Posted by Enderkin on November 26, 2003, at 14:08:41
In reply to Re: Effexor withdrawal - very bad news, posted by Melissa1 on November 26, 2003, at 13:03:07
> I appreciate everyone's feedback on this site so much. It has helped me get through the worst of Effexor withdrawal. At least I knew I wasn't going crazy. I was on 150 mg xr Effexor for about 4 years. It worked fairly well during that time. I also took Remeron at night to help me sleep. However, the Effexor started to have negative effects like exhaustion and anxiety, so I went off of it. The withdrawal is horrendous. You feel like you're having a nervous breakdown. It took about a month of slowly weaning off (very slowly) before I felt like I could function. Between the nausea, the inability to think or have any coordination and the tremendous mood swings, I think things have gotten better. I still have mild effects, but nothing like in the beginning. If you have not started this medicine, I would suggest you try something else. If you have to wean off, I would suggest another antidepressant in the meantime to avoid the radical serotonin and norepinephrine drop off. Effexor is nasty stuff and I am not surprised there are class action lawsuits against it. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. It does get better with time. Thank God.
I decreased my dosage from 225 to 75 in a week. I had horrible brain zaps that literally stopped me in my tracks. They have been getting better each day.I have rushes of depression. It's because I haven't been dealing with lifes trials. I have been dependant on this drug since April. I am not taking another antidepressant while I get off of this. Transferring dependancy is not something I want to do. I don't need to end up in the same boat again. In the mean time, I am hanging in there with patience and prayer.
Do yourself a favor and keep your stress levels down by being as responsible as possible. Neglecting yourself or your responsibilities is going to make things worse and can throw you into a tailspin. If you go to church but haven't been going, go back. It helped me more than effexor ever could.
poster:Enderkin
thread:1016
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031126/msgs/284124.html