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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by aberg on April 19, 2001, at 10:24:24
hi - i new to this sight. i have been reading these posts and feel i have gained some valuable information. i have been on effexor xr 75 for about 8 mos and am trying to get off. last time i did this i couldn't take the side effects. i was having tingling all over my body and nausea. i can take some things but not nausea. i got back on and have determined that this drug is causing weight gain and i have a hard time dealing with that. does anyone have any suggestions on how to battle these side effects? my dr suggested for me to take 37.5 mg every other day for two weeks than quit. if i miss two days it gets bad -- any suggestions would be appreciated. i have taken 1/4 of 25mg of phenegran and it seems to take the edge off of nausea. any idea how long these symptons last or how long it takes to get this drug out of your body??
Posted by jerz on April 19, 2001, at 12:09:48
In reply to withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by aberg on April 19, 2001, at 10:24:24
> hi - i new to this sight. i have been reading these posts and feel i have gained some valuable information. i have been on effexor xr 75 for about 8 mos and am trying to get off. last time i did this i couldn't take the side effects. i was having tingling all over my body and nausea. i can take some things but not nausea. i got back on and have determined that this drug is causing weight gain and i have a hard time dealing with that. does anyone have any suggestions on how to battle these side effects? my dr suggested for me to take 37.5 mg every other day for two weeks than quit. if i miss two days it gets bad -- any suggestions would be appreciated. i have taken 1/4 of 25mg of phenegran and it seems to take the edge off of nausea. any idea how long these symptons last or how long it takes to get this drug out of your body??
Hi there. Sorry to hear you've joined the ranks of those of us trying to wean off Effexor XR. If you go back through some of the threads, many of us are actually opening the 37.5 capsules and dividing the granules in half (and then in quarters, and so on). This allows for a more gradual weaning from 37.5 to 18.75 to 9.375, etc. How long you need to stay on each lowered dose depends on your particular body and how each dose is affecting you.
I've been on the 9+ mg for 4 days now, after doing one week at 18.75. The vertigo is almost gone, but I'm still having headaches at the end of the day... pretty severe, but I'm hanging in there. I've also noted in previous posts that I've started to GAIN weight since beginning the weaning process. I actually lost weight when I started the Effexor. Most of the other withdrawal side effects are subsiding gradually, but again, everyone is different.
In reading the other posts, it appears that most of our doctors are either not aware or don't believe that the withdrawal process should be this much of a problem. It might help to discuss these posts with your doctor and also discuss the suggestions for weaning that you've seen here. I told my doctor about splitting the contents and he laughed. As long as he didn't say "don't do that, it's dangerous", I'm doing it and it seems to be working.
I did the same thing your doc suggested early on and you're right, by day 2, things got bad. That's why I came to the board to see what other people were doing.
Hope this helps and good luck! Jerz
Posted by aberg on April 19, 2001, at 13:25:56
In reply to withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by aberg on April 19, 2001, at 10:24:24
thank you for your response. have you ever heard if anyone has success by taking 37.5 mg for a week and then the next week take that amount along
with 10mg of prozac and then the following week only take the 10mg of prozac and no effexor. i read that this may help decrease the side effects.
Posted by jerz on April 19, 2001, at 23:07:17
In reply to Re: withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by aberg on April 19, 2001, at 13:25:56
> thank you for your response. have you ever heard if anyone has success by taking 37.5 mg for a week and then the next week take that amount along
> with 10mg of prozac and then the following week only take the 10mg of prozac and no effexor. i read that this may help decrease the side effects.---I believe I did read that in one of the threads. One of the postees indicated low dosage of prozac during the weaning process, but I don't recall. Check back through the threads re: withdrawal and see if you can find it. Again, good luck!
Posted by JAMMER on April 20, 2001, at 16:52:04
In reply to Re: withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by jerz on April 19, 2001, at 23:07:17
I too had issues with every other day at 37.5 mg, then every 3rd day whipped me! I returned to every day for a few days, then 18mg every day since then. It's been almost 2 weeks and I'm doing ok. Plan on going to 9mg in a few days. Yea headaches are an issue, as is the increase in anxiety. I quit due to increased B.P. weight gain of 30 lbs or so in about a year, and liver issues.
-jammer
Posted by aberg on May 1, 2001, at 15:57:10
In reply to withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by aberg on April 19, 2001, at 10:24:24
well this is an update on my withdrawal - i have now gotten down to taking 9mg every other day. i started this week. so far it is going okay. i am also still gaining weight which is depressing me. has anyone had success in weight loss after the weaning process is over? does anyone know how long this medication remains in you after you stop taking it? thanks for all the help.
Posted by jerz on May 1, 2001, at 18:09:02
In reply to Re: withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by aberg on May 1, 2001, at 15:57:10
> Hi. I went through the weaning process over the last 2 months. I gained 20 pounds after losing 20 pounds when I started the med 7 months ago. I believe this is because I developed a craving for carbs unlike ever before and also chocolate. A few other people told me this happened to them during weaning.
