You are not alone!

In June I was on 450mg of Effexor. I had been on this medication at this level for fifteen years.

I was also on thirteen other medications, six of them psyche meds. I no longer take Effexor at all. I am currently on 40mg of Latuda and 150mg of Wellbutrin. I was in fact off of these as well until my provider forced me back on them. Long story.

My understanding is that Prozac can help with the withdrawal effects of Effexor, though I have no experience with it.

Here are the steps I took to get my life back. In my opinion in the order of importance.

Exercise: I started at fifteen minutes of walking. I now exercise two hours a day.

Nutrition: I stopped eating foods that trigger depression. Refined sugar and simple carbohydrates. I increased my protein and fruits and vegetables.

I dismissed these interventions for years and lost everything except my life. I have come to believe that what I put into my body and how much I move can never be counteracted by a pill I take once a day.

Next up was lab tests.

I insisted that my PCP run detailed blood work to include hormone levels. All psych meds mess with the bodies hormones. In my case I had testosterone levels below critical levels. My PCP put me on a low dose of testosterone gel. My testosterone levels have returned to normal and I will be discontinuing the TRT in thirty days.

I insisted that my providers see me regularly. Therapist monthly, med provider every six weeks and PCP. Once they knew that I had planned on killing myself before contacting them, they paid attention.

By far the most important thing I did was take responsibility for figuring out what was wrong with me and getting better.

It started with a book by Christoper Palmer MD, “Brain Energy”. That lead to my own research. All I had to do was a simple Google search.

My answers were on the first page. Like sand on a beach the information is everywhere.

As for Effexor/Venlafaxine, this is a very powerful medication that has many side effects and a very short half life. In my opinion it should never be prescribed except in the most extreme cases and then for only a short period of time. Using it like prednisone, high initial dose with rapid tapering.

If I could rewrite mental health care I would prescribe the following treatment plan:

Fast acting medication to deal with the emergency.

Immediate psychotherapy.

Concurrent lifestyle changes (yes, diet and exercise).

Full medical work up to include detailed laboratory tests.

Seems like a lot maybe, but mental health for me is a life and death issue. I had a shotgun in my hand with plans to blow my head off.

As fate would have it I decided to mow the lawn and listen to the book I mentioned above.

Research will support that the plan I was able to build with the help of my providers is based on the best unbiased current recommendations from the most respected institutions in the world.

Unfortunately the overwhelming majority of mental healthcare is stuck in the dark ages. None of my providers were aware of ninety percent of research I brought to them.

The good news is that most providers are so overwhelmed they are happy not to have to do the work themselves.

I restate that the most important thing I have done is take responsibility for my own wellbeing.

I wanted a pill. I wanted a quick fix. I wanted someone else to fix me.

I lost everything and everyone that ever mattered to me.

Everyone can heal. For me it just had to get bad enough for me to do the things I secretly knew I needed to do all along.

This board has been a life preserver for me. Hopefully my posts might be helpful to you.

I wish you the peace you deserve.

By the way I am not wealthy, I live on SSDI and there is nothing special about me. I am a sixty year old white guy from an all to typical middle class American household.

My story may be extreme but I am pretty ordinary.