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Hi everyone, first of all, I want to thank every contributor to this website which is a huge source of advices and hope. I started to read some interesting threads, and I regret so much to discover them only after my (awful) withdrawal. Here is my short story: terrible panic attacks started in 2008 when I was a young adult. At that time, social medias were not developed like now, psychiatric matters were still very taboo. Information was not spread like today. I guess this is why I spent several months alone in the darkness, without understanding what was happening to me. I finally found a psychiatrist who started an analytic psychotherapy with me. This man was calamitous. His 'therapy' ruined me during several months, reinforcing my anxiety at so high levels. Then, I found another psychiatrist who saved my life: he started a CBT which lowered my anxiety by at least 50% in a few weeks. But he also decided to prescribe me Effexor (Venlafaxine) as a 'medicinal crutch'. Well, it worked and offered me a pretty good quality of life during 15 years. I recently stopped Venlafaxine because I had to pass a medical exam for work. I knew they would seek for illicit substances in blood and urine samples (cannabis, cocaine, etc...). I was not sure about antidepressants (not really forbidden but it could have unnecessarily complicated my case) but I preferred to withdraw the medication. It was also time to try to stop after 15 years (I never understood why antidepressants are prescribed all life long). My psychiatrist supported me and told me to stop abruptly (my daily dose was 75 mg + 37.5 mg). I knew I am sensitive to discontinuation (brain zaps in my past when I forgot my medication for a day or a week-end outside). So I decided to taper myself during 1 month and a half. Of course I was not aware about survivingantidepressants.org so my plan was way too much optimistic ! From 75+37.5 to 50 mg no problem. Slight physical symptoms + weird dreams + a few anxious peaks. But below 25 mg, the hell began. The intense physical symptoms lasted 2 weeks. Severe brain zaps, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness. My psychiatrist told me I was his FIRST patient with so long and accute withdrawal syndrom ! I couldn't believe my eyes. I trusted this guy at 100% before. I was furious against him. But I read on internet that yes, it is unbelievable, but this frequent severe withdrawal syndrom was never studied by the pharmaceutical labs, psychiatrists seem to ignore it, etc... Well, after the physical symptoms ceased (2 weeks after 0 mg), I started to feel bad emotionally: drop in mood, no envy for anything, growth of anxiety, very bad sleep and weird feeling in the legs every evening, like slow waves of electricity, very disturbing for sleeping. I understand that return of anxiety is logical. But this drop in mood, this feeling of empty head and those weird feelings in the leg with very bad sleeps are very new. I've stopped Venlafaxine 1 month and a half now and it's getting worse. So I am wondering, is this a 'relapse' as they call it ? Or still the effect of the too much suddain withdrawal ? Should I reinstate this damn drug or should I try to survive without it now it's done ? Of course I was certain that without this 'medicinal crutch' I could meet anxious moments like I had 15 years ago. But while I was taking Venlafaxine several years ago, I already had 2 major anxious periodes. So, feeling so bad immediately after the withdrawal, plus the unusual symptoms, is it only a coincidence ? It was so hard to stop this drug that I want to try continuing without it now. Eventually with the help of benzos time to time (I never tried it) rather than reinstating such devastating antidepressants. I know that every case is unique but I would appreciate to know your opinion about my description

Hello, I'm new to this forum and I'm working toward tapering off of 225 mg of venlafaxine. I am a 70 year old male, that has been very active and health conscious. My weakness has been depression. I previously had two periods of feeling depressed that involved obtaining an antidepressant from my general practice doctor. I would get to the point of feeling spacey and or lethargic, then do talk therapy to get back off of the drug. These where phase one antidepressants, and I would taper off slow over say 4 to 6 months without noticeable side effects. These events occurred between 2005 to 2008 per notes I still have. I retired from Highway Engineering March 1, 2014. Many emotional events piled upon me during the next five months. The stressors where; retiring and adjustment period, daughter coming home to live with us and get a divorce, a vicious son in law (being divorced), one or two other more minor stressors that I do not recall, and a huge spiritual crisis in which I felt I had not lived as graciously as God would have wanted me to. In July 2014 I became fixated on thinking about all these things. I sat in a stupor for days, lost 15 pounds, thought the devil was speaking and accusing me of my wrongs and tempted me to deny God and just die. My wife asked me If I had thought of suicide and I admitted that I had. She called 911 and got help. They took me to a hospital and put me on suicide watch till they could transfer me to a psych ward for treatment. I was confined for a week and given many medications. I also had a physical problem that they dealt with. I was released to an out-patient psychiatrist. The psychiatrist told me he would take me off all the previous medications except for increasing my dose of venlafaxine to 225 mg. I have been on venlafaxine for four (4) years. In May 2018 I stopped drinking all alcohol and also stopped experimenting with legalized cannabis. I quickly felt a bit more energy. I put this energy toward searching the internet for information about venlafaxine and antidepressants. I have learned much, but still want to keep learning. My Psychiatris agreed to allow me to get off Venlafaxine October 4, 2017, after telling him repeatedly about my desire to and why. He reduced my venlafaxine from 225 mg to 150 mg. The short of it is that I did not make it, and went back to the full dose. After learning more about how to decrease slowly, I am ready to try again. I have sought the help of my general practice doctor, who is supportive and has reduced me to 187.5 mg. Since I know that a 10% reduction is better, I cut open a 37.5 mg capsule, counted the beads, and took 40% of those beads, 15, and added them to the 187.5 mg, for a new total of 202.5 mg. I'm also taking daily notes of my physical and mental state, and dosage. I will see my general practice doctor monthly. I will be also talking to my Psychiatrist about my plans. I plan to start talk therapy also. Does anyone have any advise or comments?

