Effexor Withdrawal Side Effects

@kikinc Hello. I am so sorry to hear how much you are struggling. I totally get it! As an update, I am currently at 7mg of effexor, and experiencing some awful withdrawal symptoms. Something about this last drop has hit me very hard. My anxiety is very high, almost to the point of panic. I am waking up at 4am with terrible waves of adrenaline and sweating. I feel like my nerves are on fire. Nausea and lack of appetite have returned. I cry all the time, and just feel like everything is a struggle. It's so hard to believe that this is temporary.
I have been watching YouTube videos by Angie Peacock, Dan Landauer, and Anders Sorenson. Getting info and hearing some positive stories can be helpful.
If anyone has any encouragement or positive stories of hope, I would love to hear them!

@mmsm I’m so sorry to hear that you’re feeling this bad too. I hate that so many people go through these awful body and mind changes when tapering off of this medication. May I ask if your doctor plans to replace the Effexor with something else (Different SSRI, SSNRI, etc.)? Just curious because I have never been able to completely come off of the medication without introducing something else to cope, and I wonder if that would help you at all. My new Psych has put me on a low dose of Rexulti for this transition period, and I think it’s helped me stabilize a bit. I’ve heard Abilify can also be helpful, but I used that in the past without a noticeable change. Both are technically in the antipsychotic class, but can be used off-label for depression & anxiety. I’m glad you’re exposing yourself to hopeful messages & videos too! I’ve found it personally helpful to get out of the house, specifically outside, when I feel well enough to move. Vitamin D from the sunshine & doing normal things like shopping for something you want (not need), eating a meal out somewhere yummy, or even just running errands while listening to upbeat music helps me get some routine & structure back to the days when I otherwise feel very weird, abnormal, or low. Also—I ask my friends with kids and/or pets (I currently have neither) for pics of their babies/fur babies, and it’s a quick dopamine boost for me. Cute animal videos on YouTube would probably do the trick too! Sending you a big hug & hope, dear. We will get to the other side of this! 🧡

@kikinc I just wish there was more knowledge about withdrawal, even before a person gets to zero. Perhaps my last drop was done too soon, or it was too quick, but I feel like I'm never going to stabilize so I can keep going. Ugh!
My PNP has put me on 25mg of Pristiq, thinking it would help the effexor withdrawal, since the meds are so similar. I can't tell if it's helping or not.
I agree that funny/cute videos can lift the spirits a bit. And the sun is finally out today. Maybe I'll walk around the yard for a bit.
It's good to talk to someone who understands! Keep me posted if you like!

UPDATE! It is almost a full year since tapering off and discontinuing Effexor! Praise God! It caused so many side effects which I have realized over the last year of research--dry eye, low Vitamin D, aches in hips, depression symptoms(a diagnosis I did not have initially but, over the last 4 years of taking this, it began to cause depression), weight gain, etc. I can say this has been one of the hardest years. I want to give all of you hope who are trying to phase off of it! I am medication free! (except for prescription Vitamin D and eyesdrops for the dry eye)
It has taken a lot of hard work, patience, prayers, supportive family and friends and God's grace to get me through to this day! I found an ob-gyn who not only is specialized on peri-menopause/menopause, but also a knowledgeable and licensed psychologist!! Because I was so afraid of trying yet again another medication, I asked if and how we could try to use as many natural products as possible. She has recommended magnesium glycinate, Vitamin B, Fish Oil(north atlantic fish) and recently a probiotic! We have also discussed Maca and will begin this after I feel comfortable on the probiotic(after blood work, discovered my hormone levels were low, I could go on hormone therapy but wanted to try natural again). For me, this has been the key to decreasing the anxiety and the mild depression. 18 years ago, I was placed on effexor for panic attacks that seemed to come out of nowhere along with other peri-menopause symptoms. But, once off the effexor, I experienced a full blown case of anxiety and depression. Thankfully, with the supplements prescribed in April, it has become almost none existant. I had to remember my brain was trying to recuperate and heal from the effexor having controlled the highs and lows all those years. So I was quite gentle to myself which is hard for many of us to do with work, family responsibilities and personal goals. I go to the gym 3x/week, walk outside when I can, try to eat proper, have weekly contact with a friend for Bible Study via Facetime, take my daily supplements, keep a schedule, attend groups I enjoy and challenge my mind(such as genealogy research). One book which really helped me was Craig Groeschel's "Winning the War in Your Mind". It explains ways the brain functions and gives encouragement and work to do to train your brain. It really works! Lisa Osteen's, "It's On the Way--Don't Give up on your Dreams and Prayers" and "The Mindful Marriage" by Ron and Nan Deal(because the dysregulation was affecting my marriage and this book has a very useful tool for all of us to use if we find ourselves frequently being triggered--You actually have homework to do But, IT WORKS). I also researched Effexor research articles from Medical Journals, Mayo Clinic, John Hopkins and NIH and whatever else I could find to try to understand the trauma my brain has experienced going off the Effexor. I am beginning to use the word trauma more to explain what happened to my brain tapering off the Effexor. There is so much more for all of us to understand regarding this medication. Find a good therapist who believes you and doesn't just treat the anxiety and depression or whatever you are on the Effexor for, but, will also treat you as if you have a brain trauma if you are tapering off the Effexor. (Just my opinion) I am concerned medical providers continue to use Effexor to treat peri-menopause symptoms when there are gentler medications not as difficult to phase off of. When I look back at how far I've come since last Nov 1, I am amazed and thank God for all of my progress and healing! Good wishes to all of you!

