How did you cope with Effexor discontinuation symptoms?

Posted by behrouz @behrouz, Aug 19, 2020

My son, who is 17, has missed 2 days of his Effexor (150 mg) and is now experiencing anxiety. He has already started taking the medication again, which apparently takes a while to build up again. In the meantime, what can be done to relieve some of his symptoms? He does not like taking OTC sleeping aids as he says it makes him more agitated. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thank you!

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Please don’t think I’m being nosy, but what do you and your doctor consider a minimal amount of klonopin or Valium. I’m in a struggle myself with all this. I can’t take mirtazapine. Wish I could it was great for anxiety.

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@sears

Please don’t think I’m being nosy, but what do you and your doctor consider a minimal amount of klonopin or Valium. I’m in a struggle myself with all this. I can’t take mirtazapine. Wish I could it was great for anxiety.

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.5 mg/twice a day for Klonopin, or 5-10mg. /day for Valium. Twice a week. That’s the best I can do. Mirtazapine has been a godsend for me.

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@doorman

.5 mg/twice a day for Klonopin, or 5-10mg. /day for Valium. Twice a week. That’s the best I can do. Mirtazapine has been a godsend for me.

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You only take the Valium or klonopin twice per week? I know mirtazapine is great for anxiety. I took it for two months. Even with dosage adjustments it made me too lethargic.

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@sears

You only take the Valium or klonopin twice per week? I know mirtazapine is great for anxiety. I took it for two months. Even with dosage adjustments it made me too lethargic.

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I take the Mirtazapine 1.5 hrs. before bed. It helps me sleep 6-7 hrs. Doesn’t do much for depression. It’s sedating quailties are wonderful. But not to be taken full dose in the a.m. Never makes me tired the next day. Been on it 2 yrs. now. The benzos, quite frankly, scare me. I’m experimenting with two times a week....in a row. 5 days off.....sometime even two weeks. Hoping to not reach any tolerance.....or dependence. We’ll see how it goes.

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@doorman

I take the Mirtazapine 1.5 hrs. before bed. It helps me sleep 6-7 hrs. Doesn’t do much for depression. It’s sedating quailties are wonderful. But not to be taken full dose in the a.m. Never makes me tired the next day. Been on it 2 yrs. now. The benzos, quite frankly, scare me. I’m experimenting with two times a week....in a row. 5 days off.....sometime even two weeks. Hoping to not reach any tolerance.....or dependence. We’ll see how it goes.

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Thank you so much for your replies.

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@sears

Thank you so much for your replies.

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Let’s talk again.

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@behrouz, how is your son doing?

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@texasduchess

I agree with @doorman about getting a short-term prescription of Valium, or Xanax to get past this temporary, but frightening episode. Both drugs work fairly quickly although Valium is slightly faster and stays in the body longer.

When I was regularly taking Effexor, if I missed a dose (I was on 25mg, regular-release, once a day), I would get a tremendous headache—a headache that was quite distinct from any others. Aspirin was my choice to deal with it, but your son can use whatever headache remedy he finds effective.

GABA supplements can improve sleep, ease anxiety, decrease muscle tension and boost mood. It is the brain’s main inhibitory neurotransmitter—it calms neurons (brain cells) and keeps the brain from getting overexcited.

Ben*dryl is an OTC antihistamine, but can be used as a sleep aid. I don't know if this is one of the OTC sleep aids your son found anxiety-inducing, but I took a 25mg Ben*dryl to ease the definite, shaky/"squiggly" feeling in my chest that I think was an adrenaline rush—that fight/flight reaction is quite bothersome and inexplicable when you know you're not in any danger.

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Xanax is the quickest acting benzo. That’s why they’re so helpful for panic attacks

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@sears

Thank you so much for your replies.

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I’m afraid of ALL physch meds. They’re all dangerous and have long and short term side effects. It’s such a catch 22. Damned if you take them, damned if you don’t!

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@sears

I’m afraid of ALL physch meds. They’re all dangerous and have long and short term side effects. It’s such a catch 22. Damned if you take them, damned if you don’t!

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With all due respect, you shouldn't be afraid of all psych meds. Granted, it takes some tweaking to find the ones that work for you. But they are out there. If it had not been for the work I've done in the past 30 years, I would not have found the combination that allows me to live a life today. I've accomplished quite a bit in my life. I held down a job for 40 years, I went to Afghanistan for two years with the DOS, I helped raise an amazing son (he was a captain in the army deployed to Iraq first with a tank platoon and then with a sniper platoon and now he is an FBI agent - perhaps he is the reason I was put on this earth; he has made a significant contribution to society), I started playing the piano when I was six, and I play moderately well - not Carnegie Hall mind you, but enough to satisfy me. Despite the pain, the depression, the anxiety, the family-of-origin PTSD, I've had a life thanks to my meds (and thanks very much to my husband of 46 years who has never turned his back on me). Don't lose hope; find a psychiatrist and psychologist you trust and work with them to find your answer. Keep you head up.

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