☼ Lloyd: Effexor withdrawal - 2 months in

[Lloyd]

Hi All,

 

I've been reading up on the forum for the last few months and decided i might put a post in as would be keen to hear your thoughts and also share my experience.

 

I've been on Effexor XR for around 10 years in total. Original condition was OCD - obsessive thoughts about food poisoning and my food being drugged - didn't help that i would feel strange after eating food & then become anxious / paranoid about it. This resulted in depression along with inability to function in social settings and a downward spiral.

 

Originally was on Paxil in the beginning which didn't really work and then was transferred to Effexor XR 150mg. Have been on 75mg for the last few years though.

 

In all honesty the effexor worked great and it helped me pull myself together and make a good life for myself. Education, job, family etc.

 

Then about 2 years ago i thought that my life was going really well, so i didn't need the effexor any more. Attempted to stop it without tapering which didn't last long due to the brain zaps. Then tried a second time by a slow tapering process over 6 months from 75mg to nothing. Got off it without too many side effects (brain zaps and irritability, brain fog mainly). The brain fog was a bit of an issue and i just didn't cope well with stress any more. An incident last year at work got me back on to the effexor and i started to feel better. Until....

 

About 3 months into starting the effexor again i started getting strange physical symptoms including numbness and tingling, nausea and the OCD returned - would only get the symptoms around 2-3 hours a night after eating and taking my effexor. Now i did change brands of effexor (generic) during that period and to be honest i cant remember if i took generic effexor or the branded one for the previous 9 years. I honestly don't know if these symptoms were caused by the effexor though or by something else.

 

With the strange physical symptoms and resurgence of OCD i decided i would quickly taper off the effexor. I went down 60mg to nothing (erratically cutting dose amounts as quick as i could) in about 4 weeks.

Its now been 2 months and i have had plenty of strange symptoms including hives, numbness / tingling in limbs, memory loss / confusion, headaches & constant pressure in forehead, some nausea, tightness in chest, strange physical sensations and stabbing pains, feeling like ive had allergic reactions.

 

The WORST symptom i have experienced is derealization - I've been in a state where everything i see seems surreal and often wondered if i was actually in a coma. This seems to have gotten a little better over the last week so i hope to god that its not a permanent thing. The brain fog is quite annoying and affecting my ability to do my job - i work in IT so not being able to concentrate is a real problem.

 

From what i have read on the forum i wouldn't class my experience anywhere near as bad as what some other people have been through. I would say the symptoms have ranged from mild to moderate, but i guess without knowing how long this is going to go on for its a bit depressing. I've been using fish oil and magnesium / b vitamins which seems to have helped - fish oil got rid of most of the brain zaps.

 

I do have some questions for other people who might have gone through similar experiences.

 

Has anyone tried using st johns wort during the withdrawal phase to counter effect the effexor withdrawal?

Is a small re-instatement of effexor likely to result in a bad medication reaction after 2 months of not having it?

Has anyone had the derealization symptom during withdrawal? Is this likely to improve?

 

I had a cholesterol level test whilst i was on effexor which returned a high result. After coming off the effexor i had a second test done and my cholesterol was back to normal - no diet change or new medications etc. I read somewhere that effexor can increase cholesterol levels?

 

I guess im at an impasse at the moment. Ive got a bit to loose if i cant 'pull' myself together. Getting off medications all together would be great, but if it means i need to battle this for a long time and possibly loose my job and have it affect my home life i may need to consider re-instatement of at-least a small dose or some other alternative. Im reluctant to try other drugs as effexor is the devil i know. I also know that if i restart the effexor and the symptoms go away and everything returns to normal im likely to stay on it for the rest of my life as i wont want to gamble with coming off it again.

 

Anyways thanks for reading & if you have any thoughts or similar experiences feel free to share =)

 

Edited March 1, 2018 by ChessieCat
added spacing

[ChessieCat]

Hi Lloyd and welcome to SA,

 

We ask all members to create a drug signature.  This appears below every post you make.  Please update it whenever you make a change.  This is the preferred format which makes it easier for us to see your drug history at a glance:

 

A request: Would you summarize your history in a signature - ALL drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly?

• Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses.
• A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs. 

• Any drugs 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.
• Link to Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

There are many existing topics and discussions on this site.  You can use the site search function at the top right, or use a search engine and include survivingantidepressants.org in your search string.

 

Our St John's Wort topics:

 

tapering-st-johns-wort

st-johns-wort-hypericum-perforatum

 

Once we have your drug signature we will be better able to offer suggestions.

 

This is your own Intro topic where you can ask questions and journal your progress.  We suggest that members visit each others Intro topics so that can support and encourage each other.

[mammaP]

Hi Lloyd, welcome to SA.  I took effexor for  around 12 years, tapered too fast, reinstated a few beads then tapered off with no major problems.  I will answer your questions. 

 

On 28/02/2018 at 12:32 PM, Lloyd said:

Has anyone tried using st johns wort during the withdrawal phase to counter effect the effexor withdrawal?

We do not recommend St Johns wort in withdrawal, see the topic in the link Chessie posted, it explains why. 

 

On 28/02/2018 at 12:32 PM, Lloyd said:

Is a small re-instatement of effexor likely to result in a bad medication reaction after 2 months of not having it?

We recommend reinstating a very tiny dose,  Do you have any effexor left?  They contain either very tiny beads or tablets. The ones with beads are best. You need to count the beads in 2 capsules to get the average, it can vary as the beads vary in size.  Then work out 1mg, my capsules had 400 beads in a 75mg capsule, that worked out at 5 beads per mg. You could take 5 beads from a capsule. That was actually too high for me so I dropped to 4 beads and stabilised on that. When youy are stable  I will explain how I managed to taper off 4 beads, It was not easy because dropping one bead led to withdrawal but i worked out my own method that worked. 

 

On 28/02/2018 at 12:32 PM, Lloyd said:

Has anyone had the derealization symptom during withdrawal? Is this likely to improve?

Yes I had this also, along with lots of other strange and distressing symptoms. Reinstating can help and after being on effexor for so long withdrawal could take a very long time to recover. I told my new GP and psych nurse that I had tapered off effexor and they were surprised because they have never known anyone manage to get off it without another drug. 

 

On 28/02/2018 at 12:32 PM, Lloyd said:

I had a cholesterol level test whilst i was on effexor which returned a high result.

Yes it does raise cholesterol, and blood pressure. I was very very sick while taking it. The first 2 years were great then it was downhill for years. 

 

I will get some links for you,   you can read them as you are able and they will be here for you to access easily. 

 

What is withdrawal syndrome

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/603-what-is-withdrawal-syndrome/

 

About reinstating

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/7562-about-reinstating-and-stabilizing-to-reduce-withdrawal-symptoms/

 

Counting beads in a capsule

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1461-counting-beads-in-a-capsule-versus-weighing/

 

Tapering effexor 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/272-tapering-off-effexor-venlafaxine/

 

[Lloyd]

Thanks for the advice mammaP, its reassuring to be able to talk to others who have been (or going through) the same experience. The derealization was probably the most worrying symptom, i honestly thought that tapering off too quick had caused some kind of permanent brain damage. I manged to quit Effexor last time (and stayed off it for a little over a year), but i never experienced the extent of symptoms i got this time around. I've felt a bit better over the last day or so & the derealization has improved allot over the last two weeks. Hopefully things keep improving.

Difficult part is im allot more irritable and less able to cope with stress. On the Effexor i would just shrug things off, now i get worked up over stuff. Just need to be more mindful i guess.

Going to give it a few more days or a week before i re-introduce a bit of Effexor back in. I've got a few boxes lying around. Did you find that the symptoms went away pretty quick after reintroducing a few beads?

[ChessieCat]

Hi Lloyd,

 

I have found that magnesium helps to take the edge off my anxiety.  It is a withdrawal symptom.

 

The only supplements which SA recommends are Magnesium and Omega-3 Fish Oil.  Try a small amount one at a time to see how you react.

