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  1. Hi! As a little personal introduction, I’m a 22 year old living on the east coast of the United States. I’m currently in the process of withdrawals after tapering off of Effexor, which I was originally prescribed in October of 2022. I have a vague explanation of my taper off of Effexor XR in my signature, but I thought I’d elaborate more here. I tapered very slowly from 225mg starting in June of last year, reaching 37.5 in May of this year and taking beads out from there until I got to only five beads left. I experienced little to no withdrawal symptoms from any of these drops in dosage. On the 17th of this month, I dropped from 5 beads to none, and haven’t taken any since. Obviously, this still has not been smooth sailing as I’m posting here. Dizziness and nausea/very occasional vomiting have been the biggest offenders in terms of withdrawal symptoms. By very occasional, I’ve only actually thrown up once (yesterday). I’ve taken Dramamine and Zofran as well as the occasional Benadryl to help, and am currently at day 12 of withdrawals. I was recommended to come here, and am partially looking for advice along with reassurance on dealing with the rest of the symptoms until they finally pass. Thanks!
  2. 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.
  3. I’m A Phoenix Rising. I’m a 50 year old mother of 6 and I’ve been on psychiatric drugs for the last 30 years. It all started with Zoloft for depression and GAD. I now have 4 or 5 psychiatric diagnoses and about 5 other diagnoses as a result of my psych meds, which introduced even more drugs to my stash, multiple hospital stays and 3 years of ECT. They have destroyed my memory, made me numb and compliant, given me peripheral neuropathy, idiopathic hypersomnia, and ADHD-like characteristics. Not to mention the compulsions I have developed and desperately need to shake, weight gain, metabolic changes, and amotivational syndrome. These drugs, and psychiatrists, nearly destroyed my family so many times and came way too close to ending my life. The almost humorous thing is, up until Aug. of 2023, I was completely in the dark about the side effects and withdrawal from these drugs. No idea! I lived through it a few times yet I had absolutely no one tell me what I was going through was normal. I thought I had completely lost it and that I was destined to live out my life this way (on meds). Looking back now I see how uncharacteristically angry I would get while on zoloft. After my mother died in 2012, while grieving, I went to see a psychiatrist who put me on an anti-psychotic(seroquel), 2 benzos (klonopin & xanax) and adderall (not yet diagnosed with ADHD). My behavior changed drastically. I had a very short affair then decided that I was ready to die. I wound up in a coma for 3 days, then they promptly shipped me to a psych hospital. On 3 separate occasions they gave me a benzo and then refused after that (their funny idea of a taper, I'm guessing). That was the beginning of my very long withdrawal of those particular drugs leading to psychosis (more diagnoses) more suicide attempts, more hospital stays and finally ECT due to being treatment resistant. Lastly, once finding out I was pregnant (in the ER) in 2019, I was told to go off all meds. I wasn’t able to be seen by an OB for 6 weeks. Once seen they put me back on Effexor XR at 150mg (I was on 300mg), then a month later increased my dose to 225mg. Being an older mom, I was being monitored closely yet they didn’t recognize the very serious withdrawal. After looking at my baby’s brain, they told me it looked like “someone put his brain in a blender”. My son had a very rough start, but over time he pulled through. He is now a very loving, active, charismatic three year old! Symptoms of withdrawal; intense anxiety when I've made a mistake. Otherwise it's nagging insomnia and almost constant irritability. ***Life hasn’t always been sour and angry despite what I’ve written here. I am stable now and feel happiness. I have hope and I’m eager to make the changes needed to live out the rest of my years drug free. -Phoenix
  4. I want to know how to detox from all the psychiatric drugs that I took in order to make possible for my body not to need to take them anymore and to eliminate all the side effects that the psych drugs gave me. This is all the drugs that I took from psychiatrists: when I was 16 years old I took first paxil and rivotril (clonazepam) for a year and then only epival er (valproate semisodium) for a year and Then when I got 21 I took paxil and rivotril for 6 months. I changed to a 2nd psychiatrist he gave me symbyax (olanzapine and fluoxetine) I was with him for 4 months, then I went with a 3rd shrink that gave me lamictal and abilify for 6 months so then I changed with a 4th doctor which was a "neurologist" who gave me strattera for ADD and told me to go with his partner who is another psychiatrist (5th doctor) who added me sertraline, topamax (topiramate), olanzapine, lamictal, and because of the tachycardia that were produce by this drugs he added inderalici for my tachycardia. So after 7 months with this doctor I went with a 6th doctor that gave me paxil, rivotril, lithium and for my ADD he gave me methylphenidate (commercial name is tradea LP which is similar to Concerta). After 6 months with this doctor I changed to a 7th doctor that gave me sertraline in a very high dose and with this I decided to stop taking that pill a was taking but in a one day span it caused me to have a psychosis that made my father send male nurses to kidnapped and locked into a clinic (like hospitalization), in which the skrink that trated me was the one that treated me when I was 16 and he injected me haldol and gave pills more haldol, biperiden, triazolam and risperdal. I LIVED HELL WITH THESE DRUGS. Then the shrink after he saw that I recover reality, I was super depressed so he gave me citalpram but it didn't work so he gave me paxil and lithium. Then I started coming off meds and now I just take one quarter of a lithium pill every day in the morning. My actual side effects that I want to eliminate are: anxiety, very strong heart palpitaions or beats/beating that cause bad breathing and chest pain, difficulty to take decisions, nausea, extreme itching in my face, head, chest and back, buzz in the ears, difficulty to focus or concentrate, bad short-term memory, and wanting to pee all the time. Thank you very much.
