Effexor withdrawl-need input.

I have been taking Effexor-150MG-a day-for two months now. I have recently foung out that i am pregnant-called my doctor and she advised me to stop taking the Effexor. It has been only two days since i have stopped and the withdrawl is very irritable(nicely said)--I am experiencing dizziness-which i can deal with but---i feel very unbalanced-like i am in a tunnel-or in space-like i have no control over my body. My question is how long will this continue if anyone has had the same reaction. What I don't understand is that I have only been on this for two months and have missed a dose or even two-but never experienced what i am going through now. It is the weekend now so i can be at home but come Monday I have school work etc.....how do i function if this unbalance continues--kinda afraid to drive and do normal activities when i feel so unbalanced---if anyone can help please do so...thanks

anna-13 wrote:

I have been taking Effexor-150MG-a day-for two months now. I have recently foung out that i am pregnant-called my doctor and she advised me to stop taking the Effexor. It has been only two days since i have stopped and the withdrawl is very irritable(nicely said)--I am experiencing dizziness-which i can deal with but---i feel very unbalanced-like i am in a tunnel-or in space-like i have no control over my body. My question is how long will this continue if anyone has had the same reaction. What I don't understand is that I have only been on this for two months and have missed a dose or even two-but never experienced what i am going through now. It is the weekend now so i can be at home but come Monday I have school work etc.....how do i function if this unbalance continues--kinda afraid to drive and do normal activities when i feel so unbalanced---if anyone can help please do so...thanks

I have had the same experience. the symptoms lasted for about 2 weeks until the effexor was out of my system.
It is horrible. I know what you are going through. I was shortly thereafter put on a different anti-depressant so that may have shortened my symptoms but with your being pregnant..... I'm sorry I don't have any words of advice, but you aren't crazy... the same thing happened to me.

Hi,

I have read all the posts. My heart goes out to you, as your doctor told you to immediatley discontinue your effexor, as you are pregnant. My Doctor told me, as she prescribed Effexor that it was a safe drug for pregnancy. I have been on the drug for six years (37.5mg). It was prescribed for mild anxiety. I don't feel like the dose is working anymore and I do NOT want to increase my dose. I have been trying to "taper off" for the past week. Even with my "low" dose, the withdrawl symtoms have been very difficult. Dizzyness, blurred vision, spontaneious weeping, agitation!, nightsweats, and sleeplessness. Plus I have been a ROYAL BIA! But then I cry! (This, generally does not get the symphthy I need from my husband.)

I have been (for the last five days) skipping a dose every other day. After four days I tried skipping for two days. In the evening I became so upset...I took a dose. I will continue to gradually "taper" off. My husband...supports me....but also, irritates me to no end....not the sensitive type...YOU KNOW. He went to the store to get me some benedryl (I read on this post it helps) but would not spend the $ or the time to find the fish oil or vita B. All we really need through this....is a "yes honey", a back rub, no confrintations and sweet words of encoragement! God, why don't they get that? Plus< i heard valium and Zanax don't hurt. But arn't those just other drugs we will need to "get off'? I'm thinking.. marijuana might be a natural thing to try. I never heard of anyone going to detox for that!

Hay guys and gals, I too am suffering withdrawls from effexor. Its been almost 2 weeks since I stopped taking it and its been an... interesting ride!

I was on the drug for about a year and a half, its kinda blurry to think back so I'm not sure exactly how long without somehow checking. The side effects were bad enough when I was on the drug. Worst of all was the killing of my sex drive! how do you explain to the one you love so they can fully understand why your not interested in them the same way you used to be, that they shouldn't feel insulted. It certainly took away some of the specialness of my wedding nite! fortunately tho, it was beautiful despite this. I came to a point where I fully understood that the drug had served its purpose in my life and it was time to move on, to be free of it.

2 weeks of withdrawal symptoms and I'm struggling to hold on to my happiness. The symptoms eat away at my confidence and peace, leaving me irritable and short tempered. I feel sorry for my wife, who loves me dearly and puts up with me as I go thru this rough time. I know the symptoms will eventually wear off, I hold on to that thought tightly. Does anyone know how long it will take? The dizziness is less pronounced, yet still noticeable. My emotions are all over the shop some days. They feel so bright and I've lost the ability to live at peace with them day to day. As for my sex drive... well lets just say that it comes and goes. When its working, its like my emotions, all over the shop, overly sensitive. I wont go into all the other more subtle symptoms.

If I myself can share anything that may help, its that these symptoms WILL pass. Our body's are amazing survivors and are often better able to look after themselves then we can. You are beautiful, unique and priceless. You can do anything you set your mind to if you keep your eyes on the prize ie. being free of this crappy drug.

Also, try minimizing all of the crap you eat, even to the point of going vegetarian for 10days or so, gives your body a great chance to catch up and heal itself. I hate to think how much worse I'd feel right now if I wasn't detoxing my diet at the same time.

Lastly, as someone who has taken Effexor, I'm compelled to say this. Effexor can give you the break you need to address your issues or change your lifestyle. Its a temporary fix only and even then, only if you cant find another way. Please do yourself a favor, find a way to fix whatever caused you to take this drug in the first place. Then get off this drug... sooner rather then later.

Kramar, some people may well need to be on this drug for the rest of their life. I know that a lot of people are upset at the effects of effexor... but for me it was a godsend. I only went off of it a month ago to find out who I am without the medication, but now I'm going to have to go back on it... because I'm not sure I like myself without it. I may need to be on it for the rest of my life... and if that's the way it is.... then so be it. Effexor saved my life... no.... it GAVE me a life, and while it may not work for some, it's more than worked for me.


