success ☼ MrAnxious: 3 months off Effexor XR (6 years on)

[alenka9]

Have you considered the possibility of mercury toxicity? You can find out more on www.noamalgam.com. I can also tell you about my personal experience.

 

All the best

 

Alenka

[dowdaller]

Well done, Im nine months off effexor, and people like you give me hope. Keep goin.

[MrAnxious]

Well done, Im nine months off effexor, and people like you give me hope. Keep goin.

Congrats on the 9 months, sounds like you are in hell or still passing through it. I remember 9-15 months were very troubling. Just fight to get through it and keep fighting and take fish oil. Myself wel I hope this brain speeds up, not sure it will but I am hoping it does. My brain is definitely not as sharp as it was while on effexor. But hey I am alive and been completely drug free for over a year, effexor free for 4 years.

[dowdaller]

 

Well done, Im nine months off effexor, and people like you give me hope. Keep goin.

Congrats on the 9 months, sounds like you are in hell or still passing through it. I remember 9-15 months were very troubling. Just fight to get through it and keep fighting and take fish oil. Myself wel I hope this brain speeds up, not sure it will but I am hoping it does. My brain is definitely not as sharp as it was while on effexor. But hey I am alive and been completely drug free for over a year, effexor free for 4 years.

 

 

Well done, keep fighting..

[MrAnxious]

I know exactly what is bothering me the most now after these years of withdrawal.

 

1. My brain is slow /speaking slow

2. My response time and processing when someone talks to me is off. Almost like I can't focus on what they are saying

3. Having to actually think to talk <<having hard time responding also

4. My memory is just gone in so many aspects

5. My emotions are still numbed, have a hard time laughing at (funny stuff)

 

Those are the main issues...and they are frustrating. I take fish oil and am natural otherwise.

[MrAnxious]

Has anyone experimented with medical mirajuana with high CBD content yet ? I am trying it to try and counteract this slight depression I find myself possible in.

[scallywag]

Hi MrAnxious A google search including "survivingantidepressants" and "CBD" and/or other relevant terms is likely your best bet to find others. If nothing comes up, you could start a thread in the Symptoms and self-care forum.

[LexAnger]

I hope you can reconsider. I tried once with mirajuana for headache in my early year on lexapro. I believe it screwed my whole situation up, caused huge anxiety and panic attack.

 

I think in general we want to avoid any external triggers especially the ones directly impact the brain and CNS .

 

I believe as you hold longer, natural healing will occur .

[scallywag]

^ Excellent point Lex.  Taking cannabis could be risky for anyone with a sensitized CNS.

[Christian]

Mr. Anxious,

 

I know you had quite a run in WD. May I ask if you can work? Function? Or is your speaking challenges holding you back? I have trouble talking on certain days. Its troubling. I cant tell if its anxiety or the cognitive issues.  

[MrAnxious]

I hope you can reconsider. I tried once with mirajuana for headache in my early year on lexapro. I believe it screwed my whole situation up, caused huge anxiety and panic attack.

I think in general we want to avoid any external triggers especially the ones directly impact the brain and CNS .

I believe as you hold longer, natural healing will occur .

Lex you are right. I tried a good 3 weeks of marijuana and started to get very bad anxiety. So I just stopped yesterday and wow it almost feels like effexors wd all over again. Nausea,panic,anxiety,depression,exhausted. I am going to try the oil and see if that maybe helps better as opposed to vapourizing it. I got my medical card now but we will see. I just need change, my cognition is so freaking slow I believe from coming off Buspar last year. Its been only 15 months since being off the Buspar....either way I want mu cognition to speed up, do you know any ways ???

[MrAnxious]

Mr. Anxious,

 

I know you had quite a run in WD. May I ask if you can work? Function? Or is your speaking challenges holding you back? I have trouble talking on certain days. Its troubling. I cant tell if its anxiety or the cognitive issues.

 

Christian can you private msg me, if you have fb I would love to chat I am not sure whether it is anxiety or cognition either but I would love to brainstorm with you. Leave me your info and i can msg you..much quicker

[Christian]

Hey no problem. Christianforbear@yahoo.com and I also have a FB account under that name as well.

