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Effexor XR Experiences, Withdrawals and Thoughts

Posted by Samadhi on November 11, 2003, at 21:09:47

In reply to Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by jp on October 24, 1999, at 14:59:14

I was put on Effexor XR after trying various other Anti D's (ie: Zoloft, Aurorex, as well as Diazepam for anxiety and Tamazepam for sleep disturbance) and following the sudden and unexpected death of my Mother when I was 22 (just over a year ago). I went to my trusted GP and requested I be put on an Anti D again, and one I hadn't tried before. She suggested Effexor XR, told me it was a relatively new drug and she'd heard positive things about it, and I accepted her suggestion gratefully and without a second thought.
Well, my first week on Effexor was HELL. Shaking. Sweating. Insomnia. Nausea. Severe leg and other muscles spasms. Headaches. Confusion. Vivid dreams that stayed with me all day and felt real and disturbing and disorienting. No appetite. Emotions all over the place. But I stuck with it, thinking "it HAS to get better than this". And it did. And for a period of time it really helped me - it no doubt got me through my Mum's death and my subsequent year of deep depression and trauma.
But the side effects were ALWAYS strong (particularly the sweating, shaking, dreams, twitches) and scary, and it has now reached the point where the side effects so outweigh the benefits that I am weaning myself off. I was on 225mg and reduced to 150mg for a few weeks. No severe withdrawals, but I definitely noticed mood disturbances and a bit of nausea and increased sweating and vagueness - as well as extreme absent mindedness and memory issues.
Anyway, after a few weeks at 150mg I reduced again to 75mg, 2 days ago. Obviously it's too soon to say how that will affect me, so far I feel ok, a little "out of it" and lethargic, still sweaty, but otherwise standard. Nothing like the horror stories I have read on here (which helped me a lot, by the way, as I knew to decrease slowly) and none of the "brain zaps" or "porcupine needles" I have read about here. But I'll wait and see and won't speak too soon.
This board has been so helpful to me during my time on Effexor. I have experienced so many side effects and had so many foreign things occurring in my brain and body that I would have been terrified and confused about had I not been able to see other's experiences matched mine. Thankyou all!


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poster:Samadhi thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031111/msgs/278790.html