Search the Community

I have been on antidepressants 3 times in the last 14 years. Usually would take them for 6-8 months and then taper off with no problems. The last time I took them (2011), I needed the maximum dose of sertraline (200mg) to get an effect. After a year on it, I felt it was time to stop. The nurse insisted I had to keep taking or risked relapsing into severe depression. I tried several times to bring up the topic to no avail. After about 1.5 years on it, I cut the dose on my own to 150mg and felt ok for 2 weeks. But after I started having a dull headache that lasted hours, dizziness, serious cognitive difficulties and severe fatigue. I could not function and needed excessive sleep (12-14 hours/day). Tried increasing it again and the more severe symptoms got better, but the headache and flu-like malaise persisted for at least a week. I consulted with a psychiatrist. We tried effexor and cut on zoloft. Had no withdrawal symptoms, as I was cross-tapering. I was completely off the zoloft. Only took Effexor for about a month on a low dose (never past 150 mg) because it never helped with the symptoms of Atypical Depression I had. When I started tapering down the effexor, I got the dizziness and extreme fatigue again. When I would fall asleep, I found it extremely hard to get up. Literally felt pinned to the bed. Woke up more tired than I went to bed, even after 12 hours of sleep. Woke up dizzy and with a headache. I increased dose again and we're doing a slower taper over 21 days. The starting dose is 37.5mg. I experience dull headache that lasts hours, flu-like malaise, muscle tension, fatigue every day (with the occassional good day of no symptoms and the occassional day of much worse symptoms). I have learned to cope the best I can with these symptoms, but the fatigue gets unbearable at times. I sleep 12 hours at night and still feel tired and even drowsy during the day. I'm in grad school and it's hard and often impossible to study or even make it to class. I was supposed to decrease dose to 25 mg after 10 days on 37.5mg, but since I still have symptoms, I'll ask dr if I can postpone the decreasing... Im also concerned that the increasing apathy Ive had over the last 7 years might be due to antidepressant use. It could also be depression, but if it is SSRI use, its a very scary symptom that is not going away (has not gone away for more than 3 months in over 14 years since I started having depression/taking SSRIs). The only reason I can semi-function today is because I take nuvigil (a stimulant) 3 or 4 times/week. Without that, I can't do homework or clean or shower. Im extremely dysfunctional. I don't rely only on the stimulant though. I use it to give me energy and motivation and alertness that I use to do positive things, which improve my mood and further help with apathy.

Introduction topic: ☼-mranxious-3-months-off-effexor-xr-6-years-on Heyyyyyy 😊 I am alive !!!!!! Out there living a life that I am proud of and comfortable with. Pheww I am one of the blessed ones to have breached the other side and lived to talk about and YOU WILL TOO !! That was one hell of a ride. One that is FAR FAR FAR in the rearview mirror 🙃 If you have read my story, you will know that I went through literally the most traumatic event in my life and that was "Effexor Withdrawal". From start to finish I was unsure I would make it through this time, but here I am and let me tell you "Its a process". This will not happen overnight...BUT if you make the right moves, eat healthy and take your vitamins, time will heal, only time BUT everything you do in the mean time will make the difference in the end. Here is what I did : -Increased Omega 3:6:9 daily -Lots of purified water -Maximize sleep if you can and set a goof environment to be able to sleep(No sleeping drugs) -eliminated processed foods and to a whole food plant based lifestyle(THE BIGGEST GAME CHANGER for me and healer I believe* -Cut out all toxic people -light walks/bikes/swims daily(Key word "light". -meditation- daily(Prayer as well daily) -Church -daily mantras "I will heal" "I will get better" "I am getting better" -Reading books, occupying my time -Multivitamin and mineral support tablet I went from being a very anxious person once off Effexor for months and months of withdrawal , to now years later, a fully functional human being again 😎 I fully believe that in order to fully heal, you need to be fully off any pharmatheuticals (Per doctors orders of course, my disclosure) ughh 😋 Oh yes and find a good doctor that will listen to you and meet your needs "YOUR NEEDS". I have found a wonderful doctor and he is all about my plant life and healing and he is all about me living my best life drug free. Whatever you are going through right now, just know it gets so much better. It can takes months to years to recover. Realize this is your journey and a special one. Myself personally believes that god has transformed my old life into my new life and I can't be ever more thankful and grateful. One hell of a adventure but "hey" I love who I am more now and have grown exponentially since this ordeal. I have days where I cry happy tears over the smallest things, butterfly on a flower, old person smiling, to the breeze blowing off the lake , to the food on my plate. I never appreciated it before Effexor and I took it for granted, now it just happens and i love it 😊 I guess it all depends how you look at it, but when things get grim and they will, come back here, read my story and just know you are all in good hands😊 The effort you put out now in the throws of this awful withdrawal, will eventually become the reward you see in your future !!!!! YOU ARE GOING TO RECOVER MY FRIENDS, ALL OF YOU !!!! STAY CALM AND SOLDIER ON, stay safe and always consult your doctor before making any moves and if they don't listen to you : FIND A NEW ONE !!!! But always stay in close touch with them please 😎 This website has been a game changer and so are all the admins* Beautiful hard working volunteers 🧡💛💚💜💖 *Taper, taper, taper your mediction , this is most important, don't rush a taper just because you start feeling good. It will catch up to you, stay the course 😎 or possibly suffer grave setbacks * *Feel free to message me* MR. A

About three years ago, I went to a new psychiatrist, highly recommended by my therapist, to ask him about getting off the venlafaxine and clonazepam I was put on 20 and 15 years ago. When I left I had two new prescriptions: bupropion and lamictal. He thought I was severely depressed. The lamictal was supposed to counteract the effects on adrenaline production of long-term use of venlafaxine. It worked overnight. I enjoyed a few years of relatively good mood. I was also 3 years sober then, and now 6.5 years. Quitting all psychotropics has been on my mind for years. An early experience with Paxil in the 1990s--I took it for maybe a month, tops, but it made me groggy. I became sicker than I'd ever been--flat on my back with vertigo, horrible nightmares, and continuous nausea, as well as the brain stuff. Lucky for me, all this cleared up after about a week. Of course any doctor I spoke to about this had no idea. I am here to learn about weaning, and to find support for making a decision and beginning the baby steps.