[LexAnger]

I'm so sorry MrAnxious about the bad reaction you got from the majiwana. My idea of the best way is NOT trying anything meds or supplement just holding for the brain to heal naturally. I completely know how we would feel when in desperate situation with intolerable symptoms though making us volunerable to take something for relief.

 

When I in such status, I try to read the success stories reminding myself that with patience and endurance, with time ( unfortunately it could takes years) goes by, the brain does heal eventually with all symptoms leaving us. It seems that's the only way we can eventually heal. More introduction of stuff for temp fix would put us in new and often worse status.

 

I have the congnitive issue in the past two years during tapering, but interestingly I found it always lifts whenever I make a cut. You are now off meds for a quite while and have no meds to play with. But I believe the best way is to just hold strong and long and not to reset your great achievement already made. You are so close to the final healing even you may not feel that way when in waves. Read the success stories see how ppl eventually got to the finish line.

 

Hope you feel better soon,

Lex

[LexAnger]

Here is more from googling

 

http://www.worstpills.org/includes/page.cfm?op_id=459

[MrAnxious]

UPDATE ! I had to come back as I do periodically do. What can I say, words don't seem to justify what these drugs did to me. So much has improved since coming off the drugs, and yet I still have anxiety, mostly because my mind feels like it's still in a fog, a lighter fog but still a fog. I find myself stumbling for words when I speak, feel tired when I speak, can't remember words or have a hard time forming a fluent sentence. I find these drugs did a lot of damage to my brain and to the way I think and feel. Emotionally sometimes I am just not there, have a very short fuse for any drama. I find that it's hard to feel sadness at times still, other times I will be very emotional. It's really strange being off these drugs after taking them for 7 years, a small time compared to some. I went from a bright, happy go lucky kid with a future, to a 34 yr old , anxious, mentally tired,scared person from antidepressants. I do take solace in the small and big things that have happened in my life since being off the drugs, but I wonder " what was life like on the drug " I can't remember...maybe this is a good thing. My memory is shot, can't think back and picture moments in my life growing up, it's all a blur really. Does this actually get better, can your memory get better or is it just decline from here on out. I live on my own with my gf and have a job, working roughly 30hrs a week. I use a sleep apnea machine that hasn't been working lately, so I am choosing just to lose the weight again because I know my apnea is from weight. I have put 210% into withdrawal and getting better and I will not stop trying to better myself. So far I have lost 20lbs since the summer and am going for another 30lbs by this coming summer. I have changed the way I eat totally. GLuten free/Sugar free and natural whole foods mostly. I don't drink any soda, eliminated diet pop for the past year due to aspartame. I AM TRYINGGGGG ! I have CBT therapy finally booked in the next coming day! hoping this can help me. I have to take advantage of my new doctor listening to me and not prescribing medication ! 

 

So this is a 50/50 post. Glad to be alive, breathing and working on my problems, hey this is what life is all about. It's not all roses , it can be real hell sometimes in certain situations, but we dig deep and fix the problem if we can. Everyone going through WD right now, I WAS YOU. I have gotten better, also realize that I have only been off Buspar for 2 years this coming MARCH. So I am guessing two more years and I should be in the clear, Effexor was roughly 4 years, and hopefully my anxiety will go down. Anxiety socially due to not wanting to sound dumb, due to my memory and harder time processing. 

 

It's funny because I use to have a very large vocabulary, you know building all my life. I go through this drug WD and now I have a much smaller dictionary to work with. The words just aren't there, so I am also reading lots to try to relearn all words.

 

I will be back to update, sorry I am all over the place. Just wanted to let everyone know that I still think about everyone in this room. Met and made some good friends in here and you know who you are. Thank you once again for standing by myself, you saved my life and thank you to ALTO for this group Means the world to me , in this unique experience. 