 

It is best to make only 1 change at a time.  It is also better not to start taking a complex vitamin because if you experience issues you will not know what exactly is causing it.  B vitamins can be activating especially B6.  hypersensitive-to-b-vitamin-or-b-vitamin-complex  If trying anything new, start with a small amount to see how you react and build up to the recommended amount.

[Lloyd]

Hi All,

 

Thought i would post an update. Some of the physical symptons had backed of a bit over the last week or so. No more jolting in my sleep, burning sensations. Did find that the anxiety was getting worse alongside being quite irratable. Brain fog / derealization has been a big problem. Took MamaP's advice and took 5 beads of effexor this morning. My anxiety spiked within the first 5 minutes but i think that was because i had been afraid of taking any effexor for the last few months. That settled down & within an hour felt more positive and less irratable. Didnt think 5 beads would have that much of an impact!

I did get the burning hot flush sensations though and i did try to have a nap this afternoon and noticed i would get odd sensations in the limbs when trying to sleep and also get jolted awake. If it sorts out the brain fog, irratability & depression ill have to make do with 5 beads for a while just so i can stabalize.

Interested in hearing other peoples experiences when re-instating for the first time.

 

Lloyd

 

[ChessieCat]

Hi Lloyd,

 

It is important to be patient.  It takes about 4 days for the dose to get to full state in the blood and a bit longer for it to register in the brain.

 

Please Keep Notes on Paper so that we can see if reinstatement is working.

[ChessieCat]

Please update your signature:  Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

[Lloyd]

Thanks Chessie, had been tossing up if to reinstate or not. Didnt want the last 2.5 months of withdrawl to be for nothing. The brain fog, derealization & irratability have been affecting my work badly, and i really dont want to loose my job because of it.

Bit worried about the hot burny sensation after reinstating this morning though. Hopefully i sleep ok tonight!

P.S thank god for this forum!!

[Lloyd]

Umm so i dont think the re-instatement went to plan. Feeling anxious and fidgety and got this burning sensation which seems to get worse when i try to sleep. I'm hoping i didnt just throw away the last 2.5 months of progress away =(

I plan not to take it tomorrow. Is it likely ill be back to sqaure one or was the micro dose (about 1.5mg) probably enough to cause symptons until the effexor gets out of my system?

[Lloyd]

Feeling pretty crook now =(

[ChessieCat]

What are your symptoms?

[Lloyd]

Hi Chessie,

 

Symptoms that seemed to pop up. They popped up at about the 5-6 hour mark after taking the Effexor XR. Initially was fine so it is *possible* that the Effexor XR metabolizes too quickly for me and i go straight into withdrawal.

 

Ringing in the ears

Anxious and fidgety

Hot burning sensation over body.

Jolting awake when trying to sleep.

Brain fog got a bit worse.

 

Been about 52 hours since i took it now and i feel like im back at the early stages of withdrawal. Could 5 beads set me back that much?

 

Went to see the doctor today as i had a range of tests done for all baselines including vitamins, liver function, thyroid, viral, cholesterol, diabetes and a few others. All of them came back as good with no issues detected.

He has prescribed me Fluoxetine (10mg per day) to help. I plan to use a pill cutter and try 5mg to make sure its not going to make me too sick.  I haven't take it yet as I'm afraid of having a bad reaction to it.

 

I know people bridge from Effexor to Prozac, but does this work when your already 3 months in withdrawal? Any shares on experiences with moving to a different AD well into withdrawal would be helpful.

Just worried about making things worse. It feels like everything i try at the moment is a gamble. I guess i should try things early on rather than later.

 

Lloyd

[ChessieCat]

Here's SA's topic:  

 

[Lloyd]

Hi All,

 

I'm currently month 3 into effexor withdrawal and having a fair bit of trouble with it. Doctor has prescribed me prozac 10mg per day.

I know people bridge from effexor to prozac, but has anyone had any success using prozac to relieve withdrawal symptoms after so many months in?

