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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by ST on July 3, 2004, at 5:49:40
In reply to Re: How long does withdrawal from Effexor last?, posted by alan38 on June 28, 2004, at 10:40:51
My "brain zaps" and withdrawal effects lasted three months...couldn't kick Effexor quickly; had to whittle down the tablet little by little. I think Effexor is the hardest from which to withdraw. There's a great article in this month's SELF magazine about AD withdrawal, specifically the writer's experience withdrawing from Effexor.
ST
Posted by Catty on July 3, 2004, at 7:44:44
In reply to Re: Love Effexor, posted by starlight on July 2, 2004, at 11:22:29
This information has been so helpful, I can't tell you! Question...what is causing these "brain zaps" does anyone know? I thought I was hearing things! (I guess I am!) I read some postings about the memory thing...I know this sounds really simplistic, but I have found a REALLY good multivitamin (one that include really high antioxidants) has really helped me. I'm 50 and menopausal so I guess it's expected to some degree. If you want the info about the vitamins let me know I'll pass it along. Also, there is a great article in this month's SELF magazine...I think someone mentioned it already. I thought I was going crazy because my doc didn't tell me about these side-effects either. Never mentioned it. Thanks again for the help! Take care and be good..
Posted by Frisky_Cat on July 3, 2004, at 9:42:53
In reply to Re: Love Effexor, posted by Catty on July 3, 2004, at 7:44:44
I doubt there is a shred of evidence to support the use of multivitamin supplements or antioxidants to treat depression or anxiety disorder. The placebo effect probably explains why you feel better.
Let me add that many cases of depression or anxiety require a pharmacological cocktail - a combination of drugs. Those of you who have not had success with Effexor should explore that strategy. Note it requires a very experienced psychiatrist.
Posted by Dr. Bob on July 3, 2004, at 14:51:17
In reply to Re: Love Effexor, posted by Catty on July 3, 2004, at 7:44:44
> I know this sounds really simplistic, but I have found a REALLY good multivitamin (one that include really high antioxidants) has really helped me...
Sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to redirect follow-ups regarding multivitamins to Psycho-Babble Alternative. Here's a link:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20040613/msgs/362826.html
Thanks,
Bob
Posted by Catty on July 4, 2004, at 7:10:25
In reply to Re: Love Effexor, posted by Frisky_Cat on July 3, 2004, at 9:42:53
No, please understand. I only meant the vitamins might be helpful for the memory problem that person seemed to be having. Believe me, I know full well that depresison and anxiety require MUCH more than a vitamin can provide. I was only addressing the bad and short-term memory issue.
Any ideas about the "buzzing?"
Posted by snake on July 6, 2004, at 7:34:28
In reply to Effexor Withdrawal...also known as HELL, posted by zapped out on June 26, 2004, at 0:32:44
> This message board was all that got me through this past week of pure hell. I went from raging to crying. The brain zaps....zzzztttt... still there ocassionally, but not so completely mind numbing. I cried for several hours at a time, and often in the midst of tears I turned to this message board for support. Just knowing that I was not alone made each day livable.
>
> These were my symptoms:
> nausea, diarrehea, sleepiness, crying, raging, suicidal thoughts, zzzzaaappps, muscle weakness
>
> ----What made me feel better??----
> This nice mixture of nature taken with food:
> (these pills help your brain balance now that it is without artificial stimulation) I bought them at the local grocery store.
>
> Omega 3 fish oil
> B-Complex (you need at least 11 B's in there)
> Magnesium 1000mg
>
> -You can also add L-Tryptophan and L-Tyrosine (found at health food stores)-
>
> oh yeah, and lots of mylanta
>
> I hope my entry can help at least one suffering person out there. Btw, my tapering schedule was: 75 mg to 37.5 mg (one week) to nothing. Each day is hard, I know, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!I have been weining off ex. sincejan.2004. got down to 37.5mg and dr. said that i could quit.been trying since first of may,finaly stopped it june 18. first week and half pretty bad,all the withdrawal sympons. now it's not too bad,been 19days. will this all soon be gone ? i took ex. for about 2 yrs.,225mg. a day. sometimes i think it's something else. any help? thanks
Posted by LynnPerley on July 7, 2004, at 0:59:15
In reply to Re: Love Effexor, posted by Catty on July 3, 2004, at 7:44:44
I have weaned down from 300 mg Effexor XR without major incident. I took a month each to drop from 300 to 225 to 150 to 75 mg. I'm now going to take a week to drop to 37.5 then the following week, zero. I've had a few little side effects but nothing debilitating. Meanwhile, my energy level is way up, and I'm using other techniques to deal with any down feelings.
Posted by KaraS on July 7, 2004, at 2:06:30
In reply to Positive Effexor withdrawal story, posted by LynnPerley on July 7, 2004, at 0:59:15
> I have weaned down from 300 mg Effexor XR without major incident. I took a month each to drop from 300 to 225 to 150 to 75 mg. I'm now going to take a week to drop to 37.5 then the following week, zero. I've had a few little side effects but nothing debilitating. Meanwhile, my energy level is way up, and I'm using other techniques to deal with any down feelings.