 

 

Cheers and ask away any questions. IF ANYONE HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS ON IMPROVING MY MEMORY AND WORD RECOGNITION SPEED PLEASE TELL ME SUGGESTIONS

[SquirrellyGirl]

Hi Mr. Anxious, nice to see you!  I've been away for awhile, myself, but your post made me want to chime in because I suffer from a lot of the same issues as you.  My past is a blur and I have difficulty reaching for words and articulating my thoughts, so I feel like a dolt around my highly intelligent family, both mine and my husband's.  

 

I lost a beloved dog a month ago and have been grieving hard.  He was young and had a future ahead of him as a performance dog, and he was my loyal buddy day in and out.  He was hit by a car and it was very traumatic losing him that way.  I cried hard every day for a month.  Today I feel blunted and unable to feel, numbed out.  I never had children and my dogs were always my kids.  Almost 20 years ago I lost two dogs to cancers and was totally traumatized, but today I can hardly remember them.  It makes me really sad that my memories are so faint, so because I don't want to forget this dog and feel him slipping away into a space that feels like he never existed.  I hate it!  Maybe it's just my way of coping, but my husband tells me he has explicit memories of my old dogs.  I envy him.

 

I was on ADs for 20 years and am still tapering off, so I don't know what lies ahead as far as cognitive recovery goes.  I'm hoping that life will pop more once I am off, and that memories will be better formed and recovered.  It sucks to really only have my present, though I know we are to live in the moment.  I would like to be able to remember my life!

 

Anyway, just wanted to commiserate and say that you sound good overall, strong and committed.  Good for you on the weight loss, too!

 

SG

[MrAnxious]

Thank you and yes it is quite frustrating but your right, live in the moment. Memories are made right now, start fresh,

, it does get better.

Hi Mr. Anxious, nice to see you!  I've been away for awhile, myself, but your post made me want to chime in because I suffer from a lot of the same issues as you.  My past is a blur and I have difficulty reaching for words and articulating my thoughts, so I feel like a dolt around my highly intelligent family, both mine and my husband's.  

 

I lost a beloved dog a month ago and have been grieving hard.  He was young and had a future ahead of him as a performance dog, and he was my loyal buddy day in and out.  He was hit by a car and it was very traumatic losing him that way.  I cried hard every day for a month.  Today I feel blunted and unable to feel, numbed out.  I never had children and my dogs were always my kids.  Almost 20 years ago I lost two dogs to cancers and was totally traumatized, but today I can hardly remember them.  It makes me really sad that my memories are so faint, so because I don't want to forget this dog and feel him slipping away into a space that feels like he never existed.  I hate it!  Maybe it's just my way of coping, but my husband tells me he has explicit memories of my old dogs.  I envy him.

 

I was on ADs for 20 years and am still tapering off, so I don't know what lies ahead as far as cognitive recovery goes.  I'm hoping that life will pop more once I am off, and that memories will be better formed and recovered.  It sucks to really only have my present, though I know we are to live in the moment.  I would like to be able to remember my life!

 

Anyway, just wanted to commiserate and say that you sound good overall, strong and committed.  Good for you on the weight loss, too!

 

SG

[MrAnxious]

Update ! 

 

I have returned lol. Honestly everyone it gets better, it won't seem like it for the first couple years but ride it out. I have improved immensely and have a life again, a new and improved one. It takes time, so be gentle on yourselfs. We are all sensitive kind souls that have been at the mercy of Big Pharma for way too long. I have been drug free for over 2.5 years now and 5 off effexor. It can be done, you just need tons of support and good people around you. Eliminate all negative forces that surround you and you have won half the battle. Treat your body with care and love. Eat extremely healthy and eliminate sugars, get healthy fats into you and take fish oil(if you can). It gets better, a life is out there waiting for you, now I am able to live and appreciate life so much more.

 

Cheers !

 

Pm me if you need to talk

[LexAnger]

Such a wonderful update Mranxious! 

You have been so strong and patient going through this incredible long and painful journey! I'm so happy to hear you are getting your life back and live it in full!

 

yes, it can be done. I'm on the way still but very close to be out. 

 

Cheers,

lex

[powerback]

thanks for the positive update ,greatly appreciated .

well done and good for you Mranxious ,great perseverance .

