getting off effexor

[xjunkie4u]

I've been on effexor for several years at only about 75mg. per day. Everything was ok then I moved and got a girlfriend for the first time in years and was having slight problems. It was more that I was inconsistant in my endevors with her so I'm now tappering to 37.5 mg. and started taking welbutrin. I'm not even sure if this relationship will work out but hope it will. The main thing I want to know is if anyone else has gotten off effexor and gone through the dizziness etc. and if they are more potent after. thanks

[shutterbug]

well....i'm not quite sure what your asking.

Are you asking if the Effexor becomes more potent if you have been on it before and gone several years without it?

Has a doctor wanting to switch out the Welbutrin for the Effexor?

(i'm on both Effexor and the Welbutrin, btw)

I'm not a psychiatrist or doctor, but my question would be....If you are having issues with depression....did your doctor consider simply raising the dose of the Effexor? BEFORE trying a complete med change?

I'm on 150mg Effexor and 300 mg Welbutrin. About 3 years ago, I wasn't on the Welbutrin and my doc had me on 300mg of Effexor. Most docs won't prescribe more than 300mg of Effexor, but upon my asking my pdoc (who is among the top in the state), he said on a few occasions he has prescribed as high a dose as 450mg.

So my point is....75mg of Effexor isn't a high dose and it could be that just going a step or two up in the dosage strength might could do the trick.

I'd suggest talking to your doctor about it. AND, please....if you are seeing a general physician....this is just one example of why seeing a psychiatrist for mental health meds is always in the patient's best interest.

If you are already seeing a psychiatrist and they don't have a good reason for doing a complete change in the med you are taking....then i'd suggest trying out a different doc or at least getting a second opinion.

cheers,
Jenna

[Lizrox]

I went off Effexor a couple of times and had no side effects.

[xjunkie4u]

I'm getting off effexor because it makes me somewhat impotent. Now that I have started on welbutrin and am tapering off effexor, I don't seem to have that problem. It seemed to help me but the price was too high as I'm now in a serious relationship. 75 mg. is verey low and maybe it wasn't doing much or I wasn't that depressed.

[sabine]

Is effexor effective?? most of the people talks about its side effect

[PaperDolls]

I was on Effexor for about a year and a half and it did work for me for about half that time. It sort of lost it's kick and when I tried to get off I had a horrible time. Much of the time I was on the effexor was because I couldn't get off without being very sick. It does not effect everyone this way.....we're all different.

I think sexual side effects are common for lots of different anti-depressants. I had that side effect with almost all different AD's I've tried.

Good luck to you xjunkie.

[pedagogue]

Originally Posted by PaperDolls

I think sexual side effects are common for lots of different anti-depressants.

Most med release notes under-report this %, though each med has a slightly different make-up, so just because one does....doesn't mean the rest will. Sometimes adjusting the dosage will work, other times a change to another kind can help.

-t

[historyteach]

If I'm not mistaken, it's the SSRIs that have the notorious reputation for causing sexual disfunction. One of the positive points about Welbutrin is the lack of that problem. But, it can increase anxiety; it gave me panic attacks!

Shalom!

[thevigilancecom]

off meds for about 4 months now, I think. I tried to wean myself off slowly, with my psychiatrist refusing to help me at all. Crazy bitch. Anyway, I'm feeling very depressed and alone. Need to hear how people survive.

[Asil086]

Just wanted to share a little bit about my experience with effexor. I am a 21-year-old college student who has been off of the medication since May of 2007. I was in my Junior year of high school and my therapist recommended I take the drug-I was at 175 mg per day for 4 years. After being on it for so long, I began to wonder if it really helped me, and decided to go off. To make a long story short, it took me about 5 months to get off, and I did it very very slowly. I suffered from the brain zaps, or "shivers" as everyone calls them, and was terrified when I tried to stop at 37.5 and felt incredibly sick. I found out that there is a pill form of effexor that comes in 25 mg tablets and you can break them into pieces to take this process even more slowly-which I recommend! Completely stopping when I was down to about 5 mg per day was still difficult, and I felt off for about 2 weeks. I just want you to know that it does get better! I used to read people's chats regarding issues they were having and it would terrify me. I still have some ear sensitivity but after being on the drug for four years it takes the body some time to adjust to the chemical changes. Also, the psychiatrists are not much help, they pretty much denied the side effects that i discussed and weren't interested in my concerns. If you want to get off the drug-hang in there. What helps-drink a lot of water to flush out your system and keep things healthy, work-out daily, take vitamins, and get a good amount of sleep on a regular schedule. Sex life improves greatly once off! Good luck!

[zoolu58]

I was never successful at getting off Effexor. Night sweats and suicidal feelings were very bad. I went from 75 mg. to 300 after my last episode.

[TiredMama]

Originally Posted by zoolu58

I was never successful at getting off Effexor. Night sweats and suicidal feelings were very bad. I went from 75 mg. to 300 after my last episode.

^^ Me as well. I was hospitalized once for suicidal tendencies and other behaviors. I had taken myself off of it and was in a manic out of control phase. I was taking Effexor XR 150. I took Effexor up until a couple of years ago then I changed over to Zoloft. Effexor had horrible withdrawal symptoms for me and I will never take it again.

