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Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)
Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: Apr 29 8:17am | Replies (6299)Comment receiving replies
This drug is insidious. It has been 6 weeks since I stopped taking effexor completely. I titrated down over a period of over 9 months. I have experienced depression, extreme emotions (crying a lot) and am now starting to experience anxiety. I'm getting frightening thoughts and its hard to get rid of these thoughts. I just read a post that said melatonin may seem to help with anxiety. I'm going to try that. I started taking 400 mgs. of SAMe about 30 days ago. I feel like it has helped. I had some problems with upset stomach, but drink a full glass of water when taking the tablet (must be taken on an empty stomach. I might need to increase the dosage. SAMe is an amino acid that is naturally produced by the body. I'm not sure that there is any prescription medication that doesn't cause side effects. Anytime something messes with the chemistry of the brain side effects are bound to occur. If someone has any recommendation about other helpful options, please reply.
Replies to "This drug is insidious. It has been 6 weeks since I stopped taking effexor completely. I..."
What helped me the most was daily exercise. I started with walking a half hour a day. it doesn't matter what speed. You can even break it up into two 15 minute sessions. I very gradually added light weight lifting. That was bothering my joints, so I switched to Yoga. I'm convinced the exercise mitigated the worst of my withdrawal symptoms and I was on a high dose of Pristiq, a stronger version of Effexor. Exercise causes the body to produce endorphins. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorphins It also brings oxygen to the brain and nervous system. I've known heroin and methadone addicts who titrated with minimum discomfort by following an exercise regimen. The beneficial effects may take a few weeks but I noticed a feeling of relaxation and well being after my first walk. I hope this helps.
@gagelle What you write makes so much sense. I never would have thought of exercise as being an aid to withdrawing from a drug but it does increase your endorphins and that is sure to help. I know how difficult it is to get your butt to do some exercise but I find if I manage to conquer my resistance I am always happy that I did - that side of me does generally win too.
Today I really did not feel like going to my club to do water exercise but I managed to do it and am very happy that I did. I am doing post knee replacement exercises and my ortho recommends most highly two things that I had been doing already for quite a while -- "marching" laps in the water, and riding my recumbent bike.
Prior to my knee replacement I was doing at least an hour in the water about 5 days a week but at this point I am only up to about 35 minutes. I feel like I could do more but after that amount of time I really feel it in the evening and the next day. It's so easy to overdo but you have to get yourself to set limits and gradually increase them.
JK
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@lilmac44 with all the problems this drug causes I think it should be off the market.