PB

[Petunia]

Thank you for coming back with such an encouraging post. All of us still going through this need to hear these recovery stories. Its important to hear about it when people finally do recover after some time.

 

Congratulations on your recovery.

[MrAnxious]

Back with the best update ever and to give tons of hope to everyone coming off these nasty mind altering drugs(to say the least) a million other words could also explains the torture these drugs put us through. It has been quite the crazy and whacky journey, and guess what ?!? I am still here.

 

Here is a huge key to feeling better " 

 

It is what we eat.

 

For the past month I have cut out all dairy and milk. I have still ate seafood but hardly, few meat substitutes(which can be really good) and juicing a lot of fruit and veggies. This is what our brain , body and cells need to thrive and bring us to a new level. I never even though about this in withdrawal. Its a plant based lifestyle and I love it so far. Makes you get creative with your food and cooking, the more raw veg the better. Seeds and nuts are good in small quantities. Look up "Raw vegan and healing " on Facebook or Mike Vanderkooi and add and get his site. He has a 30 day plant based program. If you pm me I can show you how to go plant based and heal your mind. 

 

I still have anxiety and a bit of depression but it is totally manageable. Only been plant based for one month and the results are phenomenal. This is the key to healing the whole body I know. I would write so much more but I must go. I will check in to see if anyone has any questions feel free

 

Cheers ! Mr. A

[Happy2Heal]

that is great MrAnxious

I went plant based too and I feel the best when I stick to that diet

 

If I start eating processed foods, lots of sugar, fat and meat and dairy, I feel just awful.

The better I eat, the better I feel

 

sugar esp causes me terrible physical pain. I love it, I have an awful sweet tooth, but I am so much more comfortable if I don't eat it, or only have very small amounts.

 

wishing you all the best

 

[powerback]

2 hours ago, MrAnxious said:

Back with the best update ever and to give tons of hope to everyone coming off these nasty mind altering drugs(to say the least) a million other words could also explains the torture these drugs put us through. It has been quite the crazy and whacky journey, and guess what ?!? I am still here.

 

Here is a huge key to feeling better " 

 

It is what we eat.

 

For the past month I have cut out all dairy and milk. I have still ate seafood but hardly, few meat substitutes(which can be really good) and juicing a lot of fruit and veggies. This is what our brain , body and cells need to thrive and bring us to a new level. I never even though about this in withdrawal. Its a plant based lifestyle and I love it so far. Makes you get creative with your food and cooking, the more raw veg the better. Seeds and nuts are good in small quantities. Look up "Raw vegan and healing " on Facebook or Mike Vanderkooi and add and get his site. He has a 30 day plant based program. If you pm me I can show you how to go plant based and heal your mind. 

 

I still have anxiety and a bit of depression but it is totally manageable. Only been plant based for one month and the results are phenomenal. This is the key to healing the whole body I know. I would write so much more but I must go. I will check in to see if anyone has any questions feel free

 

Cheers ! Mr. A

HI MA this is great for you ,as I write this I am in a desperate state with withdrawal and my personal life is hanging by a thread .I was just thinking today my diet needs serious work ,I was just reading that a paleo diet works for my extreme noise sensitivities ,opposite to a plant based diet .but I think ile give the plant based diet a good proper 2 month chance .do you not get too much sugar from the fruit .when I do smoothies I have only one piece of fruit in it .

Take and good luck and continued recovery .

PB

[MrAnxious]

5 hours ago, powerback said:

HI MA this is great for you ,as I write this I am in a desperate state with withdrawal and my personal life is hanging by a thread .I was just thinking today my diet needs serious work ,I was just reading that a paleo diet works for my extreme noise sensitivities ,opposite to a plant based diet .but I think ile give the plant based diet a good proper 2 month chance .do you not get too much sugar from the fruit .when I do smoothies I have only one piece of fruit in it .

Take and good luck and continued recovery .

PB

Natural fruit sugar and glucose are absorbed a lot differently. People actually recommended eating as much fruit as you can all day long and it will detox you and make you feel alive, unless you diabetic that is. Fruit is so good for us, we have been truly mislead...