Hello all, I’m Sarah. Having been diagnosed with ADHD last December (age 50!!) I am coming off Venlafaxine in order to try ADHD meds on the basis that my decades long anxiety has been the hyperactive mind of undiagnosed ADHD. I have high BP (Venlafaxine induced) and as stimulant meds may also raise my BP I have been advised to come off the Venlafaxine. I started antidepressants (Prozac) in 2000, following my last pregnancy in which I had hyperemesis gravidarum (severe pregnancy sickness)I became so afraid of being sick) I couldn’t work (in case I came in contact with someone who had “germs”). In 2004 after citalopram didn’t work I was put on Venlafaxine and that helped the emetaphobia and associated anxiety. All along I had health anxiety but it was intermittent and manageable, if I had a real symptom I would worry but otherwise I was ok. That changed in 2019 (perimenopause?) and since then the anxiety has got worse and worse. I am anxious more often than not, I imagine all kinds of symptoms and have a constant sense of impending doom. I’m currently having a few (what I hope) are withdrawal symptoms, which are exacerbating my anxiety a lot - I’ll post in the other forum about them. Aside from my mental health issues I am married to my childhood sweetheart and we have two adult children who I’m happy to say are still at home. We have two Tonkinese cats, Jasper and Bear and a JRT called Mr Darcy as well as Chico, an orange-winged Amazon parrot who hates me!! 😆 I do not work but I am arty so I occupy myself with drawing; sewing; embroidery; knitting; crochet, etc I hope to find reassurance and friendship here.

Hey everyone, This has been the most informative and useful website I have found thus far, so I was inclined to register. Kudos to the site Administrator and moderators for their hard work and time spent helping others while we collectively try to get through this nightmare. I have been on 150mg of Effexor XR for about 7 years now, for anxiety. I am 28 years old and I would like to be fully weaned off by the time I am 30. I want children in a few years, and I refuse to have this poison in my body during pregnancy. This is the only anti-depressant I have ever been on, originally on a 75mg dose but that stopped working after a month and my dose was increased to the 150mg. I really don't feel like he drug has done anything to help me since then. It's been a series of ups and downs which I'm sure many can relate. I began my taper just over a week ago. It's been a bit of a rough start, due to my own tardiness and ignorance, moving from Canada to the US. When I had my prescription filled here in the US for the first time, they gave me the generic brand Teva Venlafaxine. I did not foresee any issues, but it caused me panic attacks almost immediately. A permanent dizziness, headache, and heartburn, plus I was very irritable. After a week of that, and realizing the side effects weren't getting any better, I had my pharmacy order the brand name Effexor XR for me and they did so without hesitation or a Dr's note. I want to make a suggestion to those who do not have insurance. You can get a free discount card from the manufacturer (Pfizer) and get it for $30/month at participating pharmacies. I was very nervous they wouldn't accept the card. It seemed to good to be true but I can confirm, it worked for me and I purchased my months prescription for just $30 instead of the $350+ full price. You can get your discount card here: https://www.effexorxr.com/choice-card Anyways, I made a silly mistake when I received my first generic prescription. I was ready to start my taper and take some of the beads out. There were exactly 150 beads in each capsule, I started by removing 5. There were no withdrawal symptoms other than drowsiness, but the side effects I described above meant I couldn't stay on the generic brand. Since moving back to the brand name stuff, I notice there are way more beads, I stopped counting at 200 when I realized I wasn't even half way through them. Plus the beads are all different sizes. I got a really good jewelers scale from Amazon.com for just $20 which I would like to use for the remainder of my taper. I calculated 3.3% was the reduction I made by taking 5 beads out of the generic capsule. An unfortunate number to work with, since I am no good with math and neither is my partner. But I would like to maintain that 3.3% for at least a week and then bump it up to either 5 or 10% and stabilize there for a month as Admin suggests. My only concern stems from the fact that the brand name pill has an inconsistent weight, and number of beads. The number of beads don't really matter to me since I am doing it by weight anyways... but the weights vary slightly. Should I do my % calculation based on the average pill weight? Or should I be removing the beads based on the weight of each individual capsule? This is pretty much the only area where I am stumped right now. Last night I based it on that pills weight... and I don't know what to do tonight. From what I've read here it looks like I should just go by the average weight? http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/272-tips-for-tapering-off-effexor-and-effexor-xr-venlafaxine/ Any suggestions or advice is appreciated. I've no major withdrawal as of right now... just drowsiness. A bit of heartburn on and off and Tums do help with that. But when I focus too much on the heartburn, I begin to think I'm having a heart-attack and this causes me to (almost) panic! And frightens me when I am trying to sleep. Has this medication/withdrawal been known to cause any major heart problems? Or am I just being silly by worrying about a little bit of heartburn. Thank you in advance and I am very happy to be here.

Hello, first of all, excuse me for my English, which is not my language. I’m a 50 years old man, long term SSRI/SNRI user who is trying to survive after a lot of mistakes made with this poisons. First SSRI was prescribed me in 1998: a psychiatrist decided to solve my panic attacks, anxiety and fears to be sick with a 20 mg of paroxetine. My journey with SSRI began: I took paroxetine from 1998 to 2008; then escitalopram from 2008 to 2010; venlafaxine XR from 2011 to 2016. During this period, 3 or 4 times I attempted to stop but after six months free I reinstated the drug; my doctor said that the difficulty to stop was a problem of mine because “SSRI don’t give dependence” and anyway said “if necessary you can use it for all the life”. For sure from 2006 for me was IMPOSSIBLE to decrease paroxetine under 10 mg!!! From 2017 drugs seem not work as in the past: my doctor tries firstly with escitalopram (from december 2017 to august 2018), sertraline (from november 2018 to july 2019) and finally vortioxetine (november 2019 to february 2020). On february the 6th I took for last time vortioxetine which was giving to me just problems More than nine months have passed since then during which I experienced extremely heavy symptoms that reduced my mental energies and threw me into a profound discomfort that makes it increasingly difficult to carry out my normal activities. Some of the symptoms are those that I have already known in the past (although they present themselves in a more severe way): agitated anxiety; insomnia (I have occasionally taken xanax which fortunately I have used very rarely in these 20 years) and sudden and agitated awakenings; obsessive search for information and explanations about my malaise (via the internet). Others are new: an unbearable mood swings; a certain emotional lability (I get very easily moved and angry); physical symptoms such as fatigue with pain in particular in the legs and frequent palpitations. In the background then there are distressing thoughts for the future: evolution of my malaise (fear of irreversible damage to my nervous system induced by prolonged use of drugs). What seemed surprising was requent change in symptoms from week to week. At the end I found this site and with it a little hope: I have learned many things, even about my mistakes, and discovered that I’m not alone. Now I’m just surviving and my days are (very) often hard to pass, but there are moments (1 or 2 hours in a day) when I feel this journey through the hell is a long and necessary way to live again, to see the stars again. My long journey to healing has started, and I hope you would support me with your advice.

I was on Valafexine for 10 years. I was at 2 75s a day. I tappered off myself for a year. When i got to the point where i was off of it my withdraw started gradually with dizziness and irritability then it progressed to feeling tired all the time and bad anxiety for a week then it went to sweating, shaking, panic, free fall feeling insomnia. I ended up in the doctors office and back on 2 25s a day to stabilize me. After three days i went up to 100 mg a day for 5 days, then they put me on 37.5 and i was on that for 6 days and ended up in the hospital for serotonin syndrome. The psychiatrist took me off of valafexine and put me on heavy sleeping pills, and buspar. I stopped the buspar after 4 days because it was to much for me. Im on day 4 of no valafexine. I started the dizziness yesterday. I just want to know if anyone has a similar story and if the withdraw is as bad the second time around? Has anyone been put back on and tappered back off with a better and shorter withdraw time?

