I have been on Effexor for 11-12 years. I knew I was in trouble when I left my medicine at home and did not have it for 3 days. I could not get off the couch due to dizzy spells and nausea. I would compare it to terrible morning sickness that lasts all day. I craved carbs- thinking that would end my nausea. So over the last 10 years I knew immediately if I missed a dose. I asked several DR - one in Mexico where I live and he said you need to stay on it the rest of your life due to side effects of getting off. I decided I need to change - I wen to my GP and he knew the side effects of withdrawal were terrible. I had read enough to know that I needed to be weaned off it. He agreed and we reduced the 150 mg to 75 for several weeks and then 37.5 for several weeks. He also put me on Wellbutrin. The first month reduction was tolerable- Dizziness and nausea for the first three days of reduction. Then I went off the medicine completely and that is when All Hell Broke Out- I became so sick that I could not lift my head off a pillow or function in any way. I had fits of rage that i am still having after 12 weeks. The nausea comes and goes and I have terrible mood swings. I feel at times that the top of my head is about to come off - Feels like my blood pressure is so high. I have contacted an attorney about this drug but so far I have not talked to one. I have the names of several people that have suffered similar problems. I am worried about how long this will last. Last week I was eating in a great restaurant and having a great time l Wham! I broke out in a terrible sweat and my vision turned white and I had to be put on a stool with cool air- ice packs etc. The restaurant kept wanting to call an ambulance- thinking I was going into a diabetic coma. I did not lose consciousness but if I had I would have lost control of my bowels- urine etc. I made it to the bathroom with assistance and had bowel movement and emptied my bladder. My whole body was wet- My friend got me into the car and took me to the hotel we were staying in- I slept for 3 hours straight.
This drug is terrible and should be taken off the market unless potential patients are given extensive Knowledge of its withdrawal side effects! I have a Masters degree in Special Education and am a Certified Educational diagnostician! I have studied the brain and all its functions and am aware of all the side effects of different medication and brain injury.I had the brain zaps and felt that my body was not even on attached to my head! Please use this ! I want to this drug removed from the market! I
Thank you for being so brave and strong under such bad times. I am bi-polar and wish I had never been diagnosed as that either. Once it is on your record it stays there.
I am on Lamictal only. 200mg a day. I have been stable for 10 years with no more deep depressions, suicide attempts or mania ( I had about 4 episodes in my 30's spread out over 10 years, but mostly I was depressed).
The medications are terrible and I was put on many that were never approved for bi-polar. You have the right to say "NO'. Look up your states rights. Now they have you on a medications you cannot stop because of the nightmareish withdrawals worse than the hardest of pills. How can they do this to humans? And it is still being prescribed.
Are you on Effexor 'XR"? or just Effexor or are they both the same?
My daugher just started having the terrible withdrawals and I am so scared and so is she. She already had an anxiety disorder.
Also Please report any side effects here to the FDA: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/index.cfm?action=reporting.home
I'm down 75 pounds can't eat
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A PCP put my daughter, age 26, on this as the first tried medication for my daughters' post partum depression. My daughter opened up and told her primary care doctor something that was difficult because she wanted help. Now she is on this horrible medication, more depressed and having bad anxiety attacks.
Her PCP should have referred her to a trained doctor and the first treated her with therapy and a tried and true anti-depressant with the least amount of side effects as she has never been on any anti-depressants, it made no sense what soever for her PRIMARY to put her on what scientist call an anti-depressant like none ever made before and VERY POTENT. (I have poured over scientific papers, data and studies on it and they all say the same thing). Of course the pamphets and psychiatrists will not tell you this. And especially not the makers, Pfizer. I contacted an attorney on the internet that does lawsuits associated with Effexor. He contacted me back and said they take cases AFTER A WOMAN HAS A BABY WITH BIRTH DEFECTS!. I cannot find any class action lawsuits for this medication that more and more people are being prescribed every day and cannot stop taking because of the horrific side effects. It is known to cause "Brain Zaps". I am so sorry this was done to you. It seems the makers of Effexor have no intention of stopping prescribing it. The FDA in 2017 approved Effexor to treat GAD. Generalized Anxiety Disorder effects 23 million it is estimated in the US. So if even a small percentage of these people go to seek help, from a marketing stand point, I am sure you can see why the makers have no intention of letting any lawsuits stop them. Pfizer has just been given the go ahead to treat 23 million citizens with a medication they KNOW IS ADDICTIVE. When I say addictive I mean that people become very sick or suicidal when trying to come off of it and then have to go back on it because the side effects are horrible when withdrawing. Believe me, the makers of Effexor KNOW people cannot stop taking this medication. And at the cost of over 100 a month per bottle for each person they now can legally treat with GAD, if even a only a small percentage of the 23 million, the makers of Effexor profits are seeing only dollar signs in their eyes. GAD is the number 1mental illness in America. The FDA is approving Effexor each year with no end in site. Even with the known birth defects and still born deaths associated with it, it is still being prescribed. Young women like my daughter cannot have get safely pregnant because although postpartum depression is very treatable with therapy and drugs already on the market, EFFEXOR cannot be stopped as easilty as treating PPD. (I am not saying that PPD is easy, it is not). My daughter is a healthy young woman in her mid 20's who could have had more children, but now they have messed that up too! Not to mention the horrible effects it will have long term.Please continue your search for help to get off of this horrific medication. I am reading that people are having success with the help of trained trained psychiatrists who can prescribe the right counter medications to help with the withdrawals. It is hopeful. I am on the search for such a doctor now. Good luck. Please concentrate on your search to get off of the medication. Brain zaps are dangerous causing short term memory loss but i have also read they can stop I hope you are able to get off of it . And also if you hear of a class action lawsuit, please post. I am following this also. I will do the same.I am so sorry for the years they did this to you...