  5. I am so grateful to have found this forum and its wealth of files and references and other information, so a Very Big Thank You for that first and foremost. I have already learned a lot, and read so much and found so many resources. My question: I am currently stable on an ‘every other day’ dose. I haven’t been able to figure out what is a suitable starting point for further tapering and am wondering if anyone has experience or could point me in a suitable direction? I think the first step is to move to a daily dose and see how that goes over at least a month. I would prefer not to return to a daily 37.5 mg dose, as this feels somewhat a backward step, but is this muddled thinking? I am considering a Daily dose of 30 mg - does this sound sensible. Background I was on Effexor-XR 75 and had been for a number of years until 2023, when I decided I didn’t want to keep taking it. Following discussions with my GP, I tapered gradually over most of this year down to 37.5 mg, first daily, and then every other day. (Success - I have more than halved my precious dose) But I have hit a wall and failed twice now to taper further. I used the advised method of take dose every other day, then extend to every second day… I seem to be stable on one dose every day, but got too many nasty side effects when I went to every 3rd day about 2 months ago.I backed off, and went back to every other day. Thanks to the recent UK Panorama special documentary shown here in Australia, I now understand the skip doses method is not advised. I am also even keener to get off it altogether. I will to take a much much slower and much more gradual approach, starting with a taper of around 5% of current dose, weighing the capsule contents with a scale. Have ordered an electronic scale and am waiting for it to arrive. But where do I start? Advice, experience or further things to read would be much appreciated.
  6. Hello. I want to do a simple introduction one day, but I have an urgent question about tapering off of Effexor extended-release. As you can see on my signature, I’m currently taking bupropion 300mg, 20mg fluoxetine and a little amount of Effexor (if my scale is correct, somewhere between 20-30mg). My question is: should I still do a slow taper of Effexor now when I have been on bupropion and fluoxetine for 2+ months? I haven’t had any notable withdrawal symptoms so far. However, I’m really worried about them kicking in months after stopping Effexor. On the other hand, I’m worried about my brain getting used to the current combo of the three meds. Thus I want to be off of Effexor ASAP. Edit: I’m regularly seeing a psychiatrist. She instructed me to drop 37,5 mg altogether, without tapering.
  7. Hello everyone, I don't know what to do. I have been on Effexor XR for 4 years. At the end of last year, probably October, I started tapering down from 225mg to 37.5mg until January. Then I took 37.5mg for two months and stopped in March. It went well for 3 weeks and then I crashed. I went to my doctor and she told me to go back to 37.5 mg and then 75 mg, but I only took 75 mg for 2 weeks and then went back to 37.5 mg. It took me 2 weeks after the reinstatement to feel better. This went on for two months until I had an appointment with my doctor where we agreed to stop the medication. I then took the 37.5mg every two days and stopped after a month. I know this was a very bad approach. Now I have been off the medication for almost 6 weeks and I still feel very bad. I am very anxious, cry every day and have headaches with nausea. I am wondering if I should go back on the medication at a low dose (e.g. two buds or maybe 37,5 mg) and then taper off really slowly after a period of time. Furthermore, I am also under a lot of external pressure at the moment. I am losing my job at the end of the year and have to apply for another one right now. But I don't have the strength for that. The only AD I took before Effexor was Citalopram 20mg for a year and I stopped it cold turkey because I had no idea about ADs. That was a year before I started Effexor. I am really grateful for any reply and wish you all the best.
