Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)?

I took Effexor for ten years. It has taken two years for me to rebound.
I used a combination of talk therapy with accupuncture. I also take herbal supplements and vitamins. Additionally, removing as much sugar and processed food from the diet can help tremendously.
I went through a little personal hell, while withdrawing this horrible drug. I lost 50 pounds, has horrible sleep disturbances, developed anxiety and depression. I originally started using it for the pain associated with fibromyalgia.
Today I'm living a mostly anxiety and depression free life.

I was on 450mg of Effexor/Venlafaxine for fifteen years. I was also on a host of other poisons, fourteen in all.

Three and a half months latter and all that’s left is 20mg of latuda. I will stop that on Thanksgiving.

20 mg of latuda is not therapeutic for any of the diagnoses if been given over the years. I could stop today, but Thanksgiving seemed like an appropriate day.

The elimination of my meds, not reduction mind you, has been accomplished with the begrudging support of my psych provider, my primary care doctor and my therapist.

Discontinuation effects have for the most part been nonexistent to mild.

The biggest issue has been sleep disruptions. I was on two meds to help me sleep that were so bad for me (I wouldn’t give the to an animal I didn’t like) that I insisted they be stopped immediately.

In the beginning I was lucky to sleep two hours at a shot. Last night I slept seven and a half.

All psych meds mess with sleep when taking them and when discontinuing them as well.

I probably could have titrated the Seroquel and Lorazepam a little slower and avoided some of the sleep problems but they made me groggy and suicidal.

Other than that I got the sniffles every time I dropped Venlafaxine along with some gastric distress. Both went away in a matter of days.

I feel the best mentally and physically I have in my entire sixty years on this weary planet.

I believe the solution to an overwhelming majority of mental illnesses is nutrition and exercise.

Unfortunately my experience has been that for a number of reasons no one, not the sick and suffering, nor those who profess to care for them, want to hear about.

I believe the pharmaceutical and insurance companies found their heard of cows many years ago and have been milking the sufferer and the providers a like ever since.

Increasingly the leading mental health institutions like Mayo are putting diet and exercise as the first two recommendations for dealing with metal illness.

There is going to be hell to pay for what has been done to those suffering with mental illness.

Perhaps then things will change. For now the best I can do is be my own best advocate.

I’ve written on this subject quite a bit. If I haven’t annoyed you enough yet click on my username and you can see previous post.

Last thought for this post.

From fourteen medications starting July first to zero by December first.

There is nothing special about me

I hope you find the peace you deserve.

This may sound stupid but why do you (and others) want to quit? Is there a side effect or health risk I don't know about? I've been taking Effexor for over 20 years and my doctor has never mentioned quitting. When I forget or am late with a dose I notice that a feeling of dread comes over me. When I make small, essentially irrelevant mistakes my self image immediately goes to the "I'm stupid, hopeless, worthless; why can't I deal with life. What's wrong with me? place. If I lose say 10 years of my life due to this drug I'd truly consider it a fair trade.

If something works for you don't fix it.

For me and for many others the side effects of Effexor are intolerable.

I won't list them here but a very brief review of the side effects via a simple Google search provided me an explanation for many of the debilitating primary and secondary negative effects I experience for years.

For me venlafaxine was the worst of the fourteen meds I was taking the drugs negative effects were worse than even ECT.

Study after study made it clear that many of the supposedly systemic health problems I was having can be laid at the feet for Effexor/Venlafaxine.

Again for me the proof is in my actually lived experience. The medication is gone and so are the side effects. More telling the primary mental health conditions that the drug was prescribed for are also not present in anyway. Either I am cured, I should have never been put on them in the first place or should get and an Academy Award.

It's not just the me saying this but the doctors reporting it to my parole officer. Did I mention if I screw up I go back to prison.

What makes a deferential diagnosis of mental illness so difficult is that symptoms of mental illness are the same as problems created by the average American lifestyle.

We complain they give us pills to shut us up. Those pills create more problems requiring more costly interventions and medications. The only benefit is to the bottom line of companies and institutions seeking to hold power in the pursuit profits.

