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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 22 of 22. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by catherine lawrence on July 4, 1999, at 19:43:43
I have been taking effexor for 18 months and have suffered loads off side effects - sweating, nightmares, excessive sleeping, tiredness, nausea and worst of all excessive weight gain (3 stone). Has anyone else had such weight problems as my doctor seems sceptical????
Also I have just been prescribed dothiepin instead and am not looking forward to the effexor withdrawal. Any advice??? Any news on effectiveness and/or side effects of dothiepin??
thanks Catherine
Posted by saintjames on July 5, 1999, at 13:08:02
In reply to Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by catherine lawrence on July 4, 1999, at 19:43:43
> I have been taking effexor for 18 months and have suffered loads off side effects - sweating, nightmares, excessive sleeping, tiredness, nausea and worst of all excessive weight gain (3 stone). Has anyone else had such weight problems as my doctor seems sceptical????
James here....Try checking the archives....we discussed this issue(s) at length. Go bach 1-2 months. Lots of good info.
james
Posted by glenn on July 5, 1999, at 13:21:52
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by saintjames on July 5, 1999, at 13:08:02
> > I have been taking effexor for 18 months and have suffered loads off side effects - sweating, nightmares, excessive sleeping, tiredness, nausea and worst of all excessive weight gain (3 stone). Has anyone else had such weight problems as my doctor seems sceptical????
>
>
> James here....
>
> Try checking the archives....we discussed this issue(s) at length. Go bach 1-2 months. Lots of good info.
>
> james
i had dothiepin for 6 months, i worked up slowly from 25mg to 150 over 6 weeks no side effects! which is unusual for me as paxil\seroxat and zoloft\lustral drove me mad after one dose, cant say about the effexor but going off slow if you can will help,are you from engalnd? dont think you can get dothiepin in the us
all the best
glenn
Posted by bigbertha on July 6, 1999, at 9:36:42
In reply to Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by catherine lawrence on July 4, 1999, at 19:43:43
> I have been taking effexor for 18 months and have suffered loads off side effects - sweating, nightmares, excessive sleeping, tiredness, nausea and worst of all excessive weight gain (3 stone). Has anyone else had such weight problems as my doctor seems sceptical????
> Also I have just been prescribed dothiepin instead and am not looking forward to the effexor withdrawal. Any advice??? Any news on effectiveness and/or side effects of dothiepin??
> thanks CatherineI was able to tapern off Effexor by reducing
the dose by one per day per week.
Example: Current dose 225 mg/day = 3 (75mg) pills/dayWeek 1 : 2 pills/day
Week 2: 1 pill/day
Week 3: 1/2 pill/day
Adjust as needed.You can get off this stuff, but watch for rebound
depression, somatic twiches, etc. I had the weird
"electric eye syndrome" which is where you seem
to have this "electric" shock or buzz everytime
you quickly moved your eyes. Which is like 90%
of the time! But the effects did go away. Good Luck!
Posted by Nikki on July 6, 1999, at 18:49:24
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by bigbertha on July 6, 1999, at 9:36:42
I too was on Effexor for a year and a half and had awful side effects! If I miss more than one dose, I would have flu-like syndromes, dizziness, vertigo, diarrhea, etc. I finally decided, on my own without my psychiatrist, to get off it for good. I had tried 3 times before to get off it, but the side effects of withdrawal were so bad that I went back each time. I really beleive that reading this bulletin board saved my life and helped me get off this drug.
A friend of mine who is a psychiatrist prescribe me enough to taper off. The suggestion of 1 tablet a day for a week then 1/2 per day for a week made before is a good one. My friend gave me the SR version and I tapered to one a day for a week and then discontinued. The first week and a half after that I felt sick, but I took Benadryl for the side effects of withdrawal and this helped tremendously. I found this remedy on Dr. Bob Psychopharmalogy link. It also says that your psychiatrist can prescribe Prozac during the withdrawal period to ease the symptoms, that is provided that he or she is supporting you through this. Mine was convinced that I was "imagining" the awful withdrawal effects.
I have been off for 2 months now and am so thankful. I would recommend trying to come off it if you can especially if it was not very effective with the depression like in my case.