  8. HI to all of you who might read my story. My brain is so bad I find it hard to do this, so it has taken me a few days. Also, this is not my mother language, so I hope you forgive me for the mistakes I might make. I tapered very slowly the whole year of 2019 after using this SNRI for 1,5 years. I didn't have enough energy, had a few migraines and had a harder PMS period before my menstrual period. In general I was very fine and feeling confident. I just made mistake. I was tapering 1 mg per week from the weight of the beads, using a scale and didn't slow down when I was on 40 mg. I started to feel real bad on 25 mg of the beads, in May 2020. ( that was 11, .. mg of venlafaxine) June 12th I up-dosed to 60 beads , 15 mg of Venlafaxine and I split the dose. It helped immediately, but not enough to hold me for long. Second week I got worse and it freaked me out again. Physically I lost 15 pounds of weight. I was a wreck. After 2 weeks from my last change, I updosed to 17 mg , 66 beads. Terrified. My whole life crumbled in front of my eyes. It helped again and I got better. But I am not stabile. Now here i am. Still stuck on 66 beads. Still having waves. This week it will be October. It is going on too long... my relationship is ruined as he can't cope seeing me suffer like this. So I live with my parents who are old. I have nothing left then my cloths and taper friends. I don't know what to do anymore. I am on the fb group Effexor (Venlafaxine) should be illegal. The tell me to wait. And I am waiting. But how long do you wait? 6 months? a year? And wait for what? I need a plan.... this is insane and I don't know how to get out. I try to walk at least 30 minutes daily, but i hate winter is coming. I try to do coherent breathing, to help my access my prefrontal. I use essential oil which was recommended. I journal my day and symptoms since some time. I read and read some more to find answers, but mostly I need to hear how people got through this and how they healed. I just need to see where the end of the tunnel will be. I hope you can support my journey. I can't see it anymore
  9. Effexor XR150 abruptly discontinued after 4 years of usage by a psychiatrist in Floridas baker act facility at Saint Anthony’s hospital in March of 2023. I was wrongfully placed in inpatient by my wife after we had separated. Symptoms have made me debilitated from normal tasks and what I professed in for a career path. I medically retired from the marine corps in October of last year and spent my last 8 years as a career recruiter. My people skills, even with people I trust, are gone. Side effects: (come off to others as very odd) Needing to be around people but don’t know what to do next No thoughts come to mind Conversation is not there/confusion Depersonalization Character gone Ambition and all traits I once had Walking shell Muscle spasms throughout body Sexual disfunction No interest in anything Emotional blunting Social phobia Paranoia Normal responses are gone Takes long to process regular things Speech affected Fatigued easily Always tired and drained no energy Loss of reality Watch others and blank out Metaphors Bodily functions not on par with brain Vision decreased Confidence and courage and traits I’ve acquired throughout life are gone Confusion Muscle gone Overall livelihood gone My entire life has been taken away and chemical imbalance have affected everything and altered my life
  10. I was started on Celexa, don’t remember the dose, in 1999 at the age of 19 for “depression” after we moved to a new city, and I had trouble adjusting. No counselling was offered. It was a visit to my family doctor for feeling sad because I missed my friends and family in my old city and then on to a psychiatrist who started me on medication after one visit. Things improved as I made friends and adjusted to the new city. From there I tried to come off celexa due to sexual dysfunction about a year later. I was told to alternate days taking the medication and stop after 2 weeks. The side effects improved but what I now know as withdrawals started within weeks. I saw the doctor again and he said it was my depression coming back and I had a chemical imbalance and I needed to go back on medication. He put me on Effexor, which was later switched to Effexor XR 75mg, and I have been stuck on this medication since then. I have tried to come off Effexor Xr many times over the last 20 years but never make it more than 1 month off the medication before I start to basically break down into a non-functioning human being. I found this site and saw the 10 percent every 4 week of the previous dose protocol here and was eager to start and get off this medication that has numbed me for so long. I saw my psychiatrist, but he declined to follow the plan and said it was extreme, but he would support 10 percent cuts of the previous dose up to 10mg and then cut 1mg from there per week until I was off. I had my reservations, but I was desperate to get off this medication and agreed. My cuts were as followed, and I used a compounding pharmacy here in Toronto Canada called Pharmacy.ca who weighed the beads in each capsule for accuracy. My work insurance covered the medication and compounding service costs. 75mg starting dose Effexor XR - Cut 10 percent of the previous dose every 2 weeks. 67mg 60mg 54mg 48mg 43mg 38mg 34mg 30mg 27mg 24mg 22mg 20mg 18mg 16mg 14mg 12mg 11mg – I did have some mild withdrawal effects on the way doing this 2 week cut of 10 percent previous dose but I was still able to function and get 6-7 hours of sleep most night. I really wanted off this medication and was blinded by that. I should have found another doctor who was more supportive or just done the bead counting myself and stuck to the plan of 10 percent of the previous dose every 4 weeks. - Weekly cuts at 1mg per week from here and this is where a lot off my issues started. My sleep got worse, and it was harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. There were days I was going to work with 3-4 hours of sleep and my mood was steadily declining. I talked to the doctor, and he assured me I would be fine and my body and would rebound once off the medication and I was overly sensitive after being on the medication for over 20 years. 10mg – weekly cuts going down from here. 9mg 8mg 7mg 6mg 5mg 4mg 3mg 2mg 1mg I started the taper November 8, 2022, and ended Aug 30, 2023. September was downhill spiral, and October has been awful. I am barely functioning. I barely sleep 2-3 hours a night and I’m crying at basically a drop of a bucket. I ruminate on all kinds of nonsense and my concentration is awful. I contacted my doctor and he give me his only option of going back on the lowest dose of Effexor XR 37.5mg and told me I had a “chemical imbalance.” I filled the script but before I took the pill I decided to go back on this website and see what I could do as I spent almost a year to get off this drug and did not want to give up without a further fight. I saw there was a way to reinstate a small amount of the drug and hold for stability and then resume tapering once stable. I saw that at 5.8mg Effexor XR affects 50 percent of serotonin activity. No wonder I crashed so hard as the lower dosages are way more important and need to be taken super slow. I watched the video on how to open the capsule and count beads. My capsules were the name brand version, and I counted the beads and did the math, and each bead is 0.28Mg rounded up. I was completely off Effexor for 7 weeks and felt awful. I mulled between 10 beads and 20 beads and finally settled on 15 beads which is 4.2mg and made new capsules to last me 4 weeks and saved the rest as instructed. I am not sure if I went too high or too low with the 15-bead choice. This morning has been my second dose and I can’t say for sure what’s happening, but I think I feel very subtle signs of withdrawal lifting. I know it can take 4 days for the drug to build up in my system and even longer to achieve proper stability. I would like to join this group and receive support for the next steps and hope I can kick this drug once and for all. I have no more faith in the medical system. I hope I can post my story here to help others and eventually come off the last bit of this drug. Am I on the right track with the 15 bead reinstatement dose of 4.2mg mornings on an empty stomach? Should I lower this or raise this? I was planning on holding this dose of 4.2mg, 15 beads, for 6 weeks to stabilize and then resume cutting one bead every 2 weeks. This plan would take me until June 2024 to be off this drug once and for all. Is this a good plan of stabilize and taper? Thank you for providing such an amazing resource, support and community here.
