Venlafaxine withdrawal day 14 šŸ˜© Help please!

Treatment and medication
1

Hello. I'm new to the site.

I won't bore you with the detail so to cut a long story short, I've been on Venlafaxine for about a year and a half. I've recently tapered over 3 months from 150mg, to 75mg, to 37.5 mg and stopped 14 days ago altogether.

My emotions are running very high, I'm bad tempered and have a constant stuffy nose. I'm extremely tired. My stomach is incredibly bloated. (this is one of the reasons they first started me in venlafaxine)

Has anyone had any positive experiences of withdrawel or know how long this may last please?

I take a digestive supplement, omega 3, calcium and vit d.

I'm not sure if my mood is going to continue to be this bad.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

2

Stick with it Football Head, early days yet but you have done really well. I take it you are not on anything else in place of the Venlafaxine. I have also been off Venlafaxine nearly 2 weeks now but have been put on vortixitine which I think is masking the worst of the symptoms, but what you are describing is very typical of withdrawal symptoms. The supplements are good too, just keep it going. Stay hydrated too, especially for any headaches. Canā€™t say how long it will take, everyone is different...just take each day as it comes. X 

3

Have you gone from 37.5mg to nothing?

4

Wasnā€™t that brave Venny....I tried it first time round and was so ill. On my 5th attempt, I dropped from 37.5 to 18.2 then down to 9.2 (using a pill cutter). Over 3 weeks and now off for the past 2 weeks...much much easier.

5

Hey, 

I'm on week 7 of venlafaxine withdrawal. It definitely gets easier! 

I can say my emotions have very much settled now. Probably around week 4/5 I started to feel calmer, whereas in the first few weeks I felt very unstable and felt like I had this chemical type rage that was not something I had experienced before. 

I am still getting dizziness at times but I don't think I am getting any other withdrawal symptoms now. 

My "taper" was an actual joke. I had a temporary psych. My first psych had gradually weaned me from 375mg to 150mg and had some side effects but nothing compared to what was to come. 

Temp psych told me to halve it to 75mg for 7 days then come off it. 

So basically cold turkey. Awful! 

I hope you begin to feel better soon. It is an awful type of hell. 

6

I had vertigo horribly the first 2wks and then just sort of a ā€œcar sickā€ feeling for another 2 weeks.  I started to become ā€œmeanā€ about 14 days in. Depression  set in at the one month mark. 

7

Yes as I was on modified release tablets so couldn't cut them. I don't feel very ill just very angry and emotional.

8

Thanks for your reply. We're you taking it for anxiety or depression so you mind me asking? If so did the feelings return? I feel so angry all the time and down.

9

Thanks for your reply. Sorry to hear that. Did you go back on anything then or are you still off them? Thanks

10

Iā€™m on Prozac 20 mg. ( Just finished week 3). First 2 weeks were awful.  Yesterday was the first day that I made it through feeling kind of normal. I have a dr appt today. He sent a message to me last week ā€œto just go back on Effexorā€ if I didnā€™t feel good. This guy has NO clue what Iā€™ve gone through so Iā€™m hoping I can enlighten him today Incase he has other patients on Effexor. He didnā€™t give me any weening protocol. I just researched it on my own.  I started the beginning of summer going from 225 down to 150. I was on 75 for one month before I went off.  I had XR capsules so I couldnā€™t cut them. I now know 75 is not a good jumping off place. GPs are probably not the best people to prescribe this drug. Their literature from the Pharmaceutical company probably plays down the magnitude of the withdrawal. So unless you have someone who has actually taken Effexor personally as a medical professional you might be on your own to figure things out ( the hard way). Bottom line Football Head, I was mean and irritable for 2 weeks~when that subsided I was just sad and anxious. Iā€™m hopeful the Prozac will kick in soon. Good luck to you and if you are at all spiritual then pray. Prayer calmed my mind and I truly believe that is what is getting me through this because I cannot do it alone. 

11

Itā€™strange to read all the horrors about trying to get off Effexsor and iā€™m Trying to get on. I have been on 75 now for 3 days and the side effects have not been as bad yet as the initial ones were. Took a .25 Klonopin last night to help me sleep. Tuesday it will be 5 weeks and noticing a real improvement. Hope it continues. Donā€™t seem to have much sweating, did you at 75. I am sure I will never go off this unless it stops working. I thought after retiring my days of stress and anxiety were over. How are you doing on Prozac? 

12

Had my appointment yesterday. Going to give the 20 mg Prozac a few more weeks since this is just week 3. Added Klonopin .5 mg twice daily to help get through this period.  Iā€™m hopeful!  Lynn I wouldnā€™t have gotten off the Effexor if it hadnā€™t been for the PROFUSE sweating. It worked great for me. I have always been a sweater with physical activity but this was beyond the norm.  It became worse when my dosage was increased but frankly it never calmed down much as I lowered the dose during weening.  It is a wonderful thing if you donā€™t get the side effects.  Mentally it saved me.  I hope you continue to improve on it.  Iā€™d still be on it if I lived in an igloo in Antarctica šŸ˜‚

13

Hi there Football Head.

Sadly I can not help but as I can emphasize with your message, I would be so interested in any advice you get.

I've been on and off it for years and am currently trying to come off it again by taking one bead a month for first month and two next month and so on. Having same symptoms as you are having.

14

Hi kathiH.

I don't know what country you are in, but it seems that the GP'S are all the same regardless of country.

Best of luck.

Wish I hadn't started on any type of antidepressant...

15

Hi again.

I've replied to your post before I think and would like to add that I think that you should be Still taking Venlafaxin bitte at a lower dose and to reduce from there very very very slowly.

I did the weaning off many times with a doctor's help and last time I was fine for a few months then crashed. So I am now doing it much slower by myself😒 I'm not feeling good at all even though I'm only reducing by a bead a month (and I don't know if that's ideal because the beads are all different sizes) and I'm only starting on the second month.

I'm on 150mg efexor xl.

I always went back on them because I'd crashed. Didn't think that it could have been because I'd com off too quickly.

So if I were you I would ask your doctor to put you back on a lower dose and start weening you of very slowly from there, given how you are now feeling.

You don't want to have to go back on for like I did and be in the same predicament as I am.

Best of luck.

16

Hi.

That sounds a good way to wean off, but I don't think the tablet form is available here in Ireland.

Wish it was and I'd try you're way.

17

Are you still doing well Julia?

18

My dose of effexsor was raised to 75 mg, itā€™s 4 days on this. This afternoon I have been feeling anxious again, so I just took 1/2 xanax. Do you get side effects again when your dose is raised? I was on 37.5 for a month before being raised and starting to feel better.  Will the anxiety go away again when my body gets used to the increase?

19

Hi Kathi, hope all is well with you. Iā€™m on week 3 and having not such a good day today, Very headachey. But Iā€™m doing it, nogoing back there for me. Thank you for asking. šŸ˜Š

20

Hi, scrolling though all the posts and saw yours. How are you feeling now? Nearly 3 weeks I believe. Although I am sad to see you and so many others are feeling awful, I am relieved. Today I am 14 days off venoflaxine. Although my head zap and other physical effects are easing..ish. my emotions are all over the place. I am confused, irritated,sad, and very angry,. I am not an angry person normally. I feel hopeless to be honest and so scared that isn't just withdrawal. I know no one can say how long it will last ,I just hope it doesn't get any worse. I have managed to maintain a relatively positive and normal life so far. Being mum to two children I kinda have no choice. But the last few days have been meltdown for me. I look forward to hearing how you are getting on. X