quitting effexor xr

welcome babyjoe

a few do have severe problems quitting these antidepressant meds, a slow taper helps

confusion can be caused by the return of the original anxiety problems for which the med was taken

you may need to experiment with a small dose of the effexor to see if it stops the problems and stay on this a long time

after quitting an antidepressant the med is all out of the system soon and its not known why the problems persist for some people

paxil is the most notorious AD for problems after quitting, see paxil discontinuation syndrome on the net

strong vivid dreams that wake you are common on quitting an AD

enoeht said...
I am now off of effexor xr. I have been off of it for almost two weeks and am still having problems.

I stopped taking effexor xr because I really couldn't notice much difference in how I used to feel

anymore (when I started taking effexor). This and the headaches were now outweighing the benefits.

I was taking 150 mg for a couple of years. I then went to 75 mg for one week, then 37.5 mg for

a week, then one 37.5 mg pill every other day for a week. After two days of no medication I

was on my way to work and stopped my vehicle in the middle of a highway and got out and

cussed (which I NEVER do) a man up one side and down the other because he pulled out in front

of me. He mouthed something so I felt the need to do a u-turn and try to find him. Fortunately for

both of us I was unable to. The anger was amazing (in a bad way)! I went back to the doctor and

told him I had to be on something. He put me on welbutrin? and after 8 days of headaches and

non stop gas (very strange, but it was definitely the medication) I got off of that as well.

Since stopping the medication I have experienced extreme anger, loss of temper, still having

headaches (I didn't have the headaches until I started taking effexor, always in the back of my

head, feels like something about 3/4" thick has pierced the back of my head where the spine goes

into the skull) and zapping every time I look to the left or right. I call it zapping because it feels

as if I am receiving a mild electrocution EVERY SINGLE TIME I look left or right. Even if my eyes

are closed and I look left or right, zap. I can look up and down and don't have this problem. My

doctor said he had never heard of that, and I said well document it if you would like.

Effexor is one from a list of six different anti-depressant to depressant I have taken. After trying six

of them and still having problems and not to mention the side effects I have witnessed not only

while taking the medication but also while getting off of the medication, I am praying to God that

He will make any adjustments necessary with my brain so that I can function as normally as

possible.

Hi Jaymay! I did try Zoloft. The second day on it my heart literally felt like it was burning. The second day of that I called my doctor and was told to stop taking it immediately and to not take anything for two days. After the first day of not taking it the burning went away and I haven't felt it since. I know I have tried zoloft, effexor, wellbutrin.....and can't remember the other three. I stayed on effexor the longest, almost two years. I know I had said almost two weeks since I got off of effexor, but it has been a little over three. I had a pretty strong bought of the zaps yesterday and mainly last night. I lose my temper quickly in most situations. If I can manage to stay calm by taking deep breaths and such, I feel that I will be able to stay off of the medications. I don't want my family to suffer from me not taking medication though.

I see Lyn wrote that there are other medications as well. I do realize that but am really tired of feeling like a lab rat. I do know that all of these medications have been tested to some degree, but am tired of being medicated. When I first started taking effexor I was a new man. I felt good, though tired. I got quite a few comments regarding how much I had changed. It made me feel wonderful. After a while I could see myself slowly slipping back into the same thought patterns and feelings I was having before.