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Brain zaps coming off Effexor XR
I hope someone can help me. I am experiencing terrible brain zaps coming off of Effexor XR. I have no doubt they have tapered me down to quickly, but now that I’m in the withdrawal, I do not want to go back on it. I have a prescription for Cymbalta which they want me to try but I’m afraid to start it feeling this bad. Has anyone else experienced this? Has anyone used cannabis to help? I have a medical marijuana card. I’m so grateful there are people out there who can understand this.
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I did this reduction over a period of a year for my adult child. It’s tedious taking out an additional spansule every month or two but it worked. He’s been completely free of Effexor for over 5 years now and it’s a great feeling.
I will say he did get a few zaps here and there but nothing near as bad as it could have been. The reduction of one more spansule each month or two is not a science. You could consider reducing one spansule every other day for a month and then every day for the second month and continue that way. See how you feel as you go. There were some months we stayed at same dose a bit longer so as to acclimate. It’s by no means as controlled as I would have liked it to be.
I actually called the manufacturer and a pharmacist. I learned that the spansules are not equal in size/dosage. But honestly, it was the best I thought I could do.
The best part is taking control and getting off of the drug and moving forward with your life. Cheers to you!
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1 ReactionCan't argue with success! I misunderstood the process as you described it earlier; I apologize for that. This sounds like a very slow lowering of the dose over a long period of time, and I hope to do this myself beginning in January. THANK YOU.
in reply to @sassysaveur Thank you for the comment. I went to the pharmacy earlier and my pharmacist said again that Effexor is a great drug until you do not need it anymore. Further, he stated that this drug is THE MOST DIFFICULT drug to go off of, and he cautioned me about going "cold turkey" for the last stretch. He said it could take many more months of tapering, cutting down on those beads a little more each week.
Interestingly enough, the other pharmacist, who has become a friend, told me that in her opinion, many doctors do not take enough courses in medical school to study pharmacology, which of course, is very important. My PCP is a perfect example, telling me to go from 150 mg to 75mg, which was disastrous to say the least.
I am so grateful for all of this information, and suspect I am finally headed in the right direction.
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1 ReactionOnce you open the capsules to remove beads, do you have to put the beads back in the capsule to swallow the drug?
Yes all the beads should be in capsule except for the amount you are reducing by.
I tried not to dump them out. I carefully opened capsule and sprinkled a few out in my palm/hand. Counted and through away the amount I wanted to take out and then put all beads back into capsule, cover and put into my pill counter container or id doing it daily, cover and pop in mouth.
I highly recommend writing down the date and dose of Effexor, and how many spansules you’re taking out. It’s easy to forget. I would stay in same steady amount t for at least a month or more to give body time to adjust.
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1 Reaction@dfb Reading your comment gave me a sense of hope. I've been taking 200mg of effexor for years and also noticed my testosterone was critically low when all other labs were normal. Currently seeing endocrinology about it as my wife and I are trying to grow our family more and I can't help but wonder if the Effexor is to blame. That and im currently getting over one of the worst colds I've had in a long time and as Im sure you're all to aware cannot take anything for it. I also noticed my anxiety has been horrible while getting over this cold and even getting brain zaps which I thought was odd since I usually only get them if I miss a dose.
When I got off Effexor, I had the brain zaps as well. I called them brain tremors. They do eventually stop.
@murse2020
So sorry. Zaps are a nuisance. For what it worth, year back I went thru infrequent bouts of Zaps. And I was getting off an antidepressant. They went away after second day that they’d come on. Be well
try taking 25mg of benedryl if you can without extreme sleepiness and are not driving until you know for sure It has some SSRI in it and is excellent as a bridge while weaning. I used it for panic attacks and it lessened them tremendously.
@murse2020 again I suggest benedryl as a bridge for the SSRI decrease. It will really help with the anxiety. slow down on the wean. It is a hard drug to come off and it isn’t good to go too fast. you will feel terrible. I am doing 3mg a month and still this month I had to stop the wean and will go to 60 days until I try another 3 mg. It will depend on life. stress makes it harder for that time period. I took cold meds while on this stuff and it wasn’t a problem but not pseudoephedrine. It was too much of a stimulant and I had panic episodes. I also started pure CBD gummies once a day about 4pm Really helps with any agitation.