Effexor Class Action Lawsuit

Yep, I've been on Effexor XR since about 1996, and I cannot get off of it. I've tried
three times, and each time no matter how slowly I taper off, my head is spinning, I
get nauseated, then a huge headache. All I can do is take the lowest does. I would
be open to an action on this.

I was prescribed this horrid drug and while it helped me get through a bout of depression it wasnt until I missed a dose and got brain zaps that I realized something wasnt right and only taking another does would fix the zaps, whats the point of taking a drug to fix one thing only to become addicted to it and cause another problem? I cold turkied off it and even though it was a week of living hell, (feeling sick and dizzy, spent it curled up in bed in the dark) but it was worth it to get off it. Should not be on the market.

When are they going to take action and place a class action lawsuit on the manufacturer of this terrible drug?????

They need to start a class action lawsuit against this company, I hallucinated at night and into the daytime my mom had to call the paramedics this drug is extremely dangerous, I feel like they use us as guinea pigs.

Everything I read here is true. I tried to go off of it and thought I was going to lose my mind. I was physically ill for a long time until I went back on it. Horrible drug.

Completely agree. Went to my doc a year ago for high anxiety and anger and sadness, she gave me this. As a teenager I had taken Zoloft and chose to not take it again. Wish I could make that decision again. I just now realized that when I don't take my meds, usually on Sunday's, I have mental breakdowns. The bad kind. He yelling, crying, feeling attacked, wanting to walkout on my family. Happened again on my sons 16 bday. Started doing some research and all my problem were exactly the same as the withdrawal symptoms. Took my meds as should and have been feeling great! They should tell you these things before you make he decision to take the meds. I shouldn't feel crazy for no reason after only a day of no meds.

Me too Shelley. I have been on it since 1998. I tried to get off it a few times. Tried for 6 weeks one time by actually opening the capsules and lowering it by one granule at a time. Horrible withdrawal symptoms. Those brain zaps and constant dizziness are the worse. I now have no memory and bad concentration. Stuck on this stuff for the rest of my life! I would join a suit for sure.

I have (unsuccessfully) tried to gradually discontinue this medication for two years now at the age of 28. When I decrease the dose, it leads to tinnitus and agitation. I wish it ended there but my left leg will be restless/extreme discomfort most night. I too desperately have opened the capsules and decreased the dose by granule....Please help...

I respectfully disagree with your 'diagnosis' of SSRI discontinuation syndrome in this thread. Have you read the posts of people like myself and others who have tried for years to discontinue this drug and the affects it has had on our lives?

This was the post that started the thread. Please update!

I am having the very same problem. It is not controlling my depression either. I have steadily gone downhill over the many years I have been on it and for a time, Cymbalta which I had the same problems with.

I am on 350mg Effexor XR. This dig had been in my system for about 5 years now and am chemically dependent on this medication. In July I went on vacation to Yosemite with my family ram or of meds and thought I would try cold turkey. I ended up being rushed to the nearest ER. They immediately put me back on the drug. I was told I would never be able to quit this medication. I have every symptom you listed. :( we need a lawyer!

I posted on this site a couple of years ago when I first found it, but I wanted to update. I was searching for answers because of how my husband became after being on this med for 7 years. It was a gradual descent into becoming a lying alcoholic apathetic zombie. Anyway, he hit rock bottom (in my mind, at least with "events" and in relation to our marriage) before I figured out the Effexor connection. I traced EVERYTHING back to his starting on this med, prescribed for anxiety. Luckily, I also read how hard it was to get off of and all the problems that could be incurred from withdrawing, so we started him on a super slow withdrawal (and even then, he's had some bad moments). It was easier earlier on--he could make larger drops at a time, but here at the end, we've slowed way down. In the fall of 2013 he started withdrawing (his max dose was 187.5 mg). It's now the first of 2017, and he's down to approx. 10 mg. He's had to take several long breaks from w/d'ing and hold for (up to 7) months at a time. He's on a generic that has tiny round beads inside the capsule that are fairly uniform in size and approx 1 mg/per. Starting with the 20 little bead mark inside the lowest dose capsule, we've been removing only 1 bead per 4-6 week period (prior it had been a period of 2 beads per and before that, 4 beads per). He doesn't relate physical w/d symptoms, only mental/emotional. It's been rough on him, especially the return of his original intense anxiety that put him on the med. It seemed even worse because before Effexor, he had been living with it. After 7 years of oblivion to any feelings, it was very hard to deal with. He said he felt naked, exposed mentally. He would tear up over a sappy commercials. He's mostly doing really well.....now. He takes the occasional Klonopin when he worries about being anxious in a business meeting (shaking hands embarrasses him), but his health has improved. We ARE going to get him completely off this med (even though his psychiatrist said he probably would not). There were times he seemed so bad off that I almost suggested trying another med, but our relationship couldn't take the chance it might make him even worse. When he had his rock bottom night and I figured out Effexor had been the original cause of the last 7 years' worth of c**p, I told him it was me or the med. Anyway, I just wanted to tell everyone to hang in there and just reduce one bead every month or so. It might seem overwhelmingly slow, but a few years from now you could say you're off of it. If you don't start at all, you won't be able to say that. In 10 years time, you could still be on the full dose or down to 10 mg. Oh, and he's also taking supplements like omega 3's, vit. D, B-complex, CoQ10. I read about doing that before he started his taper. I have no idea whether it's helped or not because he instituted it before starting to withdraw, but it made sense to support the brain as much as possible. Good luck to everyone.

I also was taking 150mg it took me weeks of trying to slowly wean off of it as i was told to do by my doctor because I told her the withdrawal was so bad. Finally I decided to just stop cold turkey 1 week not being able to get out of bed terrified I would fall from the brain zaps and dizzy feeling. I couldn't eat hardly anything without feeling like vomiting. It's been almost 3weeks now and I still have the brain zaps not as bad as they first were. My family and I both suffered as I tried to come off of this terrible medication. Not because of depression but because I was unable to take care of my children or myself due to withdrawal from the meds. I am off and will never ever take this medication again. I wish I would have been told how horrible it was to come off of and I wouldn't have ever taken it in the first place!

Please include me..