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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by KRM123 on March 30, 2003, at 22:04:29
I am thinking about trying Effexor if the Lex doesn't work out for me. Effexor seems like a very scary drug. Most people say that the withdrawal effects are unbearable. This makes me nervous about trying it. I know everyone is different and it works better for some than others. Through my experiences with "drug testing" I seem to be very sensitive and can't handle much. Wellbutrin 150mg for 3 days then up to 300mg made me go insane- I could not stop crying! Anyway- if anyone successfully got off Effexor I would like to hear about it. Thanks.
Posted by Sarah S on March 30, 2003, at 23:16:41
In reply to ANY POSITIVE EXPERIENCES WITH EFFEXOR WITHDRAWAL??, posted by KRM123 on March 30, 2003, at 22:04:29
hey,
Personally, I didn't have a hard time with Effexor withdrawal. I just stopped taking it--there were no withdrawal symptoms, and I didn't even have to "taper off." As far as the drug itself goes, it made me incredibly happy for about two weeks, then after that it just made me feel numb and uninterested in life. After two months of that, deciding not to take it anymore was a no-brainer. I too am really sensitive to medication--150 mg of Wellbutrin per day made me unbearably edgy at first, although now it works great--so I don't think having a low tolerance for meds necessarily has anything to do with having a hard time getting off them. These are just my experiences though. I don't know if it helps.
Posted by fairnymph on March 31, 2003, at 1:00:48
In reply to ANY POSITIVE EXPERIENCES WITH EFFEXOR WITHDRAWAL??, posted by KRM123 on March 30, 2003, at 22:04:29
Yes, actually.
I didn't find Effexor withdrawal to be horrible. I certainly saw the potential for it very quickly when I tried to go off it too suddenly, but I soon realized that I would simply need to taper off it more slowly. With a very slow gradual taper, listening to my body and staying at a higher dose as necessary, I found it perfectly tolerable to ease off the Effexor.
I think most people who suffer severe withdrawal don't do a gradual enough taper. The withdrawal can be AWFUL if you stop suddenly -- but it's really not so bad otherwise.
fn
Posted by cybercafe on April 1, 2003, at 0:15:19
In reply to ANY POSITIVE EXPERIENCES WITH EFFEXOR WITHDRAWAL??, posted by KRM123 on March 30, 2003, at 22:04:29
i went off 225 mg in 2 weeks.. when the withdrawal set in, i just took a little clonazepam, and felt much better
> I am thinking about trying Effexor if the Lex doesn't work out for me. Effexor seems like a very scary drug. Most people say that the withdrawal effects are unbearable. This makes me nervous about trying it. I know everyone is different and it works better for some than others. Through my experiences with "drug testing" I seem to be very sensitive and can't handle much. Wellbutrin 150mg for 3 days then up to 300mg made me go insane- I could not stop crying! Anyway- if anyone successfully got off Effexor I would like to hear about it. Thanks.
Posted by mmcasey on April 2, 2003, at 10:09:59
In reply to ANY POSITIVE EXPERIENCES WITH EFFEXOR WITHDRAWAL??, posted by KRM123 on March 30, 2003, at 22:04:29
I went off of 300mg Effexor, which I had been taking for 4 months, with no problems at all.
I tapered off of it over about 2 weeks. I may have had a slight headache from the withdrawal, but that's about it.
And the headache could have been because I was starting Paxil at the same time.
I was kind of freaked out about going off of Effexor too, from what I had read, but honestly, it was s
so easy, not a problem at all. Good luck!
Posted by shar on April 5, 2003, at 23:25:16
In reply to Re: ANY POSITIVE EXPERIENCES WITH EFFEXOR WITHDRAWAL??, posted by fairnymph on March 31, 2003, at 1:00:48
> I think most people who suffer severe withdrawal don't do a gradual enough taper. The withdrawal can be AWFUL if you stop suddenly -- but it's really not so bad otherwise.
>
> fnI'm glad you had an easy time of it. Withdrawal seems to be one of the things where YMMV a lot. I'd never had any withdrawal problems on any meds I'd tried until Effexor. I did a nice slow taper, over a period of several weeks with pauses at certain dosages so the amount in my system wasn't always going down, upped my WB, and used klonopin when necessary, and it was a hellish nightmare.
I was not prepared for it, given my ample experience with other meds and withdrawal. I'm not sure that tapering was the problem, because I did taper slowly, and still had extremely problematic times. I think it was the Effexor that was the problem.
Again, tho, this could be very much an individualized response.
Shar
This is the end of the thread.
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