[Altostrata]

Hello, Lloyd, I moved your question here. It's possible that a little Prozac might help, but 10mg is far too much. If I were you, I'd try 1mg to start.

 

This topic explains how to take a small dose of Prozac by making a liquid Tips for tapering off Prozac (fluoxetine)

[Lloyd]

Hi All, Had a question, does brain fog generally improve when re-instating or does it improve by itself over time? Finding it hard to concentrate on work & other activities =( Does it ever go away?

On the effexor i felt quite sharp, not so much anymore.

[Lloyd]

Took about 3.0mg of Fluoextine about 3 hours ago. First 2 hours were a bit rough, numbness in limbs, hot flushes etc. Settled down a little bit. What should i expect when taking it for the first time?

[Lloyd]

Hi All,

 

Was wondering if anyone knew of a supplement or some tips around dealing with brain fog & concentration problems during withdrawal? Anyone had any experience with things like Ginko during withdrawal?

Caffeine used to be my day starter... =(

[ChessieCat]

There are many existing topics and discussions on this site.  You can use the site search function at the top right, or use a search engine and include survivingantidepressants.org in your search string.

 

brain-fog-blank-mind-comprehension-cognitive-and-memory-problems

 

gingko-and-ginseng

 

supplements-what-helps-what-doesnt

 

[Lloyd]

Thought i would post an update as i haven't done so for a while.

 

Am now a little over 4 months into withdrawal. Been a bit rough but have been just pushing through it. Still finding that symptoms are changing all the time which makes things hard to gauge. I have noticed improvements in some areas, but to be honest i have no idea whats in store for me. Been tossing up re-in-statement on & off but not sure if this will just makes things worse. Reluctantly booked another appointment with the doctor - 5 week wait. Not even sure what help he's going to be apart from offering new drugs. I don't think they understand just how bad withdrawal is and that throwing more drugs at it can make it worse.

Somehow i have managed to hold down my job through all this.

 

Symptoms (ongoing):

 

Brain Fog / concentration issues (Still bad - Very annoying).

Headaches / pressure in head. (Very annoying)

Derealization (Slightly better than first 2 months - felt like i was in a coma)

Odd sensations - ice / fire in limbs, face. Hot cold flush's. This varies in intensity.

Weakness & fatigue - slightly better than at first.

Anxiety - Not too severe but does make social situations hard.

Obsessive thoughts / intrusive thought - a bit better than at first.

Irritability - Not as bad as before.

 

Symptoms that have disappeared (for now):

 

Cold and flu like symptoms - had 2 bouts of these usually lasting around 1.5 weeks.

Random stabbing pains - Only appeared once and hasn't come back thank god.

Hives - Only had this once.

Ringing in the ears - was mild but haven't had it again.

Insomnia - jolting awake.

Weight - I lost a ton of weight in the first 2 months. Finally putting some of it back on and keeping it on. Had trouble eating.

 

So far i have avoided bad insomnia & depression (apart from feeling a bit down about the whole situation) so i pray that i don't get kicked with these later on.

 

I took about 2.5mg of prozac (fluoextine) around 5 weeks ago. Body didn't like it very much (went numb and fuzzy) so i didn't take it the next day. Is it possible i am now experiencing additional withdrawal from the prozac?

Also can anyone reassure me that the derealization & brain fog go away?? How long did it take in your experience? I can handle everything else but these two symptoms are the hardest to deal with.

 

Thanks all!

[Lloyd]

Hi All,

 

3 weeks ago reinstated 5 beads of effexor per a day after experiencing some pretty bad anxiety. It's helped a bit with derealization, the worst of the anxiety symptons and concentration has improved slightly - the tight feeling in my head has backed off. I'm at a bit of a cross roads with what to do. My doctor has advised that i should steadily increase the amount until i am at the 37.5 mg level where i can stay if everything remains stable. First few weeks were OK with the reinstatement, but what ive found is i'm getting hold cold flushes and constant tingling / prickliness in the limbs which is a worry to me. I've tried increasing the dosage up a few times from 5 beads (like 9) but seem to get worse physical side effects when i do so. Is this temporary and should subside once the dosage has increased?