Remember I am not a doctor, but I've certainly been there. Search the archives for posts on Effexor withdrawal and make your decision. I hope that this helps and I wish you good luck and good health! Let me know how it goes!!
Posted by sharon on July 6, 1999, at 20:52:52
In reply to Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by catherine lawrence on July 4, 1999, at 19:43:43
Hi Catherine.....I was on Effexor for 2 yrs. and thought that all the sweats, shivers, etc. etc. etc. was just peri-menopausal, until "I really found out what was going on".
My last dose of Effexor was 6/21, and it has been pure "hell" since than. Everything everyone has written about under "effexor withdrawal" is true...Believe it or not....I break capsules open, divide out 9 "balls" equal in number between the sizes of lg, med, small. In roughly 1 hour they'll kick in and usually take me through the day. My MD suggested I go back up to 37.5 mg., but this Effexor withdrawal is scary and I just want the stuff out of my system.
Let me know how and what you're doing???
Sharon
Posted by TV on July 7, 1999, at 12:09:26
In reply to Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by catherine lawrence on July 4, 1999, at 19:43:43
> I have been taking effexor for 18 months and have suffered loads off side effects - sweating, nightmares, excessive sleeping, tiredness, nausea and worst of all excessive weight gain (3 stone). Has anyone else had such weight problems as my doctor seems sceptical????
> Also I have just been prescribed dothiepin instead and am not looking forward to the effexor withdrawal. Any advice??? Any news on effectiveness and/or side effects of dothiepin??
> thanks CatherineFriend... taper down slow, really, really slow, even if it takes 3-6 months. Effexor caused me severe physical pain (I thought my insides were on fire!) when I tapered down from 225 mg over the course of 3 weeks. My poor wife couldn't even look at me, she was such a nervous wreck about
my condition.Please be careful.
Posted by Shelley Derline on July 7, 1999, at 15:54:03
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by TV on July 7, 1999, at 12:09:26
> > I have been taking effexor for 18 months and have suffered loads off side effects - sweating, nightmares, excessive sleeping, tiredness, nausea and worst of all excessive weight gain (3 stone). Has anyone else had such weight problems as my doctor seems sceptical????
> > Also I have just been prescribed dothiepin instead and am not looking forward to the effexor withdrawal. Any advice??? Any news on effectiveness and/or side effects of dothiepin??
> > thanks Catherine
>
> Friend... taper down slow, really, really slow, even if it takes 3-6 months. Effexor caused me severe physical pain (I thought my insides were on fire!) when I tapered down from 225 mg over the course of 3 weeks. My poor wife couldn't even look at me, she was such a nervous wreck about
> my condition.
>
> Please be careful.I have been taking effexor for 6 months and have gained over 15 pounds. I decided to go off of it and the side effects are not pleasant. I have been light headed, extremely emotional and terrible nausea. I can't wait to get this out of my system. I would like to know if the weight will come off easily or if it will be a stuggle, can anyone answer that one?
Posted by v on July 8, 1999, at 5:56:25
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by Shelley Derline on July 7, 1999, at 15:54:03
i too am getting ready to taper off effexor, hoping to drop some weight. also reading all these posts about it's toxicity has me scared...
how slowly do i need to taper to keep these side effects in abeyance?
will my metabolism ever return to normal??
thanks,
v
Posted by Richard on July 12, 1999, at 1:12:23
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by TV on July 7, 1999, at 12:09:26
I discontinued Effexor XR 4 days ago after taking
doses as high as 1200 mg's a day, because I knew
eventually I would overdose or go nuts. Yes, I am
a recovering alcoholic addict, and of course I wen
from 100-150 mg's a day on up to 750 - 100 mg's a
day because it produced an amphetamine-like 'high'
for me and it didn't cause me to go into a depression like street drugs did. Problem was, of course, that I was still using, only it was 'legal'... I also couldn't sleep with my
wife because I would tremble and move incessantly in my sleep. I wouldn't get a good nights rest for
months until I let off of the dosage, and then,
Wow-- would I have dreams that would put any Hollywood script to shame. My wife, on the rare occasions she would try to sleep with me, was scared silly one night when she caught me talking
in 3 different voices during one of my dreams. I remember vividly the dream I was in during one of the vocalized dialogues she heard from me that night, but the other two I do not.
