30 pellets a day of the Effexor XR. I have been on this for 9 years and I have tried three times to get off Effexor XR! 
It is starting to ruin my life.

dobber50 · Answer

The doctor made me promise to get into counseling, which I start tomorrow and she gave me the Trazodone. the first night I took it, I felt better physicality but emotionally was a wreck. Then I could not sleep. I was afraid to take my nightly Lunesta. Last night I did take both. This morning I woke up feeling just as horrible as before. I am thinking of FLUSHING the Trazadone, continue with the Lunesta, and go for the counseling. I will not actually flush the meds. But I FULLY agree with you about not jumping into an other Antidepressant!!..I know I have only taken two dosages of the Trazadone.....but I believe with God by my side, good friends, GREAT SUPPORT and physical activity, I can DO THIS!!

lynn57 · Answer

It sounds like you may have a resurgence of your initial anxiety.  Maybe you are not going through withdrawal.  Many people blame the symptoms on withdrawing from an SSRI when it's actually the same problems that brought you to the med in the first place.  I was on the Effexor XR at one time and it really helped, but I had sleep problems with it.  After a couple years I came off it.  A few months down the road I realized I needed an SSRI, not because of withdrawal but because of the return of my anxiety symptoms.

bbxx · Answer

If you are withdrawing from one drug, you are better off to not take anything else if your doctor is ok with that, as these various drugs you are on effect the brain.
Another thing to remember is that all drugs have possible side effects, so if you are on more than one drug, it may not be the one  you think it is causing the problems.
 Lunesta can cause vomiting, trazadone can cause lightheadedness upon standing. 
I hope you feel better soon. :)

dobber50 · Answer

and my doctor tells me Effexor is not addictive and what I am feeling  IS NOT withdrawal!! ...hmmmm..........Sometimes, it is better to know the truth and just listen. I did NOT let her talk me into refilling the prescription. I did take a "Trazodone 50mg" last night. The electric shocks and brain fuzz is gone. But I cried like an idiot after taking the pill. i did not want to give in to it. I was afraid to take my lunesta along with the Trazodone and didn't get ANY sleep last night. depending on what the day brings, will help me to decide what to take or not take tonight.

bbxx · Answer

From what I have seen, no one can win against the drug company without God doing it. 
They are just too big. Lots of people have tried to sue them.Personally I dont believe in suing anyone, but thats just me. 
 I dont know about the mood swings.You mentioned you were afriad to go in public in case you vomit or faint. I am not trying to blame anxiety, but is it  possible that its anxiety and not side effects? OR are you saying that since the meds you now have uncontrollable fainting and vomiting? 
My symptoms are things like balance issues and vision probles. Stuff like that.
There are a ton of web sites with others upset over the lasting side effects, but oddly enough they fight hackers and people shutting them down.

dobber50 · Answer

So has anyone found if there is a Lawsuit going for us innocents whohad NO clue what the after life of this Effexor BS would be like? Will I be like this FOREVER? Take a step and my head explodes. I'm so bipolor from this crap it's UNREAL! One second I am confident God and my faith will be all I need and I start out fine and five minutes later I start crying. A simple comment from my husband turns into a yelling match from me. I can't walk in public because I feel like I will faint or throw up! If no one is stepping up to sue...what can we do to GET ER DONE??!!

bbxx · Answer

There are side effects to all medications. Some of us experience them and others experience none. I think its important that the information is out there so that as Nursegirl says, we can make an informed decision. The problem is that sometimes is scares people to hear about the what ifs, and so people do not want side effects, especially serious ones posted. I started a new forum so that we can discuss these side effects. If you are interested, its called side effects of medication. You can also find it under my groups on on my page. Anyone that wants to share their story is welcome.

nursegirl6572 · Answer

Let's just remember that while many of these meds are difficult to come off of, just as many people have little to no problems withdrawling the med.  As for the comments about doctors not "warning" patients...there are different doctors with different approaches out there.  Some are great at taking the time to explain side effects, risks, etc, and some don't mention much of anything.  This is why we must ALWAYS take responsibility for our own care.  The onus is on US, not the doctor, when deciding about starting any medication.  No one should make these decisions blindly...there are plenty of places where the info we seek can be found.  Also, if you DO research a med and have questions, ASK them first.  If your doctor is less than interested in providing important info that is required for you to make an informed decision, then find a new doctor.

bbxx · Answer

I saw this post and although its older wanted to add that I have been off it for over two years and am still dealing with damage caused by it.

frankenkittie · Answer

I weaned myself off effexor xr last october, and it was unpleasant, but not hellish or unbearable. I believe for others that it is. I thought I had good reasons for going off meds, but started having severe panic attacks again in March. My doc. told me about Pristiq, and wanted to try it this time. Effexor xr is the only thing that has ever worked for me in the past, but due to their similarities, I thought I would try the Pristiq. A month and a half later, I am still waking up to a panic attack every morning! That is even with taking Xanax xr for a while til the Pristiq kicked in. I begged the doc to put me back on Effexor, and he said I could go straight to the 150 mg. It has only been two days, but I am hoping it works soon. If they stopped making effexor, I would probably resort to twitching in the corner of a dark room for the rest of my life! I am not planning on ever going off it again.