Hello all, first thank you for this really helpful forum. I started taking Venlafaxine 150 back in 2016. Later in 2018 i started tapering it off with 5-10% rule. In 2020 I arrived finally at 50mg. At this point however I got strong withdrawal symptoms even with 5%. I learned then about the Prozac bridge method and i thought I give it a try. So i am now off the Venlafaxine for about 2 months and now i only take Fluoxetine 13mg. However I still have some withdrawal problems from the venlafaxine 2 months later. It is not that bad, but mostly my brain is hurting headache and strange feelings and tingeling at my brain. I think I will now stay on the Prozac 13mg until the problems go away and then see how fast i can taper the prozac. Or would you say it would be better to go back to the Venlafaxine after 2 months now already because of the symptoms, I am now afraid that those will last years as I have read on some other cold turkey cases. Thanks NightWarrior

Hi, I'm a long term anti-depressant user, I've been on them since I was 13 and am now 31. Here's a breakdown of my drug history. Fluoxitine 2006 (13 yrs old) - 2011 Citalopram 2011 - 2016 Fluoxitine 2016 - 2017 Venlafaxine/Effexor 125mg 2017 - 2023 Venlafaxine/Effexor 75mg 2023 - 2024 Withdrawal from 75mg Effexor Feb 2024 I've had varying degress of success with them throughout the years but because of anxiety and ADHD I've had periods where I have just lived with the depression and anxiety symptoms they were supposed to be helping with. However, recently I've taken steps to actually pay attention and attempt to 'fix' my brain and get better. I didn't feel able to do this until I was in a stable job, relationship and living situation which I felt I was finally in June last year. At that time I'd not had a depressive episode for a full year and my anxiety was at an all time low. I decided to speak to my GP about this and we both decided that dropping down to 75mg Effexor would be beneficial. We decided this because while the depression and anxiety was low I felt that my cognitive abilities were being hampered by the Effexor. I would often experience brain fog, memory issues, very low motivation, almost zombie-like states where I'd just go through the motions of each day not really taking anything in and I wanted that to stop. After the drop down to 75mg between June 2023 and Jan/Feb 2024 I've felt a slight return in my emotions (Both positive and negative ones), less brain fog and more general alertness and actually 'experiencing' life again. I'd continued to not have any adverse side effects and very few episodes of depression/anxiety, especially nothing like I'd experienced in the past. After speaking to my GP again they suggested I come off Effexor completely and I agreed, as many do, without doing any research. In Jan they told me to start tapering off by alternating the days I take my medication until stopping after a month. I've done that now and stopped taking my last pill of 75mg prolonged-release capsules of venlafaxine hydrochloride on 2nd Feb 2024. It's now a month later and after feeling very little adverse side effects, no brain zaps, anxiety or depression, slight headaches, slight dizziness and slight tinitus I've suddenly as of last week started feeling intense anxiety and some depression continuously since then. I've tried to manage this with Propranolol which has slightly helped by not entirely removed the anxiety. I have been through therapy multiple times and have some coping techniques but this mostly seems like GAD rather than me worrying or being down about anything in particular. I first put a thread up on Reddit to see what I'd done wrong and was pointed to this community and introduced to the concept of microdose reinstating and that how my GP recommended I come off Effexor was bad. Hopefully I can get some more advice on what to do as I appear to be on the cusp of it being too late to reinstate and that possibly just riding out the withdrawal symptoms would be best. Any advice would be greatly appreciated and I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

I’ve been weaning Venlafaxine XR since August 2023. I’m currently down to 37.5 plus 31 beads. The biggest symptom I’m experiencing lately is paranoia. Or maybe they are delusions. Insomnia is slowly improving, dizziness has improved. I’m not eating much, have diarrhea a lot and these intrusive thoughts are overwhelming my brain! I’m wondering how long this will last. I previously weaned off Klonopin and experienced paranoia while weaning as well. Is paranoia a common withdrawal symptom when weaning from antidepressants, as it’s not listed on the checklist. My husband calls what I’m experiencing delusions, so maybe that’s what they are more than paranoia. It seems like it’s much worse in the evenings. Maybe when the Venlafaxine has worn off? I take my daily dose nightly at 10pm.

Hello, let me introduce myself. My name is Tom, I´m 45 and I struggle 6 years with anxiety/depression. I think it si time to take different aproach because I have no real success with drugs. I have been in several therapies(CBT, group, individual) which help to some degree . Coping strategies are very usefull. I´m staiyng in individul therapy now. I was always irritable person with some perfectionism and litlle anxiety(difficult childhood, rejection) .My story begins in 2014, five years after our son was born. In that period me and my wife have been in constant stress and sleep deprivation raising our baby(birth health issues) and work issues. One year before my breakdown my wife had unexpected abortion with second baby, after that she had to go back to work. It started one year of relationship crisis on top of all that stress. So on summert vacation after long, problematic flight I collapsed in hotel room with panic. Spent couple fo days in hospital in possibility of apendixitidis(psychosomatic reaction). After return home I was put on SSRI and it was total hell and it put me in a place of doom. Since then I didnt recover to previous state. I tried multiple drugs, sometimes in combinations. The higher dose or drug combination , I feel exponentially worse. Years of despair. I don´t have normal response to psych. drugs (except benzos). I have lost several good jobs because I cant stand to much stress and had breakdowns after few weeks at work. No I have dissabilty status and working as gardener in company for people with mental health isuues(almost a year, so big progress). In those years I left my wife so many times and came back. I think I lived in toxic relationship.My wife cheated on me few moths after i have been diagnoised, so it take a big toll on my already bad mental health. I was trouble for her, not feeling real compassion and willing to help me. I was annoying her. We tried to make our marriage work but It didn´t happend. Now we live separatedly 8 months and facing divorce after 20 years together. I can see my son every week which helps. I have to deal with loneliness, never lived alone before, now in different town where only my mother lives. No friends around(lost most of them during my illness). But! I feel better now than six years ago, i think time and therapy helps, not so sure about meds. I know I´m sensitive to normal life stressors, which I try to minimize but facing them. I want to make some progress towards recovery. I spend as much time in nature as I can. I take suplements (B vitamins, magnesium citrate, fish oil). I´m trying to solve relationship issues. My doc is pushing me to take higher doses even if i feel it doesnt help and keep telling him. After all that years with no succes I believe there shoud be some different aproach. So i make some tappering on my own but i don´t want to mess it up. I now take 50mg of Trazodone and 50mg of Lamotrigine plus 0,5mg of Clonazepam per need. I have good days and bad days. I have not been stable for longer period last six years, I have mood swings. Hiking and biking helps me the most. And keep my anxious mind busy, but it´s exhausting. Any advice for me please? Tom