Hi everyone.. I am currently on venlaflaxine at 300mg and want to start tapering down by 25mg at a time .. in the UK the dosage changes are a minimum of 37:5 each dose . I am sure I read years ago there are companies which you can pay that will do dosages at your request (with the doctor consent) has anyone heard of this ? If so know of any in particular? I have been on this medication for ten years now and had two attempts to come off which have gone smoothly until the lower doses and then triggered a huge episode of depression each time. I have a plan this time and am using other sources to support:) any insight would be greatly appreciated xx

Hi I took effaxor for 5 months 75mg. I stopped 4.5 months ago and still stuck with PSSD. How hopeful should I be, do people here recover substantially from PSSD?

Hello everyone, I am seeking support and help. I was taking Wellbutrin, 150mg XL for 6 years and went cold turkey off of it in December 2022-March 2023. I subsequently smoked cannabis and took a small amount of psilocybin mushrooms which caused me to have manic symptoms. This led to a three month long intense manic phase and it got so bad (hardly slept, high energy) I finally realized I needed to take my medication again. When I reinstated it in March, I started at the same dose of 150mg. I was able to slow down and start sleeping again, but after one month I noticed I was feeling very depressed and starting to lose sleep. I have become I increasingly depressed since May of this year and been losing sleep. My nurse practitioner has tried putting me on a number of sleep meds, antidepressants and mood stabilizers. I’m currently taking Lunesta 3mg, 40mg of Latuda and just started 37.5mg if Venlafaxine. She had me do a quick taper from 150mg of Wellbutrin to Venlafaxine within 2 weeks and I’m not sure if that was a good idea. I don’t know if I doing the right thing and I desperately hope that there is some other kind of supplementation or path I haven’t tried that would help.

Hi everybody! I am Julz, a 33 year-old female - polydrugged to my eye-balls Ten years ago, I fell into anorexia and depression, soon unveiling terrible anxiety. I was referred to a psychiatrist (in France) who prescribed me medication and also gave me psychotherapy. Regarding the medication, different combinations and doses where tried and I eventually found myself on a prescription which seemed to suit my troubled mind (Escitalopram, venlafaxine, clonazepam and diazepam) - did it ever do anything? I still haven't got a clue. I trusted this doctor. This is my initial prescription: Escitalopram: 20mg 20mg 20mg - (yes, that is 60mg...!!!) Venlafaxine(MR): - - 75mg - Clonazepam: - 2mg - 2mg Diazepam: - - - 10mg Time passed and psychologically, a lot changed. I moved away from where I used to live, totally changed my environment, and went for a fresh start. But I was still taking my medication as prescribed. My General Practitioner (in charge of my prescription in my new environment) convinced me to lower the Escitalopram (on the grounds that it was "bad for my heart") and I managed, between 2011 and 2013, to come from 60mg/day to 15mg. How? By jumping 5mg at a time every now and again. I had no idea... again, I more or less trusted this doctor who was willing to prescribe me the drugs I was clearly physically dependent on. The withdrawals I experienced were uneventful. I did feel something was happening but within a few days, I always felt the same as before the drop. Between 2010 and 2014, a LOT had changed as I finally got an MSc BUT I had fallen into terrible exhaustion and had no life. How did I get my degree? A struggle every day. I then began to question this cocktail of drugs, I'd been on them for 10 years and was still taking them as prescribed because I was physically dependent. That was clear enough! It then hit me: my meds were probably incapacitating me rather than providing any help! The realisation came as in January 2013, after I managed to lower my Escitalopram intake from 20 to 15mg/day in a single 5mg step (...), I began to feel even more tired during the day, exhausted - I simply had to nap every single day. After some personal research, I went to my GP and told him I didn't believe in keeping our focus on the Escitalopram because it seemed that the more I decreased it, the more sleepy I'd get during the day, considering my benzo intake (at that point, I was taking 3 hours' naps), and I could not live like that! Fortunately, before I was able to drop a pill here and there as instructed by my GP, I found the BenzoBuddy website and managed to find a taper method to gradually come off clonazepam. From December 2014 to July 2015, I came from 4mg to 2mg and am now below 1.9mg and still tapering off successfully. I decided to join Surviving Antidepressants as I want off ALL any medication which alters who I am. I believe in other ways to manage my weaknesses - I am not ill, I have a tendency to be anxious and this is not new, I was an anxious child but I had emotions too. I'd like my emotions and my whole life back... I realise I know NOTHING about anti-depressants, I surely did not know about Escitalopram's potency and am still in shock from the news. My initial plans (supported by a psychiatrist I saw in February 2015) were to come off clonazepam (bz), then diazepam (bz), then Escitalopram, then Venlafaxine. In the light of what I read on this wonderful site, I wonder whether I should stay of Valium (diazepam) while at least tapering off Escitalopram, when I am done with clonazepam... I realise I need knowledge myself because sadly, doctors haven't been helpful at all... so far... Thanks for welcoming me on your wonderful Forum! Julz xxx

Hi I’m Sheena. I’m 36, currently tapering off meds. I live with my parents in Florida. I was started on Paxil at the age of 14 1/2 after starting my menstrual cycle. I started birth control at 16 for “safe sex” and was put on it continuously with never taking that week break when I was 23 and got diagnosed with PMDD. I was put on Klonopin 1 mg 3 times a day for nine years at the age of 23 and Effexor at age 23 which I’m still on.I got off klonopin completely in 2019 and got back on in January 2022 and been off since April 2022. I’m 36 now. I’ve been on so many different meds since 14. In 2019 I started natural progesterone cream after being off birth control long enough to get my hormones tested and them saying that my hormones were low. I’m on natural progesterone cream now and my progesterone is still showing up low on my blood tests. My body is so messed up from all these meds. I live with my retired parents and I am very dependent on them and get separation anxiety from them. I want freedom from that so badly because I’m scared for my future. I don’t want to be drugged up but don’t know how to deal with my emotions or life. I’ve done well here and there throughout life though. Im looking for a healing buddy or buddies.

