Mayo Clinic Connect

  2. Groups
  3. Depression & Anxiety
  4. Weaning off Effexor- is there any way to make this more bearable?
lilred
@lilred
Posts: 3 Joined: Nov 26, 2018

Weaning off Effexor- is there any way to make this more bearable?

Posted by lilred @lilred, Nov 26, 2018

Okay, hi. I’ve been on 300mg of Effexor XR for around three or four years. It stopped helping me once I started getting older (I was put on it when I was just about past age eighteen) and my doc and I made a mutual decision to wean off but only after starting Wellbutrin and making sure it helped me first. Decreased by 37.5mg every three days, and felt fine besides a bout of irritability here and there. As soon as I was finished weaning off I started having terrible side effects. I felt like I was going to pass out one day, have barely had an appetite, and for the past two days have had awful brain zaps. I’m also extremely anxious and am constantly worrying if these side effects are normal and if they will ever go away.
Does anyone know of any way to get at least the brain zaps (they’re my biggest complaint tbh) under control a bit more?

Liked by grandmaR, Leonard Holloway

MODERATOR
Lisa Lucier, Connect Moderator
@lisalucier
Posts: 2383 Joined: May 10, 2017
Posted by Lisa Lucier, Connect Moderator @lisalucier, Dec 8, 2018
In reply to @joannapickford7 "I'm now to ths not sure what a thread is tho I..." + (show)
@joannapickford7

I'm now to ths not sure what a thread is tho I can guess and dont know how to find it I wanted to write my experience with a doctors help so others can see it can be done. I still have some residual zapping and those memory things that these drugs protect so bladder weakness again and memory really bad but hoping they will come good with time I was on Pristique for situational depression for & years tried so many time to come off. It's a horrid drug.I mean it helped initially but you should be able to come off drugs you no longer need. I was upset that if I forgot a pill I would be sick with Migrane and Nausea for a day till the next one kicked in!

Jump to this post

Hi, @joannapickford7 – a thread is a discussion here on Connect (or another online community). Sounds like you'd guessed exactly that. My apologies that I neglected to post the link to the "Want to Taper Off Pristiq – Makes My Heart Race" discussion. It's https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pristiq-withdrawal. Hoping you will share some of what you've gone through with the members there.

View MoreView Less
Please login or register to post a reply.

version 3.3.6.1.2.9
Page loaded in 0.131 seconds