I am now on my 5th complete day of total
abstinence from effexor (as well as all other drugs) and I cannot rid myself of these annoying
electric shocks that seem to accompany my rapid-eye movements. However, the really bad shocks are
most definitely the ones I experience during what I like to call "the realization or conscious awareness of" a new discovery or maybe an "oh yeah !" type of thing that happens to all of us during the normal course of a day. It can be good , or it can be neutral, but the biggest "jolts" I receive are when these little discoveries are bad or evil in nature. Especially during confrontations or bad thoughts which actually come to pass. In short, the normal thoughts and judgements and observations we make during the course of a day. In other words, to totally avoid any shocks, I would have to be in a completely familiar environment with a comfortable dose of tunnel vision or some kind of 'lock-jaw' of the eye muscles.
Hopefully, this is making some kind of sense to those of you who think you are getting away with taking more Effexor XR than are being prescribed, and are curious about any others who are like you and going through this.
P. S. I have no more sweats and , believe it or not, I have MORE energy than I did before I stopped taking this.
E-mail me if you have something to say about any of this, good, bad, or indifferent. (no judgementals, please--been there...etc...)
Thanks,
Richard
Posted by Eileen on July 17, 1999, at 23:21:23
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by sharon on July 6, 1999, at 20:52:52
> Hi Catherine.....I was on Effexor for 2 yrs. and thought that all the sweats, shivers, etc. etc. etc. was just peri-menopausal, until "I really found out what was going on".
>
> My last dose of Effexor was 6/21, and it has been pure "hell" since than. Everything everyone has written about under "effexor withdrawal" is true...Believe it or not....I break capsules open, divide out 9 "balls" equal in number between the sizes of lg, med, small. In roughly 1 hour they'll kick in and usually take me through the day. My MD suggested I go back up to 37.5 mg., but this Effexor withdrawal is scary and I just want the stuff out of my system.
>
> Let me know how and what you're doing???
>
> SharonHi Catherine,
I have been on Effexor for 1 year, and decided to taper off.
From 150 mg:
75mg/day for 1 week
37.5 mg/day for 1 week
25mg/day for 1 week
12.5mg and 10mg Prozac/day for 1.5 weeks
10mg of Prozac for 1.5 weeksIf you taper down low, and add Prozac, you will not experience dizziness, or vomiting. At least I haven't.
I have only been free of drugs for 3 days, but while I was just on 10mg of Prozac,I started to feel depressed again. I feel depressed in the morning, but getting out of bed to brush my teeth or taking a shower helps me. Try exercising, or meditation to help ease the depression during the day. I usually break out of it by the afternoon.I have read on the internet that you can feel anxiety, and or depression for 2-3 weeks after stopping. I'm trying to figure out if I'm experiencing withdrawal, or if I'm relapsing into depression again.
Posted by Catherine on July 18, 1999, at 18:04:36
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by glenn on July 5, 1999, at 13:21:52
Hi,
Thanks for all the advice. It really helps when you know other people know what you're talking about. Alot of the doctors over here in the uk have hardly even heard of efexor so they're not much help!!The doctor didn't even have a clue about the withdrawral and asked me if I wanted to come of them completely straight away!
I've been cutting down slowly and I'm now on 35mg every 36 hours and I'm already feeling less tired. I've read on some other news groups how hard it is to lose the weight gained on effexor which is kind of depressing. Not really a very good antidepressant is it if it makes you feel worse about yourself?!
I really don't want to risk taking any other anti deppressants again and I'm going to try St johns wort. Anyone else found this useful? After 4 years on anti deppressants its all a bit daunting in a medication free world....
Take care
Catherine
Posted by bob on January 26, 2000, at 20:12:37
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by Richard on July 12, 1999, at 1:12:23
this stuff is poison. I only took it for 3 months and when I tried to go off of it the eye "jangling", the flu
symptoms and the emotional tempest were too much. I went back on a smaller dose and tapered down very
very slowly. after 45 days off of it, the eyeballs are possibly getting better but there is a persistent ringing in my
ears and my mouth is drier and with a worse taste in it than when I was on the poison. Thank god I was not on
it for as long as some or at quite the maximum dose. my doctor was befuddled and pretended like i was a one
in a million withdrawl case but i think not.