  11. Knowing When to Finalize Tapering Off Venlafaxine 37.5 mg ER I was on Venlafaxine 37.5 mg ER for six months for anxiety/depression due to some very stressful life events. I began, with the help of my nurse practitioner, to taper from this medicine in late September. Initially, the taper regimen recommended was to take one capsule every other day for a week and then take one capsule every third day for a week and then stop. This was way too fast and I had to write to tell my therapist and my NP that I was struggling with withdrawal symptoms. So - I was told to go back to every other day for three weeks before moving to every third day. That was better. However, I have been on the every third day regimen for three weeks now. By the third day, I am having symptoms and am grateful to take my pill. Since there is no dose lower than 37.5 mg, should I just stop now and tough it out? I don't know what to expect. I am having a really tough time with this. Any advice? Thank you in advance.
  12. Seven/eight years ago, due to a peculiar set of circumstances, I ended up closing down the successful business I had founded. The loss of my business and financial resources lead to various problems in my life. About six years ago I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. My psychiatrist put me on: Citalopram 10 mg/day. Axal (Alpralozam) 0.5 mg The immediate effect was that the anxiety disappeared. The depression got better (or at least the symptoms did), however I never returned to life of extreme activity like I had lead previously. About two years ago my medications were changed. Citalopram 10 mg twice a day i.e. 20 mg Effexor Xr 75 mg/day Axal 0.5 mg day. In these years I have tried quitting cold at least 4 times. Each time I had to go back on medications. The only success story is that I gave up Axal, a benzo, cold. I had no WD effects from giving up Axal. Today I only take Citalopram 20 mg and Effexor 75 mg. I must add that I also have Epilepsy since I was 13 years old. For the past 37 years I have been taking anti-epileptic drugs. My current drugs for Epilepsy are: Tegral 400 mg. Lumark 750 mg. These I cannot get rid off for obvious reasons. My only wish is to get off Citalopram and Effexor XR. I totally believe these do not help me. My anxiety has gone away, but I have this permanent listlessness. I was once an over-ambitious person and today I am totally flat. I don’t feel much emotions, and the desire to achieve success is gone. Failures and losses don't bother me either. This is not what and who I was. I’ve read many of the subjects here, including the wonderfully detailed Taper section. I do need your advice as to how I should approach my taper. Should I quit Effexor XR first or Citalopram? Any other advice on muti-drug taper would be welcome. PS: My daughter gets married in 3 months. I am planning to start a very low 5-10% taper immediately. Any advice? Thanks again.
  13. Hi, I am so glad I found this site but I wish I found it before I quit my 150 mg Effexor XR prescription (83 days since I quit). I had brain zaps and nausea at first. Then really vivid dreams and a hyper sensitive sense of smell. Now I have insomnia and bad anxiety. Sometimes I can sleep 6-7 hours but mostly I wake up after a few hours with anxiety and dread and the realization that I'm still trapped in my WD which just makes it worse. I'm kicking myself for not tapering more slowly - I had heard that you have to taper off ADs (which I tried to do by alternating one 75-mg pill with two 75-mg pills each day for a week or so before I quit) but now I realize how much more slowly I should have gone. I hate my psychiatrist which is part of the reason I just quit - he was like a drug dealer with an office - 15 minute consultation every six weeks to ascertain how my mood was and then he'd write a script for some venlafaxine. Last time, he forgot to call my prescription in and I couldn't reach him so I figured I'd try my hand at quitting. Bad mistake. I'm realizing that the anxiety that I feel now, I've felt off-and-on for a long time, since I was ~15 (I'm 48 now). My stomach hurts all the time and I have loose stools. I throw up a lot too. I've started walking for 30 minutes a day (when my achy feet permit it). I'm also trying meditating and got some Mag supplements (spray and pills - I will be careful to not ingest too much). I'm shaky all the time and feel like my heart might pound out of my chest. Although the rational side of me knows this will most likely diminish/end, I'm terrified that I'll be trapped in anxiety for the rest of my miserable life. I alternate between feeling hopeless and remembering that there are meditation techniques, supplements and psychotherapy that could help. At this moment though, I feel like I'm drowning. Thanks you so much for this site. I feel like so many people would be lost without it.
