Katiev: headaches - off Effexor

[Katiev]

I have been through so many people f the symptoms reported by others since finishing my Effexor taper in early August. The general anxiety and daily feelings of fearfulness feel like all I can manage. But now I’m waking up with severe headaches. Is this just a new phase of healing?  Frustrated and wondering how to move through this. Advil not helping 

[Shep]

Hi, Katiev.

 

Please tell us about your taper. You've been off Effexor since August, are you currently taking any other psychiatric drugs? How fast was your Effexor taper? 

 

Please set up a signature.  Include drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements in the last 12-24 months. Also include supplements. This will help us give you the most accurate advice we can. 

• Any drugs and supplements prior to 24 months ago can just be listed with start and stop years. 
• Please use actual dates or approximate dates (mid-June, Late October) rather than relative time frames (last week, 3 months ago) 
• Spell out months, e.g. "October" or "Oct."; 9/1/2016 can be interpreted as Jan. 9, 2016 or Sept. 1, 2016. 
• Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses. 
• A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs. 
• This is a direct link to your signature:  Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

For more on setting up a signature, please see:

 

How to Summarize Your Drug History in Your Signature

 

Please continue to use this thread to document your recovery and to ask questions. As soon as we know more about your taper we'll be able to give you targeted advice. 

[Katiev]

I started my taper May 18, 3022Ended august 1  2022. I was on 75 mg of Effexor er for a little over 2 years. Had briefly tried Prozac and lexapro before Effexor.  My primary care doctor advised reducing dose by 1/2 every week. I modified to slow it some as withdrawal symptoms were harsh. Dr said after I was down to a 1/4 of a 20mg tab for a week I could quite but I stayed on a crumb 1/8 dose for another week.  Have struggled with panic attacks and generalized anxiety since discontinue 

physical symptoms of gastric and sweats and muscle tremors diminished some but still present. Bad bad headaches are new. I take no other psychiatric drugs. Just take a multivitamin and maintain a gluten free diet as I did before and during Effexor. 

[ChessieCat]

Please create your drug signature as Shep requested above.  Thank you.

[Shep]

7 hours ago, Katiev said:

I started my taper May 18, 3022Ended august 1  2022. I was on 75 mg of Effexor er for a little over 2 years. 

 

7 hours ago, Katiev said:

Dr said after I was down to a 1/4 of a 20mg tab for a week I could quite but I stayed on a crumb 1/8 dose for another week.

 

1/8 dose of 75 mg would be a stop dose of 9.375 mg. And at the timeline of 3 months off,  you're in a safe timeframe to reinstate a small amount. Please note you'll want to reinstate at a much smaller dose than you stopped at. The first post in this thread will tell you why:

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

The first post in this thread will show you how to get to these tiny doses for reinstating and tapering:

Tips for tapering off venlafaxine (Effexor)

 

I'm not sure how much Effexor would be safe to reinstate, so I'm going to ask the other staff who are more familiar with this particular antidepressant. 

 

In the meantime, please set up your signature so that the other staff will have your drug history easily available. See this post for how to set up a signature:

 

How to Summarize Your Drug History in Your Signature

 

[Katiev]

I will set up my drug signature but just to clarify my last dose was 1/8 of a 20mg tab.  So 2.5 mg.  And there is no way I will touch that drug again. Just wondering if the headaches are part of the process and will subside. Havent seen reference to them as a new development side effect months after taper ended. 
thank you!  

[Shep]

1 minute ago, Katiev said:

I will set up my drug signature but just to clarify my last dose was 1/8 of a 20mg tab.  So 2.5 mg.  And there is no way I will touch that drug again. Just wondering if the headaches are part of the process and will subside. Havent seen reference to them as a new development side effect months after taper ended. 
thank you!  

 

Thanks for clarifying that. I was looking at your original dose of 75 mg. 

[Shep]

4 minutes ago, Katiev said:

And there is no way I will touch that drug again. Just wondering if the headaches are part of the process and will subside.

 

Hopefully reinstating will help with the headaches, since headaches are a withdrawal symptom.

 

This thread is great for explaining how the brain becomes dependent on these drugs:

 

How psychiatric drugs remodel your brain

 

I know you don't want to touch this drug again, but what if taking a small dose will make you feel better? And then you slowly taper off later. 

[Katiev]

I have read all the threads you referenced and they have been very helpful. I also appreciate your confirming that headaches are a side effect. I will persevere drug free. 

[Shep]

On 10/31/2022 at 9:41 AM, Katiev said:

Just take a multivitamin and maintain a gluten free diet as I did before and during Effexor. 

 

What time of day do you take the multivitamin? Do you feel any different before and after you take it?

 

The reason I ask is many multivitamins contain stimulating vitamins, such as B12. A lot of members report problems. Here is information on supplements:

 

Should I take multivitamins?

 

Important topics about tests, supplements, treatments, diet

 

We don't recommend many supplements, but fish oil and magnesium can have a calming affect on the nervous system for people going through withdrawal. Please only add in one supplement at a time and at a low dose.

 

King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

 

You may want to add in a bit of magnesium and see if the relaxing effect helps your headache. 

 

Please note when adding in supplements, it's one at a time. See:

 

The rule of 3KIS: Keep it simple. Keep it slow. Keep it stable.

[Katiev]

Titled: Panic and anxiety no relief

 

Can’t live a normal lifestyle anymore. Will reinstating effexor after 6 months work like it originally did for me?  I can’t imagine feeling worse than this. 

Edited January 4, 2023 by manymoretodays
merged and added title

[Gridley]

@Katiev

 

I'm sorry you're having such a rough go.   Please make all posts in your original Introduction topic.  That way, all your posts are in one spot.  Only one topic per member.

 

There's no way to tell how well a reinstatement will work.  Reinstatements work more dependably within 3 months of your last dose, though they can work farther out.  

 

Take a look at this link to give you a background to help you decide what to do.

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms. -- at least the first page of the topic

 

If you do decide to reinstate, it's very important to take a much smaller dose than your last dose, which according to your previous post was 1/8 of a 20mg tab, 2.5mg.  In the six months you've been off the drug, your brain has made adjustments to not having the drug, and taking too much can overwhelm your nervous system and make things worse.   I wouldn't reinstate any higher than 0.5mg.  You could also go lower. It's important that your dose measurement be accurate and consistent.  How were you measuring your dose back when you were taking 2.5mg? 

 

It takes about 4 days for the reinstatement to reach full full strength in your brain and a bit longer to register in the brain.

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by Gridley
removed white space at bottom that I could see

[Katiev]

I did read the link and it scared me. My psychiatrist says 37.5mg. 

[Katiev]

My nervous system already feels completely overwhelmed with anxious thoughts.