Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

@grandmar you mentioned gentics. On my mom's side of the family depression and anxiety runs pretty strong. My dad's side has a little bit of anxiety. So yes I totally agree with you about it being gentics.

Is Effexor the only drug that has horrible withdrawal symptoms? I was on Zyprexia for years and it worked so well. I actually felt normal. My father at the age of 82 was prescribed zyprexia because of severe depression. Two days after he started it he told my sister he felt so good he wanted to dance. He was not on it very long before other medical problems arose. I believe our brain chemistry is inherited. I had to stop taking it because of extreme weight gain that I was unable to lose. I lost over 40lbs in sick for I know a year. I was weaned off but once off I was miserable. I know it took a good year or more to feel relief. I had never experienced any thing like it and could not find any other reason for my illness. I am on 37.5 mg of effexor at this time.

I follow this blog faithfully and have learned a lot, gotten immense encouragement and been helped in so many ways. Even if I don't respond or put a Like on your posts, please know that I'm still following you.
I've been off 150XR mg venlafaxine/daily for 5 and a half months now and am still very glad I'm off. I tapered very gradually and knew what to expect, thanks to many of you and some other reading and research I did. For the first four months, it was great. Then I woke up in the middle of the night from a very scary dream that threw me into a full-fledged panic attack. For the next month the anxiety was so strong at night that I didn't even sleep in my bed. I was on the couch with a light on and the TV on low. That anxiety seemed to feed off itself, too -- I developed a very powerful fear of fear! (I think you know what I mean!) When I saw my GP for a regular exam, I told him about it and he put me on 150XR mg of Wellbutrin. That seemed to help at first, but I didn't feel secure with it -- I think I'd been so badly spooked by the anxiety and panic. Since I always thought of Effexor as an antidepressant, I'd forgotten that I was on an anti-anxiety med before going on Effexor. I wanted to go off Effexor because it wasn't working on my depression anymore, plus I hated all the things it did to my body whenever I missed a dose.
Then two weeks ago, I was in a restaurant with my boyfriend, getting ready to eat, and I had anxiety/panic so bad we had to leave. He took me home and stayed with me and when it didn't subside, I asked him to take me to the ER. For me, that was huge!! The good news from the ER visit was that I wasn't having a coronary, so now when I feel anxious, I don't have to worry about that. The ER doc suggested increasing the Wellbutrin dose and adding a small dose of a beta blocker to keep the adrenaline from kicking in and starting the whole process. So that's what I'm doing now.
How well is it working? I think the beta blocker does help. When I feel anxious, the anxiety is lower-level, but it's still there. I'm also trying to work on other things to reduce it -- meditation, exercise, vitamins/minerals, watching my thoughts, etc. And here's a real biggie that may help some of the rest of you, too: I've discovered that my blood sugar level is an immense factor. When it gets low -- as it often does -- here comes the anxiety. I'm now trying to be sure I eat something nutritious every 3 or 4 hours -- many small meals during the day. This isn't easy -- right now I have the flu, so it's hard for me to eat and I keep telling myself that I'm anxious and woozy from being sick and from not eating enough. But as my doc pointed out, low blood sugar can cause a panic/anxiety attack. I know in my case that's definitely true.
I'm still a work in progress, which, frankly, I hate. I used to have a phobia about driving on the highway which was gone completely during my 25 years on Effexor. I regularly made 2-day solo drives without a second thought and drove all over Ireland by myself many times with never a problem. Now that fear is back. I'm not sure how to get rid of it, but I am determined not to let my life be circumscribed by it. Somehow I will get over it (I may even try hypnosis). I had hated to fly, too, but was able to do that with no real problem. Now I won't even consider it, but much of that is because flying has gotten to be so much more hassle. (And honestly I do not want to be trapped in such a small space with so many people.)
I told the ER doc about going off Effexor and said maybe I should go back on it because the anxiety was so fierce. He said, ``Don't throw out the baby with the bath water; try some other things first.'' So that's what I'm doing. I wish I could do all of this with no meds, but I don't think I can. I think I'm one of those people who has a small little piece of my brain that needs chemical help to work right. I don't have a problem with that. But my overwhelming concern these days is how to get over that fear of fear, and not go headlong into fear when I feel the first tinges of anxiety. I'm trying to live with discomfort sometimes without immediately taking my emotional temperature -- just notice it, shift my attention to something else, and let it pass. (For me, this is a real toughie!!) My thanks to everyone for all you've shared and best of luck to all!!

@grandmar I completely understand your questions. I ask myself if I'm any better off or on. The truth is that any medication (ive been on 3, I think) has never kept me from having bouts of anxiety or depression. How bad would have those episodes been without me being on medication, I don't know and will never know because I've been medicated for 30 years. I'd like to think my next 30, God willing, would be spent getting to know my true self. But I don't know that either. I do agree with Leonard that if a drug this powerful at such small amounts can cause these symptoms..which I believe without a doubt, it is truly not healthy for me.

@cristin1 lol, good way to put it! I was numb and had no feelings at all taking Effexor, so I wanted to come off of it. I did not need a mind altering drug to this extreme. I do need something for anxiety, but Effexor is not it and glad to be off of it.

Hi All!
I hope alk of you know that I was not criticizing or judging or preaching or anything of that nature.
I just read some posts and they get me thinkiing (which you might have figured can be dangerous). Then, I post
Have a great weekend!!!
Ronnie (GRANDMAr)

@grandmar not at all! Post on! We all learn from each other!

@kbmayo I was just at my Dr today and she had researched welburtin very well to see how mixed with my other meds. She found information saying Wellbutrin can actually cause anxiety in some people. So she is weaning me off of it. Which is fine with me. I hate taking to many medicines. So you might check that out (Wellbutrin).

Thanks, farm boy. Both my doctor and I knew that when he put me on it and he warned me again when he increased my dose. I'm trying to stay on the lookout about it. I have a friend who takes it for depression but also takes generic Celexa for anxiety. My doc and I may need to try something else. Did your dr find anything she could recommend?

@kbmayo yes she did. Serquel. It works great at night for sleep to. I take it and about 20 minutes I'm out for the night. It use to be I would lay there for hours trying to get to sleep and then i was restless all night.