Withdrawal from Effexor

[Speechpat]

My daughter is going through a horrible time coming off of Effexor. How long does this last?

[Cherbear811]

So sorry to hear this, it is horrible. I dont think its necessarily the right med for me but I've tried stopping it and can't.. idk what I'm going to do. I wish your daughter lots of luck getting through it Take Care

[Speechpat in reply to Cherbear811]

She is really miserable 😩.

[Cherbear811 in reply to Speechpat]

I know her pain, I really do. It should be weened off slowly. My doc wouldnt prescribe it when I left the hospital, my obgyn actually helped me out. I dont feel that good on it but you cant stop it. I hope she has something for anxiety and im glad she has her mom

[Speechpat in reply to Cherbear811]

Thanks for the reply. I couldn’t tolerate antidepressants but have used Xanax for anxiety. I feel pretty helpless cause I can’t make it better.

[Cherbear811 in reply to Speechpat]

You're very welcome, i try to help out when I can because Im living the depression/ ocd hell myself, but we can get through it. Somehow, some way. Its not fair

[Cherbear811]

I wish I had my mom ♡ I will keep you in my prayers

[LibertyB]

What dose is your daughter on? Also have you had advice from her gp about how to wean her off it.

[Speechpat in reply to LibertyB]

Her GP cut her dose down very quickly. She was fine for a couple days and then the with drawl symptoms hit with a fury. Flu like symptoms brain zaps etc. right now they have her on Wellbutrin And it is not doing much for her. Do you know if you can take an anti-anxiety med to help with withdrawal?

[LibertyB in reply to Speechpat]

That sounds quite dangerous. I came off mine too quickly and it was not good. I got the flu and was really sick - it’s supposed to be one of the hardest to come off. What’s the reason for her coming off it? Yes I went from venlaflaxine to citalopram.

[mistybrooke84]

To come off of antidepressants like that, you cannot come off of it quickly. My doctor had told me to wean off of escitolpram in one week. I had the same symptoms and it scared me! In fact, it made my anxiety MUCH worse. My advice is to take a month to wean off of it. Take half a dose for a week, a quarter of a dose for a week after that and then keep halving the dose for a week after the previous until she's completely off of it. It worked for me. She will still have withdrawal symptoms with that but it won't be near as severe. Brain zaps are normal with getting on and coming off of antidepressants. But they are much worse when you come off too quickly.

[Speechpat in reply to mistybrooke84]

Once they have taken you off of the Effexor can I restart it and when you are more gradually or is it best to just be off of it. How long do these withdrawal symptoms last?

[Speechpat in reply to Speechpat]

Auto check 😬 what I meant to ask was once they take you off of the medicine can they restart it and drop your dosage down slower. Or is it just easier for her to be off of it since she is already doing that now?

[mistybrooke84 in reply to Speechpat]

You can always restart the medication. That will probably stop the symptoms. When I was coming off of mine, when the symptoms became too much, I would increase my dose back to the half. For example, if I was trying to take a quarter, I would return to the half for a little longer. How long has she been off of it now? In my experience, coming off of it in one week, which was like quitting cold turkey, it took my body 6 weeks to even back out.

[mistybrooke84 in reply to mistybrooke84]

Whereas if you wean off slowly, those 6 weeks aren't pure torment.

[Speechpat in reply to mistybrooke84]

I’m not sure of how long it has been but I know it’s been at least two weeks. Scary!

[mistybrooke84 in reply to Speechpat]

How much is she taking now? Or is she completely off it right now?

[Hopeful-Tinkerbell in reply to Speechpat]

Yes. You must do it slow! Very slow! Or go inpatient! Effexor is typically long acting. Mine comes in a capsule anyway but it is not good to cut long acting pills because the Med is dispersed differently. She may get a lot one dose and a little the next. The second I realized I wasn’t taking mine I took one and felt a difference very quickly and was back to my norm with in 48 hours. I personally think amonth is too fast. I’m taking a lower dose for 3 months then at my follow up going lower. Detox can take months to a year. It lessens over time but you can have symptoms even though they may not be as bothersome for a long time. I personally would never recommend Effexor knowing what I do now. Please go slow. Very slow! Start over if needed! The best way you can help your precious daughter may be to allow her to go to an inpatient facility for help. I’ve been. It was very good for me. I wasn’t detoxing at the time. My brother went for detox though and he was given meds to help with symptoms from detox. I don’t know about Effexor but there are some detoxing that can kill you if not treated. Like alcohol. Effexor detox may not but it will feel like dying for sure. I’m praying for you. As a healthcare professional and more importantly as a mom. I understand what she is going through. During the week I stopped it only got worse. I can imagine how you must feel as well having dealt with addicted detoxing loved ones and a child being very ill although differently. Bless you!

[Vickiejane in reply to Hopeful-Tinkerbell]

I’ve been going off little by little got to the lowest dos it’s been two weeks of with draw it’s hell I wonder if I will ever feel right.....

[Hopeful-Tinkerbell]

I accidentally forgot to put mine in my daily pill case for a week. I have never ever felt so bad! And I’ve been through a lot. As a result I restarted the second I realized what I had done and then later just lowered my dose. I am on the process of weaning but it will be a very slow process of lowering my dose then every other day every 2 days etc over weeks at a time on each lose etc. My doctor said symptoms of withdrawal can still show months up to a year after stopping. The slower you wean the better. Obviously time helps the most. I was told that I may even have to go inpatient if it doesn’t work out weaning. I’m seriously contemplating that to get it over with. That week was extremely bad and I am scared to death. Apparently Effexor is some serious stuff. I need off!

[HopingCat]

I’m on Effexor and this post is scary me. I heard horrible stories about coming off Effexor. I been on it for about 4 months. Was it helping your daughter at all? Why would he have her come off so fast? Everyone knows that it needs to be very slow. Maybe he should have her go back on it and then try again a few months later but super slow! I heard of people even opening up the pill and taking some of the pebbles out so they won’t get the horrific withdraws

[Speechpat]

She’s been on it for a couple years and it’s tarted to not work for her. I don’t know why they did it so fast. They started Wellbutrin and figured it would be ok. Well it’s not. She’s going to the dr tomorrow.

[Vickiejane]

I’m going off of them slow for over a yr now. Totally off now for two weeks it’s hell. But I do not to go back on and do this over again. Didn’t tell about the withdraw when I started Ten yrs ago or more. They helped when I needed it but it’s hell here I hope it’s not long for this. I pray for everyone who is getting off. It’s hard. Only people are or have done the withdraw from this understand what I’m going through. I was taking the highest dose took it low cut back. But have felt what it was like when forgot to take a few days. It’s just like I feel now. I got to the lowest dose it took over a yr..it’s hell

[Hopeful-Tinkerbell]

My dose has been cut in half for 2 months apx. and I’m still suffering from just lowering my dose. So nervous for next lowering! Scared to stay on. This will never be something I do again. Although it helped me a lot while on it.