Posted by Kev on January 27, 2000, at 20:49:33
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by bob on January 26, 2000, at 20:12:37
Each bottle of Effexor ought to carry the Mr. Yuk poison-control sticker, IMO. Sure, it works well for some people, but anyone who's thinking of taking this stuff ought to take into consideration the 4 weeks or so of hell they'll go through if it rpoves to be ineffective and they have to stop taking it.
-Kev
Posted by Louisa on February 6, 2000, at 1:37:09
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by Kev on January 27, 2000, at 20:49:33
> Each bottle of Effexor ought to carry the Mr. Yuk poison-control sticker, IMO. Sure, it works well for some people, but anyone who's thinking of taking this stuff ought to take into consideration the 4 weeks or so of hell they'll go through if it rpoves to be ineffective and they have to stop taking it.
> -KevI was on effexor for several months for my Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. I wanted off it, and began to experience horrible side effects...nightmares which I seemed not to be able to wake up from (I knew this would happen, so I wasn't too concerned...just astounded at the intensity)but what was most distressing and scary was a short but frequent electrical feeling and flashes of light. The electrical feeling was accompanied by a panic or a paranoia which was short but intense. I could not withsraw "normally", so it ended up taking me nearly 7 months of tapering down to get totally off. this is what concerns me now: It has been since September that I have taken any of this drug, yet I continue to feel these little electric feelings. I sometimes have headaches from this effexor which are horrible. They've lasted anywhere from 4 days to several hours (they are diminishing in duration now.) They stop suddenly...like in about a minute or so. And I have joint pain and stiffness which has resulted in some loss of range of motion. MY QUESTIONS: What is causing this? What goes on in the body...what has effexor altered in my system that is causing this...AND why am I still experiencing these symptoms nearly 1/2 year since I've taken this drug. It cannot possibly still be in my system, so why am I feeling these things? If no one knows, could someone point me in a direction so that I could find out?
Posted by jean on March 6, 2000, at 23:34:54
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by Louisa on February 6, 2000, at 1:37:09
> > Each bottle of Effexor ought to carry the Mr. Yuk poison-control sticker, IMO. Sure, it works well for some people, but anyone who's thinking of taking this stuff ought to take into consideration the 4 weeks or so of hell they'll go through if it rpoves to be ineffective and they have to stop taking it.
> > -Kev
>
> I was on effexor for several months for my Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. I wanted off it, and began to experience horrible side effects...nightmares which I seemed not to be able to wake up from (I knew this would happen, so I wasn't too concerned...just astounded at the intensity)but what was most distressing and scary was a short but frequent electrical feeling and flashes of light. The electrical feeling was accompanied by a panic or a paranoia which was short but intense. I could not withsraw "normally", so it ended up taking me nearly 7 months of tapering down to get totally off. this is what concerns me now: It has been since September that I have taken any of this drug, yet I continue to feel these little electric feelings. I sometimes have headaches from this effexor which are horrible. They've lasted anywhere from 4 days to several hours (they are diminishing in duration now.) They stop suddenly...like in about a minute or so. And I have joint pain and stiffness which has resulted in some loss of range of motion. MY QUESTIONS: What is causing this? What goes on in the body...what has effexor altered in my system that is causing this...AND why am I still experiencing these symptoms nearly 1/2 year since I've taken this drug. It cannot possibly still be in my system, so why am I feeling these things? If no one knows, could someone point me in a direction so that I could find out?
I have gone 5 days without effexor and slowly I felt my leg muscles
begin to ache severly.they were in constant pain
I THOUGHT MAYBE i WAS HAVING VEIN PROBLEMS, but
when I got back on effexor two days later the pain subsided. Has anyone experienced this?
Posted by Teresa on March 19, 2000, at 10:14:18
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by jean on March 6, 2000, at 23:34:54
I am so thankful I found this site. I have been on
Effexor for a little over six months. I found it
helpful for increasing my energy, helping me
sleep and generally getting through the day.
I started to notice that my sex drive disappearred
and my ability to experience emotions was gone.
And made the decision to come off the medication.
I was put on half the dose as of last week. I started
experiencing severe nausea, diahrea and tiredness
to the point of having to sleep most of the day.