Hello everyone. I'm a 42-year-old man living in Wales, UK. I've decided to join the site after recently watching the BBC Panorama documentary on antidepressants. Watching the documentary made me realise that I've been living in self-denial for more than a decade about the negative, lasting impact that SSRIs and SNRIs have had on my health and wellbeing. I believe it's my public duty to document my experience, which I hope can be used as further evidence of the damaging side effects of these medications and help my children's generation make an informed choice - something that I was denied. I was first prescribed Citalopram in 2011 following a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder. I was reluctant to start taking antidepressants. I remember expressing this reluctance to my doctor and his blunt response was: "well, what else do you expect me to do?". His message was clear: antidepressant medication was the only option available. There was no discussion about psychological therapy. What's more, the doctor did not explain the risk of potential side effects or difficulties with withdrawal before I started antidepressants. I was implicitly led to believe there were no downsides, only benefits. I therefore relented and began taking Citalopram. As it turned out, I didn't experience any noticeable side effects on Citalopram. However, I didn't experience any noticeable benefits either. In fact, between 2011 and 2018 my depression worsened over time. The medical community's response was to incrementally increase the dosage of Citalopram, but it didn't make any difference. The only reason I continued with antidepressants was because I'd finally found a doctor I'd trusted. Her view, which she said was based on evidence from medical research, was that a combination of medication and psychotherapy was shown to have the best results for depression. I took her advice. Things changed suddenly and drastically in early 2018 when I experienced an acute mental breakdown. I was admitted to a specialist inpatient psychiatric unit. The first thing the consultant psychiatrist did was review my medication history and immediately switched me to Venlafaxine. Again, I was not informed about the risk of potential side effects or difficulties with withdrawal. I wasn't given a choice, nevermind given the opportunity to make an informed choice. Unlike my experience with Citalopram, I started experiencing side effects almost immediately with Venlafaxine. My general sexual arousal was severely diminished and I struggled to achieve a full erection whether on my own or with a partner. I found this distressing, more so than my depression. I informed my doctor who told me sexual dysfunction was a common side effect of antidepressants. This was the first time since I’d started taking antidepressants seven years earlier that a medical professional had revealed there were potential risks in taking these medications. My doctor prescribed me Sildenafil, which while I accept did help, the quality of my sex life was far below what it was before. Sexual activity was no longer fun and spontaneous, but something to be managed and planned carefully. It was around 2019 when I decided that the detrimental impact of Venlafaxine on my sex life had become too severe and that I would come off it. I don’t recall the exact details of how I tapered, but I did so over about a period of 18 months from 225mg to 0mg. It was hell on earth. An experience that was completely unexpected and for which I was wholly unprepared. The withdrawal symptoms I experienced included: Severe headaches Disorientation Brain fog Lethargy Anxiety Diarrhea Despite the struggle I had with withdrawal from Venlafaxine, I persisted with tapering off. The eventual prize of a renewed and healthy sex life was too great to ignore. But… ...weeks and months passed after the Venlafaxine had left my system and I was still experiencing the same sexual dysfunction. I was devastated. Not only had the medical community failed to inform me of the risk of sexual side effects from taking antidepressants, but they’d also failed to inform me of the risk those sexual side effects could persist after tapering off them completely. Resigned to my sex life being ruined forever, I went back on Venlafaxine in 2021 on the advice of my doctor. I came off it in January 2023 after another long, painful tapering period beset by the same side effects as before. I was antidepressant-free between January 2023 and October 2023, but another mental health crisis sent me back to psychiatric care and I was given two new prescriptions of Vortioxetine (10mg) and Quetiapine (25mg). I stumbled across the BBC Panorama documentary just before Christmas. I was shocked, appalled and filled with rage. Why hadn’t the medical community explained any of this to me before I started taking antidepressants more than 10 years ago? I was denied the opportunity to make an informed choice. It’s a global scandal. After watching BBC Panorama, I made the firm decision to come off antidepressants/psychiatric medication for good. I tapered off Quetiapine first (25mg to 0mg) then tapered off the Vortioxetine (10mg, to 5mg, to 0mg). I did this over a period of about eight weeks. I took my final 5mg dose of Vortioxetine two weeks ago today. Thankfully, I’ve not experienced the same kind of severe withdrawal symptoms as I did with Venlafaxine. I’m having some trouble sleeping, but I wouldn’t describe it as severe. My sexual dysfunction persists. I’m coming to a place of acceptance that I may never fully recover the healthy, happy sex life I once enjoyed. But I live in hope. ---------------- Citalopram (2011 to 2018) Venlafaxine (2018 to Jan 2023) Quetiapine (Oct 2023 to Jan 2024 - tapered from 25mg to 0mg). Vortioxetine (Oct 2023 to Feb 2024 - tapered from 10mg, to 5mg to 0mg)

Hi All I am busy tapering off 75mg Effexor after having a mental break down in 2022 being taken off cold turkey to switch to Trintellix. Almost two years later and a ton of different medications to try and pull me put of the raging anxiety that ensued 4 month after the CT, I finally ended up on 150mg of Effexor again. Have been stable since August 2022 at this dose. Since January 2023 I dropped down to 75mg and started 10% reduction beginning May. Currently on 67.5mg using a digital scale and weighing the beads. Will hold here for 6 weeks as I am feeling low motivation, some morning anxiety and lots of headaches since this first drop. (Drops from 150 to 75mg were easy). Is it normal to feel more withdrawal the lower you go in dose? Have been on this drop for about 4 weeks and my mood and motivation are all over the place, some days are good but most I struggle to get out of bed and do my work. It is kind of a flat feeling, almost depressed but not quite yet. Also getting some odd dizzy spell that are not brain zaps (am very familiar with these). Headaches are almost daily with some breaks. Nice to meet you all!

Hello, I have taken many months to taper off what i consider this evil drug. I have been off it now for approx 2 weeks but i am still experiencing "Brain Zaps". I am very tired. have memory worries, very itchy, sore in corner of mouth and a lot of "aches and pains" and more. how long does it take to feel relief from it all? I have been on other anti depressants for about 40yrs and i am wondering if my body will be unable to function without them T

