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Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)
Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: 5 days ago | Replies (6363)Comment receiving replies
WOW! A lot of good tips and discussions. My daughter is 21 years old and her doctor (a new doctor that had only seen her a coupled of times) put her on 75 mg Effexor XR to help fight anxiety/migraines. The doctor felt this was the best medicine for her since she has tachycardia. Well, she wasn't even on it for 30 days before she had the full effects of this medicine and eventually went to the ER because of thoughts of harming herself and unable to function. They did not hold her there, but told her to go home and follow up with her doctor. Her father and I have been then for her and made she was not home alone for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, we are unable to take much time off because of no sick/vacation time available. She is unable to work and is now home alone for 3 to 4 days a week. She followed up with her doctor (a new one because the other one is no longer there). They have been tapering her off, one pill every other day and then try every two days and then referred her to a behaviorist. We have tried getting her into a professional, but no one in our area is available. I have left messages for other clinics outside of area and no one will return my call. She has tried the every 2 days one time and it was horrible sight. She starting having body tremors, couldn't breath and crying uncontrollably. We immediately gave her the pill and within 1 hr she was a little better. She followed up with her doctor and we asked about reducing her dosage and still do the every other day. The doctor was a little reluctant, but agreed to reduce it to 37.5 mg every other day. She is still unable to work at this time. She just cannot function in the real world.
Does anyone out there have some advise for us? We have never been through anything like this before and as you can imagine, scared to death.
Replies to "WOW! A lot of good tips and discussions. My daughter is 21 years old and her..."
@kssm71
Welcome. You are in the right place. Those of us who are going thru this can and will make suggestions that can help.
Wow, I feel for your daughter. And I feel for both of you too. You are not alone. Breathe, just breathe. Then breathe some more. Things will settle down, I promise. Keep breathing. What is happening there is terrible, for your daughter and both of you.
I can tell you things to do, but you and your daughter have to make a choice to carry them out. Your choice. We have suggestions from our personal journey of going thru this.
1. Go as fast as you can to a vape shop or hippy shop and get CBD oil made from hemp. It cuts the symptoms in half in my humble opinion. Get a dosage of 200 mg or more. Put 3 drops under the tongue 3 times a day.
DO THIS TODAY
If you click on my name you will read how extreme my symptoms were when I arrived here. The CBD oil smoothed so many of the extreme symptoms. I have been using the CBD oil for over 2 months now. I will use it for the rest of my life too. The positive effects going on in my body are too many to ignore.
2. I'm a nurse so this is how I would instruct my patients. It sounds like she is using the medication that is short acting. It doesn't stay in the body. The doc knows nothing of what he is doing to her. So, 1 call the doc and get her changed to the extended release caps. They will stay in her blood thru the day and night. Then you can open the caps, count the beads and gradually, gracefully get off and gradually withdraw from this bad drug.
If the doc won't do it, then start cutting down the pills in half and quarters. That way, if/when things get hard she can take an extra dose to get her thru that time. Right now she takes the med and crashes down when it wears off. I feel so bad for her and you.
Now @tennesseegirl will come and share how to cut the pills and when to take them.
3. Get your daughter here and reading. This is her recovery and you can't work harder at it then she should. I am sure she will pick up on something in someone's writing that you wouldn't. And you keep coming back too. We are folks helping folks here. Smiling at you, Bright Wings, 9 weeks off Effexor today.
where does one find a vape or hippy shop ?
***Note from the Community Director***
Please read Mayo Clinic Connect's community guidelines https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/tab/community-guidelines/
The first guideline states:
1. Be careful about giving out medical advice. Sharing your own experience is fine, but don't tell other members what they should do.
I mention this because of the increased references to CBD oil (cannabidiol) and how to use it. As an article by NPR underlines. "By one estimate, the CBD industry has doubled in size over the last two years, and is now worth $200 million. But with this popularity the hype may have gotten ahead of the science."
While there is promising evidence that CBD may help anxiety, the jury is still out. Here are some articles to help you inform yourselves for discussions with your health providers or considering what you need to know when purchasing any unregulated substance:
- Does CBD Really Work For Anxiety? (HuffPost) https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/does-cbd-work-for-anxiety_us_5af4924ce4b00d7e4c18a6ac
- Anxiety Relief Without The High? New Studies On CBD, A Cannabis Extract (NPR) https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/04/23/604307015/anxiety-relief-without-the-high-new-studies-on-cbd-a-cannabis-extract
OK but Big pharma and many doctors have left us ' out in the cold' When suffering One looks for some kind of help Its so aggravating Makes one feels helpless
Effexor is the devil, I have been on it for years. It was found to be addictive. My doctor told me that after I had been on it for years. He didn't know at the time either. I have got down to one third the dose I was on.. I have had a awful time this time. I want to be be rid of it. I'm not depressed like I used to be very long ago.
I wish everyone luck at ridding themselves of this awful drug.
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so sorry This is an example of what these drugs can do to many folks. They are to be taken very seriously Its just my opinion but I think doctors give them out too freely before discussing all the facts Would not be surprised if a few years from now the FDA puts more warnings on such drugs