Coming off the effexor xr

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I have been suffering with anxiety for quite some time now and manage it with cognitive behavioural therapy, antidepressants and ativan when needed. I have been taking effexor xr now for over 6 mths and have decided to stop taking the effexor xr as a result of some uncontrolable moments of anger. I was taking a moderate dose of 150mg at the start and over the last few weeks have now weaned myself off of this drug. The drug did wonders for the anxiety but I am now dealing with some terrible discontinuation symptoms that I was never told about before I began taking this drug. It has now been two days since I took my last dose and things are horrible. Shortly into my first day of being off this drug I began to experience discontinuation symptoms almost immediately. After researching more about this drug I have found that the half life of this medication is only a few hours, this means that the body absorbs this medication extremely fast and explains why the discontinuation symptoms begin to appear quickly. My first day I experienced sever dizzy spells, whenever I made any sudden movements. As well the "brain zaps" are almost unbearable, and I find myself unable to focus my thoughts properly. In fact I am struggling with this thread as a result. Today (day 2) I have taken gravol to help with the dizziness, not sure if it is actually working or not since I am still having the bouts of dizziness. Can anyone tell me how long I can expect to experience these symptoms, keeping in mind that I know everyone deals with this differently. However, I would like to hear from any of you who have gone through this same experience......
 
Day 6 and I had a panic attack last night, we had hurricane force winRAB in our area and my family and I had been evacuated from our residence due to trees being blown over. In fact when I got home this morning there were ten trees down in my yard.....needless to say ativan was also used last night. As far as discontinuation symptoms, some slight dizziness, no brain zaps and still trying to deal with the flu like symptoms now. Such as the cough and muscle/joint aches. I think I've got this beat now, well see tomorrow.
 
Days 7,8, and 9 all seem to be about the same some headaches and mild spells of dizziness. I seem to have a twitch that I am noticing as well, kind of like laying in bed and all of a sudden your leg will move or something similar to that nature. I was to my doctor due to an update on my TSH, which is way high still of course. So for the most part I guess it is over, this was the second time I had to go on this medication in the last ten years. The first time was when this medication first came out which was roughly ten years ago and I don't remeraber having any discontinuation symptoms and I had quit cold turkey then. Keeping in mind I was only taking 75 mg's for the anxiety. For anyone who is thinking about coming off of this med you defineitely want to do it with some medical advice, the discontinuation symptoms are hell and shouldn't be taken lightly feel free to post me sometime if you need a shoulder :wave:
 
I normally don't register or reply to these sites; but now I feel compelled to do it. I have been taking Effexor XR since 2003, so almost 7 years. The highest dosage I was taking was 112.5 mg. I went to see my doc in early Deceraber to discuss coming off Effexor and so we agreed to do it by tapering gradually. I stopped completely about 3 days ago. I feel like crap! I am nauseous and feeling mostly dizzy. Thankfully I'm off work right now because I wouldn't be able to concentrate or do anything really. I've been feeling very sleepy and zero energy. Today I thought I would try taking some Gravol Ginger and see if that would help with the dizziness.

I am grateful for the time I was taking Effexor because it helped with my depression and anxiety; but I never want to take this medication again. The discontinuation symptoms are horrible and I just hope they will go away quickly.

Thank you for your posts. It seems as though your symptoms have been subsiding. Here's hoping that mine go away too!!
 
Well it is now day three of my effexor wean, the dizziness doesn't seem to be as bad today. The "brain zaps" also seem to have settled down some. However, I am still a little foggy upstairs and I seem to have developed some flu like symptoms such as scratchy cough, joint aches and stuffy nose. I had to take .5 mg of ativan last night before I went to bed I was finding myself thinking too much about the discontinuation and I didn't want to put myself into a panic attack by thinking about it. I had taken a month off of work for stress leave, some glad I did that for I don't think I would be able to function properly otherwise.
 
Day 4 and the dizziness, brain zaps and foggy head feeling is subsiding. Mostly heart burn, joint aches, scrathy cough and diarhea is settling in strongly now. Still taking gravol for the dizziness and malox for the heartburn. If the day goes like this today I will be impressed, I believe the discontinuation effects are subsiding at a decent pace due to me weaning from 150 mg to nothing in roughly a 4 week period. It should also be noted that I again had to take .5 mg of ativan before I went to bed last night due to a slight increase in anxiety. I am actually feeling again, I'm liking this ;)
 
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I should also mention that I have had to take some extra strength advil tonight due to the muscular pains I am getting in my shoulder/neck area. Hot flashes have also become an issue now, seems like as some of the symptoms begin to subside others magically appear...........hmmmm sounRAB like the makings of a lucky charm commercial ;)
 
Yeah the effexor XR helped me get past my monster once again, but you're right it's no fun coming off of it. I am not feeling anymore side effects and things are going awesome. In fact I was in the OR yesterday and dealt with everything rather well with very little anxiety. Looking back at my ordeal the gravol did help with the dizzy spells so defineitely give it a shot, also good luck with the ginger. I have read online that other people found it helpful let me know how the corabination works for you. Main thing is hang in there the ride will end, hopefully it will be quick like mine was.....;)
 
Day 5 and there is some mild dizzines and brain zaps. That scratchy cough I have is making my throat raw, feels like a smoker's cough cept I haven't smoked since early this year. I tried some robituson cough medicine today but it didn't seem to help much. I read that benedryl helped alleviate some of the flu like systems this discontinuation brings on. I took one .25 mg capsule of benedryl and have noticed the congestion has almost gone. Digestive system has also settled down, headache in my right temple area. I am still taking the gravol for the dizziness and didn't have to touch any ativan last night. Bright lights seem to aggervate the headache. My best day so far, hopefully it continues on throughout the week.
 
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