Hello everyone, I’m so pleased to have found you all and very happy to be signed up to SA 😊 I’m here for my mum who was born in 1947 and is 76 years old. It’s taken me a while to get round to writing this, (massive), introduction, and some of the details are a little sketchy as mum’s memory of events aren’t always too clear. I really need some insight and advice so that I can help my mum so please let me give you some history and background – I’ll try to keep it brief! My mum has lived most of her life between Ireland and Scotland. I live in Scotland and, up until the end of 2013, my mum would split her time between her own home in Ireland and my home in Scotland. In 2013 she went to her doctor (GP) in Ireland and was referred to psychiatry and prescribed sertraline (50mg initially) for low mood and anxiety. Mum continued to take sertraline for the next three years (2013 – 2016) and was, at some point prescribed risperidone for 3 days but it made mum feel drowsy - we don’t know quite when or why this antipsychotic was prescribed but we are waiting to receive her medical records and should have a clearer picture then. I’m not sure after this date (2016) if there were any changes to mum’s meds but in February 2017 – May 2017, mum was admitted to the local psychiatric hospital presenting as catatonic and then delirious / psychotic. During her stay at the hospital, she was diagnosed with psychotic depression and received seven ECT sessions, her sertraline was increased to 200mg and olanzapine was introduced at 10mg twice a day (20mg in total) From 2017 – 2018 her drugs remained the same. In March 2018 mood dipped and we think her olanzapine may have been increased. In June 2019 re-admission to the psychiatric hospital was considered due to earlier catatonic symptoms reappearing. She avoided admission and recovered, her sertraline was switched to venlafaxine 150mg and then increased to 225mg. In November 2019 Mirtazapine (15mg) was added and in February 2020 pregabalin was introduced for anxiety (initially at 25mg twice a day but then upped to 50mg twice a day) As far as we are aware there were no changes to mum’s psychiatric meds until 2023. I should also add that she is on several other meds for other medical conditions – please see drug signature. Between 2014 and 2022 my mum remained in Ireland and, although she seemed well a good deal of the time, there would be periods where her mood was very low, and her anxiety really heightened. Sometimes when mum was like this the doctor would prescribe diazepam to help reduce the severe anxiety. When mum’s mood was low she would become increasingly anxious about everything and anything and, when spending time with my brother and his two younger children, she was very anxious that they would injure themselves or come to some harm. It was clear to me and my brother that this debilitating anxiety and constant worry was stopping her from being able to enjoy life and her grandchildren (she has always found most joy when being around her children and grandchildren). We could also see that mum’s physical health was deteriorating and we decided, in 2022, and with mum’s agreement, that it would be best if she permanently moved over to Scotland to be close to me so that I could support and be with her on a much more regular, daily basis. Mum’s mood and anxiety continued to fluctuate throughout 2022 and, due to other external factors, we couldn’t move her over here quite as quickly as we’d hoped. At the end of September 2022 she was, once again, in a very anxious/ catatonic state and narrowly avoided being admitted to the psychiatric hospital. She went to stay with my brother and his family for a week while we organized her coming over here. Although we’re not entirely certain, (as mum was living on her own), it does seem, prior to these more severe unwell periods, that mum was falling into a very anxious state and would stop eating, sleeping and we think perhaps stop taking her meds for maybe one or two doses. Mum was now living in Scotland with me, and her mood started to improve throughout October. She was offered a flat within the retirement housing complex, just a 10 minute walk away from me. With mum in Scotland we began to see a definite pattern to her mood - she would be well for around a month and then her mood would drop, out of nowhere and with no obvious trigger, and she would be super anxious with low mood for around 2 weeks and then would slowly start to improve again. In January 2023 I printed off a mood chart and we filled it in daily. In February 2023 mum had her first appointment with her new psychiatrist, (I have always been present during these appointments). I expressed concerns around seeing what I thought were some mild signs of tardive dyskinesia and mum was happy to start reducing her olanzapine with her psychiatrist’s support. The psychiatrist did not warn us about withdrawal effects or warn us to look out for anything and I, much to my deep regret, was completely unaware of the impact and dangers around dose changes in psychiatric drugs. Mum was on 15mg olanzapine, which was initially reduced to 10mg for 3 months, then to 7.5mg for 3 months, then to 5mg for 3 months. During the summer of 2023 mum experienced pain in her hip which her GP prescribed additional pregabalin for, increasing her daily dose of 50mg twice a day to 50mg twice a day with the addition of 100mg twice a day to help the pain (thereby taking her daily dose potentially up to 300mg). Mum did experience some dizziness around this time which we put down to the increased pregabalin dose. Throughout 2023 mum’s pattern continued in the same fashion as before and I noticed nothing untoward. Mum had an excellent October, remaining well for almost the entire month and I felt sure I was seeing a reduction in the tardive dyskinesia mouth movements. On October the 23rd mum’s olanzapine was further reduced from 5mg to 2.5mg. On the 26th of October mum was given her combined covid and flu vaccination – the very next day, (27th October,) she felt nauseous, dizzy, freezing cold and had general flu-like symptoms. After reading the patient info leaflet from the jag we assumed these symptoms were a side effect of the vaccination and didn’t for one moment consider that they could be related to the drop in her olanzapine dosage just a few days before… After 3 – 4 days she felt physically better but her mood had dipped - we weren’t surprised, she’d had a good month of feeling well and her mood was due to dip anyway, according to her pattern. Although mum had a tough week her mood seemed to be lifting and we went off to her psychiatry appointment. The psychiatrist asked mum how she was and she said she was OK and her mood was lifting – he asked her if she ever felt suicidal and she said no (she has never felt suicidal) he also asked if she suffered from SAD and she said no – she, like me, actually enjoys winter and the festive season very much. The psychiatrist told her to finish off her new 4 week prescription of olanzapine at 2.5mg and then she would be finished with olanzapine for good. That evening, around 6.30pm I said goodnight to mum, took a bag of her washing home with me that she asked me to do and said I’d see her tomorrow. I didn’t get any response from mum to my early morning text and, at 11.15am I decided to go and see where she was and what she was up to. I found mum unconscious in her living room – at some point during the night before she must have slipped into a delusional state and she had taken all of her month’s supply of tablets and all of the extra pregabalin that she had been prescribed. She also left a bizarre note about not wanting to be a big lady which made no sense. Mum was rushed by ambulance to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a local hospital and my brother and I were told to prepare ourselves for the worst – she was not expected to survive. Remarkably, and against all the odds, my wee mum survived this terrible ordeal of which she has no memory, (she also has no memory of her stay at the psychiatric hospital in 2017 when she experienced psychosis). It was at this time that I started to become aware of the damaging effect of these drugs and I became convinced that what had happened to mum was most likely due to a too rapid reduction in her olanzapine. During her stay at hospital her psychiatrist visited her and as good as reprimanded her for trying to take her own life. She was experiencing an extremely low mood, confusion and some delirium at this time, she was also classed as an adult without capacity. Despite this, her psychiatrist decided to cold turkey her from all of her psychiatric meds (olanzapine, venlafaxine, mirtazapine and pregabalin) without discussing this with any family member. He did not believe that mum was experiencing withdrawal symptoms and said that any withdrawal symptoms would be long past by now. I was now also learning the dangers of abruptly stopping psychiatric meds and I became very worried for my mum’s health and this new course of action. After a phone call with me, the psychiatrist did agree to reinstate mum’s olanzapine at 5mg, at my request, and her venlafaxine, but only at 75mg. I was still worried and could see that mum was deteriorating – mum was transferred to the local psychiatric hospital and the new psychiatrist was not willing to consider my request of reinstating her mirtazapine and venlafaxine at 225mg but she did agree to increase her venlafaxine to 150mg. A few days later and, after seeing no improvement in mum she decided that mum was having paranoid thoughts so she increased mum’s olanzapine to 7.5mg without discussing this with me – she also suggested that if mum was to experience withdrawal symptoms, like I suggested she was, she would treat them with lorazepam! She, like the other psychiatrist did not agree that mum was experiencing withdrawal and she also said that any withdrawal would be over by now. I was upset to discover that mum’s care was in the hands of another psychiatrist who wasn’t following the NICE guidelines on withdrawing psychiatric meds and was in denial about the severity or seriousness of possible withdrawal effects. I would love nothing more than for my mum to be off all of these meds but I knew that this cold turkey method could be incredibly damaging. From the day her original psychiatrist made the decision to cold turkey her It took me a total of 18 days and a formal complaint before mum’s meds were reinstated on the 11th of December, at her previous dosage and the olanzapine reduced back to 5mg (I had great support from the mental Welfare Commission, by the way, just in case anyone else needs support). I don’t yet know if I did the right thing, but it was difficult to find advice. Within a week mum’s mood was back to being really good, her memory was dramatically improved, and all confusion was gone. She continued to improve over the next couple of weeks and was officially discharged from hospital on the 3rd of January - no one in the hospital could believe how well and quickly she had recovered. Apparently, according to one of the nurses, the average stay in the psychiatric hospital is 6 – 12 months. Mum was there for just 4 1/2 weeks and spent the best part of those caring for her fellow patients! So, we find ourselves almost back to square one. Mum came home and stayed with me from the 3rd of January 2024 until the 11th – she then went home but was, unfortunately only well for one day and night and the following day her mood dipped again – I was anxious about what had previously happened so brought her back to stay with us until her mood improved or until I had “GrannyCam” (Echo Show) installed so that I could keep a closer eye on her. Mum has only just gone back to her wee flat (29th January 2024) and she is still pretty anxious although she is improving slowly. And this is where we find ourselves. Many, many thanks for reading so far…😊 I am really hoping that I can help support mum to get her off her psychiatric meds – she and I are under no illusions and, given the dosage and time that she has been on this hellish cocktail of meds we are aware that there is an extremely long road ahead of her. I am hoping, initially, that you guys can help me specifically with the following questions: · Would you recommend that mum take her tablets at different times throughout the day (she has morning and evening meds - venlafaxine and pregabalin are taken in the morning and olanzapine, pregabalin and mirtazapine in the evening), and if so, when would you suggest? · I feel that the first drug to taper should be the remaining 5mg of Olanzapine – do you think this is right? · When do you think it would be the right time to restart the olanzapine taper? And does anyone know if I can source taper strips in the UK on the NHS? · Has anyone ever experienced these periods of wellness and then periods of low mood and severe anxiety in a pattern such as I’ve described? Could these be some kind of Waves and Windows, bearing in mind that she was experiencing them prior to starting any kind of drug reduction · What can I do to help mum with this terrible anxiety? I have very recently bought her some chelated magnesium and she has had a couple of low doses of that over the last few days (but has avoided taking them 2 hours before or after her pregabalin, as per the SA advice on magnesium) · I am obviously very worried that there may be a repeat of what happened to mum on the evening of the 9th of November given that, aside from the flu like symptoms, there wasn’t much to warn me to be on the look out for such a severe reaction. Do you think that now that I know a little about what to look out for with withdrawal symptoms I will be able to pick up on times like this should they arise in the future when mum is tapering from her meds? Any and all advice will be extremely welcome – thank you all so much in advance and my apologies for the massive essay! Chris (tine) 😊💚 x x