[MrAnxious]

Update ! Well as you know it has been a good three years since being off Buspar and a good 5.8years of being off Effexor. So much has changed and some has stayed the same. I believe now in this journey we have been altered for a reason, this is to change us for the better I believe. We have been enlightened and we have been shown what it is like to struggle and look deep within ourselves. I have found the vegan lifestyle for the past 6 months and I absolutely love it, it's a game changer. A life changer, whatever you want to call it. It has brought me to a higher understanding of myself both spiritually, mentally and physically. I suggest anyone in here to adopt this lifestyle. It has so many healing benefits if you stick to the fruits/veggies , seeds, nuts I swear ! Everyone that has followed my struggle over the years knows that this journey took every ounce of life from me, and it is now giving me that and more in life experience back. You must fight everyone and keep fighting as you will get better. You won't be the sane person you used to be, further down the line away from pharma drugs, you will be a person you will come to love , cherish and appreciate. Also I take a high quality cbd oil which really has helped with the leftover anxiety and it calms me. Of course I have my bad days like everyone else but I am med free for over 3+ years now. Fight , learn, educate and never quit. It will get so much better. A clean life of of all drugs and eating healthy, exercising daily and meditating is the way of life now. #Getstrong , if I could do it and did it, you can too !

 

 

Much love ,

 

Mr (less) anxious xox

[myndfull]

Mr. (Less) Anxious -- Bravo! Loved reading your post. You echo a lot of my sentiments generally, though I'm still tapering, still have a way to go.

 

About diet: I remember about ten years ago trying desperately to lose weight while still on Paxil. I decided then to do a fast, something I'd never done before. Part of that fast was making and forcing myself to eat, once a day, a cabbage soup. Anyway, on the third day I entered a mental state that I would now call euphoric. I felt very, very good, mentally and physically. I didn't tread the earth, I glided. I felt cheetah-like, ready for anything. My head was clear, sharp, and I smiled a lot. Not myself at all. At the time I questioned this. I thought then that it was possible that the way I often/usually felt--anxious and irritable--was possibly in part due to my diet, including my two-cups-of-coffee-a-day habit.

 

Anyway, I've never forgotten this experience. Over the years I've improved my diet in many ways. But I still sneak a bit of candy three or four times a week. I still drink coffee, though decaf (20 to 30% caffeine), and I still eat too much meat. A lot more veggies and fruits, tho'....

 

Your post makes me think again about the possibilities of even further restrictions to my diet, so thank you for bringing it up. 

 

My best wishes for you!

 

Myndfull

[sollicitudo]

On 2018-02-16 at 3:49 PM, MrAnxious said:

Update ! Well as you know it has been a good three years since being off Buspar and a good 5.8years of being off Effexor. So much has changed and some has stayed the same. I believe now in this journey we have been altered for a reason, this is to change us for the better I believe. We have been enlightened and we have been shown what it is like to struggle and look deep within ourselves. I have found the vegan lifestyle for the past 6 months and I absolutely love it, it's a game changer. A life changer, whatever you want to call it. It has brought me to a higher understanding of myself both spiritually, mentally and physically. I suggest anyone in here to adopt this lifestyle. It has so many healing benefits if you stick to the fruits/veggies , seeds, nuts I swear ! Everyone that has followed my struggle over the years knows that this journey took every ounce of life from me, and it is now giving me that and more in life experience back. You must fight everyone and keep fighting as you will get better. You won't be the sane person you used to be, further down the line away from pharma drugs, you will be a person you will come to love , cherish and appreciate. Also I take a high quality cbd oil which really has helped with the leftover anxiety and it calms me. Of course I have my bad days like everyone else but I am med free for over 3+ years now. Fight , learn, educate and never quit. It will get so much better. A clean life of of all drugs and eating healthy, exercising daily and meditating is the way of life now. #Getstrong , if I could do it and did it, you can too !

 

 

Much love ,

 

Mr (less) anxious xox

So glad to see you are improving! 