Anna, sometimes swallowing a few granules helps me when I'm really suffering from the side effects of withdrawal. Open up the capsule and pour just a few of them out. It works, trust me.

I understand what your saying Memory, and more or less agree with you. Some people will need these drugs for the rest of their lives. It's not because of who you are tho, but rather because of the symptoms of deeper issues.

I too needed the drug effexor. I was in a pretty bad way when I started taking it and the sanity it brought with it was a welcome relief. Both for me and the people around me who loved me so. It wasnt a cure tho, just "a finger in the dyke" as someone once said to me.

As I've been to that horrible place of depression, and as I'm finding my way back again. I know how hard it is to face the issues in our lives, especially when we have fallen so far down/behind as to be 'depressed'. Yet there is help out there, a way to have the quality of life you want without these drugs. Its not as easy as taking a pill every day, you have to actually work for it, suffer a little in the short term so you can gain long term joy... and I guess that means its not for everyone. Please dont propagate the story that 'some people just need the drugs for the rest of their lives'. Its an oversimplification of the issues that brought you to this place and helps no one. Not even you.

I'm not saying this to judge you, whatever answer you find for yourself to get you thru these things is better then no answer at all. I just hate to see comments like yours as they threaten to steal the hope of those who are seeking a better answer then just the medication. Please dont steal other peoples hope or make the search for better answers any harder then it already is.

Hope and answers are out there if your willing to look for them.

Hi guys

I am trying to get pregnant via IVF and my OBGYN is not concerned at all that I am on Efexor. I am worried about it however, since I didn't even want to take panadol during my first two pregnancies, I really wonder what efexor would do to a developing foetus.

I've been told by my GP that coming off efexor should be done extremely slowly, at a very minimal rate. The side effects are way less and life is more manageable.

Having taken efexor myself for 14 months now, I can vouch for the drug's effectiveness against anxiety and depression, as I was an absolute mess before I started taking it. I had just experienced a total nervous breakdown, and my husband had left me because of it. I started efexor 2 weeks after my breakdown and life became 'do-able' again.

Efexor, like any drug, is there for us to use as a tool, to get your life back on track. And like any chemical withdrawl - coffee, nicotine or heroin etc, you will feel crappy not having it. Your body is telling you, 'go get me some'! Come off it slowly, lowering your dose extremely cautiously, and most of all, get yourself a doctor that knows what he/she is doing. Too many doctors hand out antidepressants and antibiotics too eagerly to see the back end of you, without really understanding what life is like on the drugs and also coming off them.

Take care and best of health to you!

KramarNP wrote:

I just hate to see comments like yours as they threaten to steal the hope of those who are seeking a better answer then just the medication. Please dont steal other peoples hope or make the search for better answers any harder then it already is. Hope and answers are out there if your willing to look for them.

I've spent the last 7 years of my life searching for a better answer. And for me... this was the only thing that worked. I tried Eastern medicine, herbal supplements, deep breathing, yoga, therapy, diet changes, and other methods a bit more extreme.

You think I'm here to steal hope? Effexor provides hope for those who are so deep in depression that they are ready to die! Don't EVER accuse me of stealing hope, because hope is what keeps me alive. Faith, hope, and love.

The fact is that you can't correct a CHEMICAL imbalance by thinking differently, or by breathing differently. You can try to overcome depression, but if it is real, chemically-induced depression... I'm sorry, that's not going to cut it. I tried for years... and it only made me more and more hopeless each time I failed. Effexor corrects a CHEMICAL imbalance, so no, if you are upset over a stressful event which is not chemically affected, effexor will not help you. But if you are suffering from a chemically induced depression... then effexor may just be the hope you are looking for. For some people, once the imbalance is corrected, they can wean themselves off... however, for people like me, that may never be an option, because our chemicals fall out of whack every time we go off. That's not hopeless... it's fact.

Good to hear that you still do hold onto hope and it does sound like you've searched high and low for answers! I have no interest in getting into a "fist fight" over differences in the way we see these things.

I know for a fact that anyone can alter their chemical balance without medication. I know for a fact that anyone can heal their body of anything without medication given the right input in their lives. I know this partly because I'm using some of the techniques to recover myself. I know this also because people have been doing it and studying it for years!

My point in my last post was simply not to pass on the message to others that for some, medication is the only way. Your words affect others and I'd rather read you saying that hay, I've tried heaps of things, have not found an answer yet so I'm still on the medication. But I'm still searching because its important for me to not only have my quality of life, but have it without dependance on an artificial substance. That sounds much better

PS. have you tried altering your diet. Certain foods are considered poisons by our body and so can contribute to unbalance, even chemical when you eat them in sufficient quality.

Also your body language contributes greatly to your overall chemical balance ie. if your body holds a pose of depression, you're going to feel depressed.

I'm not sure how well you've studied the subject of depression, however this will help others anyway. Here are some links to sites with factual information about studies on alternatives to anti-depression medication...

amoryn.com/zzalternativemedicinedepression.html

webheights.net/depression/articles.htm

and not so much helpful but food for thought (uses too many big words hehe)
thisisawar.com/DepressionPills.htm

I know there is more out there. In fact, it's a bit draining trying to sort thru everything to find decent material. I hope these help.