Hi. About 5 years ago I was prescribed Effexor 75mg for mild GAD. It seemed to work ok, but I was never really that bad to begin with. To make a long story (sort of) short, in July of 2010, I quit the effexor cold turkey. Shortly after I began having panic attacks which I now know was from withdrawals, and also head zaps. These seemed to of disappeared in August 2010. Then in September of 2010, I had a hair transplant. Minor surgery, but was given large doses of Keflex, and had local anasthesia injected that contained adrenaline to prevent excess bleeding. This made my heart race, but its a normal side effect. This is a second procedure that I had with the first being 2 years before this one. 2 days after the procedure, I was sitting at home and all of a sudden starting feeling a feeling I never in my life had before. I Although I had panic attacks from the Effexor withdrawals, these feelings were different. They felt like feeling of doom, dread, and all thoughts good or bad seemed to be amplified by 100 fold. I would be breaking out in sweats, then alternate with being freezing cold. My neck was streaked with a flushed red color, my eyelid constantly twitched, and my appetite disappeared. I lost about 25lbs in a few weeks. My mouth was constantly dry, and although I have perfect eyesight, it looked as if I was looking through a sheer veil. I would usually wake in the morning being ok, yet within a few minutes begin the cycle all over again. At work to subconciously run from the feeling, I would constantly be moving; I would walk around the block, move about the building all day, and avoid the lunchroom so I didnt have to sit in one place. I went to a psyciatrist for the first time, and he didnt act as though anything was odd. He tried to prescribe me ssris and xanax. I refused it and started going to a holistic therapist which was useless. At this point it was December of 2010. I caved in and saw another psyciatrist who prescribed me Effexor 75mg. I took this for about 3 1/2 months while seeing a psycologist who diagnosed my with anxiety NOS, and still had no relief. Then come April 2011, and I started to sporatically feel better. Not great, but I did notice improvement. My appetite returned, and I began regaining the weight I had lost, and began enjoying things once again. In June of 2011, I discontinued the psycologist, who said that it couldnt of been the Effexor giving relief since I would of seen improvement much earlier than 3 1/2 months. As the summer months of went on, I continued to improve, with many small bouts of "spells"; some larger than others. Now its Oct/Nov/Dec 2011. There are times where the feelings were completely gone for days, sometimes for weeks at a time. Christmas came and went, then the day before news years eve came and I regressed back to the way I felt many months ago. I seems like all my recovery has been thrown out the window. Thank you for reading this, as this has been a very long post. Any insights on what this can be? And what do you think has happened? I would like to add that im still on the Effexor, and am not taking any other meds or have ever done so.

