Fernweh: Considering Going Back to Effexor

[Fernweh]

I am a bit ashamed to admit but I am considering going back to Effexor Xr. I tapered off of 300mg over the course of the last 10 months. My last dose was January 24, 2020. The first few weeks were the expected of heart palpitations, extreme anxiety, crying, nervousness, and digestive issues. Every week things get better and I no longer have that feeling that I am not in control of my own body. My problem now is that I am simply exhausted, physically and emotionally. I remember during my taper from 300 mg that when I got to 37.5mg I felt really good; lots of energy and happy, and sleeping well. I got it into my head that I HAD to come off of this drug and now I am wondering if I was wrong. I feel really depressed, struggle to get things done everyday, feel agitated, short of breath, and cannot sleep well. For several weeks it was this jittery feeling that would keep me awake at night. I stopped all supplements and that helped considerably, but depression remains. I still take a beta blocker for tachycardia and high blood pressure and I am wondering if I am causing more damage to my system from withdrawal then I would if I just took the medication. I feel like I need to give it more time, but I also feel like I am reaching a breaking point. To make matters worse, I am scheduled to have gastric sleeve surgery on March 30th so I am concerned that depression will get much worse after. I am very torn and could use some advice. 

[Cocopuffz17]

I know exactly how you feel. I felt awful for months after hitting 0 on paroxetine. I was unable to even do one push up for multiple months. I am a really active person as well. I will never forget the time when I was on the ground trying to do one push up and I broke down mentally and told myself I would never get through this, I was wrong, slowly but surely I have got through this and my energy is returning. ( I now do over 150 pushups each day, play sports and work a physically demanding job!)

 

I had to make nutrition changes to get off this medication. These drugs wreak havoc on the human body. I understand if you want to go back on but changing your nutrition will greatly change your course. It took me 11 years to understand this after struggling with fatigue and depression for soooo long. 

 

If you have any questions ask away. 

 

Everyday that passes is one day closer to being healed!! 

[Rozon1]

hey, @Fernweh how are you doing? I've also got tachycardia, or so it seems. My  heart is going at 110 BPM. It's actually insane. Not sure how long it's been going, but my guess is roughly a month or two. Been off effexor for 3 months. Considering reinstating myself but I'm gunna give it a few more days to see if it can calm down.

[Fernweh]

1 hour ago, Cocopuffz17 said:

I know exactly how you feel. I felt awful for months after hitting 0 on paroxetine. I was unable to even do one push up for multiple months. I am a really active person as well. I will never forget the time when I was on the ground trying to do one push up and I broke down mentally and told myself I would never get through this, I was wrong, slowly but surely I have got through this and my energy is returning. ( I now do over 150 pushups each day, play sports and work a physically demanding job!)

 

I had to make nutrition changes to get off this medication. These drugs wreak havoc on the human body. I understand if you want to go back on but changing your nutrition will greatly change your course. It took me 11 years to understand this after struggling with fatigue and depression for soooo long. 

 

If you have any questions ask away. 

 

Everyday that passes is one day closer to being healed!! 

Thank you for the response. I go back and forth with wanting to reinstate. I think if we all had that crystal ball that told us it would only last so many days, we would find ways to wait it out. I think the thought that this might not get better is also hard. I try to be positive and go out and walk in the sunshine when I get bad, but it is a struggle. 

[Fernweh]

1 hour ago, Rozon1 said:

hey, @Fernweh how are you doing? I've also got tachycardia, or so it seems. My  heart is going at 110 BPM. It's actually insane. Not sure how long it's been going, but my guess is roughly a month or two. Been off effexor for 3 months. Considering reinstating myself but I'm gunna give it a few more days to see if it can calm down.

Hi @Rozon1, I am doing okay. I am glad to have progressed to this point but the depression is wearing on me. I so want to just tell myself to suck it up because I do not want to lose my weeks of being off of the drug. I would have suffered for nothing if I go back, right? My heart rate can vary but usually is somewhere between 85-140. It was never high before I hit my highest dose of Effexor (300 mg). I read another thread where you were having issues with the high heart rate and extreme anxiety. I can understand that! I think the heart rate does us no favors in reducing the anxiety. One thing I did not realize I was doing was holding my breath or taking shallow breaths with anxiety. It might help to get a spirometer and try to hit a target on it so you know you are taking good breaths every hour. This has helped my heart rate and anxiety. Another thing I have been doing is negotiating with myself. For instance I will say that if I do not improve by next week then I will reinstate. This gives me some relief to know I have made the decision and also gives me some time for improvements. Usually every week I see enough improvement to put off the reinstatement. I just seem to be trapped in the depression this week, which is worrisome. 

[Cocopuffz17]

20 minutes ago, Fernweh said:

Thank you for the response. I go back and forth with wanting to reinstate. I think if we all had that crystal ball that told us it would only last so many days, we would find ways to wait it out. I think the thought that this might not get better is also hard. I try to be positive and go out and walk in the sunshine when I get bad, but it is a struggle. 

 

The thought that it will never get better is the hardest part. When you feel like absolute crap the negative thoughts dominate. I wanted to go back on soooo many times. I did not think I could do it. Now that I through it....I feel great and every week is getting better. Better than I have ever felt in my life. 

 

That is great to get out in walk in the sun. I would hang out on a chair and tan in the sun when I felt crummy and it helped alot. Little bits of positive momentum go along way! 

 

Everyday that passes is one day closer to being healed 💖

[Fernweh]

Just an update. I have not reinstated and am trying all manner of things to keep from it. I have been forcing myself to get up and do something and not just sit around and be depressed. One thing I have noticed, I feel like my body is heavy and tired. I have never experienced such fatigue before. Do you guys think it is related to the withdrawals or maybe something else?

[Cocopuffz17]

1 minute ago, Fernweh said:

Just an update. I have not reinstated and am trying all manner of things to keep from it. I have been forcing myself to get up and do something and not just sit around and be depressed. One thing I have noticed, I feel like my body is heavy and tired. I have never experienced such fatigue before. Do you guys think it is related to the withdrawals or maybe something else?

IMO wd related I was crippled from fatigue during the brunt of it.