The hard part is going from 37.5 mg. to 0 mg! I'm doing that by quarters of a pill every 2-4 weeks. Hopefully you'll continue to be relatively free of withdrawal symptoms - but if not, you can always go slower.
Posted by alan38 on July 7, 2004, at 7:50:37
In reply to Re: How long does withdrawal from Effexor last?, posted by ST on July 3, 2004, at 5:49:40
I am on week 4 of withdrawal and am taking ( per this forum) 1 claritin d every other day. I am not sure if that's the right thing to do, but it sure alliviates the zaps/flashes.
Your thoughts...
Posted by snake on July 7, 2004, at 20:31:17
In reply to Re: How long does withdrawal from Effexor last?, posted by alan38 on July 7, 2004, at 7:50:37
> I am on week 4 of withdrawal and am taking ( per this forum) 1 claritin d every other day. I am not sure if that's the right thing to do, but it sure alliviates the zaps/flashes.
>
> Your thoughts...Are you still having nausea and headaches. they aren't as bad as first week. i've been off med. since june 18. i have been using bendryl and tylenol. and this helps. pharmacist told me to do this and that i could use claritin instaed of ben. he said i could do this for acouple months if needed. i'm ready for all this to be over. if you have any more tips, please post them . thanks. cece
Posted by ishy on July 7, 2004, at 20:32:08
In reply to Re: Positive Effexor withdrawal story, posted by KaraS on July 7, 2004, at 2:06:30
Yeah, I went from 37.5 to 0 on Sunday and now I understand about the brain zaps. Man, they stink! I went back up to 37.5 today. I also have nausea, a headache, and felt like I was going to cry all day. And since I am not on Effexor for depression, but fibromyalgia, I know now that some of you who have been saying that the weird emotions are always because of depression not being treated are wrong. It really is a symptom of the withdrawl for some people. For others, it may be a symptom of returning clinical depression, but it isn't necessarily so in every case.
I also flinched so much at work I had to explain to everyone what was wrong. Nor has my doc been any help. The other physician I had talked to has retired. I have the capsules, so I just dump of the little granules out, and will dump more and more until I am off of it.
Posted by LynnPerley on July 7, 2004, at 21:58:12
In reply to Re: Positive Effexor withdrawal story, posted by KaraS on July 7, 2004, at 2:06:30
I have been experiencing some queasy feeling and some diarrhea. I have some generic Ritalin prescribed (from when my depression was really bad) and taling it helps quire a bit. If this stays the same for another day or two I will call the MD. I may be stuck on 37.5 if I don;t want to tough it out.
Posted by KaraS on July 7, 2004, at 22:50:04
In reply to Re: Positive Effexor withdrawal story » KaraS, posted by LynnPerley on July 7, 2004, at 21:58:12
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! If/when I finally get off of this stuff I'll have to let everyone know so that they have some inspiration to keep going.
Take care,
Kara
Posted by KaraS on July 7, 2004, at 23:14:08
In reply to Re: Positive Effexor withdrawal story, posted by ishy on July 7, 2004, at 20:32:08
> Yeah, I went from 37.5 to 0 on Sunday and now I understand about the brain zaps. Man, they stink! I went back up to 37.5 today. I also have nausea, a headache, and felt like I was going to cry all day. And since I am not on Effexor for depression, but fibromyalgia, I know now that some of you who have been saying that the weird emotions are always because of depression not being treated are wrong. It really is a symptom of the withdrawl for some people. For others, it may be a symptom of returning clinical depression, but it isn't necessarily so in every case.
>
> I also flinched so much at work I had to explain to everyone what was wrong. Nor has my doc been any help. The other physician I had talked to has retired. I have the capsules, so I just dump of the little granules out, and will dump more and more until I am off of it.
>
>
Sorry to hear that you're having such a hard time. Hopefully what you're doing now with opening the capsules will help. If not, please see another doctor if you still feel that you need more help - either to get Prozac or to get more Effexor so that you can go off of it more slowly.Take care,
KaraS
Posted by KaraS on July 7, 2004, at 23:17:31
In reply to Re: Positive Effexor withdrawal story » KaraS, posted by LynnPerley on July 7, 2004, at 21:58:12
> I have been experiencing some queasy feeling and some diarrhea. I have some generic Ritalin prescribed (from when my depression was really bad) and taling it helps quire a bit. If this stays the same for another day or two I will call the MD. I may be stuck on 37.5 if I don;t want to tough it out.
Also, it's interesting that the Ritalin helps. I might have been wrong when commenting earlier that Wellbutrin wouldn't help with withdrawal because it isn't a serotonergic. Wonder what the mechanism involved is?
Posted by alan38 on July 8, 2004, at 10:00:44
In reply to Re: How long does withdrawal from Effexor last? » alan38, posted by snake on July 7, 2004, at 20:31:17
That's pretty much what I am doing. I am taking (1) claritin D every 1-1/2 days. Any word on how long this will last? I have heard anywhere from 4 weeks to 2-3 months????