  14. Hello friends! My name is Mads, and I am currently on 225mg Effexor, 150mg Wellbutrin, and 20mg of Ritalin 3x/day. I have struggled with depression and anxiety since I was a teenager. After a suicide attempt at 15 I was diagnosed and put on Prozac in the hospital. It was a few months before I got settled with a therapist and a psychiatric nurse practitioner (who will be referred to as Susan from now on). Over a year or so, my dose was increased. When I (at the pushing of my mother) expressed concern over the weight gain I was experiencing that we attributed to the medication, Susan put me on Effexor and took me off Prozac (I don't remember this process - it might have been stopping Prozac CT and immediately starting Effexor). Over a couple years, my dose was increased eventually to the max: 225mg. At one point, Susan diagnosed me with Inattentive ADHD (aka ADD) and put me on Ritalin. This dose over time was increased to the max: 20mg 3x/day. This April, I slipped into a depressive state due to Covid (losing my job, withdrawing from college classes, isolation from friends and partner, etc). My mom suggested I talk to Susan about adjusting my medication. At this point I had also started DBT therapy. Susan put me on 150mg of Wellbutrin. Since starting the Effexor, I have struggled with sexual dysfunction. Because I started ADs at such a young age and initially while I wasn't sexually active, it didn't occur to me to express my concern over the issues I was having. I was very aware that they were likely caused by my medication, which I felt and still feel is doing its job otherwise, so I didn't want to mess with what I felt was working for me. As of starting the Wellbutrin, the sexual dysfunction has increased in severity and has become unbearable. It has caused issues in my relationship that we can no longer ignore. I expressed my concerns to Susan last week. She said that the Wellbutrin was not likely to be the cause of the side effects. She suggested that I skip my Friday and Saturday doses since I see my partner on Saturdays usually, and that might help curb these symptoms. She said that I would likely experience brain zaps as a result of these drug holidays. Friday I forgot to skip my dose, so I skipped it Saturday morning. By the afternoon I had a splitting headache, and by the evening had chills and aches like I was coming down with something. All night long I had nightmares. I would wake up from one just to fall asleep and into another. I woke up with a headache and feeling like I hadn't slept at all. That morning I took my regular dose because I could not drive myself to work in the state I was in. Experiencing the effects of this drug holiday, and realizing how much my relationship is hurting because of these side effects, I am itching to get off of the Effexor but in a way that won't cause such debilitating WD symptoms. I have an appointment with Susan tomorrow to talk about tapering the Effexor and if needed increasing the Wellbutrin (if I find my depressive symptoms returning). I am not one to dismiss the advice of a professional, but it makes me nervous that Susan would advise me to stop cold turkey for a couple days a week when I am on the highest dose allowed to be prescribed... it also makes me nervous that I am on the highest dose of both Ritalin and Effexor at all. I can't help but imagine she would tell me to taper way too quickly or even advise me against stopping the Effexor at all. My medications have definitely done what they were prescribed to do, so I am reluctant to make changes, but I just can't keep going on they way I have been. I am hoping that by joining this group, I will find some support and guidance in adjusting my medications, navigating the psychiatric healthcare world, and dealing with the fallout of such. Thank you for reading my very personal and in depth intro post, I hope no one fell asleep out of boredom 😊
  15. I believe Jan of this year my paxil stopped working as I fell into a deep depression with extreme anxiety that I've only ever felt with Benzo withdrawal my GP tried me on risperidone which made me feel like I was fading away and had to stop, tried buspirone and had very little help so I'm now on effexor 75mg started at 37.5 and about to finish my last 10mg paxil in the next few days and my Symptoms are severe extremely anxious and unable to eat much I'm not sure what to do as even the clonazepam isn't helping the constant dread. I just feel lost.
  16. Hi! I've been on Effexor XR for about 12 years and have been trying to get off of it for the past couple months. My doctor is not helpful at all and doesn't seem to know what she's doing. I started at 187.5mg and she had me alternating each day with the lower dose. So I would alternate 187.5mg, 150mg, 187.5mg, 150mg....until I felt comfortable enough to go down another step. I read on here that you're not supposed to do that, but that's what she's telling me. So I had really bad withdrawal symptoms this whole time. Now I'm on 37.5mg and I tried alternating with taking nothing every other day. But as you can imagine my body didn't like that. I happened to make it 5 days without the pill and felt like I was dying before a nice girl on a Facebook support group led me to this site. I'm so thankful she did because my symptoms are almost gone and I feel great. I've been breaking open my capsules and counting out the beads everyday and slowly going down from there. The problem is my doctor told me I'm not supposed to be breaking open the pills, so she called in the Effexor tablets so I can break them in half. I told her my symptoms are really bad and she said maybe I should just go back on the pill.... needless to say I have to figure this out myself. So I like the counting method with the beads but I'm running out of capsules and only have the tablets left. I'm not sure how to make a liquid out of them or what to do to get to 0. I just want this medicine out of my system!
