Is there any long term side effects from stopping venlafaxine?

My impression, both from personal experience as well as reading comments on forums, is that doctors don't tell patients about how difficult it is to quit taking antidepressants. I recently stopped cold turkey after 20 years on Effexor. My dose was pretty low (It had been reduced to 37.5 and coupled with Abilify; I stopped taking both on the same day). I braced myself for a return of depression (so far it's been dormant, but the day is coming...). What I didn't expect when I chose to step off the drugs was the physiological difficulty of doing so. I'd received no warnings. I was just given the pills and told to take them, and at the time I went on them, seeking relief from chronic and debilitating depression, I didn't ask questions. So when I decided I needed to step off of them for my own sake, I was unprepared for the struggle. And I stepped off of a low dosage, so my battle was nothing compared to what others have reported, but it was rough. Mostly it was the brain zaps that all but drove me back onto the drugs. Those have eased enough now (Day 11 of detox) that I feel I'm going to make it, but it hasn't been fun.

Those of us battling depression are in a struggle with our own minds. This leaves us vulnerable and willing to reach for whatever relief is offered. We should be fully informed about long term consequences of any drug before beginning treatment, not find out the hard way if and when that treatment fails and a decision is made to seek other options. Malpractice is too strong of a word for what is transpiring, but negligence is a factor. I keep reading people's accounts of taking years to get off this drug. It shouldn't take years to step off of a prescription medicine that is so freely handed out. I personally question the wisdom of prescribing something this powerful without fully informing the patient that the ramifications of accepting the prescription could be substantial and even lifelong. If I had known before I took it the first time, I likely would have said no. But I was in a bad place right then and was handed some pills without any further guidance, and seeking relief, I just started taking them. That's how people wind up in your position and the one I landed in. The treatment becomes the disease. This shouldn't be happening.

Amen,
I am convinced that this is the perfect prescription. Think of it like war and you must be the best soldier. Fight everyday for your freedom from these chemicals. After my 20 year usage, I feel so strong and thinking more clearly and naturally than ever. It was hell for a while but these tools got me through it...finally.

I was prescribed Effexor for 20 years. I was never told by any provider who maintained the prescription that getting off of it would be difficult. I accomplished it cold turkey, which, based on the various Effexor threads, appears to put me in a small group of people who successfully pulled this off, but man that process sucked. If I had understood what this particular drug does to people, there's no way I would have embarked on it.

I also stopped it cold turkey after 8 years. No physician ever mentioned anything! I had the brain zapping electrical impulses going thru my head for 2 years until they finally went away. Doctors have SOOOOO much to learn....

Venlafaxine has been a nightmare for me. My Dr titrated me incorrectly and I crashed and burned...every severe side effect you can think of (3 months flat on my back), had to leave my job (retired which I am ok with that). I was on it for approx. 18-20 years. When I was going thru horrendous withdrawal they wanted me to go back on it but I was too afraid so only accepted a small dose of it along with a cross dose of fluoxetine (supposed to be easier to go off of). Though I went thru the worst (vomiting, vertigo, migraines, burning stomach, tremors, insomnia, lethargy, etc.) I am now left with idiopathic neuropathy (painful on a daily basis) - was Venlafaxine the cause??? I still don't feel right overall. I have now titrated and went off Venlafaxine several weeks ago -- managing it fine. But in general my body has never recovered (I was well and healthy before AWS). My diet has also been radically changed. I was vegetarian but am now low/no sugar, GF, no nuts, rare dairy, no onions, nightshade plants, mushrooms...etc....low to no processed foods to clear up inflammation per Neuropathy treatments I sought at Loma Linda University. But I still feel systemically off like the fluid in my blood needs to be cleaned and filter out (don't know how else to describe it). It's ironic as many of my tests come out in normal ranges... making it hard to pinpoint a cause. It hasn't yet been 3 years so perhaps there is hope for a normal body again. I too have experienced sweats but seem to be less as of late.

Welcome to the group, I can't help you with this drug, however I can
attest to cutting back to soon on certain drugs can cause problems. Every
person is different with what they eat to how they get through the day
with regular problems. I can also let you know some foods don't react well
with some meds. Can put you in the hospital in a heartbeat. Wish you luck
with your findings.

I'd also wonder about why this drug is being prescribed! If the eventual goal is independence from depression meds, well .... this drug seems counterproductive. I'm on it and taking *300mg* per day!!! 🙁

I managed to get off this evil drug, Effexor, after trying cold turkey and, failing that, a long, long period of gradual reduction. My physician still won't talk to me as he had told me not to come off it. (This is true)
However, a couple of years ago I read Patrick Radden Keefe's Empire of Pain, about Oxycontin so I searched for books about antidepressants, and have just read Irvin Kirch's 'The Emperor's New Drugs' and Peter Breggin's 'The Antidepressant Fact Book'. They both make the point that SSRI's have never tested positively for curing depression, and spend a lot of words explaining how drug testing (in America) works.
So, I was prescribed this drug for depression, and it was not only ineffective, but increasing the dose made not difference at all, except as a very successful placebo (sugar pill).
Unfortunately, I had already read about how much damage I (was it I, or my physician) had done to my brain.

ELIZ D
Hi , I am seemingly in the same position ref Brain function damage & lasting depression as a result of Venlafaxine (Effexor), plus lasting physical side effects. As with you, my Psychiatrist did not want me to stop. Despite it not doing what it was supposed to & just causing more problems. Like you , I did gradual reduction, but still have side effects 2 yrs after stopping. Did you still get side effects after your reduction programme , if so, how long did they last? regards Simon

Problem with messing my brain up is that I still need to trust and rely on it to think. I am also an old lady, so there's a medical assumption I'm cognitively impaired anyway (snarl, spit).
The reduction program avoided the massive ongoing side effects I had experienced going cold turkey but I'm now about 9 months out and I'm still nowhere near right (but it's a long, cold Australian winter down here).
I started going through another book - Beverley Thomson's 'Antidepressed' which is an excellent overview of the drug industry - and also covers stopping and side effects. I found an epub file of it online.
regards Liz