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Brain zaps coming off Effexor XR

Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: 1 day ago | Replies (36)

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My daughter has been weaning since last September, after having heart palpitations. Her Drs said oh you need to get off and reduced her from a ten year dose down 1/2 and she was okay for two weeks. Then she had severe brain zaps, headache, nausea, vomiting, depression and anxiety. They put her back on a slightly higher dose and she got better. Then she more gradually lowered it over the next month. She then spent the next 6 months lowering down to 4 mugs and then stopped in June. She now has headache every evening. She has had various aches and pains in her chest and shoulder and nausea comes and goes. She can't sleep well. She has always suffered from anxiety more than depression. Why she was put on this horrible stuff at 18, after an old Dr prescribed it to her. I think she is a bit better this week after taking vitamins D3 K2 Magnesium and drinking pomegranate juice, kiwi, and walking every evening or swimming in cold river water...But she has been in the ER room 4 times, for dehydration and unable to hold food down. She has been tested for everything. Dr was reluctant to say withdrawal caused all this. It all started when she lowered her dose. She has had ekgs 3 times, cat scans, heart ultrasound, stool tests. Blood work three times for everything from tick born disease to cancer, autoimmune diseases, parasites, and is scheduled for an upper and lower GI and cardiologist appointment next week. I think she is finally a bi9t better this week...

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Replies to "My daughter has been weaning since last September, after having heart palpitations. Her Drs said oh..."

@kdmom
I tapered off very, very slowly. Probably over the course of a year. Didn't have many problems that way. You cannot successfully go from a dose you've been on for 10 years to half of that suddenly without serious consequences in my opinion. She needs a doctor who knows how to wean someone off an antidepressant.