[ksos]

I have often wondered if Effexor did make one impotent, as well, but I am taking so many drugs right now that I could not offer an opinion. Like TiredMama expressed, I also became manic and suicidal when I tried to get off of this drug myself. Unlike her, though, I do feel a benefit from Effexor although the impotence is so severe that I have stopped trying to even engage with a woman on an intimate level...I remain friends with them, if they wish, but I cannot function as a man, even with the help of Viagra or other meds....I truly think that it involves so many other factors, though, meaning my dysfunction in that area.

Always consult with your medical doctor about taking or stopping these meds. I do it the wrong way, so be wary of doing it yourself....

[SpaceDementia]

I've been prescribed a myriad of various AD's and mood stabilizers since I was 12. I never cared for the side effects from all of them until I started taking Effexor XR. Initially the drug made me manic as hell. I didn't sleep much for the first two weeks but then I became accustomed to it. I became more productive and could concentrate better but after a month or two at one dose it would become ineffective. After 13 months I was taking 337.5mg a day.
I am not a violent human being in the slightest but when I was on that stuff I got in two fights, both of which I instigated. It was when I was at that high dose when all I could think about was getting in another fight and hoping the next one would end with my opponent deceased. I caught myself at that point and quit cold turkey. Not a pleasant experience to say the least but it removed all the aggressive feeling I had had. Never had any since. I personally feel that all psychiatric medicines are pure poison.

[midnight08]

when i came off effexor i did it cold turkey and felt like i was going insane ...i wanted to ram my head through a wall or something ....i ended up in hospital overdosed on xanax

[liesagain]

I was on it for 6 weeks or so, and it was horrible to get off of..........

sick vomiting just generally very ILL took a few weeks but Its better

The reason I stopped taking it is because when I missed a dose I felt those same things, vomiting sick headache .............so I decided this was not something I would keep taking ...................

[needtobefree]

I have to say I'm loving it, I've only been on it for a short time granted but already it's made a huge difference to my anxiety levels and I've had no discernable side effects. The way I feel at the moment I don't mind if I have to stay on it for a long time. It's taken a while to get to the right drug combination right and I'm feeling really hopeful now so it can't be all bad :0)

[Lily]

I was only on effexor for a month or so cuz it gave me major brain zaps as i was falling asleep at night and when I quit it i would start getting dizzy just sitting on the couch. it was really weird.....

[ehtak]

I've been on Effexor for seven and a half years, 75 mg a day with the ability to double that if I needed it. Recently I had a major depressive episode and decided the Effexor may not be doing what I need it to do, so the Psych. is tapering me off Effexor and starting me on Lamictal.
I've tried to wean myself from Effexor a couple times in the past, only to succumb to the "Brain Zaps" and temper tantrums and go right back on it. This time, I'm doing it with a doctor's help. I don't think the Lamictal is doing a freakin thing. I went to 37.5 mg of the Effexor every day, then to 37.5 every other day, and today was my first day with none. I was so dizzy up until lunch. And nauseous. Food helped some. I am a court reporter, and normally if I get behind when someone's talking, I can retain almost a whole paragraph in my head. Today, it was like I had no short-term memory. Everything was just gone as soon as it was said.
The first couple years I was on Effexor, my mood was great. My sex life with my husband sucked. I couldn't get aroused, let alone reach an orgasm. But with some time, those side effects faded. Although, after a couple years of no arousal whatsoever, I cheated on him because the first time I felt turned on in years came along with someone else. Now I'm living with that guilt. I have a forgiving husband.
I'm really praying that this time I can make it. Last time my family begged me to go back on.
Honestly, for me, despite my family history of depression, I think it's all hormonal. If doctors and researchers would just realize that hormonal imbalance is real, and figure out what to do with it, half of America would be normal.

[ksos]

I am truly amazed and concerned at the percentage of members here who have had these awful withdrawals, even when they are medically supervised. Effexor "cured" my lifelong depression and has helped assist in my Klonopin taper. Yet, when I hear about those who have suffered these horrible side effects as well as the inability to stop taking this drug, I really have to think about this.

I have experienced the "Brain Shocks" and the horrific dizziness when I do run out of refills. I cannot even move when I am off of this medication, and the headaches feel like they are going to make my head explode. I even know that I cannot have a sexual relationship, due to the sexual side effects.

That said, I would rather have this medication in my life than the depression I had endured for 30 years.

[sugarssweetpea]

Just wondering why everyone is wanting to get off of it. If things are going well mentally while you are on it, why change?

[Astro]

Just going to share my experience and opinion sugar- I took EffexorXR for a little more than my first year of sobriety. I've shared on these forums many times that for the first few months I felt like I lived in a perpetual fog, like having a head full of cobwebs. Gradually I settled in and felt comfortable on the med, and life became fairly normal. But I can't honestly say that I felt 100% perfect, and more importantly I didn't feel 100% clean.

Yes, things were going well while I was on it, but I wanted life to go well without it too. I did a gradual tapering off over 4-6 weeks and had zero side effects. It felt wonderful to not take anything. And while life has dealt me with a little anxiety and depression at times, and I've questioned whether I should have stayed on it or not, I've been without it for 2 years so I'm hoping I won't have the need to take it again.

On a side note, it's also nice not to have that monthly expense!

[tw33k]

i posted in another thread that the only time i feel any adverse reactions on efexor is if i stop taking it for a while.
an abrubt halt is not reccomended.