I know that usually you are supposed to get worse side effects when you take SSRI's in the beginning, but is this true for the second (or third) time around?

I want to increase the dose, but im also worried that taking such a tiny dose at the moment could actually be doing harm. I want it to work because i dont know what to do next if it doesn't.

The only other option i can think of is something like xanax, but i REALLY dont want to go down the path of taking benzos.

The doctor did say that a big part of why i experience strange physical sensations when taking the medication is because i have anxiety about the medication. He has a point here and i know that thats part of it, but i cant tell whats anxiety and what bad side effects from the drug.

Does anyone else experience constant tingling sensations?

 

On a good note, had an important work engagement today that i had been anxious about for weeks leading up. Sailed right through it and nailed it. Didnt break a sweat. The effexor even at such a low dose must be working.

 

Any advice from people who have reinstated would be a great help 😃

[Lloyd]

Has anyone found something that helps wwith the constant tingling burning sensations? Quite fustrating =(

[Lloyd]

Hi All,

 

Almost 4 weeks now on 6 beads of effexor daily. Starting to experience a bit more numbness, nausea in the morning & hot cold flushes. The calming effect is present, but the other symptons are quite bothersome. Still havent been able to increase the dose, tried 8 beads and felt pretty off. Not sure wether to continue or taper back off. Can i quick taper off seeing as its only 6 beads and only been on it for 4 weeks?

[Altostrata]

9 hours ago, Lloyd said:

Hi All,

 

Been looking every where for some information about how the amount of drug ingested will affect the metabolism rate. Point being if a smaller amount of anti depressant is ingested, is the rate that it metabolizes faster than say if a higher dose had been administered. This would mean that the entire dose is metabolized quicker thus evacuating the body quicker. Would this also affect drug half life rates?

The reason i ask i am on a very tiny amount of effexor XR extended release (6 beads - around 2.0mg). Immediately after taking it i can feel the effects quite strongly - Am taking it in the mornings. A few hours later i am relatively OK (I use that term loosely) Then my mood seems to go down hill a bit after that. The following morning it feels like its all worn off. I take the meds and we start over again.

 

I remember that dropping the dosage amounts at around the 75mg mark was ALLOT easier then when dropping dose amount around the 37.5mg mark and lower. I suspect maybe this is because the body is able to metabolise the drug much faster thus the dose doesn't quite last until the next dosage is due. This would be quite problematic with anti-depressants with shorter half lifes and maybe why smaller dose amounts are not available?

 

I found the half life graph for effexor XR 75mg, however i wonder if it differs for say 37.5mg.

 

 

 

Hello, Lloyd. I believe your intuition is correct: You're getting too much in the morning and it's wearing off fast. What you might do is gradually move 2 beads of your 6 beads to the late afternoon, an hour or two a day until you are taking it at a convenient time.

 

I know it seems absurd that 2 little beads will make a difference, but it appears you are quite sensitive to this drug.

[Lloyd]

Thanks will give that a go. My goal is to slowly increase the ammount until i stabalise (Hopefully). On 8 beads today. I didnt realise it would be this hard to move up in dosage, all my expereince has been difficulty when moving down.

[mammaP]

Hi Lloyd, I will answer you pm here in your topic, to keep everything in one place.  It does seem like you are sensitive to effexor. Alto meanyt for you to take 4 of the beads in the morning and 2 later in the day when they are wearing off. When I reinstated I had pins and needles, and sweats because the dose was too high. 4 beads was right for me. Those tiny beads can be very powerful!   It takes time to stabilise. It took me 7 months before I was stable enough to restart my taper. 

Symptoms will come and go, but not as bad as full blown withdrawal.  The very fact that you managed the work engagement shows you are improving.

You seem intent on on increasing the dose,  but there really is no need to go to a so called 'therapeutic' dose. You didn't do well on 8 beads, and every time you change something it is another jolt for your nervous system.  Your body needs the same dose every day and it looks like you might be better with divided doses as Alto suggested.  Stick with it and try not to be impatient. We all feel like we want to do SOMETHING, anything to improve things but very often the best thing to do is nothing. Just wait for your brain and nervous stystem to catch up.

