Posted by David55 on January 23, 2005, at 22:28:23
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawl - I did it, so can you, posted by medhed on January 21, 2005, at 20:03:21
Martin - your withdrawal symptoms are very similar to the ones I experienced. I was especially interested to hear of your loss of libido and its return after stopping Effexor. I completely lost my libido and anything resembling a normal orgasm several years ago while on Effexor. I even weaned myself from Effexor a year or two ago to see if it would return. When it didn't, I blamed the lack of libido on a lower back problem I also have (L5-S1 spondylolisthesis) and went back on Effexor. This time I went cold-turkey off Effexor because I was fed up with feeling tired all the time and being in a bit of a fog mentally. I've been off Effexor for 31 days now and am generally delighted with the turn-around in my life. The icing on the cake is that my libido seems to be making a gradual comeback. I'm very hopeful at this point. I'm guessing that I didn't give my body enough time the first time I stopped taking Effexor. The side-effects of this drug are really insidious. I'm just glad I'm off.
Don't worry about not being able to kick it cold-turkey. There's no shame in that. It's better to stay safe and sane and get off Effexor more slowly than to hurt yourself or others in the process.
The one lingering withdrawal effect I have is that I'm still awfully irritable and impatient. Otherwise, life is good.
Best wishes to you and everyone else trying to deal with their Effexor "addiction".
poster:David55
thread:12459
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050119/msgs/446540.html