Posted by Shari H. on June 9, 2003, at 15:19:24
In reply to Re: Off Effexor - Day 2 » CherC68, posted by Angelnmikey on June 9, 2003, at 11:56:05
I have tried many many times to go off my Effexor. I have many times attempted to get off it and was very unsuccessful because of the very quick onset of the severe withdrawl symptoms. I got from 75mg to 37.5 with no problem but as soon as I neglected a day of the 37.5 I became a wreck. The worst for me was the brain shivers and anxiety. This forced me to take a pill. I finally decided it would be a good idea to see my doctor. She said it takes months to properly get off them. She said you can really jolt your system in a bad way by doing this. So I started cutting my pills in half and I have been on 19mg a day for about 10 days now and I feel ok (no brain shivers). My plan is to cut my pills in quarters (approx 9mg) and take that for a couple of weeks. Only at that point will I attempt to stop the Effexor completely. I work 60 hours a week and there is no other way I can do this without my job being sacrificed. My only advice to anyone is that we have no idea how badly our bodies have become reliant on this drug. Just like any other kind of drug that has such a grave impact on your entire system, tapering off has to be done correctly. Your body has to get used to the lower doses or else the shock will be too dramatic. Sudden withdrawl is an experience I never want to go through again. Almost as much as I want off these pills!!
poster:Shari H.
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030609/msgs/232658.html