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Post subject: Effexor Withdrawal
moxieami - Wed Mar 03, 2004 10:57 pm |
I am currently experiencing terrible withdrawal symptoms from Effexor XR. Starting a family has been a dream of mine as well as my fiancés until now. To prepare for a future with this man I investigated the effects Effexor XR may have on a pregnancy. Once I discovered the potential harm to an unborn child it was decided I would discontinue taking Effexor XR. It is important to state I was never told nor could I have discovered the facts regarding this drug and it's withdrawal effects. I am currently experiencing dizziness, dry mouth, fatigue, major headaches, nervousness, tremors, vertigo, vomiting, agitation, abdominal pain, confusion and various other effects. After it was apparent to me that these were in direct response to my discontinuing taking the Effexor XR. It is impossible to me to work at this time due to the withdrawal symptoms. There are thousands upon thousands of people suffering from these effects to the point of remaining on the drug to avoid them. This to me seems more like a systematic way to keep people on this drug to increase profits than a drug to help people who are ill.
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Post subject:
Tamer Fouad, M.D. - Thu Mar 04, 2004 1:09 pm |
Moieami,
Effexor or venlafaxine is known to have disturbing withdrawal effects after more than 6 weeks of use. On discontinuing the drug you should taper its use over a period of two weeks. For a previous discussion on the effects and outcome of effexor withdrawal please check this page!
For more info on effexor click here!
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Post subject:
john frey - Sat Nov 06, 2004 8:18 am |
Dr. Fouad's advice is directly off the manufacturers web page and is very wrong.
My experience and the experience of everyone I know personally as well as that of many people posting to various web sites suggests that a much longer tapering off is needed.
I tried to taper off by my doctors recommendation and ended up in the psych ward. This time I tapered off over a 3 month period and although I experienced side effects throughout that time they were manageable. When I finally stopped taking it altogether the withdrawal effects were still more severe than during the tapering off process but remained manageable.
I wish doctors would have available more research and more independent research to advise patients with. Also a doctor might want to advise patients to use their own judgement when tapering off. The withdrawal symptoms are so severe that sticking blindly to a prescribed regime of withdrawal can be very harmful, to the point of being life threatening.
My advice to anyone is take it slow and remember you know your body and how the withdrawal is affecting you better than anyone else and you need to make your own decisions about how fast or slow you can cut back
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Post subject:
Taylynn - Wed Nov 17, 2004 5:52 pm |
Hi,
I too had a horrible time getting off of the effexor xr 
I took me around 10 weeks to finally get off them. I ended up taking 2-3 "beads" out of each capsule every day or so, till I finally was down to around 15 beads in a pill!! NEVER NEVER AGAIN
I was not told either about the withdrawal side effects.
When I first tapered down, I was fine until around 5-6 days without them. Then the vomiting, lightheadedness, dizzy, etc. hit me like a brick. It dawned on me it might be the effexor, so I took a 1/2 a capsule, and sure enough felt better within around 6 hours. That is when I started taking a bead or 2 out of each pill.
I think there is around 180 "beads" in each capsule....
That rx should be banned.
Nasty stuff.
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