I haven't post for a while here. Waiting to have good news to share with you, and now I have them. Recovery is happening very fast now. I am definitely turning the corner.Feeling much much better. I still have waves of dysphoria but they are short lived and most of the days are good or very good. The most important thing is that I am sleeping!! Some time ago I read here somebody saying "once you start sleeping you are on your way..." very true. To those suffering and struggling with this terrible condition, let me tell you, that recovery does happen. I tnink I was one severe case.But I am doing much better, and getting my life back.I am 63. Don't loose hope,eat well, be strong and STAY AWAY from psy drugs. Eternally grateful with SA and Altostrata. Link to Alex's story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/3298-%E2%98%BC-alex-withdrawal-or-relapse/

Hi all, would appreciate advice if anyone else has had a similar experience I've recently stopped venlafaxine. Now 6 weeks off after tapering down to 37.5mg over a few months then stopping completely. Prior to that I had been on venlafaxine for 8 years doses between 150mg and 75mg. I stopped as felt flat on it and that did not need it any more. first few weeks I had bad physical symptoms - flushes, sweats, nausea, vertigo, brain zaps, nightmares and shakes. In the last week I've had intense panic episodes/general feeling of dread. Incredibly tearful, ongoing insomnia and severe feeling of restlessness despite feeling exhausted. My doctor has put me on 50mg of sertraline in the hope it helps. Has anyone else had this experiencing with venlafaxine and came through the other side? I'm starting to lose hope of ever feeling normal again.

Hi, you can call me AprilShowers. I was put on Venlafaxine (Effexor) in the millenium due to a period of depression. Was on it two years and tapered off with no problem and gradually depression got managable and life went on. Then my mother died of cancer and my depression came back more suicidal and severe. I tried citalopram with horrible side effects and continuous suicidal feelings before being changed to venlafaxine which had worked for me before. And it worked again, more or less. I got stabilised and although it took a long time the suicidal thoughts receded and I just had bad depression. Last year after five years on venlafaxine I was having bad heart palpitations and my psychiatrist thought it might be beneficial to change medications as I thought it might be being caused by being on an SNRI. I switched to mirtazapine which I was on a couple of weeks and felt good at first before it made me very suicidal. Panicing and needing to not feel that way anymore I stopped taking it cold turkey. After I began to have withdrawal issues I tried to get onto prozac (fluoxetine) in the hope that it would help, it didn't, it exacerbated the symptoms. I was in full withdrawal syndrome, massive dumps of cortisol turned my body to acid, I was urinating blood, I couldn't eat or sleep and the shakes were exhausting. It was completely debilitating and I did little but lay on the sofa for five months trying to distract myself with TV shows. Life got a little better in increments and with the help of this site which I read without joining I was able to understand what was happening to me and try to support my body. I thought maybe I'd been lucky to have gotten through this and was hoping to build my life back to some semblance of normal. I managed to get back to the point I'd been on while I was on the antidepressants. Still depressed, still not coping well with life but able to function a bit. I had hoped to build on that. A couple of weeks ago I started getting mad anxiety, possibly triggered by the shock of the news of terrorist attacks in Paris although I guess if I'm honest I was feeling a bit overwhelmed before that. Whatever happened, I was having a hard time and took a couple of small doses of lorazepam two nights running to get some sleep and mellow the panicy feelings. Of course they got worse after that and now I have the full cortisol dumping into my system again and I'm back on the sofa wishing for a different life and a better body. I've been in touch with my care co-ordinator who isn't seeing me until next week and she says that without me being willing to take medication there's not much she can do. I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow to try to rule out any underlying medical reasons (I had an infection before all this happened and have recently become diabetic, have PCOS and have had previous anemias, heart palpitations and thyroid blips) but I'm not holding out much hope and unsure how to try an explain to the doc what is happening with cortisol dumping into my body. I know all they can offer for the symptoms is lorazepam or similar drugs and I think that would just make my problem worse. The early morning shuddering and feeling of waking in abject terror is the pits, the shudders are exhausting, like parkinsons and then taper off during the day but still with a low level of tremor and feeling of panic. I've got no saliva, I go hot and cold, my stomach is acid, I'm wetting myself with the level of fear hormones in my system and am having to wear pads and I'm constantly going to the bathroom, I'm not doing very well at all. The fact that this is happening for the second time is extremely disappointing, I've had thoughts of not wanting to live like this. I feel very alone, I live alone and I'm scared of losing all I've gained. I'm here to find hope. I need to give this awful life I'm forced into some value and give myself some value. After five years living on benefits, trying to overcome depression and not really coping with life I feel like I have nowhere to turn but here to find people who believe and understand what I'm going through. I am desperate to believe this is just a blip and won't last as long as before but it's been getting worse every day like the reverse of when it happened the first time when it was very bad and I gradually felt relief. I'm finding it hard to trust I will recover. I have nothing to do but hope I can again. Supplements I take omega 3 in a high dose which has helped me manage my depression. vitamin C magnesium with calcium. Occasional other supplements. Am thinking of just stopping all but the omega 3.

Hi all, Thank you for letting me join this wonderful fountain of knowledge. I have been on Effexor since late 2008, when I was 20 years old. My first long term relationship had just ended and I was understandably an emotional mess. I was also alcoholic at the time and using a lot of recreational drugs, which didn't stop the doctor from providing me 75mg of Effexor XR. I loved it at first because I literally felt high. I had tried other antidepressants in the past but none had worked, whereas with Effexor I just seemed to have so much energy. Fast forward to 2011, I am in residential rehab for my alcohol and drug addiction problem. The counsellors there suggest it might be a good time to try coming off my meds- 300mg Effexor and I also taking 25mg Seroquel at this point, as I was unable to sleep on the Effexor. I am referred to a completely incompetent psychiatrist who gives me a taper programme which takes me from 300mg to nothing in a month. Not knowing any better, I complied with his insane schedule. Within a few weeks I was kicked out of rehab for out of character, rageful behaviour. Back home, I slowly lost my mind. Couldn't leave the house without feeling like I had a target sign painted on me- I felt everyone was looking at me and talking about me. I lost my temper at the drop of a hat over minuscule things. No one around me realised what was happening. My memory of this time is hazy, but I do remember being home alone one night and suddenly becoming obsessed that there was a government conspiracy to give people heart attacks by putting too much salt in food. I was walking around the kitchen in circles screaming, unable to stop. I considered the possibility of hanging myself to make it stop. Luckily I called my boyfriend instead and found another website which is no longer active, who advised me to go straight to a doctor and resume the Effexor at a maintenance dose. I did this and was put back on 75mg. The damage was already done and I fell into clinical depression. A month later I decided I couldn't be more miserable that I was and relapsed on alcohol. Luckily I got straight back into a 12 step programme and have been sober since that relapse. But I struggled with the after effects of that withdrawal for many months. i have been absolutely petrified to try coming off Effexor again since, despite many side effects including palpitations, mental confusion, dry mouth, bad breath, constant clenched jaw and every type of stomach complaint. I fell pregnant in 2014 and came down to a quarter of a 37.5mg tablet during pregnancy. I wanted to come off it entirely, but my relationship was very unstable and I was being constantly triggered (we have now split up). I was devastated to not be able to breastfeed my daughter, but I felt the Effexor presented too much of a risk to do so. I went back up to 37.5mg shortly after her birth. She is fine and healthy today, but the responsibilities of single motherhood have left me terrified to attempt withdrawal again. However, since giving birth I have found that the Effexor now has a sedative effect on me. I now have to take it at night time, or I am almost passing out during the day. Sometimes I forget (I'm insanely forgetful now, which fairly sure is a side effect of long term antidepressant use) and then I have a choice of spending the whole day "shocking" or being a half passed out zombie fighting to keep my eyes open. I realised I can't carry on my life like this, I want and need my energy back. I've become completely reliant on coffee to have any kind of energy, so I'm always up or crashing back down. My daughter needs me to be fully present in her life, which I don't feel like I am a lot of the time due to this horrid side effect. I found this website and have been reading up on safe tapering, and on June 14th began the 10% reduction method. At the moment it looks like it's going to take about 3 years in total. I'm in no rush after my last withdrawal experience, I can't risk ending up in such a bad way as I'm all my little girl has. I have been dissolving the 37.5mg tablet in 75ml water, making sure it's all evenly dispersed, then removing 7.5ml (equal to 3.75mg) with an oral syringe. In the UK they no longer prescribe the slow release Effexor so as I can't do the bead method, this is the only accurate way I can really do it. Yesterday I had tingling in both hands all day then at night I had some brain zaps when I was trying to sleep which went all down my left side, which has made me wonder if I should maybe hold this dose for longer that a month. If anyone could advise me on this, I would appreciate it. I find my daily meditation practice my most valuable asset in keeping me sane so I'm hoping it will aid me in my withdrawal. If you have made it this far in my mammoth post, you are truly amazing! Love and healing light to you all x L

