Posted by Dkscully on January 31, 2005, at 17:28:32
In reply to Effexor withdrawal - very bad news, posted by janey on November 1, 1998, at 16:30:34
Hi all! I'm new here, and have read most of the posts in this thread. In one sense, they've provided me with some assurance that I'm not "crazy"--for which, I am more grateful than you all could possibly know.
I notice that some of you have an easy time going off Effexor. I honestly thought that would be me. Truthfully, it did nothing for me, and when I previously stopped Zoloft, I suffered few to no withdrawal symptoms, so I thought, "Yay! I can't wait to get this out of my system and try Wellbutrin!" There were several hitches in this plan.
First, I was prescribed Effexor by my family doctor. A wonderful fellow, but in retrospect, I don't believe he knew enough about these meds. When we decided that I would switch to Wellbutrin, I had to ASK him if I should wean off the Effexor. He told me, "Sure, take your 150 mg of Effexor every other day, instead of everyday, for a week. Then stop."
Apparently, this was not wise. But, I survived. I had a horrible first couple weeks, in terms of "brain zaps," dizziness, nausea, and my emotional state was just terrible. There were a few days during those couple weeks when I couldn't leave my house, I was just such a mess.
Along with going off Effexor way too quickly, I learned that switching to Wellbutrin is worse than switching to an SSRI when going off Effexor, due to the fact that Wellbutrin doesn't impact seratonin levels at all, so basically, I think it's pretty much as bad as not switching to anything, in terms of withdrawal? Or at least that's my understanding?
At any rate, it's been five weeks since I stopped Effexor totally and went up to my full dose (300 mg) of Wellbutrin XL. The brain zaps have almost gone away, but I'm feeling insane...
When I get up in the morning, I'm generally OK. I take the Wellbutrin, and I feel energized and ready to go. At approximately 3 p.m., however, I sort of crash--I get a headache, nausea, generally feel like crap. My new psychiatrist (yes, I left the clueless doctor) says it's more than likely the Effexor withdrawal, rather than the Wellbutrin, but I'm not sure if I should believe this, at five weeks Effexor-free...
Along with this afternoon/evening "crappy-feelingness," I'm still INCREDIBLY emotionally volatile. I cry about everything. I freak out when my boyfriend doesn't call me by 1 p.m. or so.
I'm in my last semester of my master's degree program, I have an assistantship, I need to start looking for post-graduate employment, and my brain, which (I swear) really used to work, doesn't seem functional anymore. I can't afford to "lose it."
So, anyone, is there hope? Have I destroyed my brain? Is there anyone who had these symptoms last 5 weeks, but eventually felt normal again?
I really apologize if I've repeated other people's questions... I'm sure I have. But, I would just really appreciate some reassurance, or at least some realistic expectations.
Thanks so much!
poster:Dkscully
thread:1016
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050128/msgs/450669.html