Comments on: Withdrawal from Antidepressants

By: tamdesjar

tamdesjar — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:46:33 +0000

I am going through withdrawl from Cymbalta I hate life right now.I have been off cold turkey since wednesday it is now Sunday I feel asthough I have gone out every evening and drank to much beer.I have hot flashes ,diarriah,woozy head ,neausia body aches,and I have no energy. I have some good reaction thoug I feel more than before my body is starting to feel more normal than I have for years and yes my relationship (intimacy ) is 100 times better cant wait to feel better I will NEVER take any meds anymore I would rather suffer from cronic pain than go through this EVER in my life. :0) those are just my thoughts!

By: cmorr

cmorr — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 12:36:23 +0000

I have been on various antidepressants over the last 15 years. I have now been “clean” for almost 5 weeks from one weeks worth of Abilify. Possibly enough time to clear myself of my latest addiction. I experienced (after the initial 3 day discontinuation syndrome) a delusional state similar to the one I experienced 17 years ago from Prozac withdrawal. I had to be hosptialized for 10 days and was basically forced to begin treatment on another drug while hospitalized before I would be discharged. With the Prozac withdrawal I has hospitalized for 3 weeks. I have since learned through much research that my depression was caused by diet and gluten intolerance. I will never take another antidepressant again no matter how depressed I may feel because of these two instances. Has anyone else ever experienced going psycotic or delusional after having stopped antidepressants?

By: motogo29

motogo29 — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 21:25:52 +0000

diesel96 — i am curious as to what were the results of your EEG. I am currently in the process of “suffering” throught the E withdrawals. This is horrible!

By: diesel96

diesel96 — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 10:39:03 +0000

I have been on various ant-depresants for more thn 10 years. The last yer or so has been Venlafaxine, currently at 300mg daily This relieves depression and anxiety attacks, but slows me down in that I have less energy, regular seizures (monthly)and cant drive as a result. Also poor memory and concentration, and often heaving sweating at night. I am 2 months off 60 years of age. If I missa dose, or try to cut down when feeling ok, the electrical bain zapps are extremely intrusive and make normal life impossible. Often the zaping starts and continues for a day or so without missing or trying tocut down. Two days ago I had an EEG which coincided with an attack of the zaps. The EEG was ordered to see why seizures are so prominent. I attribute them to Venlafaxine, which is addictive and a devil in disguise, but for e the only life saving drug to be tried, so I am stuck with it. I should have the results of the EEG in a few days and I an very interested to see if the zaps show up. I have always wondered if they are in the brain or in the mind. If anyone is interested, I will post the results when available.

By: Annelies

Annelies — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 01:04:20 +0000

After 10 years taking Paroxetine I decided over a year ago to withdraw. This is hell !!!!!
But I’m gonna do it.

I take every possible thing that helps me through this, such as: beet and carrot juice, Omega-3, strong supplemets of B-17 and minerals. I also take walks every day now.
I have to face the world again because I was a zombie and right now, my world is a mess.

By: still suffering

still suffering — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:43:24 +0000

I tapered off effexor over 2 months, that was 3 months ago and I am still having terrible withdrawal symptoms. I have been on many different anti-deps over the last 16 yrs. I am taking ativan to deal with the anxiety but want to get off that as well. I am thinking of trying EMPowerPlus (TrueHope website_ which is a mega dose of vitamins & minerals. Has anyone heard of it or tried it. I can’t really afford it though so am also interested to hear about the short term Prozac use. thank you to all who posted.

By: anoan

anoan — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:35:50 +0000

in australia the max dose is 300mg a day i believe
FYI-

By: Rufia

Rufia — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:36:12 +0000

I went off Effexor cold turkey (not meaning to – but the why is not important). I was prescribed 150 mg/day because my doctor said that it would help me cope with severe pain that I am facing long term with my spine. The withdrawal or “discontinuation of use symptoms” just that term alone sounds so less alarming, huh??? has been so totally devastating. The first 2 nights I had auditory hallucinations, sweats, brain shakes and terrifying nightmares. The sweats and nightmares have continued and my doctor said that I might experience perhaps a few more weeks of feeling like this unless I wanted to go back on the medication and be “weened” off. No way do I want this poison in my house. I do know that I will feel better on my own – I do a little bit each day. (The effexor did not help me cope with my pain, either – warm water therapy is helping, though).

