Advrmom: Effexor discontinuation

[Advrmom]

Hi Everyone,

I'm reaching out for support.  I was on 150mg - 225mg Effexor for 15 years. I was really experiencing lack of motivation, apathy, emotional blunting, etc. so I tapered over 3 months.  Been totally off it for 90 days now. 

The anxiety in the morning is getting worse - I'm under more stress (work, family) now.  Also I'm waking 3:30-4 every morning. 

I'm tempted to get back on Effexor - being totally numb and sleeping through the night is becoming increasing attractive.

Do you think this could be discontinuation syndrome or is my depression/ anxiety/ bipolar II returning? 

Edited August 26 by Emonda
Name to title

[LotusRising]

Hi @Advrmom,

 

Welcome to SA

 

On 8/25/2024 at 8:37 AM, Advrmom said:

The anxiety in the morning is getting worse - I'm under more stress (work, family) now.  Also I'm waking 3:30-4 every morning.

These symptoms could be related to effexor withdrawal, or in response to increased stressors. Have you read the thread on reinstatement? Reinstating and Stabilizing. 

 

Are you using any coping skills?

 

Reinstatement of a very small dose of the original drug can sometimes help to alleviate withdrawal syndrome. The only other alternative is to wait out the symptoms and manage the best you can while your CNS returns to homeostasis. Unfortunately, no one can tell you for sure if this will resolve any of the symptoms.

 

I'm curious about the gabapentin as needed. When did you start it? Taking it like this could be confusing to your nervous system.

 

[Advrmom]

I starting taking it about 3 weeks ago.  My prescriber was pleased I successfully got off from effexor in 3 months.  But she said that was probably too fast.  Gabapentin is supposed to "calm" things down.

 

[Advrmom]

Hi Everyone,

I'm struggling with wondering whether my depression is returning or whether I'm suffering from extended discontinuation. syndrome. I was on Effexor from 2010 until May 30 2024. Now I know my taper was way too fast- about 8 weeks. 

I am struggling.  I contacted an online psychiatrist since I had moved from my PCP who originally prescribed the Effexor. She suggested I take gabapentin as needed up to 1200mg a day.  I went through a rough week and did that for about 5 days. Stressful event ended so I stopped the gaba. Within a day my BP was 180/100.  Scared me to death and given propranolol. 

After a week or so without any drugs BP is back to normal.

 

However, anxiety is back.  Profound sadness. Waking every morning 4:30-5:00 am. I found my old bottle of 150mg Effexor - capsules with little beads.  Should I count out some beads and reintroduce effexor and taper much more slowly this time?  Or do I wait this hell out? I don't how I can keep living like this.

 

My new PCP is useless.  He is just out of Med school and has very little practical experience.  

Thank you in advance for your help.  

[Advrmom]

Hi.  I'm really struggling right now with lots of depression and anxiety.  I haven't felt this bad for more than 20 years.

Do you guys think its depression/anxiety returning after being off effexor for 10 weeks now after 15 years of use or a too fast taper. Looking for advice whether to try to keep gutting it out or reintroduce Effexor and try a proper taper this time.

            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            

[LotusRising]

5 hours ago, Advrmom said:

Do you guys think its depression/anxiety returning after being off effexor for 10 weeks now after 15 years of use or a too fast taper.

Hi @Advrmom

 

In my opinion, it is likely related to the too fast taper.

 

On 9/14/2024 at 9:37 AM, Advrmom said:

Should I count out some beads and reintroduce effexor and taper much more slowly this time?  Or do I wait this hell out? I don't how I can keep living like this.

I can't answer this question for you because I'm not you, but if you feel the symptoms are bad enough that you can't wait them out, then perhaps reinstatement is worth trying. It is definitely not a guarantee that symptoms will resolve, but it's an option.

 

What dose did you stop at? How did you taper?

[Jane318]

Greetings Advmom - Just wanted to say hi and share my experience in case you might find part of it useful.  My intro topic is listed in my signature below.  But in summary, after nearly four decades of being on ADs, I started been weaning off 112.5 mg effexor in Feb 2023.  I thought I was going slowly, but realize I was not going slowly enough, not allowing time to stabilize between cuts.  It caught up with me and I totally crashed in June / July 2024 - like you, worse than anything I had experienced before starting on ADs.  After finding / joining this site and with support from the moderators, I decided to updose slightly in mid-July, and my symptoms did improve.  Looking at your history, my opinion is that you tapered off way too quickly and this is the cause of your symptoms.  It is not unusual for there to be significant delay.    Please do read the thread on reinstatement linked above.  Only you can decide whether to do this and if so, at what dosage.  What you want is sufficient dosage to give relief but not so high as to stress your CNS more than necessary.  Either way will require a lot of patience as you wait to stabilize - will need to hang on to the hope that it will improve with time, as it will.  I will pray for wisdom for you in this.  (P.S. I also am in WA state).

[Jane318]

Another thought - Outro is now available in WA state.  In case you are not familiar, Outro Health is new - "the first service for safe, evidence-based antidepressant tapering, designed by expert clinicians and patients who’ve been there."  Founded by Dr.  Mark Horowitz and others - the founder of SurvivingAntidepressants.org, Adele Framer, is on their team.  For $99, you can get an initial consultation to find out if this is something you would like to pursue, the cost is about $300 / month I think.  If you can afford it, this might be a good resource for you, given the complexity of your situation.