Posted by Nikki on July 6, 1999, at 18:49:24
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by bigbertha on July 6, 1999, at 9:36:42
I too was on Effexor for a year and a half and had awful side effects! If I miss more than one dose, I would have flu-like syndromes, dizziness, vertigo, diarrhea, etc. I finally decided, on my own without my psychiatrist, to get off it for good. I had tried 3 times before to get off it, but the side effects of withdrawal were so bad that I went back each time. I really beleive that reading this bulletin board saved my life and helped me get off this drug.
A friend of mine who is a psychiatrist prescribe me enough to taper off. The suggestion of 1 tablet a day for a week then 1/2 per day for a week made before is a good one. My friend gave me the SR version and I tapered to one a day for a week and then discontinued. The first week and a half after that I felt sick, but I took Benadryl for the side effects of withdrawal and this helped tremendously. I found this remedy on Dr. Bob Psychopharmalogy link. It also says that your psychiatrist can prescribe Prozac during the withdrawal period to ease the symptoms, that is provided that he or she is supporting you through this. Mine was convinced that I was "imagining" the awful withdrawal effects.
I have been off for 2 months now and am so thankful. I would recommend trying to come off it if you can especially if it was not very effective with the depression like in my case.
Remember I am not a doctor, but I've certainly been there. Search the archives for posts on Effexor withdrawal and make your decision. I hope that this helps and I wish you good luck and good health! Let me know how it goes!!
poster:Nikki
thread:8280
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990628/msgs/8349.html