( mod note, mmt) Ewa's Introduction topic is here: Ewa;Cymbalta 60 mg coldturkey My name is Ewa, I’m 49 years young and I have recovered from the voyage to hell that was initiated by cold turkey from 20 years of antidepressants use. In the title SHE is my daughter (now 12 years old) my first and main reason to stay here, second is my husband Eric who was my caregiver and was there for me unwaveringly, third information about withdrawal from this website (was my first website I found when looking for answers) and others like it, success stories of people who came through victorious, and relentless search for truth. On February 2018 I cold turkey from 60mg of Cymbalta (December 2017 I turned 44 years old) almost instantly I was in altered state of consciousness (in medical community labeled as mania, I dislike their terminology but I will use it here in parenthesis) had out of body experiences and visions (not hallucinations) one of them was my mothers trauma I didn’t know about. I was in trans like state very euphoric, didn’t need much sleep, had diarrhea for about one month, metallic taste in my mouth, could not eat meat and other foods. I was functioning but in different way. Gradually I was coming down from euphoria, it took 8 months and one day it was clear to me that I was very much different in past months (I had that awareness during but was not afraid of it) also I started to feel internal vibration that I thought was anxiety (never had anxiety before in my life). In the end of August 2018 I went back on 60 mg Cymbalta plus 0.5 mg Ativan (first time in my life I was put on benzodiazepine), two weeks into being back on drugs I became suicidal. Every two months I was in hospital changed the antidepressant Ativan stayed the same 0.5 mg twice a day or as needed. My condition was worsening and in January 2019 I did ketamine which put me further down the hell. By this time my diagnosis changed from depression (my original sign 😉) to treatment resistant depression, all they have left for me was ECT, I had 8 sessions in total and after last one as I was walking out of hospital (for my last two sessions I was outpatient, for so called maintenance sessions) I heard just a whisper of my own soul “Ewa you have to find your own way out of here, if you stay,there will be no coming back”, by this time I was a shell of my former self, a mare shadow of a human being, that upon waking from last ECT had to guess what year it was, I was successful in this but the president of USA in 2019 was still Obama.As soon as I got home I went on internet and found this website, my search for my own way out of hell has begun. At that time I was on Zoloft and Ativan, I decided to cold turkey again (two months taper) and in May 2019 my drug free life has begun. The level of suffering has intensified greatly and stayed the same for two years. I did not have windows not even one. I had severe insomnia, slept 2 or 3 or 0 hours, anhedonia, depersonalization, déréalisation, intrusive thoughts, suicidal ideation and urges, memory loss, cognition loss, complete loss of appetite, my GI was twisting and burning, I forced myself to eat and it was two bites at the time, I didn’t shower for weeks only when I was on my period (I never lost my menstruations still have it now), all consuming terror was always there, didn’t brush my teeth (had to have 3 crowns last year), I had light sensitivity sunny days in summer where extra torture, sounds sensitivity (I love music but in that state was torture), my whole body was stiff like I was log of wood very hard wood. Adrenaline rushes like toxic waves through my body, Agoraphobia ( was mostly bad bound), apathy, confusion, crying it was more wailing like a caged animal I became. Inner trembling, lethargy, complete loss of libido, during my very short sleep I manage to have nightmares. Tinnitus was not severe and it went away after about one year. January 3 2020 I wrote this “All I want is to be able to be a mother and wife again ! I love Chloe and Eric so much” at that time I had all the symptoms I listed above. Also I have to add that during my altered state of consciousness (mania) April 2018 I had breast lift surgery(it was scheduled in 2017), day after walking up the stairs I heard myself saying “it is not normal to cut healthy body” , this procedure so accepted and even praised by our sick society is a band aid in form of self mutation to secure love and approval of others behind which is a very deep pain. I had infection and was put on very strong antibiotics, further destroying my got. (I have to go to my appointment now second part of my root canal treatment, I will continue later on today, I will submit this now because I don’t know how to save this and don’t want to loose it 😊) Thank you to my father Jan whom I love deeply, it was from his life journey and strength I drew inspiration to go on.

I’m unsure on the right terminology because I’m not sure what I believe anymore so please bear with me. last year after ten years on citalopram I had a sudden relapse in depression and anxiety (you could say I pooped out but who knows). The relapse has crippled me and it’s immeasurably worse than the first time around. It’s consumed me and I feel like I’ve lost my identity. Through this period the doctor changed me to sertraline and again to venlafaxine. Both of which had zero effect. I wanted to look at exploring more naturalistic remedies (not sure how appropriate it is to discuss this on this format so I will leave that there- but happy to hear people’s stories and experiences of doing that) but I’ve had a really tough Fortnight and when I went back to the docs this week he wanted me to try mirtazipine. I have taken that for two nights but after a chat with my therapist this morning who’s very critical of medications and the role of seretonin in all this I’m questioning if it’s the right thing. It’s all so hard when you are extremely desperate and just want relief really interested to hear everyone’s views and experiences

Greetings to all! It took 5 years for my brain and nervous system to rebalance and heal after taking Effexor for 14 years. Nasty stuff. One of the hardest to discontinue. But it is possible! I tried to d/c it a few times over those 14 years but had to keep going back on it because I couldn't function. I didn't understand enough about withdrawal and how all this works. But as we all know we reach a point where our souls know we do not need this drug and will do whatever it takes to get off it and stay off it. It's a ride through hell that's for sure but you can do it!! As we all know, it's a lot worse at the beginning of withdrawal. I only had about 3 days of windows over the years. But I could feel symptoms slowly getting better over the last year till it starts being noticeable that the crud may still be there but it's more manageable. And the last 6 months it kept improving until I couldn't believe that the buzzing in my head was gone and the fear and anxiety were gone. The brain fog and fatigue also slowly start improving. There may always be a little residual fatigue and brain fog but I'm also 66 yrs old - ha! We have no idea how brave we are to go through this to live an authentic life drug free. It finally happened this year around May. And as you know it was many years of a nightmare I could not have imagined. But it will happen!! I am here as proof. I have my life back and am finally able to travel to see my family out of town and live a normal life again. Acceptance, perseverance, surrender, humor, love - it's all part of living each day well. Just continue to take care of yourself the best you can. Walking in nature is SO HEALING. That is what saved me. And taking every stress out that you possibly can. And lots and lots of prayer. My heart goes out to you - Hang in there - you will make it. 🙏😘

