Posted by Stacey Mullins on October 22, 2003, at 15:52:57
Found this board just when I'm getting fed up with trying to get off Effexor and found lots of other people in a similar boat.
My question relates to a symptom that I've not come across before related to Effexor withdrawal. Been on 150mg for about 18 months, and any time I miss for a couple of days I start having a strange vision problem. It's like the tail on the mouse cursor when it's set that way, where you can still see where the mouse has been on the screen when you move it? If I look from here to there, especially if my eyes cross over the midline in my visual field, a delay? a skip? an indescribable weird thing happens where (the dr says my eye(s) jump a little) the incoming visual information isn't being processed in real time, but with a split second delay. Dr. says this is because one or more of the optic nerves is being affected by the CNS problem when Effexor is missing.
I've been trying to get off of the stuff now for a month or longer and can't get past the final 37.5mg dose. I take one every other day and if I go 2 days without, this vision thing starts in again. The typical depression symptoms usually follow shortly after this one makes it's appearance unless I take another small pill. 4-5 hours later and I can see straight again.
Has anyone ever heard of or had anything like this when coming off anything, Effexor included? When people say "dizziness" do they mean the actual vertigo phenomenon or if pressed could they describe something more like this or a similar visual problem-not an equalibrium problem. Any experience helpful.
poster:Stacey Mullins
thread:271983
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031021/msgs/271983.html