After three misguided (via doctors) attempts at Effexor tapering, I found out the truth in the summer of 2017 and began a very slow taper from 75mg to my most recent taper of August 1st, 2019 when I reached about 50mg. Primarily I experienced fatigue and insomnia but after the August taper I started experiencing a weird anxiety-dread-panicky feeling that came and went. Since December, it's gotten worse. Despite occasional short windows (a couple of hours now and then), it seems I can't get comfortable. My large muscle groups in my upper body are always filled with "tension ache". It's maddening. Trying to take a nap is so hard, because after 15 minutes I get an intense fearful feeling in my chest (cortisol?). I want to think that this is will pass and the pain is just part of the healing process. I'm confused as to why I'm getting this reaction since I've been tapering so slowly. Any suggestions or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Kingson

Hey Folks I stopped taking effexor three weeks ago after tapering it down 150 > 112,5 > 75 > 37,5 > 25 > 12,5mg over about three months. I came to the conclusion to stop it with my psychiatric because i didn't felt any improvement after taking it over a couple of months and had to deal with some nasty side effects. He told me to change to Prozac and i started taking it when i reached the 75mg mark of effexor. Currently i am on 20mg Prozac. The first ~4 days after stopping effexor were completely okay with no signs of discontinuation problems. But after that i started to feel nauseaus almost every day since. There are days where the nausea is tolerable and disappears over the course of the day and then there are other days where i feel nauseaus the whole day. That said, i also feel more anxious over the day...almost like drifting into a panic attack that then won't happen. I am now at a point where i am no longer sure if those are signs of discontinuatuion or my brain/thoughts are makin me sick. It feels kinda surreal to think that 12,5mg would have such an extensive effect on my body after two weeks, but on the other hand there seem to be a lot of people having problems getting rid of this medication and are on discontinuation syndrome way longer then two weeks, even after stopping on lower doses.

Extremely severe PSSD at 20, need help ASAP I had been on venlafaxine for 3 years up until February when I was told by my doctor to taper off over a span of a few weeks. I had no withdrawal symptoms initially but since around May a very large amount of physical and mental symptoms have manifested and gradually seemed to have gotten worse over time. I have been on 150 mg of wellbutrin for about a month after being admitted to the psych ward due to the mental state I am in, helped quite a bit in the early days but seems to have worn off or is making me worse. Currently taking magnesium and fish oil to combat head issues, but I just can't take this anymore and its only been a couple months of symptoms when many others here have had them last for years - Severe brain fog, constant - Short-term memory loss, unable to remember names and faces of anyone new I meet - Regular migraines, three times a week and usually develops towards end of day - Pressure feeling banded around head, constant - Visual snow, even more severe when eyes are closed - Blurred vision - Extremely severe dullness of emotions, totally unable to feel love, happiness, anger. Crying is extremely difficult and takes effort and extreme distress. Cannot even laugh. Constant - Total loss of creativity, unable to come up with original ideas - Mind feels completely blank and thoughts are not racing like they used to. Did improve with wellbutrin but not even close to 100% - Inability to compile thoughts, not capable of thinking of even half of these symptoms without writing them down ahead of time - Social skills completely disappeared, went from being talkative to socially paralyzed and cannot come up with the words to say. Maintaining conversations causes mental agony, have to fake emotions - Difficulty finding words I previously used regularly in my vocabulary - Extremely severe depression, feeling of total hopelessness all the time. This DID NOT develop until after other head symptoms, head issues popped up during a content period of my life - Feeling of dizziness and strange vision when moving head back and forth - Occasional severe confusion and total disorientation. Happens probably once every few days for an hour or two - Feeling of being in a dream or a daze, feel like I'm spectating someone else living my life - Extremely vivid dreams, seem more real than reality - Occasional sensitivity to light - Total loss of appetite, eating anything more than a very small quantity of food makes me nauseous. This developed about two weeks ago, much later than other symptoms. Went very quickly from eating a lot to eating nothing - Total lack of interest in any hobbies that I was in love with a month prior - Irregular stool, liquid most of the time. - Constant exhaustion - Muscle weakness and soreness - Nausea - Heart pounding when I lay down, distracting when I try to sleep - Heart palpitations - Sharp chest pain. - Insomnia, have been taking melatonin to put me to bed but I wake up very early in the morning and cannot go back to sleep due to how horrible I feel - Brain zaps, seem to have lessened recently but were often - Stiff neck - Total loss of sexual interest. Extremely difficult to get and maintain an erection - Shriveled penis - Pins and needles sensation occasionally in fingers - Stiff neck for a few hours a day - Lower back pain - Itchy red bumps popping up all over - Derealization. Hoping to God that this is just a bad dream or a hallucination. I feel like a shell of myself to say the least, feel as if I have died Much of this was copied from my post on the pssd subreddit from a few weeks ago, I would write a new summary of my issues but my brain has gotten so much worse that I am seriously struggling to even read and write and I am totally forgetting what medications I am on and such. I honestly do not even care about the sexual or other physical side effects because my head condition is so awful. I am in total crisis mode and need relief like right now, I don't know who to turn to because people in my life just do not understand what is going on, I have been to the hospital 4 times in the past couple months for these issues and have been given a different and stupid diagnosis each time, the last time was when they had enough and put me in the psych ward for a week. I did not want to take any meds but I felt it was forced upon me with how bad my condition was and I have been totally stuck on wellbutrin since. Its helping a little but I am terrified about staying on it as I believe my condition will worsen as it has and I am also terrified of going off of it because my condition will also worsen then. I have been to several doctors and psychiatrists and they are just trying to give me more ssris and such and do not believe I am still having withdrawal from venlafaxine. I have completely lost all sense of self and my memory is getting worse and worse by the day, I am forgetting the names of family members and massive events that happened in my life. In my hopsital visits I was blood tested every time, urine tested every time, given a CT scan on my brain, EKGs and such and nothing came up abnormal except for magnesium being low. My brain is in such bad condition, it feels like I am completely incapable of feeling any sort of stimulation and I am clearly declining mentally and emotionally on a day-by-day basis. I am on the verge of trying re-instatement or just going back to the hospital so they put me on more drugs because this is so unbearable I don't even know if I can last another day. Caffeine, alcohol, and small amounts of junk food have caused me severe crashes and I am extremely hyper-aware of literally everything I put in my body. I do not feel anything besides pain and fear, I know there probably isnt much that people here can help with but I am looking for a miracle here. This is unbelievable pain and if I make it through this it will certainly be the most I will ever have to struggle in my life, but I am seriously doubting my ability to recover due to the severity of my case and it seemingly getting worse. I have appointments with a neurologist and GI doctor but they are backed up and it will be 6 weeks until I can see them. I live with my parents because I'm 20 and cant work or drive or do anything in this condition and they are also going through torture because of how unbearable it is to be around me like this

