Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Docs can be flippant about prescribing meds. And some docs think the only reason you’re seeing them is to get a prescription! It’s so scary because, those of us who have NOT gone to med school, we put our faith in them and their knowledge. And while I do t think all docs have a nefarious nature, I DO think that the pressure of having to see so many patients in order to stay afloat plays a big part in their care. Plus the fact that drug companies push their products and offer “incentives”. It sickens me. While writing this my head “whirled” twice. I don’t know what it is, after extensive testing I apparently have some vestibular nerve damage. After more testing the ENT I’m seeing stated there’s nothing she can do for me. So now what? I’ve been off Effexor for almost one year... but BACK on zoloft and seroquel (labeled as an antipsychotic). I feel, as many people appear to feel, completely and utterly at the mercy of these meds. Damned if we do and damned if we don’t.

Hi, @secretwhitepop - did the psychiatrist who originally prescribed your venlafaxine (Effexor) have any input on the head whirling sensation and whether it was as a result of the taper and if anything could be done?

Also, would getting a second opinion from another ENT or neurologist be a possibility?

The wait time to see a psychiatrist is usually more than 18 months. GP’s are prescribing with little knowledge. It is rare to see the same dr more than once or twice. Physician’s assistants renew bad prescriptions. Patients have little or no choice about what specialists, or which specialist they are referred to.

Hi there. Well, the original psychiatrist moved on over 20 years ago. I had just been on a maintenance dose of only 75 mg for years, and then I slowly went down to 37.5 under the observation of my current GP at the time. It was under this GP as well as a acupuncturist that I decided to go off altogether, albeit VERY slowly.

During this time, life got intense. (My dad got sick and passed away). Here’s something else... I went on a spinny ride at a carnival. When the ride stopped I couldn’t get off. I was dizzy for several days! Then it went away. And about a year later here I am with dizziness.

I have too many extenuating circumstances to know what, exactly, is the reason for my dizziness. My PT says it’s PPPD and I agree in part. I also may have one of those crystals AND I definitely have vestibular nerve damage.

Honestly, I chalk most of this up to the extreme stress me and my family have been under. Slowly I am handling the dizziness, however I’m am concerned since the ENT and the PT say I should be better by now.

The fact that I am slowly getting better is encouraging. It’s no fun seeing doctor after doctor while trying to have a life. And most times folks get better whether or not they see a doc. 🙂

This is a reply to the dizziness-I have had Meneres Disease for 45 years, 20 years without a proper diagnosis, I am not sure if it is lumped with PPPD or not. The cause is an imbalance of fluid in the inner ear that produces the dizziness and vertigo. Meclazine is an over-the-counter medication that really helps, but again is another med. I finally learned that sodium, salt, was my Achilles heal, if I limit my intake to 1000 mg or less a day I have no problems. That can be a real problem with all of our processed foods, however limiting that did two things, it got rid of the dizziness and also made me eat a much better diet, so it was a win-win! Through the years I’ve found not many doctors talk about the sodium component or even mention it, however that is a primary cause!

So I was only ever on 37.5 mg for 2 years, intended only to help hot flashes. Had to go to hormone patch anyway (FYI, best decision ever!). I fainted out cold one night and husband called ambulance. Determined it was vaso vagal syncope (plain old fainting). Checked heart, did monitor to make sure as was having some heart racing episodes too. Did brain MRI to rule that out. All good. Stopped Effexor thinking it may be contributing to these things. Had "boat head" dizziness regularly and brain zaps and pulsitile tinnitus. It's been now increasingly getting worse. The boat head dizziness is terrible and worse with fatigue/work pressures. Head feels "full" too. Driving is bad. Have to lean my head on headrest to feel stable and not get nauseous. This is CRAZY. ENT doctor ran all the inner ear vestibular testing. All good. My husband is more and more convinced it's all stress/fatigue related. So got lowest dose of Xanax. First day with just the one dose daily was the best day in a long time. It SEEMS to be somewhat better, but still having the dizziness maybe not as bad. I do have concerns about Xanax - son was on this when he was 20 and OD'd (ended up ok then sought treatment for marijuana addiction which is what was really making his anxiety worse.) Have appt with neurologist tomorrow to see if there's any issue there. Fyi....I never had anxiety before which is why I keep obsessing about possible medical reasons 🤔

Thanks for your reply! Yes, my dad had Ménière’s disease and I was sure that was what I got, but it isn’t... but I DEFINITELY keep meclazine on hand!

As soon as I read Mieneres disease, a bell started ringing in my head.
I had it bad.
But thru my studying, and especially studying a picture of the brain with this disease up against a normal brain, taught me something and I dont have it anymore. I'm a nurse so something clicked.
I hope I can remember!!!

Spoiler alert - this is a downer. Here's my experience. I went off effexor about 20 years ago - (too quickly) withdrawal was the pits and it included tinnitus (ringing.) Went to PCP and ENT docs trying to get some relief. Unfortunately, there is no cure for tinnitus - I didn't know that at the time. So grasping at straws - went on xanax but hated it. So, long story short. I still have tinnitus and really had gotten used to the continuous, low level ringing. (Avoided as much stress and caffeine as possible.) However, about 2 years ago I started coming off lamotrigine (again too quickly) and now have a 4-alarm bell ringing in my left ear and pulsitile tinnitus in the right ear (only intermittent.) This is in addition to the lower frequency ringing. Now have insomnia from seroquel withdrawals (did titration on that one correctly.) So, I'm pretty miserable unless I stay busy - so I stay busy. The insomnia is getting better - I have a fitbit watch that helps me track the amount and quality of sleep. I have an appointment with an ENT next week (but not looking for much hope there.) Just as an aside - PC found an irregular heartbeat last year while I was on seroquel and referred me to a cardiologist who also found an irregular heart beat - my EKG yesterday was totally normal. I told the Doc he wouldn't like the obvious - but I wasn't on seroquel anymore. Thank goodness for this website and the resources. Started reading "Anatomy of an Epidemic" and listening to Mad In America podcasts - finally some answers. I'm currently slowly titrating off 5 mg Trintellix and 12.5 mg of lorazepam. I'm encouraged about sleeping at least 5 hrs a night - that's better than 2 or 3. So at least there is some hope there. : )

Ménière’s is awful! My dad was incapacitated for hours on end. Eventually, it destroyed his cochleae and he went deaf in one ear, but it seemed to have ended the Ménière’s. He remained a bit off balance, however.