Effexor XR Withdrawl Survivor- Sorta

I have been taking 2 EffexorXR 75 a day for a few years. In December I had to go on 150XR because of insurance. It was an overload on my system. I got off it the end of January. Around the same time I started having hives. I started taking the generic Celexa. The hives are just getting worse and worse. My GP recommended I not take anything for a few days to see if the generic Celexa is the problem. Is it possible that they are caused by going off the EffexorXR? I am taking steroids and antihistamines to no avail. Help!

Hi, its been 2 years since you put this information up and my husband is also trying to get off. I told him about all the side effects last year and he has been on for at least I think 5 years. He is slowly trying to get off but he is miserable. The problem he has to be careful with is he has a top CEO position and has to be careful how he come off so it does not effect his work. He is now having blurred vision and wants to go see an eye doctor, but i think it might be another symptom of coming off effexor.



How is your husband doing? Can you please give an update. I think many of us would like to know the honest truth if these vitamins have helped. I too would like to know what brand or store you purchased these at. Can you get these at Whole Foods?



Thanks for your help,

Valerie

complex with folic acid and vit c two tablets daily. He also uses acetyl l-carnitine 400 mg with alpha lipoic acid 200 mg. He quit cold turkey because he hated this SO MUCH. (i watched him day and night)The first day he had a groggy feeling but nothing else really. Second and third day same but easing up!! Two weeks out and no symptoms at all!!! He is so happy that he got off and has realized that he would be better taking a good b complex for stress and taking time for himself than RX medicating.

Hi, its been 2 years since you put this information up and my husband is also trying to get off. I told him about all the side effects last year and he has been on for at least I think 5 years. He is slowly trying to get off but he is miserable. The problem he has to be careful with is he has a top CEO position and has to be careful how he come off so it does not effect his work. He is now having blurred vision and wants to go see an eye doctor, but i think it might be another symptom of coming off effexor.

How is your husband doing? Can you please give an update. I think many of us would like to know the honest truth if these vitamins have helped. I too would like to know what brand or store you purchased these at. Can you get these at Whole Foods?

Thanks for your help,
Valerie

It makes me feel better knowing that I am not the only one who has gone through such hell trying to get off of a drug that no one warned me about the terrible side effects of.  I have been on effexor xr (75mg), for migraine treatment - about 15 a month, for the last 5 years and within the last year I have been SLOWLY tapering myself off of it.  I dont think my doctor got it when I told him that I wanted off of this drug because of what it did to me- the brain zaps, nauseousness, decreased/lack of sex drive, headaches etc etc. 

First I started the taper from 75 mg down to the 37.5 mg dosage for quite some time.  I wish I better documented this.

After about 2 months, I was told that I needed to start counting the pellets.  At first, I did not notice a drastic difference in how I felt.  Each day I would try to take out an additional pellet.  On days where I started feeling the side effects, I would go back to the previous number (add another pellet).  I had become very frustrated with this and started removing more and more pellets every 2 days to where I was down to 4!! Wow. At this point I still had some of the side effects of withdrawal but it was tolerable.  I felt lightheaded at times and I would get headaches, but nothing over the counter pain reliever couldnt cure.  It's a bizarre feeling- these brain zaps. 

I have been effexor free for 1 week now, and I cant say that I feel 100% as I'm sure it takes some time for the drug to get out of the system, but I feel better knowing that I never have to torture my body again.  I have found that taking Omega3 vitamins does seem to help a little.

I just wish the doctors would tell patients the side effects of these drugs prior to prescribing them.  I know that if I would have known about this beforehand, I would have found another doctor.  I would rather have migraines than torture my body the way I have for the last 5+ years!

Is there a difference between the capsules and the tablets. I am currently taking 37.5mg of Efexor xr capsule and have wondered if i change to a tablet then i can cut down rather than having to alternate it to get down.

So glad to hear a story similer to mine. I have been of effexer about 10 years and have decided just recently that I can survive without it. I was on 75mg and wwent down to 37.5 and down to 37.5 every other day. Then I stopped completely for about 2 weeks. Last night during the night I jolted awake with some over powering sexual stimulation. If was awful. I went out and cut a pill into quarters and took one. After about an hour the overpowering feelings subsided and I got back to sleep. So now I will continue weening myself off by taking a 1/4 pill of my original 75mg daily and cutting that down to every other day after a week. Hopefully this wil get me thru this period so that I can finally be done!!!

Each day I awoke after a night of broken nightmarish sleep to my life that did not have a familiar feeling to it any more. It was like Id woken to the past and could not escape those feelings that effexor had enabled me to avoid. I'm not so short tempered now but I do feel prompted to tears for very small things at this stage. I'm over heating on a regular basis and have the often mentioned electric shocking in my head and over my body. I'm going to weather it through even though I feel fragile and unprotected from the layer effexor put in front of the uncomfortable things . After 12yrs I think I'm ready. Hold tight and stay the course Being real has its up side too.

Each day I awoke after a night of broken nightmarish sleep to my life that did not have a familiar feeling to it any more. It was like Id woken to the past and could not escape those feelings that effexor had enabled me to avoid. I'm not so short tempered now but I do feel prompted to tears for very small things at this stage. I'm over heating on a regular basis and have the often mentioned electric shocking in my head and over my body. I'm going to weather it through even though I feel fragile and unprotected from the layer effexor put in front of the uncomfortable things . After 12yrs I think I'm ready. Hold tight and stay the course Being real has its up side too.

So glad to hear that there are others that had the same problems weaning off effexor. It took me about a 6 months of slowly cutting back having started at 75mg. My biggest problem was the sexual stimulation! It was awful!! I have been off effexor for just over a year and just the other night I had a little feeling of the sexual stimulation again. It has been a long journey to recovery and I still have yet to come out the other side. I am almost there and will never go back there again!!

I am what you call a guinea pig veteran, unknowingly. I started effexor 10 yrs ago on the SCAMP program. Now 150/ day & disability for fried mind. I knew of brain squirts, pulses, cluster headacks 3 weeks at a time w/ few breaks. I have come to embrace nightmares that make horror movies look tame. Crying uncontollably for no reason every morning is the norm. I mistakenly let my script run out 5 yrs ago and went on vacation. My wife said i went insane and i wanted my truck and the biggest tree to meet. I understand the role of the poor in this country, to serve our country and be used by the rich. The RICH have for forgotten their role and responsibility to this country, TO GIVE BACK TO THOSE THAT SERVE THEM...

OMG!!! Try not to do the weaning by taking out of pellets. Speak with your pharmacist about weaning down and look into theroadback.org. if you can. I'm probably too late though. I'm on my 15th day of weaning off of twice a day 75mg regular Effexor and it is hell. I was on it for four years and if I knew even weaning & trying to change to something else would be this bad, I never would have tried it. It worked well for the time, but I hit a rough patch and it wasn't helping at all. At least I know I'm not alone. :-(

I have been taking effexor XR for the past six months, 150mg the past three months. I quit cold around 50 hours ago. Does anyone know how long it will take for the drug to wear off?