I can’t help but wonder if the drug companies have made withdrawal a built-in insurance for taking their product??? Yet, I certainly see the miracles of some modern-day drugs (this is obvious to all of us).

I am upset that this medication is on the market and have signed a petition stating that – I will not go quietly into the night (unfortunately, not for a few more weeks…

By: Jenn

Jenn — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:32:50 +0000

I am currently dealing with the horrible side effects of dosing down from Celexa. I have been on it for well over 6 years and talked with my dr about going off of it. I tapered down from 20mg, to 10, to 5 and now I’m completely off of it. Unfortunately the brain zaps, prickly sensations on my skin, vertigo, reality vs. dream state confusion, inability to get quality sleep, etc. are getting worse by the day – thanks to everyone’s posts I am going to try the Omega 3, B complex vitamins to see if they help relieve some of the symptoms. Thanks for the advice.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:00:16 +0000

TRY THE OVER THE COUNTER NON DRUG CALLED SAM E

OK so i read quite few of the reports of side effects after taking Effexor, i can relate to many of you, i was on it for a year and half 75mg tried ween myself of several times and i felt what many of you have this last time i quit Effexor and started taking a non drug called SAM E you can buy this over the counter in most stores. This last time i had lil to no bad side effects, it has been a month and half now that i been off Effexor i feel great i can say tho last week i developed constant head aches, not sure if this is due to the non taking of effexor because i been off it for more than a month. But to all of you there is a light at end of tunnel, be strong and god bless. REMEBER try the Sam E 400mg a day and take the omega 3 and a good multi vitamin.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:06:39 +0000

Wow, I cannot believe the amount of posts on this website and another one I found about withdrawal symptoms. I have been on 250 mgs of effexor for about 4 years. I have recently decreased from 3 a day to 2 a day finally to 1 a day…and have been off it for 2 days now. I started taking zoloft instead which I have to gradually build up in my system. It’s taking too long! The only reason I came off is because I lost my job and I could get a generic zoloft and it is the only thing I can afford. My symptoms have been crying, dizziness, definitely the “shocks”, can’t sleep and the diarrhea started last night, continuing today. It’s horrible. I even want to cry now because part of me is relieved and wanting to sob that so many people understand but the other part of me is wanting to cry because I’m afraid the symptoms will get worse. I have no patience for anything, I feel like I’m being a horrible mother and I just wish I could forget life and sleep for the next 2 months until my body can level off some. I know if I end up taking it I will just delay these symptoms until I come off it again, because I will run out and can’t afford it. I have read a few of the posts here and on another site, and I’m sure I will read more when I have time. Good luck to all of you in the same or semi the same boat. I try to remember that it’s up to me to control how I react to things, but this is really hard. If anybody wants to contact me or talk about it, just respond. I’ll be praying for us all.

Cindy

By: College Student

College Student — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:02:18 +0000

I have been on Effexor XR 300mg daily for 3 years now.. and I regret ever taking the drug. I will admit it did help my severe depression, but I’m sure I could’ve taken another drug and gotten rid of the depression without the terrible side effects and withdrawal symptoms.

They say it is not addictive, but it is. Even now, it seems I can go less and less time without my dose, almost like my body needs more effexor, more often. If I miss a dose, I end up with:

-Those terrible brain shocks (numbness and shocks through entire body)
-Unbelievable headaches
-Nausea
-Horrible night sweats

Because I have so much going on in my life, I cannot afford to have these withdrawal symptoms because they put me in bed for days and all I can do is sleep. My doctor has done nothing but thrown drugs at me throughout my struggle to find the right treatments, and she doesn’t believe how severe the brain shocks are.

