ibmclone: Weaning off of Effexor

[ibmclonne]

For the past 9 years, I've been using Prozac at 40 mg/day, along with Wellbutrin at 450 mg/day. 2 months ago, my psychiatrist decided to take me off the Prozac and put me on Effexor at 75 mg/day. I've been having side effects, like lack of motivation. I tried to wean myself off of them by taking them every 2 days, instead of everyday. I started getting withdrawal symptoms. Now I'm taking them every 4 days. The symptoms aren't as bad, but they're still there. Especially when I take that 75 mg. dose. How can I find a doctor who will properly wean me off this crap? And not put me on anymore antidepressants?

[scallywag]

ibmclone: -- Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants (SA)
 
Last question first: You may have difficulty finding a doctor who knows how to transition people SAFELY OFF these medications. They do exist but they are rare.

It's not a good idea to taper by taking medications every other day. Because Effexor has a 4 hr half life, skipping days with Effexor is essentially going cold-turkey every other day. Please read:
Before you begin tapering -- what you need to know.

The symptoms that started 2 months ago are either one or a combination of

• withdrawal effects from discontinuing Prozac,
• side-effects from Effexor, and/or
• interaction effects between Effexor and Wellbutrin.

A request: Would you summarize your history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly?

• Any drugs prior to 24 months ago can just be listed with start and stop years.
• Please use actual dates or approximate dates (mid-June, Late October) rather than relative time frames (last week, 3 months ago)
• Spell out months, e.g. "October" or "Oct."; 9/1/2016 can be interpreted as Jan. 9, 2016 or Sept. 1, 2016.
• Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses.
• A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs.
• You can find instructions in this topic: Please put your withdrawal history in signature
• If you are using a phone or mobile device, you need to switch to the "full" or desktop version of the site. Instructions are in Post 9 and Post 10

When a someone is taking multiple medications, we ask that that you post an interactions report. Follow the link below to get your report. Just select the text, copy it and paste it in a post here.
Drugs-dot-com Drugs Interactions Checker.

To minimize the risk withdrawal symptoms, we suggest reducing dose by no more than 10% per month. It's a bit like driving a car in along the top of a cliff: you can drive fast OR you can arrive safely.
Why taper by 10% of my dosage?.
 
Please see these discussion topics relevant to your situation:
Taking multiple drugs? Which to taper first.
Tips for tapering off Effexor (venlafaxine)
Tips for tapering off Wellbutrin XR, SR, XL (bupropion)

 

I hope you'll find the information in the SA forums helpful for your situation. I'm sorry that you are in the position that you need the information, but am glad that you found us.

[Altostrata]

Welcome, ibmclone.

 

Why did your doctor switch you to Effexor? How was the switch accomplished? Did you have any odd symptoms after you made the change?

 

Why are you taking Wellbutrin?

[Ali4]

So Effexor and Wellbutrin is all you take? Skipping days and going every two days with your meds is not recommended at all. It will just make you worse. You have to take everyday and drop slowly or your brain will not adjust. Once taking them again

You need to wait till your stable. Once stable u can slowly start to wean off them by 10% and holding four to six weeks, then depending on how you react you drop again. The people here are great and will give amazing info to help. Ali

[ibmclonne]

Altostrata:

 

My doctor switched me to Effexor because the increase in dosage of Prozac made me more lethargic and had sexual side effects. She decreased the dosage of Prozac to 20mg a day for a week. 2 days before I stopped using the Prozac, I started taking the 75mg capsules of the Effexor. After the change, my symptoms gradually went from bad to worse. I'm using Wellbutrin because it's a supplement to the Prozac, for more energy. The Psychiatrist decided to use it as a supplement to the Effexor as well.

[ibmclonne]

I saw my Psychiatrist yesterday afternoon. She's weaning me off the Effexor for good. It should take 3 weeks. I'll still be using Wellbutrin after that. I'd like to stop using those too. I'm glad we're on the same page now. One thing at a time. I'm very fortunate.

[scallywag]

You may want to ask your doctor

• what symptoms you should watch during and after the taper -- how will you know if you are having "normal" symptoms or severe ones?
• what should you do if severe symptoms occur?

[Altostrata]

Good questions, scallywag. We would not consider 3 weeks to be an adequate taper.

 

Taking 2 antidepressants is surely redundant, though. Adding a drug to counter adverse effects from the first drug is a common practice in psychiatry but bad medicine.

[ibmclonne]

As of Wednesday Feb. 22nd:

 

• Feb. 22, 2017 started a tapering off regimen with my Psychiatrist, Effexor at 25mg a day, Wellbutrin at same dosage every day, for the next 7 days

 

So far so good.

[Petunia]

 

 

 She decreased the dosage of Prozac to 20mg a day for a week. 2 days before I stopped using the Prozac, I started taking the 75mg capsules of the Effexor. After the change, my symptoms gradually went from bad to worse.

 

Hi ibmclonne,

How are you feeling now?

 

I included the above quote because it occurred to me that the cause of your worsening symptoms could be withdrawal from Prozac. A 50% reduction for a week and then stopping is not much different from going cold turkey. There is no guarantee that Effexor, a different kind of antidepressant will 'fix' prozac withdrawal.

 

As Alto wrote, 3 weeks is too fast for a taper off Effexor. But its not just this current trial of Effexor you need to consider but the 10 years of Prozac use. I would expect you would need much longer than a one week 'taper' to be able to come off 10 years of Prozac use without symptoms.

