Effexor withdrawal possibility.

[Marcio]

Hi, i am 21 years old and was on a effexor for a about a year (75mg) and do to serious weight loss,(My hair was also getting thin) I had to stop taking effexor, i weaned my self off by taking 37,5 for two weeks...for the first 14 days i had brain zaps, after that i started having a serious issue with anxiety and had really bad nightmares.....its been a month, the worst is over but i still have blured vision, a bit of fatigue and a bit of dizziness....I really need to get back to my social life again......are these side effects possible? My doctor said that they would only last for 5 to 14 day´s...Is it possible for the withdrawal effects last longer?

Thanks.

[Marcio]

Well im going into the 5th week the anxiety has totally subsided, the dizziness is almost over, what continues to bother me is the vision problems and a bit of dificulty to think just a bit though.....

Observation: I never had a problem with anxiety prior to taking effexor and several other medications. I guess i was just a spoiled brat when i blamed everything on my lack of energy, when it was really just laziness.

[aws5200]

I was on Effexor for several years and unfortunately had to go off because it had stopped being effective.  I had SEVERE withdrawal symptoms for nearly two months, and had been told the same thing--  effects should be minimal and only last a few days/weeks if weaned off slowly.  I experienced the brain zaps for the first month, and was dizzy and nauseated for nearly two months.  It did finally abate completely, thank goodness!  Be patient; I know it's awful now but it shouldn't last forever.  

[Marcio]

I understand , im just a bit pissed off with doctor´s in general, on the internet they don´t give me anything helpfull they say that´s its "the return of supressed anxiety or depression" and in the really world they want to put me on other medication pristiq was the last one i was priscribed....i am just so pissed off on how many thousand´s my family has wasted in the last several year´s...I have had no help from family in the withdrawal process and less from doctor´s....well i took today effexor capsul of 37,5mg and 3 hours after i feel a better, not nearly a 100% but i would say 50%....i just give up i don´t understand this.....

[Paxiled]

Withdrawal is very individual, and Effexor has one of the worst.  And yes, one of the things that can happen is you can end up with mental problems you never had before.  Remember, the drug affects your brain, and alters how it normally functions.  Doctors do not like to face this part of what they do for a living, and tend to want to avoid it altogether.  That leaves us with little help.  Google protracted withdrawal and you'll see you're not alone.  But for almost everyone, it does go away.  You might have to deal with this new anxiety problem in therapy, though, as you can become conditioned to thinking anxious thoughts.  Sorry it happened to you.  Happened to me with Paxil.  Some of us are unlucky, but you're still early on.  And don't expect prior experiences to determine future experiences, even with the same med.  Just accept that meds are weird and not well understood.

[Marcio]

I Thought i´d update......I´m at the 6th week. I Feel a bit dizzy and am having a bit of vision problems that i am havin trouble describing, mild headaches, and somtimes fatigue.I am also having some panic attacks (I have never had panic attacks prior to taking effexor, so its nothing that was supressed by the medication), i am also having really bad crying spells and i´m very agitated. I feel as if when i have less stressful day´s i feel a bit better the next day.

Observation:I had to stop effexor due to the fact that the medication had totally supressed my apetite.I was at the point that i was mal nourished and anemic i would barely be able to get up from my bed. My question is, does that influence anything on the effexor withdrawal´s? Because i have been through this before and it did not last this long.

[Paxiled]

They last as long as they last, which is different for everyone.  Given your youth and you were only on it for a year I think you'll be fine, but don't expect there's a set time for this, there isn't.  Just relax and think of it as an extended bout of the flu or something, since you say you're getting better.  Some say fish oil and St. John's Wort help take the edge off.

[Paxiled]

What many recommend is that, if you're not able to handle the withdrawal, to go back on the last dose at which you felt fine and taper more slowly.  Still no guarantee you won't get an unpleasant withdrawal, but it does reduce the chances.  That's essentially what you're doing.  Still, I'd feel better if you were doing this with an experienced psychiatrist, but you gotta do what you gotta do.  That book will tell you more than I can.  Wish I'd read it before I decided to go off Paxil.  Alas.

[Marcio]

Thank´s for your help Paxiled, you have really helped me understand all this better. But do you think i did the right thing taking 37,5mg after 6 weeks of discontuining the medication? I feel about 70% better i was thinking of taking it the end of the year, i really have some cachting up to do at school...

[Paxiled]

Read a book called the Anti-Depression Solution by Joseph Glanville.  One of the few psychiatrists to face this problem head on.  Look, dispensing meds is how psychiatrists make a living, it's how docs make a living.  If people knew the downsides, pharma companies would sell fewer of them and docs would make less money on returning patients.  It's the reality of it.  Few want to admit our knowledge of this stuff is rudimentary and we're the guinea pigs.  Some get helped, some get hurt.  I lost big time.  I don't think you will, but you are in for a rough time.  My shrink never told me about withdrawal even while I was falling completely apart from it.  Boy, did I learn the hard way.  Just take it slow, deal with what you have now, and later you can write a novel about it like I did that nobody will publish because nobody wants to pull on Superman's cape.  It's a tough, hard world out there, and people aren't very good at making it easier.  We seem to find it easier and more profitable to make it harder.  Meds can do good things for people, but docs should really also study how to deal with the bad.  

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

you have received some good advice from very experience users...yes, the symptoms can last this long, but it's also true that the anxiety that had been suppressed can now be causing some of these same symptoms...so try to think through the sources of your distress, and if you want any help with that, you can go to www.myvirtualshrink.com