I would be willing to participate in a class action lawsuit against the maufacturers of Effexor. I have taken 300 mg daily for 20 years & everytime I try to ween myself off of it, the withdrawal is horrendous & debilitating so that I cannot function. I need help.
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Also - btw - I was put back on Effexor in 2013 hoping it would help mt suffering. It did not, but I'm still on it and am afraid to go off again. I take 300 mg a day. I have to pay money to this horrible drug company for a medication that destroyed my life for the rest of my life. The FDA didn't do their job on Effexor.
I was put on Effexor 3 years ago. It completely ruined my life. I lost my job and haven’t been able to keep a job since. I will never recommend this evil drug to anyone and I hope it doesn’t exist soon. I have tried to get off many times and have been very unsuccessful. The withdrawals are TERRIBLE, brain zaps, body aches, slurred speech, insomnia, blurred vision, couldnt think clearly, twitching at night, hot flashes, suicidal thoughts. This drug should be banned in the US AND CANADA (only two places) where it is NOT banned!
Decreasing one bead just every other day is obviously too fast for you! We've been withdrawing my husband for 4.5 years. We dropped him about 10% every month or so early on, depending on how he was feeling. In the early going, we could drop more, faster. There was a time we had to hold (when he got down to the lowest dose, 37.5 mg), he stayed there for 7 months. From that point, he dropped 3 beads every 1-2 months (going by how he was handling it). When he got down to 20 beads in the capsule, we only reduced by 1 bead at a time every 4-10 weeks (always, always go by how you're feeling). He's taking 4 beads right now. He's ready to drop another one, but he has a deadline at work in 2 weeks, so we will hold off that drop until after that. Then he will be at 3 little beads! I anticipate that by Christmas 2018, he'll either be off or on just 1 of the tiniest of beads. It CAN be done. His psychiatrist scoffed at his slow approach while at the same time declaring "you'll probably never get off."
He doesn't have physical withdrawal symptoms (or that he notices to report to me, the record keeper) but he did experience a return of his original anxiety (for which he was put on this horrible med). That took awhile to learn to deal with again (it seems ever worse because he spent 6 years in Zombieland, not caring about anything with NO feelings, so he forgot how to deal with feelings). He probably used a few extra Klonopin during that time, at work only when he was afraid of a panic attack. He's been terribly, irrationally irritable at times (so warn your family in advance), usually within the week of a dosage drop.
I would suggest you go to a helpful website to converse with others who've been in your shoes, dealing with side-effects, withdrawal effects, strategies to try in order to get off, etc., but the powers that be here don't even like it if I suggest googling terms to help you find it. Perhaps they are supported by Big Pharma who want you to remain on these profit-making meds for life. I don't know why saying one ought to google surviving antidepressants would be a no-no..... but then, I don't get to make the rules.... Good luck everyone.
We should collectively sue this company. Noone ever told me about these risks.
I am 51. I had been taking Effexor for ONE MONTH for depression and PTSD, and was told it was great because it has hardly any side effects and works really well on PTSD.
I have been trying to get off for two weeks now because I started screaming at my kids all the time and sobbing, was constantly triggered into PTSD cascades of terror and agitation, or, suffered such bad apathy I could not do anything but sit on the sofa doing the crossword, and now I feel like all the other heartbreaking stories in these chat rooms.
So no matter how short of a time you take this c**p, it will mess you up.
I have taken other medicines over the years, and get off them when the side effects out weigh the symptoms, but I have never ever felt like this before.
I cannot see out of my right eye because of a posterior vitreous detachment that coincided with tapering to 37.5 mg.
My doctor could not explain 'brain zaps' beyond "that's what they feel like." Sounds like a movie candy or a vitamin drink huh? Maybe an exotic rave drug.
But a quick google search for 'physiology of brain zaps' reveals these are MICRO SEIZURES caused by the biochemistry of the drug. The 'electric prod' sesations feel similar to what people who suffer from Petit Mal (Absence) epileptic seizures describe as their symptoms.
No one would take this medicine, and hopefully no Doctor would prescribe it, if MICRO-SEIZURES or Petite Mal epilepsy were a side effect, so the sociopaths who market this stuff write up the side effect as the vaguely fun sounding 'brain zaps'.
In ONE MONTH I went from running 5 miles per day for 5 years to barely being able to stand or get out of bed in the morning. I cannot do yoga because of the dizziness and I can barely drive or see. I cannot run my $600K per year high end art and antiques business, which needs me to bring in $10,000 per week to run properly.
I.e. in one month this stuff has changed my brain to make my life completely not mine.
I am trying the Omega 3, B vitamin, and multivitamin supplements recommended by Leon at another chat site, because I will never ever touch another grain of Effexor again, even if it is apparently the only thing that stops the withdrawal symptoms - i.e. it is engineered to be addictive.
I agree this needs to be pulled from the market, and I would support any class action lawsuit.
No one should ever be given this, especially not people with PTSD, certainly not combat veterans with significant trigger potential or anyone who has any access to a gun.
Please include me on your lawsuit. Anna
I believe this medication, Effexor; should never be prescribed to anyone. The withdrawal symptoms I'm going through nearly drove me to commit suicide. I'm not a suicidal person.