Hi, I have been struggling with hearing sensitivity and eye issues ever since I made the mistake of listening to my neurologist and trying Effexor, and then upon recommendation of a psychiatrist, Prozac. Both were for short time periods. I am a little more than 4 months out of my last prozac dose. Ears/Hearing: hypersensitive to certain sounds - sudden sounds, sharp impact sounds, crinkling plastic wrappers etc. High pitched tinnitus that is generally not too instrusive and can be better or worse but always there. No hearing loss as of post-Effexor, pre-prozac. Eyes: “tight” feeling that is somewhat better than a few months ago but still not normal. I probably have some visual snow, and my night vision is worse because it’s like my eyes are amplifying light that’s not even there. Constantly bloodshot and dry eyes - taking restasis but opthamologist didn’t see any other eye issues. Balance: generally ok but occasional unsteadiness. Other: Mild constipation: gastroenterologist didn’t see anything wrong. Some TMJ pain and minor random muscle twitches. Occasional facial tremors that are better than a few months ago but not gone. Frequent trouble sleeping- falling asleep, getting enough sleep or deep sleep. Basically I believe that these drugs hypersensitized me. I sincerely hope that this hypersensitivity will decrease over time. I have seen some improvement vs say 2 months ago, but I have a long way to go. I have read on this site that it can take a long time for the nervous system to calm down. I believe that I am generally improved on magnitude of sensitivity vs say 2 months ago, but I am clearly not on a “some people take as much as a month to recover” timeframe.

I am 47 years old have been on anti-depressions for 11 years. I was on venlafaxine for the first few months early 2012. While it helped, nausea was unbearable so I switched to Cymbalta. I was on cymbalta until Early 2017. When it started to lose its efficacy, I switched to Zoloft (sertraline) quickly. I was up to 200mg per day through the end (2022 summer) and I wanted to sleep 24/7. With my doctor's approval, I weaned off in 30 days. (Looking back - this was definitely too fast) I have been chemical free for the past 30 days. While the withdrawal symptoms are still there, they are definitely getting better every day. Reading a few comments here helped me a lot already. I feel very hopeful now. One final note - It is amazing to me how doctors take this so lightly. They prescribe these drugs like they are m&ms and they switch your medication like changing your bed-sheets. And when it is time to wean off, they treat like it is nothing. Shame to the medical system!

I would be incredibly grateful for some advice about antidepressant withdrawal. I don't trust my doctors or psychiatrists anymore. I am 40 years old with no history of mental illness until about 11 months ago, when I began overreacting to a number of problems in my life like skin issues and threats of lawsuits, and this led to a two-month period of psychosis that gave rise to severe depression (according to the doctors here). It was very intense. I live in Frankfurt, Germany. Once I began to calm down and realize that these fears were unjustified (around February), the depression symptoms seemed to get worse, and I began to have physical problems like dizziness, vertigo, and derealization. This led me to think there was some neurological damage, and so I had an MRI and EEG done but with no findings. I began seeing a psychiatrist around this time, who gave me a prescription for Olanzapine, but I didn’t take it due to my strong aversion to pharmaceutical medication. However, by mid-March I was feeling so awful and had starting having difficulty sleeping. I could fall asleep, but I would wake up after three or four hours and couldn’t fall back asleep. I didn’t see any other option but to check into an inpatient clinic, where the doctors started me on 5mg Olanzapine and 50mg Sertraline. The Olanzapine helped me sleep, and I was hopeful that the antidepressant would begin working quickly. After a few days, the dizziness and derealization subsided. However, after about seven weeks (and increases to 100mg and 150mg), I was still feeling depressed, and the doctors switched me to Venlafaxine in late May, initially 75mg but quickly increased to 225mg. It was at this time that I left the inpatient clinic with the intent of continuing Venlafaxine at home. Occasionally I tried skipping the Olanzapine, but whenever I did I couldn’t stay asleep. And after six weeks of Venlafaxine, I felt no better and decided to discontinue (against the advice of my psychiatrist). I tapered down to 150mg to 75mg to 37.5mg over a period of 15 days (each dose for five days). I completed the taper in mid-July. I didn’t notice any withdrawal symptoms during the taper, but once I was off completely, the brain zaps, nausea, and restless legs began. But I also noticed that I no longer needed the Olanzapine to sleep well, as if the Venlafaxine had been causing the insomnia. The brain zaps were not painful and didn’t bother me too much since I was expecting them to go away soon. And after about two weeks, the zaps were hardly noticeable and I was feeling much better. I was happy about this because it was just a few days before a vacation I had planned to Florida. Throughout the entire 10-day vacation site-seeing and soaking up the sun, I hardly noticed any symptoms at all and my mood was great. It was as if I was completed cured. Unfortunately, the very day I returned to Germany at 7am from a long overnight flight (this past Sunday), I began feeling unwell again, like nauseous or a queasy feeling in my stomach and chest accompanied by low moods. I was hoping it was due to jet lag, but it’s been an entire week now and there hasn’t been any improvement. I can still sleep well fortunately but I have a pronounced feeling of being unwell most of the time and I feel very fatigued and unmotivated to do much. No dizziness, pain, or cognitive issues. Given that I felt virtually symptom-free while in vacation, are my current symptoms are more likely to be a continuation of the withdrawal or some sort of (travel-induced) depression relapse, or something else? Could I already be going through windows and waves just a month after stopping the antidepressants? Just to summarize, I was on antidepressants from mid-March to mid-July, including the two-week taper. So about eight weeks on Sertraline (mostly 100mg) followed immediately by eight weeks on Venlafaxine (mostly 225mg). I was also taking Olanzapine for most of that time, occasionally taking Pipamperone instead. Thanks in advance for the help and insight!

I am currently withdrawing from Venlafaxine and went from 225mg down to 112.5mg over several years. At this point, I switched to a liquid version with the support of my GP and practice pharmacist. However, I experienced a doubling of my appetite and huge weight gain. 1.5 stone in just 8 weeks. I see a physiotherapist who suggested I may be metabolising more of the medication in the liquid form than the pills. My GP and pharmacist were not very helpful. The obvious solution is to switch to a combination of pills and liquid but am concerned whether using the two together is safe? Or will it cause more unpleasant symptoms? Has anyone had any experience with this?

Hi All Im new to the site and like to say how informative it is. so I’m in the Uk, been on venlafaxine about 8 yrs at different doses in those years. currently on 225mg im thinking on coming off them, obviously very very slowly. I hate the thought off what the drug is doing to my Brain 🧠 so is anyone on this brand ? do you know how many tiny pills are in a 75mg capsule? does anyone know of a uk based company that will do the tapering strips for me? I know of the Netherlands site, they cost 70€ for 28 pills we have nhs in uk, so get our prescription FREE, and don’t think I could get them to do this. anyone who can help ?

