henry650: Please help I do not know which I should taper celexa or effexor xr

[henry650]

Thank you for your support.

 

 

 

 

was on effexor xr for 5 years 75mg 

tried to go down to 37.5mg effexor xr

only lasted 3 weeks. went back to 75mg effexor

aug of 2014 tried citalopram 20mg did a quick switch

lasted a month citalopram would give me anxiety and brain zaps

dr. took me off wanted me to try busparin did that for a few days did not like it.

i been 2 months drug free and feel horrible dizziness/wobblyness, chest pain feel like my heart palpitations

tension headaches not to mention severe anxiety...

[bubble]

Hello Henry and welcome to SA.

 

I have move your post from the tapering section to Introductions to make it your introductory post. Thank you for providing the details of your drug history in your signature.

 

If I understand it correctly, your question should actually be which of the two drugs you should reinstate since you say that you have been drug free for 2 months. 

 

At two months out it's actually a gamble whether any drug would work. They will definitely not work in the same way as before the abrupt discontinuation of the drug severely destabilised the central nervous system. 

 

What actually happened in August? Did you stop taking 75 mg Effexor and started on Citalopram? If you were on 37.5 mg of Effexor for 3 weeks going back to 75 was probably too much plus you should have given the change more time to work. The worst disservice you can do to a traumatised brain is making quick switches between the drugs.

 

I would try reinstating a very small amount of Effexor since this is the drug you were on for 5 years. You can get such small amounts by opening a capsule which is usually made up of beads in case of Effexor xr and taking out for example 5 beads only. But there are no guarantees about how this would work 2 or 3 months after you stopped taking it. 

 

Try to go through the threads with information on the withdrawal syndrome and the right way of tapering Effexor. They will make it a lot of clearer to you what you are going through and why that happened. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/272-tips-for-tapering-off-effexor-and-effexor-xr-venlafaxine/

 

Adding aproximate dates or better to say months to when you made all those changes would help us in giving suggestions.

 

Best,

Bubble 

[Altostrata]

Welcome, henry.

 

It sounds to me like you got withdrawal symptoms from going off Effexor and going on citalopram.

 

Taking a few beads of Effexor XR might help. Do you have any of the Effexor XR capsules left?

[henry650]

Hello Altostrata:)

 

I do still have effexor xr.

[Altostrata]

You might open the capsule and take 3 beads to see if it helps. (Keep the rest for later.)

[henry650]

Thank you Altostrata I have a lot of effexor xr should I take in the morning or the evening?

[Petunia]

Hi Henry,

You should probably take it at the same time you took it before, if that worked well for you.  Some people take it in the morning and some people take it at night.  The most important thing is that you take the same amount at the same time every day.

 

Please let us know how it goes if you decide to try.  I hope you start to feel better soon.

 

Petu.

[henry650]

Day:46 off effexor xr and I feel emotionally mentally drained. I been battling chest pain... I went to the ER twice a few weeks ago and the EKG and chest xray looked fine I think it's really bad indigestion due to anxiety. I have the most trouble at night the heart palpation won't let me sleep they have been giving me lorazapam to take for sleep which helped sleep but would get anxiety as soon as I would take it. I also have extreme tension headaches right behind my ears which affects my mood I have a Dr apt tomorrow will need to do a slow taper I feel snakebiten by effexor I'm really scared to try that maybe citalopram a low dose will help me stabilize? I can't thank you guys enough..

[mammaP]

Hi Henry, sadly withdrawal causes all kinds of awful symptoms but tests usually do not show

any problems..  It sounds like you are having side effects of lorazepam. It seems common to have 

rebound anxiety, when the drug causes the symptoms it is meant to help.  You need to be very 

careful and only take them very occasionally because they are highly addictive and you would then 

need to taper it.  I would try Alto's suggestion of a few beads of effexor. I tapered effexor too fast,

stopped too soon and was in withdrawal.  I reinstated a few beads at Alto's suggestion and felt 

better very quickly. It has still been a roller coaster since reinstating but much much better than the

awful withdrawal. 