  17. Hello, I was on Celexa 20mg since a year (after a failed attempt to stop - i had an episode of hypomania when i tried under medical supervision and was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and was putback on it) and my doctor put me on Effexor xr after 2 weeks weaning of Celexa. I am On 75 mg of Effexor since 2 weeks, i feel horrible and had suicidal ideations -no plans don't worry, worsened depression and insomnia. Now my doctor wants me off Effexor xr in a week and to go back to 30 mg of Celexa plus adding Seroquel. I want to stop. I am not believing in those meds anymore. I am diagnosed with GAD and it does nothing. I want to stop but i am afraid of the withdrawal. Would it be reasonable to just stop the Effexor and go back to 10 mg of celexa for a month, then 5 for a month, then zero? I feel like a lab rat. Thanks, Nadia
  18. During a disastrous attempted benzo taper, I developed severe depression and anhedonia, different and more intense than ever before in life. I have history of anxiety and depression, but nothing ever of this scale. I also developed severe insomnia during benzo taper, which persists even after I've paused benzo tapering (currently on 20mg Valium). I rely on Clonidine to get a few hours of sleep every night. My timeline: 2006 Effexor for anxiety and mild depression 2010 change to Lexapro 2012 change to Pristiq 100mg Multiple unsuccessful attempts to taper (psychological symptoms only). These were all quick tapers, as advised by doctors, which I only now in hindsight realise were too fast. Psychiatrist diagnosed ADD in November 2017 started Modafanil 400mg. Functioned well on Modafanil, was also still on Pristiq. Modafanil expensive and wanted a cheaper alternative. Feb 2018 Psychiatrist started me on Ritalin LA 40mg. I reacted badly with this stimulant, too agitated and couldn't function so Psychiatrist added Temazepam 10mg. March 2018 ceased Modafanil. March 2018 switched from Temazepam to 20mg Diazepam. Diazepam increased up to 90mg over next few months. June 2018 switched from Ritalin to 70mg Vyvance. August 2018 switch from Diazepam to Clonazepam, kept needing increased dose, progressively went to 6mg Clonazepam, and also prescribed short acting Dexampthetamine. My life was spiralling out of control and I realised I needed to get off all the meds and not see this Psychiatrist again. I naively asked the Psychiatrist for tapering advice. Was advised to taper Pristiq first, then Vyvance and Dexamphetamine, and lastly Clonazepam. All the suggested tapers were, ofcourse, extremely fast. Tapers: Sept - November 2018 tapered off 100mg Pristiq (compounding) while still on Vyvance, Dexamphetamine and 6mg(!!!) Clonazepam. I don't really remember this taper. My family tell me I was bed bound during last few weeks. All psychological symptoms. Jan 2019 fast taper Vyvance and Dexamphetamine. Got very agitated towards the end and cold turkeyed the last bit of the dose as couldn't handle it anymore and wanted it out my system. Feb to March 2019: fast taper 6mg clonazepam to 1 mg, ended up in Psych hospital due to acute anxiety and insomnia, and had developed severe intensity depression and anhedonia, different and more intense than ever before in life. March 2019 hospital admission: Stopped tapering benzo. Commenced Seroquel for sleep but didn't help . commenced Chlorpromazine, slept well. Commenced Mirtazapine. Self discharged. Found Ashton Manual and converted to 20mg Valium, and planned to hold benzo taper to try to stabilise. The 'holding' did not ease depression. April 2019 GP converted me from Mirtazapine to Effexor XR (took Mirtazapine for 9 days, wasn't helping depression and was causing increased appetite). Started Effexor XR at 37.5mg for one week, 75mg for 2 weeks, and then 150mg for 4 weeks (total 7 weeks). May 2019: ceased Chlorpromazine, even though it helped with sleep, as didn't want to be on it. Effexor had not eased depression at all after 7 weeks so started tapering. Again, a fast doctor-led taper: 6th June 2019 reduced Effexor from 150mg to 75mg, held for one week. 13th June reduced from 75mg to 37.5mg, still holding this dose. Have not had any noticeable withdrawal from these reductions. I reluctantly agreed to try antidepressants as the depression is unbearable and I have no quality of life. But it hasn't helped so I want to get off the Effexor before I get more dependent on it, but I'm scared as I've since realised that doctor-advised tapers are too fast, compounded by the problem of my nervous system being so vulnerable during a recent too fast benzo reduction from an extremely high dose. Reluctantly started Trans Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) therapy 27th June. I've had 7 treatments so far without adverse effect. I hope the depression eases, even if only a minor improvement, I would be grateful. My GP is advising to continue Effexor taper during TMS but I'm scared, so I'm holding 37.5 dose. I'm using generic Effexor (6 mini tablets inside each 75mg capsule). I want to taper Effexor more gradually, but don't know how. Generic don't have the small beads which I've read about on this site. Can I change to brand name Effexor? I know now that gradual slow taper is best, but I don't have this luxury as I need to get off Effexor before I can re-start my benzo taper (taking 20mg valium currently). I am desperate to be benzo free to reclaim my life. I haven't been able to work for nearly 1 year, feel like I have no future. 2006 Commenced Effexor 2010 Converted to Lexapro 2012 Converted to Pristiq 2017 Commenced Modafanil 2018 Commenced Ritalin and Vyvance, with benzos added due to reaction to Ritalin September-November 2018 taper off 100mg Pristiq January 2019 Dexamphetamine and Vyvance taper February-March 2019 tapered from 6mg to 1mg Clonazepam April 2019 Commenced Effexor XR 6th June 2019 started tapering Effexor, from 150mg to 37.5mg currently.