The effexor has also caused alarming heart issues. I have constant tachycardia (has anyone heard of this?) – My heart rate stays around 100-120 on a daily basis and I usually can’t even relax or sleep well because I always feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest. Can effexor cause permanant heart damage?

I just want to be able to stop taking effexor, get my heart rate back down to normal and not worry about having these awful brain shocks for the rest of my life if I don’t take Effexor. I know it has helped my depression but I would rather take something else without the side effects for the depression. Does anyone know about taking Pristiq instead of effexor? Would that help the withdrawal symptoms?

By: dave

dave — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:21:25 +0000

Prednisone is known for its adverse side effects during withdrawal–excuse me…discontinuation syndrome.

It is therefore manufactured in quantities as low as 1mg, thought the indicated dosage for acute inflammation is 1mg/kg*day (about 80mg/day for a grown man).

Most antidepressants are not manufactured for dose titration.

The smallest dose of most antidepressants is 1/4 or 1/2 the indicated theraputic dosage. There is no indication for titration.

Get out your razorblade and cut it.

By: Another Concerned

Another Concerned — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:33:19 +0000

I’ve been trying to get off Sertraline/Zoloft for over a year now. My last “prescribed” amount was 100mgs. My doctor just doesn’t seem to have a clue as to the horrors of many of these drugs. My sister is a doctor who actually TOOK effexor for awhile and got off of it, and I have no clue how she did it. Most people I have been talking with that take anti-depressants report very similarly to the posts here. I can understand if someone is trading suicidal tendancies for the drug and plan to take it the rest of their lives, but it does not come without cost. This “brain zapping” is familiar, but I also get the feeling of spiders crawling under my skin and “hot flashes” for lack of a better description. Dizziness occurs and general discomfort follows. This does not hit in waves, it literally stays with me constantly weeks on end. I am now asking those who have actually stopped taking the drug for longer than a period of 1 year how they did it and if these horrible “discontinuation symptoms” will still occur. I am so afraid that I am forced to be on this stuff for the rest of my life. Sure I was sad before the pills and my mind raced at night trying to sleep; but I would endure that over the anti-depressants any day; even though they DID work. I still say the drugs aren’t worth it. I don’t want anyone in search of medical assistance to feel hopeless about what they are enduring, but ask yourself this: Do you really want to take a stupid pill, more addictive than cigarettes, filled with Flouride, for the rest of your life? And if you take a high enough dose, which I was smart to cut back on, it really dulls your senses so you feel nothing – and I mean your mom could die and you wouldn’t even cry or feel sad or feel ANYTHING. These drugs strip you of your personality. I hate very much to say this, but please keep a skeptical mind when speaking with your doctor. You are empowered to do your own medical research as well. Know what you’re putting into your body, don’t just take a pseudo stranger’s word for it that “you’ll be all better”… yeah it works, but in my opinion, this is the devil’s work in pill form.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:46:21 +0000

Day 2 of being off of this horrible, horrible drug. I was prescribed Effexor XR four years ago after having ONE PANIC ATTACK!! I had no idea about anti-depressants and just did what my doc told me to. After beign on 75mg for about 2 years I started suffering extreme migraines and constantly had a “heavy head”, couldn’t get out of bed, no longer able to exercise, etc. So I decided to come off of it. I went back down to 37.5 and then took a 25mg that I split in half for about a week. I think because I have never been on that high of a dose I am suffering much less compared to some of you, and if that is the case I don’t know how you all can stand it. My head is constantly swimming, eyes can’t catch up with my head feeling, nausea, sleeplessness, too hot, then too cold, etc. I am hoping it will not last too much longer. I find that walks out in the cold air help, but not much else. I am just so pissed that my doc gave this to me in the first place, when he shoudl have giving me some sort of tranquilizer IN CASE a panic attack came on. I mean at the time I had just had a baby, wasn’t sleeping and my best friend just died, I think one panic attack is understandable.
Anyway, good luck to all of you – be strong and know that you will get through it! I might try the Prozac – a lot of people seem to have had success with that.