The only way in the end that I could come off venlafaxine was to go on another drug. It has never occurred to me that I am experiencing, nearly a year later could be withdrawal. I assumed this was taken care of by the new drug. However my anxiety has never recovered and is very bad, even on escetalapram. Do I up the dose, try another drug, or is what I'm feeling a reaction to withdrawing from venlafaxine? I am wanting to taper off escetalaprin but feel very nervous as my experience with wd from venlafaxine was quite simply unbearable.

Hi, I've been a member of SA for roughly a year, but this is my first post, so hello. I've been taking antidepressants for roughly 23 years now in order to treat OCD and anxiety depression. The greater part of that has been on fluoxetine, which I took intermittently over roughly a period of 15 years. When I say 'intermittently' there would be periods where I would miss a couple of days, up to perhaps the odd month or two when I wouldn't take anything. To a certain extent this was probably down to the side effects I tended to experience and also self-denial about having mental health problems. Unsurprisingly, my mental health didn't improve, even if the drug was likely to do anything - I guess I muddled through. So, as seems to be a familiar story, following a couple of stressful events, I started taking the fluoxetine consistently every day, but found that the side effects - nightmares and leg spasms on falling asleep - were beginning to become a problem. In order to alleviate this issue, my doctor suggested I take sertraline, which I did for several weeks, but found that I actually had more side effects. The next drug that the doctor suggested was Venlafaxine(Effexor) 75mg. After roughly 4 - 5 weeks, once again, side effects, so I asked if I could drop to a smaller dose 37.5mg, which I managed without any real issues - probably because I hadn't been taking it for very long. I took the lower dose for roughly a year, after which, once again due to building side effects and because I actually wasn't feeling too bad - I'm not sure if this was the drug or I just started to feel better naturally - I asked the doctor if I could start reducing the dose. The doc replied, "yes, just stop taking it and we'll see how you manage." This was my first ever experience of withdrawal, made worst be the fact that I had no idea it could happen on prescription medication! Fortunately, I decided to only half the dose rather than stopping completely. It still took me 2 weeks to figure out what was happening however - I simply thought my mental health had suddenly taken a dramatic nosedive. I had three or four more failed attempts at getting off Venlafaxine over the last four years. I reached the stage where even tiny reductions put me into withdrawal. I can't quite remember what led me to Surviving Antidepressants, Glenmullens' book maybe, but I was pretty much at my whits' end on how to get off that awful drug. I found some information on the Prozac bridge and decided to try that. When I took the final dose of Venlafaxine, I was expecting to be hit by the psychological equivalent of a bus, but, luckily, it did seem to mitigate a lot of the severe withdrawal symptoms that made my previous efforts such a nightmare. I also managed to find a GP open to trying this approach. Am I out of the woods yet? Well, that's one of the reasons I've finally decided to post. Thankfully, I'm off Venlafaxine. Am I out of withdrawal? I'm not sure. My anxiety and OCD seem to have got worse over the last 5 - 6 months. This of course could be down to not taking AD's any more which suppressed the anxiety, or that I'm still in some type of withdrawal - maybe both. I guess I'm posting to see if I can figure it out. Thanks, Paul

I have severe GAD diagnosed in early 2018. After trying to manage it on my own for a couple of months I finally asked my dr for an anti anxiety medication. she put me on 75 mg of Effexor, and I started taking it on May 2019. It worked incredibly. in February 2023, my main stressor for anxiety got resolved and wanting to get pregnant soon I decided to taper. I tapered from March 2023 - June 2023 using the bead counting method with my drs instructions. At first I thought I got away with it but I was wrong. Just like many others of us I developed severe insomnia and haven’t been able to shake it off to this date. I reached back out to my dr and worked with a psychiatrist both of whom agreed I benefit from sleeping meds. I tried taking 25 mg of Vistaril and while that worked okay, it made me very groggy the next day. Then my psych decided to switch me to Trazadone 25 mg and that worked ok. Today, I have not been able to sleep at all and it’s too late to take anything. I’ve taken the day off from work and made an appointment with my dr to talk about potentially reinstating — Effexor is not safe during pregnancy so maybe something else. I just don’t feel good in general and am feeling like I’m suffering more than I need to and need something to give. thanks in advance for welcoming me to the community, we’ll get through this!

Hi all, new here. Looking forward to learning. Thank you !

I have been on citalopram since 2009 then it stopped working. The Dr put me on citalopram and mirtazapine combination which worked for a while then that stopped working. The Dr then put me on mirtazapine and Venlafaxine 150mg XL combination which workes for a while again ans then stopped working. The Dr put me on amitriptyline 50mg saying thay would be the best drug for me while i took 8 months to slowly remove each bead from Venlafaxine capsule to come off it. As soon as I took my last beed i went into crazy angry depression. The dr increased my dosage of amitriptyline from 50mg to 150mg but the side effects were horrible and at this point i got sick of these meds and decided to quit CT. I had horrible withdrawal symptoms and i started acting like a child and not being able to walk, had balance problems. I reinstated back to 50mg amitriptyline since april 2018 and i have been getting worse. I cannot sleep. My vision is so badly affected that i have grainy vision and floaters have increased dramatically . I see after images and it's as if the lights have been turned off. When i begin to fall asleep, i start to have dreams before i actually fall asleep and my brain keep. Waking up just before i am about to sleep. I cannot follow conversations, I mishear things all the time. I am totally dependant on others and i feel people think i have gone crazy. I don't know what to do i am getting worse and worse. I often trip, lose my balance. I hardly have any short term memory and cannot do simplest of things. I cannot even watch anything on TV as i cannot follow.it I'm having major concentration problems. I don't know how. I'm writing this. I cannot work or drive. Please you have no idea how i am putting these sentences together. I need urgent help. Please advice. I have no energy, no appetite. If I'm posting this in the wrong place, please accept my appology as I can hardly read and understand things. P

Hello SA, I am a 24 year old grad student with a history of depression and anxiety. My med history is below. August 2017: started Venlafaxine @ 37.5 mg, gradually moved up until @ 150mg by end of year. 2018-July 30,2023: On Venlafaxine 150mg July 31, 2023: Begin taper, following SA's 10% every four weeks protocol October 17, 2023: Taper after three weeks instead of four. Feel fine at first, but by Saturday October 21 feel above average anxiety. End up going back to my previous taper's dose on October 26, 2023. Currently holding at this dose. November 2, 2023: Major depressive crash. Went back up to full dose (150mg)