Posted by Cetacea on December 28, 2003, at 9:13:05
In reply to Re: Effexor withdrawal symptoms!, posted by Carmen Lydia on December 28, 2003, at 4:16:48
For me, Effexor XR (75mg)delivered MORE hotflashes. I'm 55 and have had what I determine to be mild/moderate hotflashes when not on any meds. Prozac (10mg) greatly alleviated them but relieved me of any sexual desire, also.
The w/drawal symptoms that you noticed I had also. The "mind-zaps" [such as you describe and for me also delivering a feeling that I must describe almost like a "petit mal" seizure --or my idea of one, almost like "losing it" for a millisecond] I'm still having, much less frequently and much less in intensity, some 4-5 weeks after stopping Effexor. I *did* take one 10mg Prozac on day (hmm??) 5 (I think) and then 1/2 prozac (5mg) for the next 2 nights. I do believe this helped. And then I stopped ALL "pills" except for vitamin pills. I also use flax seed oil and ground flaxseed on a regular basis. While getting this effexor *monkey* off my back, I had *terrible* mind zaps, bad back pain which "turned into" intestinal flu-type misery, but *with a difference*. As someone else (ahead of me by a coupla weeks in getting off Effexor) said, the wild dreams w/*waking 'trailers'* from them have diminished in me greatly around 4-5 weeks away from the last effexor. It has been almost devastating to live thru (wondering if I *could*) the "black thoughts" that I've had while getting off of this drug. Except for the somatic side-effects (not just "sexual", but also some kind of 'zombie' lack of enjoying 'touching' of any kind), Prozac would be my "favorite" mind-med. In *retrospect*, Effexor was more *altering* to my personality than I choose to have happen to me. It also seems to have had some effect on other things: My heart arrhythmias were/are 'different', both on Effexor and still, some weeks later [not pleasant]. My sleeping patterns (deteriorating over the last few years, but never "okay", probably due to alcoholism in parents, active at night, when I was a child) are still different. In fact, I really wish I could KEEP the "withdrawal effect" of *sleeping more soundly*, which I have experienced since getting off of Effexor. As scary as it is to think about a drug having some unknown, unsought *permanent* effect on one's brain, it would be a *gift* if my old sleep patterns (lots of wakefulness thru the night, w/difficulty dropping off to sleep and problematic early (too early) waking) would not return.
Have you noticed that effexor alters your visual acuity? It did mine. I would not choose to go back onto Effexor. I *might* go back onto Prozac. Welbutrin delivered instant bad headaches (I'm a migraine sufferer anyway). Lexapro wasn't very effective, but right now I cannot remember *why*. Some of the "anxiolytic" mind meds have worked okay for me, but I do not want to be addicted to them. Most things work during a crisis for me, but I do not want to remain on them. I would like to find *some other way* to relieve depression. Besides 'mind meds', I've tried (and still "use") many of the other strategies for coping w/my depression/black thoughts, such as exercise and meditation.
I hope you are able to find a solution that works for you! Forgetting to take pills can lead to an unpleasant experience. Forgetting to bring them with you when you go somewhere sounds like a terrible experience. The info on this site has been an *eye-opener* to me, and everything I've read here about Effexor withdrawals has proved accurate from my own experience, with variations in 'intensity'. Some of us lose weight on it; some gain weight on it. Things like that vary, but it seems that most of us have some amount of the same withdrawal symptoms when getting off of it. Good luck to you!
> Recently, I accidentally forgot to take my Effexor XR 150mg which I would take 2 pills at once, as directed by my physician. I believe I've now missed a total of 3 days. I immediately started to feel ill and honestly thought I was coming down with the flu or something. I started to feel dizzy and very light headed. I had high blood pressure before going on Effexor, so when I started to have palpitations and an increased heart rate, I thought it was just me. Also, I'm experiencing a very high anxiety feeling in my chest. Like I'm overly worried about something, when in reality I'm not. I'm also feeling a sickening and nauseating feeling in my stomach along with cramps and diarrhea. My body is achy and I've not gotten much sleep. Or I do sleep and find myself having weird and off the wall dreams. Another weird thing is that if I sleep a couple of hours, I physically feel as if I've slept an entire night or if I slept all night I feel very unrested. I also find myself waking up frequently during the night. The only thing that really stood out and concerned me were these weird feelings in my head. They are not there constantly but come and go. They are very frequent, every 5-10 minutes or so. They feel like these electrical or zapping sensations, that made me realize that this is not the flu. Along with everything that I'm feeling...I'm feeling dizzy. I'm in the medical field and am therefore exposed to patients who are sick, especially now with, "flu season" in full bloom. On one hand I'm glad that I don't have the flu and on the other I am worried sick and wonder how long is this going to go on for. I cannot believe how one can be off of a medication for one day and start to experience all of these withdrawal symptoms, this is absolutely incredible. I unfortunately do not have any Effexor with me at the house, so I have to wait another day or so before I can get any. Do I start back up on 300mgs? This is truly confusing and unreal. I feel so light headed, dizzy, stomach is killing me, achy body, I feel weak and I'm sluggish. This feels like a nightmare. My head is in a cloud and to top it off I'm reminded every 5-10 minutes that I'm an idiot for forgetting to carry and take my medication, by receiving electrical shocks/zapps in my head. But, prior to going off the Effexor, my blood pressure medication was changed and I immediately started to get these severe hot flashes. When I reported this to my physician I was told that my new blood pressure medication was absolutely NOT the cause of it. Now that I'm feeling the way that I am, I honestly believe that the Effexor is the cause of those hot flashes as well.
poster:Cetacea
thread:12459
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031225/msgs/293979.html