I ask myself if the current system worked so well why are there 65,000,000.00 people with diagnosed with mental illness in the United States. That's just those with a diagnosis.

Milton Friedman, the eminent economist whose theories shaped our current economic world stated unequivocally, that "the only duty a corporation has is to its shareholders".

That is to profit.

I believe I have been nothing more than a drug addict looking for a fix that Big Pharma was happy to provide.

Sadness and grief are not depression they are appropriate feeling in response to the suffering we see all around us. I took pills rather than feel those feelings.

If something ain't broke don't fix it.

I'm glad you are at peace. Life it to short to spending it suffering all the time.

Thanks so much for your answer. I've worried about venlafaxine from time to time mainly because I know it works by slightly altering my brain chemistry which is alarming but then again my brain chemistry was faulty to begin with. People react very differently to chemicals. Add in that some doctors may see the drug as an easy way to solve any problem a patient presents and bad outcomes are the result.

Good luck to you! You have amazing inner strength! I know that I don't have what it would take to quit venlafaxine.

Thank you for your kind words.

Please know that I do not have “amazing inner strength”. I have done horrible things to those I love and for years wanted to escape my consciousness by killing myself.

I’m just an average sixty year old white guy who was and is desperate enough to ask questions.

Venlafaxine and other psych meds do not alter the brain slightly the effect of these medications go beyond anything that science fully understands. This is not my opinion it is the state of the current science.

The information was always there I just never bothered to check.

Further the science is clear that the effects are not confined to the brain but are throughout the patients body. Whoever thought science could mess with the brain, the organ that controls everything, and not affect the body makes Victor Frankenstein look sane.

Providers; beware hubris!

There may not be anything at all wrong with your brain, at least not before venlafaxine.

The science is now also pretty clear that much of what we call mental illness would be better described as metabolic illness.

I try not to tell people what to do but I will make an exception; anyone suffering from mental illness should read “Brain Energy” by Dr. Palmer. He is the head of psychiatry at McLean/Mass General and a professor at Harvard. In short, kind of the top of the pile in mental healthcare.

This book saved my life. I was about to blow my head off with a shotgun when I decided to mow the lawn instead, go figure.

I had downloaded this book to listen to one day.

My journey to wellness began that day.

If you have time you can review my post and see how unlikely of a candidate I was to make it to the next day let alone have a life of peace and joy.

My parole officer commented at our last meeting, that she never new if I would live to the next months meeting.

I hope you find the peace you deserve.

Having experienced the same, I agree with both of you. The drug is horrible; withdrawal is hell.

I'll order the book today! I read a book recently about using your mind to change the neural pathways in your brain. The idea is that certain "negative" reactions become the paths of least resistance. Say something bad happens like I forget an appointment. This triggers a ridiculous reaction in my head where I feel I'm just so stupid and worthless and never get anything right which is silly. But the mental anguish once started is the same as if it were justified and I can't get out of it. If I immediately step back, realize that forgetting is something everyone does, it just happens, I can stop to some degree the avalanche of negative feelings. The idea is that the negative neuronal pathway is also the path of least resistance; it's a reaction that has gotten to the point where it's become hardwired. The book I read posited that with conscious effort, mind over brain, one can gradually activate other, more positive reactions, literally rewire the brain connections to produce a more "sane" outcome. I'd give you the tile but I leant the book to my son-in-law who has a touch of OCD and was fascinated by the concept. I"ll be over there today and will get the title/author from him.

I have also spent many years degrading myself with words and deeds.

I believe our biology accommodates our environment. If I speak harshly to myself my Brian and Body take it personally.

I try very hard not to do that anymore.

When I do speak harshly to myself I try to remember to apologize just as I would to anyone else.

Be well.

I hope you find peace.

We speak thoughts into reality.

The bad news is, we can create a world of misery for ourselves by being merciless towards others and ourselves.

The good news is, we can turn that around. Words of compassion, forgiveness, and gratitude make the world around us better. Don't believe me? Try it.

Forgiveness starts at home. Be brave -- do something radical and unexpected -- forgive yourself.

The time is now.