[Altostrata]

Citalopram did not help your Effexor withdrawal before. A few beads of Effexor is a better bet.

 

The symptoms you had in the emergency room sound like withdrawal syndrome.

[henry650]

Hi Alto. I hope your doing well . I wanted to give you an update and hopefully you could shed some light. After my 2 months with no antidepressants I noticed I'm extremely sensitive to the process. I would get this wobbly feeling/ dizziness also known as "sea legs". I got to the point when I couldn't deal with my anxiety and panic attacks.. so I went to my psychiatrist and he decided to start me on prozac 20mg and xanax.5 I immediately didn't feel good on prozac made the back of my head flare up seemed like a severe constant tension headache. I also began to start taking xanax .5 twice a day and think I got addicted. I went back the psychiatrist and he put me on viibryd 10mg and stopped xanax.5 I been on for 2 weeks I feel it works good for my anxiety but my dizziness upon standing is worse I close my eyes and it feels like I'm on a boat. The tension in my head is worse and insomnia. I got assigned a new psychiatrist and he mentioned he does not know much about viibryd It sounds like they would want me to try something else. I feel a little stable but just was hoping there was a safer approach. Thank you

[Altostrata]

henry, I can't shed any light.

 

Trying new drugs often adds to withdrawal-induced destabilzation.

 

Taking high doses of new drugs, such as 20mg Prozac, can make symptoms much worse. As you know, we always suggest trying a very, very small amount of anything to see how it affects you.

 

I cannot advise you about what new drugs to try or add to your cocktail. If I knew of something that worked, I would not hesitate to tell everyone here about it.

[henry650]

Thanks Altostrata I really appreciate the feed back I had a few questions. Is it bad to start and stop antidepressants seems I only last a short time (usually weeks). Currently I'm taking 5mg of viibryd because 10mg felt too strong. Would I only get partial effect? Thanks again

[Altostrata]

I have no idea what 5mg Viibryd might do for you.

 

All I can say is -- the more you go on and off drugs, switch drugs, add drugs, quit drugs, change dosage, etc., the more stress you put on your nervous system.

 

If you feel a little better on 5mg Viibryd, I would not jump around experimenting with other drugs. To heal, your nervous system needs stability over a long time. Don't try to fix it instantly with magic pills.

[henry650]

Thanks again for your help. I do feel like I need to stabilize and possibly change my lifestyle. Viibryd has made it really hard to sleep but I might have to try to take it as early as I can. I hope to be drug free but like you said I put my nervous system through hell.

[Altostrata]

Did Viibryd help at all? Breaking your sleep is not a good effect.

[henry650]

Viibryd from the research I've done is a mixture of paxil and buspar. It's harsh on your stomach and insomnia. Overall I feel it helped with General Anxiety and social anxiety. I still get panic attacks time to time... I think I get scared with tremors and my wobblyness. I had a question I cut the 10mg pills in half is that ok to do? I read your thread on viibryd. Should I buy a scale and do it that way it is really expensive here in the us.

[Altostrata]

Viibryd is most certainly not a mixture of Paxil and Buspar.

 

This is a site for going off drugs. I'm sorry, we don't do general drug counseling here. Please ask your doctor your questions about dosing Viibryd.

[henry650]

New to this.

 

 

My story was on effexor xr for 4 years, then it stopped working was switched to celexa lasted a month was put on viibryd with xanax lasted 2 months dont think I ever reinstated. I came off everything 5 weeks. I been off 1 year and its been hell. lately I think its gotten worse I get brain fog everytime I eat really bad depression anxiety is back wake up multiple times a night dizziness is horrible akathisia poor concentration.lately I feel like im in a dreamlike state. I been off a year I dont know what to expect if I went back on. i feel like its getting worse.

 

Thanks

henry650 

Edited April 8, 2016 by KarenB
merged post from symptoms