Posted by alan38 on July 8, 2004, at 10:07:04
In reply to Re: How long does withdrawal from Effexor last? » caritasrainbow, posted by Angel Girl on March 23, 2004, at 22:46:08
Did you take any OTC (benadryl or clartin)for the symptoms. I have been taking claritin for about 2 of the 3 weeks and it definitely helps with the zaps. Would you say that a 4 week timeline is average for this stuff?
Posted by annesand on July 8, 2004, at 10:17:33
In reply to Re: How long does withdrawal from Effexor last?, posted by alan38 on July 8, 2004, at 10:07:04
I was up to about four weeks of brain zaps when I asked my doc for some Prozac. Brain zaps stopped after one or two of those. It's the long half life, you know.
Posted by alan38 on July 8, 2004, at 10:28:20
In reply to Re: How long does withdrawal from Effexor last?, posted by annesand on July 8, 2004, at 10:17:33
My Pdoc does not think the withdrawal should even last this long. I don't believe he would prescribe the prozac. I will have to continue with the claritin. Hopefully/prayerfully, I will be done with this by week 5!
Posted by snake on July 8, 2004, at 10:41:45
In reply to Re: How long does withdrawal from Effexor last?, posted by alan38 on July 8, 2004, at 10:28:20
> My Pdoc does not think the withdrawal should even last this long. I don't believe he would prescribe the prozac. I will have to continue with the claritin. Hopefully/prayerfully, I will be done with this by week 5!
How long does the nausea and headaches last? this is day 21 without med. i have bee using over the counter benadryl . it's not as bad as as 1 week. seems like it's not lasting as long. help help!
Posted by lorily on July 8, 2004, at 13:21:46
In reply to Re: How long does withdrawal from Effexor last? » alan38, posted by snake on July 8, 2004, at 10:41:45
> > My Pdoc does not think the withdrawal should even last this long. I don't believe he would prescribe the prozac. I will have to continue with the claritin. Hopefully/prayerfully, I will be done with this by week 5!
>
> How long does the nausea and headaches last? this is day 21 without med. i have bee using over the counter benadryl . it's not as bad as as 1 week. seems like it's not lasting as long. help help!
EFFEXOR HAS A VERY SHORT HALF LIFE!!!!! That's why we get the severe "discontinuance syndrome" Some people start feeling "withdrawals" if they don't take their dose on time. I'm surprised at the long withdrawal symptoms. Do you take any other medications? Perhaps your agony is because of the way the effexor interacted with them. This is my experience thus far:June 1: Cut Effexor from 75 to 37.5. Had that zap thing for one day, early in the morning. Regularly take 25 mg of Trazadone at night to cover the AD part-makes me groggy in the am.
June 22: Cut Depakote from 250 to 125. No biggie, just feel a bit groggy from the Traz.
June 27: Did not take Depakote anymore. consistantly getting worse over that week I'm feeling side effects of light-headedness, a bit dizzy here and there. I figured out this starts about 1-1/2 to 2 hours after taking the effexor and wears away during the day. So, makes sense that it's side effects from taking the effexor, not NOT taking it, right? I calculated the 1/2 life on the long end so it was out of my system by fri night.
Yesterday and today, I opened up the capsule and dumped out as close to 1/2 the effexor as I could get: NO DIZZINESS, NO ZAPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I feel better than I have in a while, too.
Tonight I will cut the Traz in half again. And continue with dumping 1/2 the effexor for a day or two, then lower it more. I'm doing this ever so slowly to avoid the horrors I've read about here. I'm sorry everyone is suffering so, but you all have brought me alot of help. I was almost too scared to do it, not wanting to suffer, but I do not want to be a slave to my doctor's schedule or to a medication that I no longer need. (Any pray I never will again)
I do have to say Effexor saved my life and I'm grateful I was able to get the pros and double grateful I'm eliminating the cons of it.
Posted by alan38 on July 8, 2004, at 13:58:13
In reply to Re: Effexor withdrawal side effects, posted by seeknsolace on May 24, 2004, at 5:40:13
Do you still have the Zaps?
Posted by lorily on July 8, 2004, at 14:20:09
In reply to Re: Effexor withdrawal side effects, posted by alan38 on July 8, 2004, at 13:58:13
> Do you still have the Zaps?
Me? None. and when I turn my head real quick, I don't feel disoriented, either.
Posted by Frisky_Cat on July 8, 2004, at 18:38:31
In reply to Re: How long does withdrawal from Effexor last?, posted by annesand on July 8, 2004, at 10:17:33
It's the short half life. It's easy to wean oneself off drugs with long half lives because that means when you reduce drug intake there remains a lot of the drug in the system and hence withdrawal symptons are manageable.
Effexor has a short half life, which is why the extended form was developed.
Posted by itsrick on July 8, 2004, at 22:00:32
In reply to Re: How long does withdrawal from Effexor last?, posted by Frisky_Cat on July 8, 2004, at 18:38:31
> It's the short half life. It's easy to wean oneself off drugs with long half lives because that means when you reduce drug intake there remains a lot of the drug in the system and hence withdrawal symptons are manageable.
>
> Effexor has a short half life, which is why the extended form was developed.what is the extended form?
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