> The good news is that I've been Effexor free for 8 days now and the withdrawal effects are all but gone. I still have occasional mild dizziness in the evening, but that's about it. I've noticed that my appetite is slowly returning to normal and I've lost 2 pounds in the past 2 days. I'm hoping this continues.
> Good luck with your weaning and I hope you too start to lose some of the weight.
> > Jerz
well this is an update on my withdrawal - i have now gotten down to taking 9mg every other day. i started this week. so far it is going okay. i am also still gaining weight which is depressing me. has anyone had success in weight loss after the weaning process is over? does anyone know how long this medication remains in you after you stop taking it? thanks for all the help.
Posted by aberg on May 22, 2001, at 8:42:31
In reply to Re: withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by jerz on May 1, 2001, at 18:09:02
well, i am finally off of the effexor. i have been off for 3 weeks. side effects are gone. now i have to work hard to diet and exercise to lose the weight. the support on this has been great and it really helped me get off the medication with the least side effects. good luck to all of those who are trying. the key is to wean yourself off gradually.
Posted by KatieGinger on May 25, 2001, at 3:50:05
In reply to Re: withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by aberg on May 1, 2001, at 15:57:10
< < well this is an update on my withdrawal - i have now gotten down to taking 9mg every other day. i started this week. so far it is going okay. i am also still gaining weight which is depressing me. has anyone had success in weight loss after the weaning process is over? does anyone know how long this medication remains in you after you stop taking it? thanks for all the help. > >
This withdrawal stuff is scary . . . I've been on/off Effexor for about . . . 2 years now. I never have any nasty side effects, except for the extraordinarily large pupils. But the glassy effect that makes me look like I'm on LSD fades.
But I was off Effexor for almost an entire year and my pupils were still huge. That's the only long-standing effect I've come across. I guess I'm pretty lucky not to have gone through the scary withdrawal stuff . . .
=KatieGinger=
Posted by JammyD on May 28, 2001, at 15:50:00
In reply to Re: withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by KatieGinger on May 25, 2001, at 3:50:05
I am on 150/day and missed the last 3 days and today I feel AWFUL. Barfy, headachy and just not myself. Is this the effects of missing doses? Because it sure is kicking me in the ass. Bleah.
Posted by jerz on May 28, 2001, at 23:05:58
In reply to Re: withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by KatieGinger on May 25, 2001, at 3:50:05
> < < well this is an update on my withdrawal - i have now gotten down to taking 9mg every other day. i started this week. so far it is going okay. i am also still gaining weight which is depressing me. has anyone had success in weight loss after the weaning process is over? does anyone know how long this medication remains in you after you stop taking it? thanks for all the help. > >
Hi. I've only posted a few other times, so I'll repeat some of what I've said before. I stopped Effexor XR on April 23 after tapering over 2-3 months. It wasn't fun, but it wasn't as bad as some folks have had it, based on what I've read here. My withdrawal symptoms lasted about 2 more weeks, off and on, after that last dose (I had tapered down to approx. 5 mg/day for about a week, then stopped).
I gained about 20 pounds during the tapering and have only lost about 4 since then. I'm sure I gained the weight because the tapering made me crave carbs like never before. The cravings are gone now, but my appetite, in general, is bigger than it ws while on the drug.
All I can say is good luck and hang in there. Jerz
>
> This withdrawal stuff is scary . . . I've been on/off Effexor for about . . . 2 years now. I never have any nasty side effects, except for the extraordinarily large pupils. But the glassy effect that makes me look like I'm on LSD fades.
>
> But I was off Effexor for almost an entire year and my pupils were still huge. That's the only long-standing effect I've come across. I guess I'm pretty lucky not to have gone through the scary withdrawal stuff . . .
>
> =KatieGinger=
Posted by aberg on May 29, 2001, at 9:00:32
In reply to Re: withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by JammyD on May 28, 2001, at 15:50:00
i had that happen to me if i missed doses for more than 2 days. if you are trying to get off - wean off.
Posted by JammyD on May 30, 2001, at 6:10:27
In reply to Re: withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by aberg on May 29, 2001, at 9:00:32
Nope, I wasn't trying to wean off ... just was careless and went out of town without getting my prescription refilled. I had missed a day before with no ill effects but this was going on day 4 and I was feeling BAD.
I did go right out to the store and pick them up and felt better almost immediately after taking them.
Man, talk about learning you can't skip doses the hard way. It was icky.
Posted by JammyD on May 30, 2001, at 6:10:36
In reply to Re: withdrawal effects - effexor xr, posted by aberg on May 29, 2001, at 9:00:32
Nope, I wasn't trying to wean off ... just was careless and went out of town without getting my prescription refilled. I had missed a day before with no ill effects but this was going on day 4 and I was feeling BAD.
I did go right out to the store and pick them up and felt better almost immediately after taking them.
Man, talk about learning you can't skip doses the hard way. It was icky.
This is the end of the thread.
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