 

We suggest reducing by no more than 10% of the current dose every 4 weeks, this reduces the risk of withdrawal symptoms arising. Please read through this which will explain why:

  

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

I'm hoping that your increased symptoms were an adverse reaction to Effexor, but if you are suffering from Prozac withdrawal, a fast taper off Effexor now will not stop that.

 

Please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing.

 

Petunia.

[ibmclonne]

As of Wednesday Mar. 1st:

 

• Mar. 1st, 2017 started a tapering off regimen with my Psychiatrist, Effexor at 12.5mg a day, Wellbutrin at same dosage every day, for the next 7 days

 

So far so good.

[ibmclonne]

Hi Petunia:

 

You have a good point about any Prozac withdrawal, once I don't have any Effexor in my system anymore. I'll look out for it. For the past few years, I was calling in sick from work a lot, due to stomach cramps. My primary care physician said I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I bet using Prozac for several years made that happen. I just hope all these stomach cramps and calling in sick comes to an end real soon

[ibmclonne]

Tuesday, my supervisor at work formally counselled me on calling out sick too much. If things don't improve fast, I could end up losing my job.

[ChessieCat]

Hi Petunia:

 

You have a good point about any Prozac withdrawal, once I don't have any Effexor in my system anymore. I'll look out for it. For the past few years, I was calling in sick from work a lot, due to stomach cramps. My primary care physician said I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I bet using Prozac for several years made that happen. I just hope all these stomach cramps and calling in sick comes to an end real soon

 

Psychiatric drugs change the brain, so it is not a case of getting the drug out of your system, with system meaning in the body or blood stream.  The brain needs to adapt to not getting as much of the drug, if we are tapering, or not getting any of the drug if we have done a fast taper or cold turkey.  And it's a domino effect, because the changes in the brain affect the whole body, which is why we can experience such a wide variety of withdrawal symptoms:  Dr Joseph Glenmullen's Withdrawal Symptoms

 

These helped me to understand:

 

Brain Remodelling

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

What is Happening in Your Brain

[ibmclonne]

As of Thursday March 9, 2017:

 

I stopped taking Effexor dosages. This was the plan me and my doctor made. I'm still using Wellbutrin at 450mg/day and vitamin D supplements at 5000 IU a day. Wish me luck. I'll need it.

[scallywag]

Good luck! I hope your CNS is resilient enough to respond favourably to your doctor's aggressive plan.

 

Let us know how the road is for you.

[ibmclonne]

Today its been 3 weeks since I used Effexor or any SSRI. My energy level definitely increased, due to agitation. I've always been like that, when not on antidepressants. I started to change my diet to more healthy foods and supplements. Today, my agitation got real bad. It was unusually busy at work and I'm a janitor, at a hospital. I was more productive than usual. I couldn't sit still and decided to have my pulse taken. It was unusually high. After work, I called my Psychiatrist and told her my symptoms. She said to lower the dosage of the Wellbutrin from 450 mg/day to 300 mg/day. I'm gonna do that. Overall, things have been getting better for me.

[ibmclonne]

Today its been 5 weeks since I used Effexor or any SSRI. My energy level is still high. It was a crazy day at work. I was all amped-up. After work, I saw my Psychiatrist and told her my symptoms. She said to lower the dosage of the Wellbutrin from 300 mg/day to 200 mg/day (one 100mg capsule in the morning and 1 in the afternoon). Other than that, things are improving.

[ibmclonne]

Wednesday April 19th, I called in sick. I had stomach cramps and a headache. The stomach cramps is from Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I can't explain the headache. I've been having low energy since. Today, April 22nd, I went to work and felt real depressed. I was irritable, felt spent, sad. One moment, I was ready to lose my temper on one of the nurses, for a comment that had nothing to do with me. Later that day, I felt that I was ready to break down crying. I just don't feel right at all today. Does this have something to do with not using SSRI's anymore? Or does this have something to do with the Wellbutrin I'm still using?

[ibmclonne]

On Tuesday, April 25 I started using Lamotrigine at 25mg/day. My psychiatrist prescribed it. I surrendered and gave-in. I couldn't handle the depression anymore. I'm still using Wellbutrin at 100mg in the morning and another 100mg in the afternoon. I don't what else to say anymore.

[scallywag]

How have things been going for you over the last few days after starting Lamictal?

[ibmclonne]

To Scallywag:

 

Things have improved for me. Thanks for asking. I still have some depression, though. My psychiatrist wants me to double the dosage of Lamotrigine, a week from now. I'm leery of doing that.

[ChessieCat]

Please read this post by Alto Strata (this site's owner) regarding the caution needed with Lamotrigine:

 

lamictal-lamotrigine-to-calm-post-discontinuation-withdrawal-symptoms

[scallywag]

Increasing after a week seems to be a standard protocol. You could ask your doctor about staying at the lower dose for a month before increasing to see if it helps more over time. 

[ibmclonne]

2 weeks ago, I increased the dosage of  Lamotrigine from 25 mg/day to 50 mg/day. I'm still at 100mg of Wellbutrin in the morning and 100mg in the afternoon. I ended up waiting like a month before increasing the dosage of Lamotrigine. So far, so good. Lately, I've been "amped", restless. I'll try to talk my doctor into lowering the dosage of the Wellbutrin. At least thats one medication I can try to gradually stop using.