Just checking, I have been on (Effexor) or Venlafaxine ER for 15 years I just want to know if it is the Same thing as you are taking Is Effexor something You want to get off of because of studies Not a Good Choice to be on ?

Thanks so much for your Reply. Wendy

@wendymykkanen Hello,
Yes, this is the same medication. I have been on it for 18 years, but it has damaged my liver. I have no choice but to come off it. Other than fatigue and some weight gain, it didn't really cause me any problems. Now, the withdrawal symptoms are terrible and scary! My anxiety is higher than it's ever been.

Is there something else to replace the Effexor that was prescribed.

@wendymykkanen I have been put on Pristiq because it's very similar to effexor. I'm not sure it's helping.

@mmsm I was on Effexor XR for many years and stopped taking it as well. I did experience brain tremors and many other symptoms. I also relapsed. This was back in the early 2000's. I swore I would never get back on it. After I got sober in 2017, I did really well until many things happened, traumatic things. I went into a depression hole. I did NOT want to have to take anything, but I had to get out of the hole. My doctor started me on duloxetine (generic Cymbalta) it is an SNRI. I am on the lowest dose, 30 mg. It has helped and it also helps with some of my Long COVID symptoms. I am not advocating for anyone taking anything, just wanted to share my experience. I hope the supplements go well. There is a lot to be said for nature and what diet and exercise, etc., can do. Vitamin B12 injections have also helped me. Thank you for posting.

I've been off of it for 19 months now. I posted in spring that I took myself off the medication after reading a peer-reviewed study that described what I'd been experiencing pretty much in detail: massive depression that led to an emergency trip to the psych ward, unconstrained rage, eating, sleep, and hygiene disorders, paranoia, substance abuse and more. I basically suffered a severe mental health crisis. The study said what happened to me is a rare but known occurrence with bipolar 2 patients on antidepressants (bipolar 2 is my diagnosis, and I feel it's correct). Effexor was singled out as the one most frequently tied to it.

I had already been knocked down from 75 to 32.5 and added mood stabilizers after the hospital visit, but as a medical step, not as a taper. So I did quit from a low dose. I initially went cold turkey in a rage fit wanting to wreck my life, yet started feeling like my head was clearing out within days. Curious, I went digging and found the study, and decided I would ride it out and never take the medication again.

I experienced nausea and vertigo for about two weeks if I recall correctly, and the brain zaps persisted for at least six. Like someone was putting a small cattle prod to my skull. I was never told when I was prescribed the drug by either my GP nor the pharmacist that if I decided to discontinue use, I could possibly experience severe withdrawal symptoms, which in fact I did. But mentally I could tell my mood was improving by the day. That made the misery worth it. For treatment I mostly got out walking every day, three to six miles, and kept my focus on the end goal: being free of it.

I'm pretty bullheaded, a mixed blessing, but in this instance it helped. Within weeks I was no longer fantasizing about self-harm; sleep, eating, and hygiene disorders resolved themselves; I lost interest in alcohol and weed and stopped without really trying; it all went away on its own. (The three things I'm most thankful for, in order, are 1) I'm still here, 2) my wife not leaving me when the rages were going on, and 3) that I dodged needing alcohol recovery; I was guzzling vodka and enormous amounts of weed nightly. Not anymore. It wasn't forced, I simply quit wanting it.)

The emotional gushes set in after about two months, and they still occur all this time later. But I feel my emotions now. Something I'd lost. So I'm actually thankful for them. I lost my sister, father, and mother in pretty rapid succession and bulldozed through the period without shedding a tear. The tears finally fell when I could finally feel again. I still well up over both sad things and joyful things. But after years on that drug, I'm feeling life again, and for this I'm grateful.

Stick with the withdrawal. If the drug is hurting you, dealing with the side effects is better than suffering further harm. And it's OK to feel those emotions. They'll help you regain your connection to life.