Effexor Withdrawal

[galupy]

i've been off effexor for a week after only 8 weeks on it total.

since going to zero dose a week ago i've been dizzy the majority of the time, not to mention feel crap and tired (still). i dont know if the dizzyness if withdrawal. if it is, surely it should have stopped by now?

my sister, who's a pharmacist, says it can't possibly still be that and i probably have an inner ear infection but how am i meant to know?

[MaddieT]

Hi galupy,

I came off Effexor suddenly and had horrific side effects that lasted about two weeks but i am assuming you have dropped down over time?

One of the worst was vertigo like symptoms which was very awful and frightening and i just didn't know what to with myself - I was vomitting and sleeping most of the time just to take away the feeling.

I have got flu at the moment and went i spoke to NHS direct (you could call them) they said there is a lot of it around at the moment so your sister could well be right - the only way you are going to get it confirmed is to go to a walk in centre or see a nurse or your GP.

Good luck, and big hugs as not nice.

Maddie x :bigarmhug[1]:

[Benway]

Hi galupy,

I have been on effexor twice in the long term. I calls it 'side-effexor'- due to the side effects i'd get if i didn't take it exactly every 24 hours.

It's the nastiest psych drug (apart from benzos) to come off imho. So you are not imagining the symptoms.

I got electric shock like sensations all over my body, my lip & eye would twitch as i was trying to go asleep. Also 'washing machine head' - where i felt like there was water sloshing around in my brain when i moved my head.

What dose did you drop off at? The drop from 75mg to zero is a big one- personally i would open the capsules and divide the little balls into halves / then quarters/ etc .

The first time i came off them i found taking a small amount of prozac every few days made the withdrawl bearable. (prozac has a very long half-life, compared to effexors short one). That is just what i did- not medical advice or anything.

Are you going onto another anti-d? Maybe get your ear checked out anyway?

I really do hope you feel better soon, effexor gave me all the bad effects, with no anti-d effect at all. A site i find useful for meds info is www.askapatient.com - there are 1,000s of impartial reviews from members of the public on every drug on there.

Best wishes, a.m xxxxx

[Ms Cinnamon]

Oh I can so relate to what you're going through right now, and it's horrendous!

Brain zaps.....like little electric shocks in your head - Google them and you will be able to understand what is going on, on how long they can last.

I agree with the others, Effexor is one of the worst for withdrawals.

I came off it a couple times and it did seem to take a few weeks to get back to normal, like maybe 5 weeks.

I don't know how anyone can say it takes a definate amount of time to get out of your body, because all our bodies are different.

A couple of things that helped me:

Plenty of hot baths

Always have music / TV on in the background, as silence seems to make you concentrate on how your head is.

Don't go out on your own, incase you have dizzy spells, if you do go out alone, take your iPod....it really helps.

Do stuff at a slower pace than normal, as rushing around seems to make you dizzy / feverish.

If you're sleepy, sleep it off.

Eat plenty of fruit and veg, as they are great for your liver which will be clearing out the toxins (meds)

I hope you feel better soon.

Hugs & Smiles

[Shadow girl]

Hi there,

I had been on it a few years and when I came of I dropped 75mg a week over 4 weeks (I think my psych was thinking it'd be so awful I'd agree to go back on it). It was awful - all the side effects mentioned above, especially the washing machine one (I wish I'd thought of that description). After I'd got down to zero the side effects started to ease off afer about a week, but they took about 8 weeks to go completely.

Stick with it - there are other meds you can try with less side effects when you come off them.