Arumdaun · Answer

I've been on Effexor for a few years. 375 a day. We lost our insurance as my husband no longer has employment. Because it is so very expensive we were forced to with drawl from it in less than the 12 plus weeks (at the very least) the pharmacy recommended. It was more like whatever pills I had left I used. It was about a 4 week span I was able to stretch it. 

That was bad enough but not the worst of it. The addiction still goes on. Some people can come off of it slowly and be fine,others it doesn't matter how slowly they come off the symptoms never go away. 

I think the topic here isn't the process of coming off of it but what happens afterwards when your brain demands more.

lynn57 · Answer

I came off Effexor a couple of years ago after taking it for two years.  It worked very well for me and I had no problems coming off it.  After reading the horror stories, I made my own plan.  I opened the capsules and took out a certain amount of grains,each day for a week.  I upped the amount by ten each week until I was taking just a few grains and I quit.  It takes patience and time, but is well worth the absence of any withdrawal symptoms.  At the beginning of each week, open seven capsules and remove the amount of grains you choose to drop.  Just try it!

Arumdaun · Answer

I am in the after stages of coming off of Effexor. Yes it is horrid. They say it is the worst drug to come off long term. I know from reading others posts that the brain zaps can be helped a little by Paxil... low doses and lowering them gradually. I don't know about this particularly since they say Paxil is the worst drug to get off of short term. (something just seems very wrong there) I understand how it mimics the brain chemistry that was being produced but I still think that once off of everything the effects of the drug will remain.

Not only am I experiencing the brain zaps but I constantly have this IcyHot feeling on my brain. The spot moves around and it feels like it is my brain, not the scalp that is so hot you can't tell if it is burning or freezing. I keep thinking maybe an ice pack will help, but it doesn't.

Along with this my arms have started to feel numb and fiery, like I have a pinched nerve. But this happens down both arms. It starts at my neck and goes to the tip of all my fingers.

The brain fog is horrid. I can be talking and not be able to think of a common everyday word or I insert a word into a sentence that has NOTHING to do with what I am talking about. It comes out of nowhere and I speak it without the ability to stop it first. After it is said I realize what just happened but can't seem to get my mind straight again.  (EX. I will say a simple sentence like,"Is anyone hungry?" but instead it comes out, "Is anyone infinity?" They don't sound alike, they aren't close in meaning, it isn't a word you would even use weekly...)

Any information on getting past the after effects would be much appreciated. I have seen others say the only way to get rid of all the symptoms is to go back on Effexor XR. Once on it you don't go off of it without serious suffering.

Doodles_Mimi · Answer

p.s. I forgot to mention, she has been on new meds for quite some time now that are working for her Bi-Polar.But NOTHING has subdued the FRIGGING BRAIN ZAPS. Also,, with 3 children she can't be drugged up all day, she also suffers from constant body pain and is going through tests to diagnose her condition.She doesn't drink alchohol,smoke (anything) nor take pain medicine. She is allergic to soo many things even tylenol or aspirin, the only thing she can take is ibufrofin "Whoopee" not, it don't do **** and it's bad for her liver.

Doodles_Mimi · Answer

Hello, I just read your comment about Effexor. Over the years, my daughter has taken   many types of antidepressants(prescribed by psychiatrists) for her bi-polar disorder. It has been trial and error to find ones that worked for her. There were ones that worked for long periods of time but, then stopped working. At one time, after this occured, her Psychiatrist prescribed Effexor, which she then took for approximately 21/2 years. When she became pregnant, she had to stop taking her medicine. She begain having the meriad of side effects, discribed by the many others who have stopped taking Effexor XR. Needless to say, she was never told to be aware of these horrendous side effects, She made an appointment to see her doctor, which she then explained the side effects she was experiencing.The main one? you can probably guess, the brain zaps!!!  He said he had not heard of this symptom before but, that he would research it. At her next appt. she got the news, yes it was one of the side effects. It has been FOUR long years and the side effects have ruined her life! To this day she suffers from these "brain shivers". There is no cure, if she had known about the side effects she NEVER would've agreed to take it. The manufacturers should be held accountable for this dangerous drug, I have read too many people who have/are suffering from this drug!! Does anyone know of any law suits that have been filed against the manufacturers Wyeth-Ayerst? Please give me any info you may know about this subject, Thank you.