Until I read the experiences of others I thought
I had the flu. In addition I have always experienced
the electric eye shocks and didn't have a clue it
was from the medication. I am still looking forward
to getting off the medication and now have some
understanding of what I am going through.I hope it
doesn't get too bad.
Posted by Cam W. on March 19, 2000, at 12:23:42
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by Teresa on March 19, 2000, at 10:14:18
Teresa - Effexor is an antidepressant with a very short half-life. You should not come off of it cold turkey. The dose must be gradually reduced (tapered) over a 4 to 6 week period (sometimes longer, depending on dosage). What you are experiencing is called withdrawl effects and they are very common (the flu-like symptoms, nausea , lightheadedness, unsteadiness). These effects sometimes take 2 or more weeks to resolve, but most people (on a low to average dose - 37.5mg - 150mg daily) will feel better in a week. If these effects persist, see your doctor and he/she can help you to taper the dose. Also most antidepressants have to be taken 'at least' six months to lessen the risk of relapsing to depression again. I believe that one should stay on an antidepressant for at least 9 months (after resolution of depressive symptoms) to help avoid relapse. This has been my experience. Hope this helps - Cam W.
Posted by Jeffja9 on May 14, 2001, at 10:58:01
In reply to Re: Effexor side effects and withdrawral, posted by TV on July 7, 1999, at 12:09:26
I tapered down off of Effexor xr for 3 weeks from 250 to 150 to 75 to 37.5. It's been 5 days since being totally off and I'm still in hell with the side effects. WHEN DOES THIS STOP?! AND what can I do differently to change this.. Shoud I go back on and stay on 37.5 longer?? Is there anything to stop the symptoms? Please email me if you can help me. thanks.!!!
Jeff
Posted by SalArmy4me on May 14, 2001, at 12:48:23
In reply to EFFEXOR SIDE EFFECTS HELP ME!!!!!, posted by Jeffja9 on May 14, 2001, at 10:58:01
Look into single-dose Prozac or Benadryl for Effexor withdrawal: http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/Antidepressant-discontinua.html
> I tapered down off of Effexor xr for 3 weeks from 250 to 150 to 75 to 37.5. It's been 5 days since being totally off and I'm still in hell with the side effects. WHEN DOES THIS STOP?! AND what can I do differently to change this.. Shoud I go back on and stay on 37.5 longer?? Is there anything to stop the symptoms? Please email me if you can help me. thanks.!!!
> Jeff
Posted by jerz on May 14, 2001, at 21:36:19
In reply to EFFEXOR SIDE EFFECTS HELP ME!!!!!, posted by Jeffja9 on May 14, 2001, at 10:58:01
> I tapered down off of Effexor xr for 3 weeks from 250 to 150 to 75 to 37.5. It's been 5 days since being totally off and I'm still in hell with the side effects. WHEN DOES THIS STOP?! AND what can I do differently to change this.. Shoud I go back on and stay on 37.5 longer?? Is there anything to stop the symptoms? Please email me if you can help me. thanks.!!!
> Jeff
Jeff,
If you don't want to add additional meds while you taper (like Prozac as Sal suggests) you can try what some of us have tried. I tapered from 37.5 by opening the capsules and dividing the granules first in half, then in quarters, and so on. The reduced number of granules would hvae to be inserted back into an empty capsule. I did this over a 2-3 month period until I got down to about 4 mg, then stopped. This really helped reduce the intensity of the withdrawal effects. I have been Effexor free for a few weeks now and feel great. Good Luck. Jerz
Posted by Nellie on May 14, 2001, at 22:31:09
In reply to EFFEXOR SIDE EFFECTS HELP ME!!!!!, posted by Jeffja9 on May 14, 2001, at 10:58:01
> I tapered down off of Effexor xr for 3 weeks from 250 to 150 to 75 to 37.5. It's been 5 days since being totally off and I'm still in hell with the side effects. WHEN DOES THIS STOP?! AND what can I do differently to change this.. Shoud I go back on and stay on 37.5 longer?? Is there anything to stop the symptoms? Please email me if you can help me. thanks.!!!
> JeffBeen there, done that!! Hang in there, I'm thinking of you. Sorry, I don't have any practical advice, but if good thoughts help, then you're getting them!
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