  19. Brooke Hi everyone! I'm thrilled to finally be posting here. I've been lurking here and there since 2016, when I first found Surviving Antidepressants when I was considering getting off of the Effexor XR and Wellbutrin XL I'd been taking from age 15-30. Like so may of you, withdrawal was hell on Earth. I experienced everything from homicidal visions to extreme noise sensitivity to rage to a bizarre blood vessel disorder called nodular vasculitis. Combined with the tsunami of pain and trauma that came gushing out after I removed my antidepressant band aid, and I was a barely functioning, terrified mess with no psychiatric support. I was lucky, though, to have some resources outside the traditional mental health system that helped me work through my experience, and today I am proud to say that I consider myself cured of chronic depression haven't taken a prescription drug since 2016. It's taken me until now to actually participate in the forum because I needed to know that I was in a solid place. So much of the internet (I'm looking at you Twitter...) can be a triggering environment, and had to make sure that I could mentally handle it. But I trust in the work I've put in, and I'm ready! I say all this not to boast, but to wave from the distance and do my best to act as an example of success. I know that when I was in withdrawal and working through all the trauma, I would have done anything to know that there were people out there who were thriving after spending half their life on antidepressants. Instead, it felt like I was in uncharted waters. I wrote about this for the Washington Post earlier this year, and the flood of support and stories I got in response was overwhelming and heartbreaking. Anyway, happy to answer any questions, and much love to you all. Brooke
  20. I've been on psych medications since I was 14, I'm almost 36. I've tried almost everything. I cant do it anymore. I hate the meds so much I don't want to be anywhere near them. I'm very tempted to cold turkey them. I hope that won't kill me, but I can't live this way.
  21. Hi, Been on Effexor 75 XR for almost 17 years. in May, 2018 I started tapering, but I think I have done it too quickly...by August I was on 37.5mg XR (after alternating 75 and 37.5) Prozac to "bridge"...December, 2018 I started taking 37.5mg every other day for 3 weeks and on Feb 8th, 2019 I went to ZERO (per dr. instructions). Memorial day weekend withdrawals hit me like a ton of bricks...high anxiety, some depression, nervousness and fatigue. I am now taking .05mg ATIVAN as needed. I take vitamin B Complex, D3, iron, probiotics, formula 303, cortisol Manager, Fish Oil, Magnesoim bisglycinate. I started taking 800 mg SAM-E last week and I have just started taking 800mg holy basil. I sleep fine at night, bust as soon as I open my eyes, I start feeling anxious. I am thinking about reinstating the 37.5mg XR tonight...is that too much? Any advice? PLEASE?????????????????????????