 

Is your memory also improving. Your previous descriptions of your memory problems were so accurate. They still concern me 4 years out from effexor

[Offforgood]

I m going on 8th month off effexor and all meds I m discouraged desperate and feel hopeless was getting better but started backsliding and now feel undone all my progress gone

[potions]

On 2/16/2018 at 9:49 AM, MrAnxious said:

Update ! Well as you know it has been a good three years since being off Buspar and a good 5.8years of being off Effexor. So much has changed and some has stayed the same. I believe now in this journey we have been altered for a reason, this is to change us for the better I believe. We have been enlightened and we have been shown what it is like to struggle and look deep within ourselves. I have found the vegan lifestyle for the past 6 months and I absolutely love it, it's a game changer. A life changer, whatever you want to call it. It has brought me to a higher understanding of myself both spiritually, mentally and physically. I suggest anyone in here to adopt this lifestyle. It has so many healing benefits if you stick to the fruits/veggies , seeds, nuts I swear ! Everyone that has followed my struggle over the years knows that this journey took every ounce of life from me, and it is now giving me that and more in life experience back. You must fight everyone and keep fighting as you will get better. You won't be the sane person you used to be, further down the line away from pharma drugs, you will be a person you will come to love , cherish and appreciate. Also I take a high quality cbd oil which really has helped with the leftover anxiety and it calms me. Of course I have my bad days like everyone else but I am med free for over 3+ years now. Fight , learn, educate and never quit. It will get so much better. A clean life of of all drugs and eating healthy, exercising daily and meditating is the way of life now. #Getstrong , if I could do it and did it, you can too !

 

 

Much love ,

 

Mr (less) anxious xox

Good to hear, Mr. (less) anxious! I wonder, did you have anhedonia/emotional blunting/sexual dysfunction in the time you were going through withdrawal? And if so, have those symptoms gone away as well? And how is your ability to recall words nowadays?

[bhasski]

On 2/16/2018 at 8:19 PM, MrAnxious said:

Also I take a high quality cbd oil which really has helped with the leftover anxiety and it calms me.

 

Can u pls send the link and details to buy the cbd oil.. 

What dosage and how do u cosume it?

 

Thanks for giving hope .

 

[MrAnxious]

On 2/17/2018 at 4:33 PM, potions said:

Good to hear, Mr. (less) anxious! I wonder, did you have anhedonia/emotional blunting/sexual dysfunction in the time you were going through withdrawal? And if so, have those symptoms gone away as well? And how is your ability to recall words nowadays?

Yes yes and yes I had all of the above and they have all healed. It took a long time but they are back to where I was before effexor. Recalling words can still be tough, but as time passes the words are coming back. I found I repressed alot of my memory, so by working on unlocking those repressions I am getting my vocab back and my memory in small pieces back, it's all positive. Cbd oil has really helped. I use Biocare in the USA , it is very high quality and a game changer. Hope this helps hang in there , exercise, meditate and eat clean. Plant based

[MrAnxious]

On 10/19/2017 at 5:22 PM, Happy2Heal said:

that is great MrAnxious

I went plant based too and I feel the best when I stick to that diet

 

If I start eating processed foods, lots of sugar, fat and meat and dairy, I feel just awful.

The better I eat, the better I feel

 

sugar esp causes me terrible physical pain. I love it, I have an awful sweet tooth, but I am so much more comfortable if I don't eat it, or only have very small amounts.

 

wishing you all the best

 

Thank you very much and yes plant based is what our bodies yearn for. Glad it is helping you , and all the best to you too. Cheers

[MrAnxious]

On 2/18/2018 at 7:17 AM, bhasski said:

 

Can u pls send the link and details to buy the cbd oil.. 

What dosage and how do u cosume it?

 

Thanks for giving hope .

 

I use cbd biocare from USA, it's high quality and very effective. Hope you feel better soon

[MrAnxious]

On 2/17/2018 at 3:35 PM, Offforgood said:

I m going on 8th month off effexor and all meds I m discouraged desperate and feel hopeless was getting better but started backsliding and now feel undone all my progress gone

Honestly it can take a good long time to fully heal and we all have set backs so be easy on yourself. Took me 5 years of withdrawal and I am still healing but alot better and I have a job and my own apartment and gf You will get there, it takes time. Cheers