 

I've been off for 3 years now and still can't believe that I did it sometimes. I moved recently and my new doctor and nurse were both surprised that I came off effexor after 12 years and congratulated me. They were also interested to know how I did it so I did my little bit in educating her on tapering and withdrawal 

[Lloyd]

Thanks MammaP i was worrying about having to work my way back up to 37.5mg which would have been a massive effort being 2 beads at a time.Tomorrow will split the dose in half so im taking in morning and late afternoon. I have a phobia about taking medication and night time is the worst for me hence why i was taking it in the morning. 

Great to hear you are doing well and have made it through!!! Gives us hope knowing that it is possible!

Also did you weigh your beads? I have ordered a 0.001g set of scales as ive noticed the bead sizes vary significantly!

[Lloyd]

Trying to pin down what my physical symptons feel like. Looking back now and how i currently feel, it feels ALLOT like a constant allergic reaction that changes in intensity. Waves of heat & flushing, itching skin, spaced out etc. Does anyone else relate to this?

[Lloyd]

Hi All,

 

Thought id post an update as its been a while. Stopped the 6 beads daily about 10 weeks ago a it just wasn't helping overall and i felt like it was counter productive. It did help settle the anxiety, but every-time i tried to increase the dose by 1-2 beads id experience symptoms. My goal was to get to something like 12.5mg and hold but i couldn't even get to 3.0mg. I was on them for around 7 weeks and then tapered off 6 beads over 5 days without too many issues. Between now and then i found a good doctor that was allot more supportive than the others and wasn't dismissive about what i was going through - seemed the doc had some experience with people going through long term discontinuation syndrome. She ran a ton of tests and ordered a MRI to exclude any medical causes. Everything came back perfect. In fact she said that in her whole career as a doctor she's never seen a set of results that extensive come back as perfect as mine. MRI was perfect and we ruled out auto immune (using blood tests and MRI) such as MS. At that point we decided it best i visit the physiologist to figure out how we deal with the anxiety. Sadly i felt the psychologist didn't offer any insight into what was going on & as expected was adamant that i could not be experiencing discontinuation syndrome after 9 months as it doesn't last more than a few weeks. Instead it was suggested that i was suffering from a hypochondria related disorder and that the symptoms i was experiencing were likely physiological in nature and was the cause of my anxiety. I talked about my OCD / repetitive thoughts and i swear it was like they didn't understand what i was talking about even though it was my original diagnosis. I also found out that when i was younger (15 ish), the doctors has tried a wide range of drugs on me including SSRI's and anti psychotics and some other stuff that i cant remember. I dont remember any of this, along with large swathes of my past. The psychologist seemed surprised that i have memory issues and sounded even more dubious when i said i believe it was because of the Effexor.

Over all the session with the psychologist felt like i was being interrogated and my concerns were being dismissed. The mannerism was passively aggressive and everything i said was doubted. The only advice offered was to start taking effexor again or try some benzos. I felt worse coming out then what i did going in.

Feeling so bad about the whole thing i decided to give the effexor another go. Took 4 beads on day one without too much of an issue. 5 beads on day 2 and was starting to feel sick. 6 beads on day 3 and threw them up after 40 mins because i felt so ill. Took 2 beads on day 4 (yesterday) just to get myself back of the stuff. Now gone through the cold shivers shakes and terrible cravings (like addiction cravings but without the want to take the drug). I couldn't believe that such a stupidly tiny dose (17 beads on total over 4 days - around 5.1mg) could make me feel so ill!!! Still feel off. Hopefully i feel better tomorrow after it clears my system.

Going to ask for a referral to another psychologist.

 

Also has anyone had gene testing done to show which drugs are likely to be more effective and which ones wont metabolize correctly? Thinking of asking my doc to do this as i cant tolerate Effexor any more.

I know there's an end to this somewhere, i just have to stay positive.