  22. I began using Effexor XR after a life crisis. I needed help at the time. I wanted to stop the drug several times over the last 16 years, but was told by one medical professional after another that this was a "good" drug for me. I survived a serious illness as a child and the Effexor was supposedly helping with symptoms. In May of 2012, I made up my mind, found this site and heeded the advice about the 10% drops. It was so difficult for me to count out the balls that I went the route of the compounding pharmacist. My first reductions were fine. I noticed after 3-4 days I would have a temper outbreak- just one and yell at the cat or traffic. That was it. I felt so much better- I was like a new person. My hearing got better, my taste sensations improved- weird things. I was more energetic and focused. Since I already had the 37.5 XR capsules, in November 2012, I decided to stay on that dose for 90 days. Everything was going so smoothly. At the end of January, I got the flu. I couldn't quite get over it and 3 weeks later got it again. Then the strep throat followed and and horrible fungal infection. If I had my thinking cap on, I would have waited to continue doing my declining steps- but no- I was on a mission. When it seemed I wasn't getting well, I went to the doctor. This was the end of June 2013. I was having nightmares, sweating at night profusely, shaking, riddled with anxiety and having gastro problems. I never connected it with the blasted Effexor. I'm currently back up to 15mgs. for 90 days with the intent of merging in the 7.5mgs. My nutritionist suggested I used NeuroScience Excita Plus to help with the side effects. (They diminished greatly after going back up but came back after 2-3 weeks). I'm not sure if this is helping- perhaps to some degree. I've been through so much stuff, physically. Honestly, this is the worst thing I have ever confronted, next to a broken leg that I had to live with for 6 months! Because of my condition, I also take clonazepam. At one point in the reductions, I had to cut it back because I couldn't stay awake during the day. That was a rough 6 weeks, making a minor adjustment with that. This site has encouraged me. Knowing I'm not the only one dealing with these problems is a huge help. My biggest worry is that it will take much longer than I expected to get off this cursed drug. I've heard of someone that is trying to get off another antidepressant and it's been taking them 2 years. Does anyone know why getting down the end is when all the stuff hits the fan? Any recommendations about merging in my 7.5 mgs. with the 15 mg. The doc said start with 1 a week and increase from there. Newtonsmom
  23. I fell pregnant and my doctor (GP, I was not under a psychiatrist anymore) all but forced me to come off Effexor XR as fast as possible. From memory it was 5 weeks in total. At the time I’d moved to a new city and had very little support in terms of this decision, I’d been in an emotionally strong place for a few years by then and I thought (hoped ha ha) I’d be OK, plus I felt I had little choice. This was now 4.5 years ago. Well, how do I even put this whole experience into words. ??? Basically im realising in hindsight that this was possibly the main reason for my total “falling apart” as a person, which I’m getting through gradually but am still pretty scared of life most of the time, to be honest. (Am now on Sertraline because I basically couldn’t function a few months after cessation.) I am hoping to hear if other people have had any similar experiences (I hope not for your sake!), especially relating to feeling as though your soul has dropped out of your body. I read one or two posts a few years back where, in one, a lady had come off Zoloft and completely lost her sense of self emotionally. She cared about nothing - literally could not feel emotions at all about anything - and she said she couldn’t even really care properly about the above happening to her. All she had was some vague, emotionless, floating thought that this was probably not a good thing and she should be more concerned about it. I relate to parts of this - does anyone else? Thankfully my sense of self has been coming back in chunks every few months, but only when I’m lucky enough to access the right kind of support. (I’ll also mention that along with all this I’ve had several HUGE life changes ie stressors happening at the same time. So it’s impossible perhaps to know how much is that, the withdrawal, and/or my tendencies toward depression etc. I guess logic would say a bit of all of these.) thank you for your site I am immensely grateful. Strength and calming vibes to everyone. Don’t lose hope. C
  24. Hey Guys, i am having a lot of trouble with the side effects of Effexor XR, after a failed withdrawal from the the drug last year after a fast taper, and consequent post acute withdrawal. I am down to the final 37.5 mg and just want to be done with it, i have had enough on these foul poisons, im prepared to come off any way possible following the 10% reduction a month rule. The problem is to this id have to import the immediate release version from overseas which is very costly, then start the slow process. I managed to see a psychiatrist, and had the advice to switch to Prozac, taking a 37.5 mg dosage of Effexor XR and halving a 20mg pill of Prozac for 2 weeks to adjust the nervous system, then do a complete swap to just Prozac, 20 mg. I have been on the Efexor for 3.5 years, prior to that Citalipram 8 years in total, and am worried about introducing a new drug into my system. I know Prozac has a long shelf, half life, thus easier to taper from then Efexor, but just feel insecure i guess. If i could have any help or information, guidance from others that have tried this approach, that would be hugely appreciated. I am here just like you, wanted to feel alive and happy again
  25. Hi everyone, awesome Forum and awesome people. So basically the issue I'm having is Effexor XR. I was placed on it after one month IP stay. It was a lifesaver 300mg Effexor XR for about 8 years. Well recently it began pooping out on me, bad moods started to show up, more anxiety, more depression. So after adjusting the medication up and down for 6 months or so PDoc and I decided to switch over to Cymbalta and give that a try. After trying Abilify unsuccessfully augmenting. The Medications I take currently are 50 mg Seroquel, 60 mg Cymbalta, and Ativan if I can't sleep sometimes... Well Since coming down and off Effexor over a year I haven't really had a good day. My mood is almost always dysphoric. I also feel really detached from life...I feel Like Effexor kept me grounded and now that I'm not on it my brain doesn't know how to adjust or it's trying but failing. I'm completely exhausted day in and day out, regardless of my exercise level or diet. I feel like Effexor gave me a bit of a high and now that it's gone I'm struggling with adapting to normality. Anyways, I was hoping ex-effexor users could share some tips on what they did to ease the withdrawals and how they coped....I was on a pretty hefty dosage. I've only been completely off of Effexor for about a month following the switch to Cymbalta. Before that I was on 150mg - 75 mg for about a year or so tapering. Ativan is the closest I come to feeling "normal" but going through that withdrawal is a whole other nightmare. Thanks in Advance.
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