mperk

I am 8 days into detox after 5 years of heavy doses of effexor and wellbutrin.

I feel like **** and am hoping there is an end in sight. I tapered down from 275 mg Effexor to 37 over 6 weeks and then went off. The wellbutrin 300 mg i stopped cold turkey.

So far i have had an intense rush of emotions, fits of crying, incredible sweats, night and day, total body rash/itchyness, dizziness, sensitivity to bright light (people are making fun of my sunglasses since its winter), occasional weird "CHCHCH" noises in my ears, lack of coordination, shortness of breath, nightmares, insomnia and of course depression.

My doc was totally unsupportive of me coming off and wanted me to go for electro magnetic shock therapy. The reason i went on to begin with was a bad marriage with an emotionally abusive wife. The drugs numbed me and bought me 5 more years, my kids are 13&15 now, but at a huge cost.

So my question is this: anyone have any idea how long it takes the brain to re regulate it's own chemistry after being fukked with for 5 years? I really am determined to kick this **** - it had no real benefit apart from covering up the failure of my marriage a bit.

Lately the insomnia has been unbearable so i am taking Ambien or marijuana almost every night to shut down my brain.:

kiki5711

Why were you on both Effexor and Wellbutrin?

Effexor is really hard to stop in itself, and on top of that Wellbutrin? Good lord man???

You seriously need "medical detox", under a watchful eye of a doctor.

I had twiches in my eyes and electric buzzes going through my body on top of all other emotions while getting off Effexor and it took almost a year.

Please see a doctor to come off these drugs in a safe way.

Dimitri

mperk,

I am coming off of Tramadol which is chemically somewhat similar to Effexor even though it is marketed as a pain reliever rather than as an anti-depresant/mood elevator.

All the symptoms you are describing are familiar to me.

I have been off of T for 21 days now and things are continuing to improve.

Please Google "serotonin withdrawal" or "SSRI withdrawal" and you will find out a lot about what you are going through. I recall reading that Effexor is one of the worst to withdraw from.

I went through a 7 day inpatient detox to get through the initial stages but I have discovered that the 7 days was just a start. I am glad I had some helper drugs for that first 7 days, that's for sure.

This "serotonin withdrawal" is a big deal that none of the doctors or drug companies seems to talk about a lot. I wonder why... ha, ha.

Dimitri

I strongly agree with kiki, is there any possibility you can do a medical detox off of Effexor ?

sophiamarie2007

I used to work for the pharmaceutical company that makes Effexor and sold it for many years. It has a very quick steady state-it gets in the bloodstream quickly and leaves very quickly. Consequently, it is one of the hardest antidepressants to come off of. I would recommend doing this under a Doctor's care. 275mg is the max dose and you are now down to pretty much a nontherapeutic dose. Ask you doctor about tapering you off, over a longer period of time. You were also on a high dose of Wellbutrin and going cold turkey off of antidepressants is not a good thing. Good luck!

KuanYin

Hi mperk, welcome to SR. Please consult with a doctor on going off the Effexor, and try to do so with a slow taper. It's not uncommon for a physician/psychiatrist to prescribe two anti-depressants together, such as Effexor/Wellbutrin, or Effexor/Zoloft as the often complement each other. However, you were taking them as prescribed, right? If you were on Effexor XR (the extended release), you may be able to talk with your doctor about the regular release Effexor, (generic form is Venlafaxine), which clears the system faster, and maybe you could taper easier? I see no useful purpose whatsoever to put yourself through this misery; please contact your doctor and ease off these meds, if that's your choice. You can do this, but it does not have to be done instantly. You're putting yourself in jepordy of messed up thinking, possible suicidal thoughts, etc.

Hugs and Prayers coming your way....trying to reach out to you, please let us know how you're doing.

aeo1313

I went off Effexor about 6 years ago and I still remember how awful it was. I felt like I was seasick, hungover, and riding a roller coatster. It lasted at least a week I think.

gurlie214

My doctor put me on almost the exact doses of Wellbhtrin and Effexor you were on. I took those giant doses for several years and very stupidly decided fo stop taking them. I ended up in the hospital so sick I could barely speak. It was traumatic. I had no idea what was happening to me! Scary stuff for sure! The ER doctor figured out pretty quickly what was going on and he said it couldactually be pretty dangerous to quit CT like that. I just remember feeling like I was sea sick and I couldn't stand up straight. He put me right back on them and I did a good 6 to 8 month taper. It took a long time and I felt like hell the whole time pretty much!

WordGrrrl

I'm weaning off of Effexor, and we figure it will take about a year or so. The times when I've missed one dose have been pure misery! My last child was born addicted to Effexor, and it was very frightening; he had to stay in the NICU and be eased through the withdrawal with morphine. It's not a drug that you should ever quit cold turkey, no matter how obnoxious tapering can be.