It has been years since I took medications, I was 16 when I took them in 2009, and went through a few different brands. I have copied some of my introduction story to make things easier for me. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/5232-%E2%98%BC-hello-charliebrown-script-free/#entry67166 Starting with Fluoxetine 10mg for 1 month. Then Venlafaxine for 1 month at 75mg then, 3 months at 150mg. 1 month of Clonazepam 0.5mg as I was tapered off Venlafaxine and onto Sertraline 50mg. Then I took Sertraline 100mg for 4 months. Still experiencing panic attacks, agoraphobia and paranoia. I went to the hospital during a panic attack and was given Lorazepam 1mg for 1 week. This is when my psychiatrist added Risperidone on top of the Sertraline. Risperidone started at 0.25mg for 3 days, then 0.5mg for one week, raised to 1.0mg for one week. After two weeks I had a check-up I told the Dr. I wasn't feeling anything and I believe he may have misinterpreted that as "no effects" but when I said it I meant that I felt no emotions. My dose was raised to 1.5mg daily. After 3 days of 1.5mg I began experiencing Akathisia with no relief of anxiety. With no options in perceived sight I took all of the remaining Risperidone. Approx forty 0.5mg pills. My Parents caught me and called 911. At the hospital I was given charcoal and passed out, waking hours later. After being discharged I continued to take Sertraline as prescribed for 2 months. With no reduction in my anxiety and my emotions being basically non existant I decided to "take the good with the bad" and feel some kind of emotion. Over the next month and a half I slowly weaned myself off Sertraline. Popping open the capsule and throwing away 3-5 tiny XR beads a day. So that's my age, meds and taper strategy. How long it took to regain all my emotions and bodily functions is a hard one to answer. It took about 6 months before I felt much of anything. Then the bad emotions came back, sadness, anger. Slowly over the next two years I had many days that were blank and void of anything, days full of sadness, but also days where a light would shine and I would be happy. Feelings were coming back in waves and leaving again. I joined this website in late 2013 and at that point I had some emotional range, a libido but no sexual pleasure. So i guess it took about 3 years off medications to regain a good emotional range and my youthful lust. I'm finally writing this success story because in the past year the lack of sexual pleasure and anhedonia are not a problem for me anymore. The feelings slowly came back in waves, sometimes weak, but getting stronger and stronger. Now I feel great when I hug someone or see a friend smile. Sometimes the feelings can even be overwhelming. Like my heart is ready to burst. I don't know what else to add except, it's been almost 7 years since I took medications and I am a whole new person! Don't give up hope! Things are constantly changing, even if you don't notice. I didn't notice the change until it was right in my face!

Hello all, I’ve found this website incredibly useful so I wanted to share my journey of coming off of venlafaxine (Effexor) with mild withdrawal symptoms so far. Context / About Me I was put on antidepressants in February 2014 at age 18 after I had my first severe depressive episode. Initially, I started on citalopram, then mirtazapine and then venlafaxine (effexor). I have been on venlafaxine for about 8 years continuously with no breaks. I am currently two weeks medication free and I have experienced very minor withdrawal symptoms. My first unsuccessful taper I annoyingly didn’t record my first unsuccessful taper that started in March 2020 but I came off 150mg venlafaxine in 6-8 weeks and had severe withdrawals (brain zaps, nausea and then return of depressive symptoms) resulting in what appeared to be a relapse* (I saw my old psych) and I had my medication reinstated. *From educating myself more on antidepressants, I know now that this was withdrawal from coming off the medication too quickly and not relapse. My (so far) successful taper using pill cutting method Feb 2021: Reduced dose to 112.5mg March 2021: I will have tapered but didn’t record speed, reduced dose to 75mg March 2022: I believe I then decreased further as I recorded going back up to 75mg 13 December 2022: I will have tapered but didn’t record speed but at this point, I reduced my dose to 37.5mg 21 February 2023: Reduced to 28.125mg (ish) 1 April 2023: Reduced to 18.mg (ish) 21 April 2023: Reduced to 9.4mg (ish) 10 May 2023: Took last dose of venlafaxine. I was planned to taper further from 9.4mg but took a shot to see how I felt and so far, so good. I was prepared to take my dose immediately if I felt unwell. Withdrawal symptoms I have experienced very mild withdrawal symptoms, including: - Most noticeable symptom has been that it has triggered an IBS flare up and my bloating is unreal 🤯 - Slightly off balance / dizziness - Fatigue - mild and only for first few days - Slightly irritable Major thing to note is that I’ve had NO brain zaps and no mood-related symptoms or anxiety!!! Resource recommendations Antidepressed by Beverly Thomson May Cause Side Effects by Brooke Siem https://markhorowitz.org (particularly his work on hyberbolic tapering) https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org I appreciate I am lucky in my experience the second time around as I know many people have to face horrific, permanent withdrawal symptoms. However, I hope this shows that it’s good to go slow and not to rush the process of coming off. Happy to answer any questions and I will continue to update on my progress! A

