Coming off Effexor

sex panther

So ive been on this anti depressant for 5 years, but lately ive decided to come off them, i feel im stronger (mentally) than ever and ive been on the lowest dose for a year now

Anyways ive found the withdrawal just horrible!!! ive got nausea, diarrhea but the worst by far is the dizzyness its like an electric shock in my brain its really nasty. I have already tapered off like im supposed and am effexor free for 8 days now but im still suffering.

im fit to kill my gp!! i was told none of this i had to google it and saw that these withdrawal symptoms are normal. Mentally i feel great but physically its a pain in the ass.

Has anyone here gone of effexor?? how long does this go on for???

LegacyUser

Hiya...

Your not the only one not to know the full facts! This is the first I have heard of the withdrawel symptoms, GP has told me nothing nor has my Psyciatrist and to make things worse I'm on a high dose of 225mg since Feburary...!!

Now, I'm definitely thinking of going back to my GP this week...I do feel better but at the same time I know I can't go off them until they say so, if that makes sence! I hate taking meds like many people do, but without knowing the full facts about these things would make a person very reluctant in the future....

Just as a matter of interest what dosage were you on?

mathepac

Venlafaxine, is the drug sold under the brand names Efexor or Venlofex in Ireland - click here for the published SPCs (Summary of Product Characteristics) and PILs (Package Information Leaflets)

Chemically, venlafaxine resembles the drug tramadol, sold under a variety of brand names in Ireland including Madol and Zydol. Click here for the published SPCs (Summary of Product Characteristics) and PILs (Package Information Leaflets) for tramadol.

Some users of venlafaxine may experience opioid-like withdrawal symptoms when reducing their dosage or when stopping the drug.

Changes in dosage or stopping the use of any medication should only be attempted following advice and consultation with your doctor(s).

Chemical compounds:

Venlafaxine (C17H27NO2)
Tramadol (C16H25NO2)

C_Dawg

I was on a high dose of this at the beginning of the year. Coming off it was like Hell. I was weaned off it over two weeks. I was an absolute mess for those two weeks. Luckily my consultant told me how I might feel during this so it wasn't out of the blue. But in the end it was worth it as I'm on different meds now and am doing ok.

Hope ya feel better in the coming days

LegacyUser

sex panther wrote: »

Anyways ive found the withdrawal just horrible!!! ive got nausea, diarrhea but the worst by far is the dizzyness its like an electric shock in my brain its really nasty. I have already tapered off like im supposed and am effexor free for 8 days now but im still suffering.

im fit to kill my gp!!

I am only on them a few months but get that if I miss even one dose. My GP didnt warn me that withdrawel was that bad.

I did look it up myself though and IIRC it said to titre the dose down and then tee-total. But that even the tee-total stage will take a few weeks to get over. A friend whos a pharmacist advised two - four weeks

bohsboy

Its a great drug but the withdrawls can indeed be savage,

**Please consult a GP though, I was on a very low dose and was able to do it. At higher doses Im sure there's a certain protocol**

sex panther

thanks for your reply guys,

First of all im sorry if ive freaked some of you out about the prospects of coming off effexor, im sure everyone is different and i have been on them for 5 years.

For the last year ive been on 37.5 and of course ive consulted my doctor every step of the tapering (every second day every third day etc) but she actually told me last week that my withdrawal symptoms couldnt be that bad and hadnt ever realised that there were symptoms involved! Like how can u prescribe this and not know if there are these!

I cant be imagining it! cos im off effexor over a week now and i still feel like ****e but today i do feel a bit better so maybe i just have to suffer through...

Thanks C_Dawg good to know someone has done it sucessfully!

sex panther

"Brain zaps" and sensations

Symptoms described as "brain zaps", "brain shocks," "brain shivers", "head shocks" or "cranial zings" are a withdrawal symptom experienced during discontinuation (or reduction of dose) of antidepressant drugs. The symptoms are widely variable in description and of unknown etiology, common descriptions include dizziness, electric shock-like sensations, sweating, nausea, insomnia, tremor, confusion, nightmares and vertigo. The MedDRA "preferred term" for coding these types of symptoms in adverse drug reaction reports is paraesthesia.

In a 1997 survey, a "sizable minority" of medical professionals were not confidently aware of the existence of antidepressant withdrawal symptoms. A 2005 review of adverse event reporting showed that descriptions of "electric shocks" from patients on paroxetine had been reported more frequently than some other symptoms.[10]

LegacyUser

Hi,

I was on Efexor for almost 9 months. 37.5 mg twice a day.. after my 8th month i decided to taper the drug myself (not advisable) i cut the dose to once a day for about one month and then started to pull open the capsule and decrease the granules inside daily in a decresing measure for about 2 weeks and then stopped . i have been off the drug for about 3 weeks now. i get a very mild form of brain shocks now and then but does not cause major discomfort at all .. but i whish that too goes away ..

Ruwan

Pearson

i have just been prescribed 75mg of Venlofex, which is a generative brand of the above anti deppressant - has anyone been on this ?