Going off Effexor

[Clara101]

Although Effexor has helped me a lot, I think I'm ready to go off of it.  My mother and sister both suffer from pretty serious depression, and I've had it pretty mildly off and on over the years.  A few months after a bad breakup I was still really upset, so I asked my doctor to put me on an antidepressant.  She also treats my mother and sister and didn't really ask me any questions, just wrote up a prescription.  So I've been taking it for about a year and a half.

I'm now realizing that I think I can manage without it, and some of the effects of it are disturbing my life.  The first problem is my sex drive has completely abated.  I'm young and single and I'd like to meet someone great, but when you have no interest in sex you just don't have the same drive to get out there and meet people.  It's great not worrying about stuff so much - but I think I need to worry about things some more!  I've gained a fair amount of weight because I just don't really care.  I used to work 12 hour days, no problem, now it's a push to force myself to work 8.  And worst of all I'm in law school, and I really didn't do all that well in my first year mostly because I didn't really feel any worry that I had to study and do well.  So for those reasons I'd like to go off.

I would go talk to my doctor, but she really isn't a 'going above and beyond' kind of person, and she'd probably either try to talk me out of it or just give me a prescription for 37.5 mg capsules and shove me out the door.  (Again, my sister goes to the same doctor and suffers from serious depression, and our doctor has never helped her, besides writing prescriptions)  (Also, I'm in Canada and finding another family doctor is NOT an easy thing!)

For the last couple weeks, I've been opening the capsules and pouring out some of the beads - the first week I took out 20, then 30, and I'll start taking out 40 next week.  That's been going fine, I had a bit of a headache for a couple days, but that's it.  But I'm kind of wondering if I should maybe give it a shot to just go off it cold turkey.

I can devote three full days to lying in bed doing nothing next week, and can take more if I need to (although I'd rather not miss class).  One thing I haven't seen anyone suggest in all the reading I've done about people going off this drug is chewing up a few beads when the withdrawal symptoms get really bad.  Lots of people seem to go back to taking their regular dose, but has anyone tried just taking a very little bit as they need it?  For some reason that seems like it would work to me...any thoughts?

[Paxiled]

Switching to Zoloft may have worked for your bro, but it usually doesn't because it's a different class of medication.  You usually end up with side effects of the new drug and withdrawal from the old and can't tell which is which.  Wouldn't recommend it.  But again, just another unexpert opinion from us unexperts on here.

[throwawayname11]

Clara, firstly I emphasize with the desire to be rid of the drug because of its side effects (the sexual drive part will disappear over time, but the laziness or apathy just gets worse - I simply stopped paying bills because, hey, why not?).

To second what Paxiled said above, don't go cold turkey and wean slowly off of this one.  As I've said in a previous post, Effexor is a heavy duty antidepressant, and acts on both serotonin AND norepinephrine.  It's a double-hit if you quit this one quickly.  I did so, and was left with some strange anxiety where I couldn't breathe, until I had to be put on a benzo (Klonopin, clonzanapam), which I'm still on until now.

However, to make a solid point, this NSRI (Effexor) can be weaned by swapping it for something like Zoloft and then tapering off of that.  My twin brother did this whereas I did it cold turkey, and he was far better off.

[Paxiled]

Don't do this drug cold turkey.  Withdrawal can be horrendous.  Now, yours may be simple as pie, and hopefully it will be, but don't think a few days is going to be it.  My own suggestion probably won't thrill you, but if you're in law school, which I've done, well, that's not the time to be going off one of these meds, especially not Effexor.  I'd probably stay on it until the semester is over, at least, just in case.  If you do go off, do it on a slow taper, preferably with a psychiatrist, not a family physician.  They usually don't know anything about these meds or these conditions.  Besides, there's no time in law school for a relationship anyway.  Sex in law school?  Don't remember much time for that!  (And for all that, I never practiced law because I started getting the anxiety attacks within a few months of getting out).  And next time you break up, don't take a drug, see a therapist.  Meds are for when you don't know what the problem is; when you do, best to work it out then suppress it with a medication.  Just my opinion.  Good luck.