Hi all,[/size] My name is Lisa, I am a 30 year old female and I believe I've experienced protracted withdrawal. I plan on starting to taper off Effexor XR in July. Here is some of my history: [/size] Starting in 2005, I began taking Lexapro after my father got cancer and passed away 4 months later as I started having panic attacks. I am not sure when I went off Lexapro, but I know I was put on Celexa for a while as Lexapro stopped working and I have now been on Effexor XR for 6 years. In the past, when I go off an SSRI/SNRI, I end up going back on after some time because my panic attacks come back. After 6 months of therapy, I went off Effexor XR in March 2014 with a week of a half dose (37.5 mg) and then completely off, by the advice of a psychiatrist. Actually, the book she referred to recommended 2 days of a half dose and then completely off, but she extended it.[/size] Withdrawal was horrendous. Insomnia, nausea, diarrhea, dizzy, not able to concentrate, felt just SO out of it. Finally it was over in a week or so. But in late May 2015 (3 months later, thinking it was all out of my system and I was good), I had just gotten home from vacation and was about to get into the shower when BAM, I was suddenly so dizzy that I couldn't tell which way was up or down. This remained for 3 months day in and out and after a ton of tests (took meclizine (anti-dizziness pill) which did nothing, ENT looked at my sinuses/ears which were clear, inner ear tests which were normal, brain MRI which was normal), until I went back on Effexor XR in August 2014 by recommendation of a neurologist who said it was my anxiety coming back. During what I'm thinking was protracted withdrawal, I was dizzy constantly. I'd wake up from a deep sleep completely dizzy, it did not go away. I also had excruciating headaches at night and could barely sleep 2-3 hours a night because of this (I NEVER get headaches). I was also severely exhausted because of the dizziness - everything was harder, and the low amounts of sleep due to headaches. I did not understand because other than being upset of my state of being constantly dizzy, I really was not anxious. I was meditating, exercising (as much as I could - it was a feat with being dizzy), nothing significant going on in my life. I had also been going to therapy and made huge strides.. I still continue to go to therapy weekly and it's been about a year and a half now. I was so confused as to how this could be anxiety. Now I'm reading this site and I'm learning this was probably protracted withdrawal. After I started taking the Effexor XR again, within 2 weeks I felt totally better. Now that I have been back on Effexor XR since August 2014, and after learning what I've read on this site, I want to start a slow taper in July after my next vacation. My therapist believes I am ready and now I know I am after having a great suspicion that those symptoms were not due to my anxiety. I have read the advice boards and will be doing the 10% per month taper. I also will be going to the recommended doctor in Farmington, MI and have an appt with him at the end of this month.[/size] Has anyone else experienced the protracted withdrawal symptoms that I had? Any other advice or tips that you can share? I will be coming here often and hoping to make friends [/size] Thanks![/size]

I have been on meds since I was around 18, I am now 33, I have been tapering off all my meds for the last year now, I have managed to get off venlafaxine xr 75mg which I tapered off for around 4 - 6 months, and quetiapine 50mg over the last 12 months, I was on 200mg at one point and also tapered off diazapam 10mg, and also propranolol 10mg, I have been off all meds now for nearly 3 months and have been fine, I have been at the gym most days and eating healthy, I was starting to look good again and becoming myself again, I have not been human while on meds for the last lots of years, I was finally starting to enjoy life and then the last few weeks my sleep has been getting very fractured and I have been waking up very early with extreme brain fog, it feels like my head is going to explode sometimes, now the last 2 nights I have not slept at all and feel like death, I even took 2 melatonin tablets and they did nothing, what on earth is going on? I am worried I have done some serious damage to my brain, I am too worried to go and get checked at the doctors as I could not handle news that I have some brain disease, I have read that meds can cause effects many months after, can anyone give any advice/peace of mind?

After planning to have a family my whole life, I found that some things are just out of our hands. I had 6 miscarriages, before having a baby boy that suffered from an unknown degenerative neurological disorder. He would have 30-50 seizures a day, was blind, deaf and was in ICU most of his life. The doctors predicted his life expectancy to be 3-4 years, but at 5 months old, he came down with chicken pox, which caused his organs to shut down and he died in my arms. I lost everything I lived for and my dreams of having a family were shattered. I became extremely depressed. I decided to seek medical help for my depression. My doctor prescribed Effexor (Venlafaxine). I didn't feel it was helping, but she said it was, that I just didn't realize how much worse I would be without it and I can't expect to be my normal self again. Every time I said it wasn't helping, she just increased the dose, until I was on the highest dose that could be prescribed, and I remained at that dose for the next six years. All this loss was hard on my marriage. After struggling for a few years, we divorced. I walked away from my marriage, home, life, everything, taking nothing but my dogs and a bag of clothes with me, and started over alone. With nowhere to go, I jumped into another relationship. Six months later, I became pregnant. Since medications can be harmful during pregnancy, I stopped taking the Effexor, following a fast taper as my doctor instructed. I developed unusual problems that I had never experienced before, which caused me to be ill throughout the pregnancy. I didn't learn until years later that what I was experiencing were "brain shivers", or "brain zaps", and it was not related to the pregnancy, but stopping the Effexor. The doctors related my symptoms to stress and put me on bed rest, and I stayed on bed rest or in the hospital throughout most of the pregnancy, until having a c-section at 8 months. I had a small, but healthy, baby boy. However, I continued to feel ill. I described the problem to my doctor multiple times. I was told, word for word, “It’s in your head, go see a shrink”. She blew me off, like she didn't believe me and thought I was crazy. I managed as best as I could, but progressively worsened. I went to several other doctors, but none of them had answers and showed no interest in looking into it. I talked my boss at the time. He was an ear, nose and throat specialist, so it wasn't his specialty, but he had watched my health decline and knew that my symptoms were real and was concerned enough to help. He sent me to several neurologists and other specialists to have tests done. He was worried that it was serious because my symptoms resembled MS or something similar. All the tests came back normal and no diagnosis could be found. It seemed no one had ever heard of anything like this before. My condition worsened until I was no longer able to live a functional life. I struggled to take care of my son and couldn't interact and do things with him as much as I wanted to. I had no idea what was wrong or where to turn for help. Desperate, I searched online. I discovered a forum of people who shared my symptoms, all of which had used Effexor at some point and were unable to get help from their doctors. Many of them were told that their symptoms were psychosomatic, just like my doctor had claimed. A few doctors and nurses on the site acknowledged this was real and provided what information they had. This is where I first learned of the term “brain shivers” and discovered that using Effexor can cause them. The doctors said they are generally mild and typically go away on their own, lasting from weeks to several months. However, they said higher doses over an extended time can result in severe cases that could last years, or even permanently, and so far, there is no known treatment. I continued to struggle with this for a little over two years. Then, I was contacted by an old friend, who was now a psychologist. This call was a turning point for me. I told her about the problems I was having. She knew about brain shivers and was sure that was what I was experiencing. She was concerned that this would likely be a permanent problem for me, since I took such a high dose for so many years, and since I hadn’t had any improvement in over two years. She said there is no known treatment, but tapering off the medication slowly is known to help prevent or reduce the problem. I had been off the medication for over two years already, so it didn't seem logical to introduce the drug into my system again after so long, just to taper it out of my system. She was concerned that it could have an adverse affect, causing my brain to adapt the wrong direction by starting it again, making the problem worse. She said if I went back on the medication to stop the brain shivers, I would likely have to stay on it indefinitely, to keep them from coming back. The thought of taking a medication for the rest of my life that caused me to be permanently disabled without it, just did not sit well with me, especially if it could make the problem worse. And I couldn't get a prescription anyway, since I couldn't find any doctor who was willing to treat me. She told me there is another option I could try, but she could lose her license for recommending it, so not to tell anyone who told me, but to try methamphetamine, because it's a dopamine reuptake inhibitor, and it should stop or greatly reduce the brain shivers. She said as long as I only use enough to stop the brain shivers, it would help me, and that using excessively or more than is necessary is what leads to the negative affects of any drug, legal or not. (Disclaimer… I want to express that I DO NOT recommend using methamphetamine, for any reason. It’s not a solution to brain shivers, it's just an another problem to need a solution for. It comes with its own list of problems, including legal consequences. This choice cost me in many other ways. Looking back, I can't say I would’ve been better off, had I not made that choice, because I couldn't function at all. But I also can’t say I’m better off, for having made that choice. I just replaced the problems I had with different problems. This choice led me down a different path, but it was far from a better path.) It has now been 18 years since I started having brain shivers. I have been using methamphetamine responsibly for the last 16 years, which greatly reduces my brain shivers to a tolerable level and allows me to function. I still have brain shivers once in a while, but they are typically mild, occur less consistently and don’t affect my ability to function in daily life. The only time they bother me is if I miss a dose, or something, such as illness or stress, affects my overall health. Although it allowed me to function, depending on something illegal to function requires committing a crime every day, and it was inevitable that I would eventually get caught. I ended up facing criminal charges. I was lucky enough to have a good attorney who was able to turn a 5-35 year prison sentence into just probation. I was assigned to the best probation officer anyone could ever ask for. If it weren't for her patience and understanding of my situation, I wouldn't have a chance of making it through this without ending up in prison. It is because of the situation I am in, the need to end my dependency to an illegal drug, the inability to do so without help to stop the brain shivers I’ve had for the last 18 years and the kindness, understanding and willingness of my probation officer to patiently work with me to find a solution to my problem, that I have found myself here on this site. My probation officer has helped me in the effort to find a solution through every possible direction we could think of. I have been turned away by detox centers and inpatient treatment centers, either because they don't believe meth causes withdrawals, or due to liability concerns, since quitting will cause me medical problems. I've been turned away by doctors and psychiatrists, when searching for a medication to help the brain shivers, to replace what I'm using, so that I could stop using and hopefully avoid or at least lessen the brain shivers, but they refuse to treat me at all, until I have already quit, which is what I needed the help for. I believe tapering off the drug is the only way to successfully stop using without having severe brain shivers, as I get them every time I miss a dose. I understand that this site is for prescription medications, but I hope it is possible to allow an exception, since my need to taper is due to brain shivers following the use of Effexor. My probation officer approved me joining this site and is willing to be patient to allow me the time to follow this site’s recommendations for tapering, so that I have the best chance of coming out of this situation without using any drug and without severe brain shivers. I am truly blessed that my probation officer is patient and understanding to allow me to try this, since quitting cold turkey will undoubtedly cause serious problems, and I pray that this site will be as understanding and willing to help as well, because this is the best chance I have to turn my life around in the right direction. I never meant to end up in this situation. Sometimes people end up in bad situations, but it doesn't mean they are bad people, they just need a little help.