[Miracle123]

Hi Lloyd, Thanks you for visiting into my thread. So sorry you have bad reaction of Effexor. This remember me last time when im on Lexapro (SSRI) .....i really got bad reaction when im still on this drug make me over anxious, inner shaking, heart racing and feel ill. i also keep adjusting the dose and timing to consume even make me worsed and i had to forced myself to fast taper off. i noticed during tapering process im feel more better but when lower the doses i feel more anxious with all withdrawals. But i have to keep going without looking back. Early withdrawals i live into darkness feeling loss hope of living and feel nothing meaningful just only crying and ill.This is because our body feel the dose reduced and adjustment.Withdrawal is real and really like a hell but you will get better and improved proved by time passed. You need strong effort and strong mind to get through and dont over hurry. Maybe trying for lower doses and stay there to keep your body stable first. This maybe need some times dont keeping reduced and add doses simply. This will make your body and brain even worsed because your brain already confusing. Always listen to your body reaction to telling you the truth.Wishing you will be getting stable soon with your correct dose. Take care. 

 

Best Wishes,

Miracle

[Lloyd]

I was doing some reading and come across some articles talking about histamine intolerance & mast cell activation. It's not the first time I've come across articles like this in my search as many anti-depressants directly influence histamine levels - Effexor included. For me my symptoms have always been worse after eating (even when i was on Effexor) and i used to frequently take a anti-histamine (Fexo 180mg Tabs) to help with itchiness.

 

A couple of articles i found:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_cell_activation_syndrome#Treatment

https://www.marioninstitute.org/histamine-intolerance-syndrome/ - Anti depressants mentioned as influencing 

 

Out of interest has anyone tried a low histamine diet & what were the results?

[ChessieCat]

Please use either the site search function or a search engine and add survivingantidepressants.org to the search term to find existing discussions on SA.  Search on google for:

 

survivingantidepressants.org mast cell

 

survivingantidepressants.org histamine

[Lloyd]

Woke up today feeling horrible. Last few days been feeling not too great. Not sure if i have an actual bug or its a remergance of the flu like symptons or withdrawl. Bit of diahorea, nausea, weakness, runny nose, feeling run down, cold chills, faint.

Is this typical of 'Paxil flu' or is it more likely i have a bug? At this rate i wont be going to work tommorow.

Took a quater of a fexofendanie (ant-histmaine) to see if that would help in case it might be something like hay fever. Dont really feel any better, atleast not any worse from taking it =(

[Carmie]

On 9/16/2018 at 11:41 AM, Lloyd said:

Woke up today feeling horrible. Last few days been feeling not too great. Not sure if i have an actual bug or its a remergance of the flu like symptons or withdrawl. Bit of diahorea, nausea, weakness, runny nose, feeling run down, cold chills, faint.

Is this typical of 'Paxil flu' or is it more likely i have a bug? At this rate i wont be going to work tommorow.

Took a quater of a fexofendanie (ant-histmaine) to see if that would help in case it might be something like hay fever. Dont really feel any better, atleast not any worse from taking it =(

 

Hi Lloyd, 

 

How are you feeling today? Did you end up with the flu or was it withdrawals? All those symptoms you mentioned can definitely happen in withdrawals. It’s amazing how many different symptoms one can get in withdrawals. We could fill up a whole book. 

 

Take care💚

[Lloyd]

On 9/19/2018 at 6:22 AM, Carmie said:

 

Hi Lloyd, 

 

How are you feeling today? Did you end up with the flu or was it withdrawals? All those symptoms you mentioned can definitely happen in withdrawals. It’s amazing how many different symptoms one can get in withdrawals. We could fill up a whole book. 

 

Take care💚

 

Hi Carmie thanks for checking in,

Whatever it was has passed, lasted about 4 days. Couldn't really tell if it was a virus or a WD aftershock. Still struggling with the brain fog though which is my worst sympton. Is this something you have experienced as-well? Things look kinda dreamy which is really frustrating when its 24 / 7. Hard to concentrate!

Anyways hope you are doing well!