Sorry to hear about your withdrawal symptoms. It sounds like you made the right choice for you though.
If you are ever worried about your symptoms be sure to talk to your doctor or pharmacist about it. I can't offer medical advice but hopefully we have some members here who have weaned off this drug and can share their experiences soon.
I was on Effexor for about a year and a half before the doc switched me to Venlafaxine. The medications have definitely helped me with my anxiety however like everyone else in this discussion I have had horrible withdrawal symptoms....even from missing just one day! I have been on the meds for about 7-1/2 years now and have asked my doc a couple times to wean me off but she is hesitant as they are working...but I want a more sustainable solution to my anxiety as opposed to medication or pills...Personally I feel I am "different" since being on the medication and not necessarily in a good or bad way, just different and with a shorter fuse than pre-meds...
The withdrawal symptoms are extreme to me...severe dizziness that can get worse in waves...headache, feeling very surreal...and severe tiredness.
For those who no longer take either of these meds, did you have to supplement with another or are you med free? That is my ultimate goal :-)
i was on the stuff for 5 years with a glitch here and there because of my own inattention.
It was my illness that caused a major reaction to the stuff in the end, but it could have been to any anti-depressant in all classes combined. That is the way the cookie crumbles... I was sort of stable for 5 years.
For me, the pdoc precribed different doses (different dosed pills of the same meds) for a different periodes of time. Same as building up to the therapeutic dose (I did not go home the first day with 250ml). So for one week I was at approx 125 and then at 75 and 37 and off... (I am not sure of the exact measures, this is back when I was in a crises in Aug!).
I am kinda hesitant about the cutting of pills ... it has always raises questions in me about the equal doses every time ... and the slivers that break off ???
Don't worry I wouldn't go off the drugs without telling my doc first.
But I do have good news if anyone else is stressed about coming off effexor. I've heard so many horror stories about how hard it was and how sick you could get. But my doctor reassured me that not everyone gets withdrawal, and that depending on how I react we can go as slow or as fast as we feel comfortable. It was such a relief to hear that withdrawal effects are the exception, not the norm. :-)
Still, I wish that a perfect ad existed that worked for everyone immediately with no side effects or withdrawal.
I was on Venlafaxine from 2005 to 2009. And was, hmmm, okay. I was never really well but never really sick enough to stop functioning. And with me that means being totally crippled.
In Aug 2009 I had an intoxication to the stuff. The hospital wanted to adnit me and stop me cold-turkey. I refused I asked for 2 to 3 weeks. I mentioned I was often sick when I late a few hours with a dose and would not be able to handle the withdrawl and the intox. So the psy-doc did lower the doses over a few weeks. It was not easy! But, it was not the -constant- migraines, vomiting, and the rest I would have had to deal with otherwise.
I too am sorry things did'nt work out for you with the cost of the Effexor. I am just curious, did you go right from 225mg to 0mg without tapering down?
Satu, I am currently on Pristiq which I hear is a cleaned up version of Effexor. I've had very few side effects, but have heard that one needs to wean off of it like Effexor. It seems to be working??? Jury is still out. I don't think I've been on it long enough to tell for sure.
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