Hi all , I am 8 months off reinstated sertraline for a month ( by doc) and Aripropazole. History Its around 4 years back when i passed out my college and not get placed even after making to finals in many interviews .. that i decided to write competitive exam for PG. I had taken coaching but just before exam I came back and found myself unable to recall things. My brain is just like nothing in it. I found myself in despair and stopped studying. This fog is happening all the time since my engineering but I managed to get average marks sometimes and sometimes very good . There is more in back history but I ll get to it later. So, my parents took me to a psychiatrist ( family known) and he put me to Olanzapine and one more thing. He diganosed me bipolar2. I got about 10 pounds on it but its not help . Meanwhile after 4 months, with the help of a relative , I got intern in a company and I moved out with fog to a distant city. TThere in a hospital, they put me on floxetine and Amisulpride for 3 months . Then i moved to a private psychiatrist ... where it starts getting haywire . He stopped fluoxetine and Amisulpride . And put me on Venlafaxine and Seroquel... As i was interning, i get usual heat racing in between job times but my doctor convinced me to stay with it . 4 months and I just started feeling agitated due to stress. It happened that I slapped a senior on abusing me and there I left a job I never happened to get physical in my school or college .. but it happened. Doctor told me to scrap the prescription he wrote of raising Venlafaxine. And he put me paroxetine + Oxcarbazepine. In his words , it is best tolerable and has lesser side effects. I managed to get a job by my own and cracking first time. But this time there is lot of work and culture pressure. Its a startup with full of politics . Boss and his boss .. all keep on putting things. Let office aside, I started feeling some well .. overly casual ... excited .. raged .. Iits about 25 mg Paroxetine and 300/600 mg Oxcarbazepine. I had unusual violent acts .. had hit a school friend .. insomnia.. I decided to leave the paxil by asking the doctor . He said half in a week and then other half a week to off. Thats when it all started , i cannot sleep whole night and with day light i start getting a nap. I left going office with fear of state i was in . I cannot wake and even if I .. i was too tired and angry . Doctor then gave me Mirtazapine which didn't help . I resigned job telling muly boss about all and came back home. It was Nov,2015. I start getting yhese uncontrollable rage that I locked myself in a room. Parents took to a local shrink who put me on Venlafaxine+ Mirtazapine(CRF), lamotrigine, resperidal, Seroquel. The NEXT Day I woke up so fresh .. all calm like 12 yrs back .. i was smiling happy.. but it lasted only 4 hrs .. and i am doomed again . I took those meds 10 days and i decided to go off. Physical Damage. I got brain zaps as sounds with eye movement .. While on Paxil I got severe neck stiffness and movement pains - which came out as Osteophytes. Anger , heart race , memory, fog , chest pains , fatigue ... All I beared for 4 months. Reinstatement after 4 months. Father took me to another psych who put me on Sertraline+ Aripropazole+ Seroquel. I started having increases restless legs than before and the doctor asked me not to go over net. After 2 visits and when he said it wslas Aripropazole for restlessness all time.. and he is cutting it . I stopped all meds . Withdrawals in 8 months. All first symptoms with some new like utter sensitivity in teeth. It is while breathe in most of the teeth . Muscles gone from forearms .. My left hands gone ulnar neuropathy and i got surgery done when no hope lived. Right hand has stiffness too . MAnger I am living with .. I have stopped talking .. I have decided to go sit on my Shop but I was unable to understand the talk . In spite anger biuts and memory makes it difficult to adjust. I keep forgetting people faces .. important talks . So i stopped . Now I am muted all the time with burst inside . Read success stories and play CoC. This is the most I can write now.