Posted by cjl on August 23, 2000, at 21:07:19
In reply to Re:Intractable Effexor Withdrawl , posted by Cam W. on February 11, 2000, at 22:42:41
> > I have been tapering off EFFEXOR XR for 2 months now and am stuck at 75 mg, down from my high dose of 600 mg. When I try to cut down to 37.5 mg, I get terrible nausea. My doctor says just to stay on the 75 mg to prevent the nausea, but I'm not crazy about that idea. Anyone have any better ideas?
> > > > Just stopped taking Effexor this past weekend. Effexor made a definite improvement in my life. Just decided it was time to row my own boat for awhile and see what happens. The situation which produced the need for an AD has been mostly resolved anyway. My wife currently takes Effexor and had tried nearly everything else with absolutely no success. If you stick with it and give it a fair trial you may quite pleased with the results. Have to say though that going off of Effexor makes the minor initial side effects seem pretty tame. I knew going in that getting off Effexor would not be fun, and it hasn't been, but the benefit to my life certainly outweighs what I am now dealing with. Hope it helps you.
> > >
> > > For anyone who is interested I only lasted 5 1/2 days after stopping Effexor. Just before stopping Effexor I had taken the last bit of Vicoprofen (hydrocodone) and that didn't help things. Also dealing with a stomach virus and I assumed that all of the nausea, cramps, etc. was due to virus. This AM I felt like I was on the verge of shutdown. No sleep, leg cramps, stomach horrible, head buzzing constantly plus all the rest. Then my wife and the doc talked me into at least taking med till he can devise a plan to lessen withdrawal effects. Does weaning off Effexor make it easier?
>
> To All - Prozac 10mg per day added to the Effexor (at the dose where you are stuck in the weaning process) taken for 2-4 weeks, dropping the Effexor dose gradually every 4-5 days until you can stop the Effexor. If the symptoms start to return, increase the Prozac to 20mg per day and decrease the Effexor slower. Take the Prozac for 2 weeks after you've stopped the Effexor.(If Prozac dose was raised to 20mg, drop it to 10mg after one week) This formula has worked in a number of case reports of people who have had intractable withdrawl from Effexor. Good luck - Cam W.I was prescribed Effexor for job related stress and began at 37.5 mgs for a week; then 75 mgs for a week; then 150 mgs until August 19. I attributed the little weight I gained to being relaxed and my food no longer going down in a ball into the pit of my stomach. I slept between 10 and 12 hours a day, but I was such a mess before taking the Effexor, I welcomed the sleep. I woke up feeling terrific, and my depression was tremendously helped.
The problem was at night. Although I had a fantastic rest, my family didn't. I must have been having weird dreams and acting them out in my sleep. I carried on conversations throughout the night, keeping my husband awake for much of the night. I'd probably have left the house if he hadn't been keeping an eye on me. I was really upset when he told me I had bitten his hand the night before, leaving teethmarks. I had no recollection of this nor of whatever I was dreaming.
My friend, who is a nurse, told me to stop the medication immediately and contact my doctor. The next day I began feeling strange. Whenever I moved my head, I felt like I was "zoning in and out", the kind of feeling you get, NOT when you bend down too quickly, but when you stand up. My hands got very sweaty, and my face kept getting flushed. I had trouble concentrating. But I didn't call the doctor the first day because I truly thought I was having sinus trouble.
The second day I awoke the beep beep noises started happening. I felt "strange" but couldn't get a handle on it. Since the doctor was in till 12, I called the pharmacist, who told me I was going through withdrawal. I couldn't believe it. When I got hold of my doctor, he took me off the Effexor and put me on Paxil.
I'm going away to another state for ten days, and am nervous that something might happen to me while I'm away.
I hope the Paxil will do the trick. Will get back to you guys when I return to let you know. If you can't say a prayer for me, wish me luck! The Effexor did make a big positive difference in my life, but I've never experienced anything like withdrawal ever in my life. I felt as if I were going crazy. Until I got my new meds, I had to take the Effexor. I start the Paxil tomorrow and am trying to have a positive attitude. I'm going to hope for the best. On that note, guys, have to go. Good luck to all of you, too!
poster:cjl
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000822/msgs/43597.html