LarryR: Head rushes 2 months after finishing Effexor taper

[LarryR]

Hi all,

 

I finished my Effexor taper about 2 months ago and have mostly recovered from the (heinous) withdrawal. I still get the occasional zap and headache, and my temper is terrible, but the worst symptoms are fading. However, over the last few days I've started getting major head rushes whenever I stand up, sometimes to the extent that my vision blurs for a few seconds. I'm in good shape, I eat well and work out regularly etc. so it's not a diet or fitness issue. Has anyone else experienced this symptom? I can't exactly explain why but it feels tied to the drugs and withdrawal as opposed to anything else.

 

Apologies if this is covered anywhere else - I did try searching the site and couldn't see anything.

 

Thanks,

Larry

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @LarryR

 

 

How did you taper Effexor?

 

To help us out, follow these instructions Please summarize your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.

[Ninabird]

On 6/4/2022 at 3:03 AM, LarryR said:

Hi all,

 

I finished my Effexor taper about 2 months ago and have mostly recovered from the (heinous) withdrawal. I still get the occasional zap and headache, and my temper is terrible, but the worst symptoms are fading. However, over the last few days I've started getting major head rushes whenever I stand up, sometimes to the extent that my vision blurs for a few seconds. I'm in good shape, I eat well and work out regularly etc. so it's not a diet or fitness issue. Has anyone else experienced this symptom? I can't exactly explain why but it feels tied to the drugs and withdrawal as opposed to anything else.

 

Apologies if this is covered anywhere else - I did try searching the site and couldn't see anything.

 

Thanks,

Larry

Hi @Larry

Sorry to hear you are going through a tough patch. You are in good hands here. 
 

How did you taper?

 

Sending you healing thoughts. 
 

NB

[LarryR]

Hi NB, I tapered a few mg at a time with the ball method, so I divided the number of balls in each pill by a half every 3 weeks approximately

[ChessieCat]

Thank you for answering Alto's question.

 

Please create your drug signature.  This is different from the information that you gave when you joined SA.

 

The drug signature appears below every post you make and allows us to see your drug history at a glance.  Thank you.

 

Instructions:  Withdrawal History Signature

 

 

[Altostrata]

It sounds like you tapered too fast. How tolerable or intolerable are your current symptoms?

 

Before further discussion, Please summarize your drug and withdrawal history in your signature 

[LarryR]

Hi Altostrata, my symptoms are as described in the original post. The details of my taper are pretty irrelevant given how long its been since I completely stopped. It might have been too fast, but venlafaxine has a very short half-life so I don't think you can really make that judgement. I was just asking the community if they had experienced any symptoms similar to my own, that's all. If you didn't experience these symptoms yourself then please feel free to move on.

[ChessieCat]

Hi Larry,

 

As requested, we need to see dates and doses please.

 

What you may not realise is that Altostrata is the owner of this website and even though she may not have any "official" qualifications she actually has more knowledge about psychiatric drugs and how to get off them than a lot of the medical community has AS WELL AS first hand experience of a Paxil cold turkey which took her 11 years to fully recover from.  She has also written/been involved in writing research papers, including a very recent one:

 

Framer, A. (2021). What I have learnt from helping thousands of people to taper off antidepressants and other psychotropic medications. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1177/2045125321991274 (open access)

 

This interview is well worth listening to:

 

mad-in-america-surviving-antidepressants-an-interview-with-alto

 

SA is not only a tapering support website but aims to educate the medical community:

 

On 5/15/2011 at 5:22 AM, Altostrata said:

This site is also a research project. The personal stories on this site are documentation of an iatrogenic condition -- suffering caused by medical treatment -- that is almost always ignored, misdiagnosed, or denied by the medical establishment. Given the widespread prescription of antidepressants to tens of millions of people worldwide, withdrawal syndrome probably affects hundreds of thousands if not millions -- including newborns and children.

Antidepressant withdrawal syndrome can last weeks, months, or years. It can be distressing, debilitating, or even disabling. It may be adding to an increase in what is termed disabling mental illness.

With our documentation of antidepressant withdrawal syndrome, we hope to educate the medical establishment about this problem. Case studies are essential; they are evidence understood by doctors, the psychiatric industry, and government regulatory agencies. The have already informed numerous articles in major publications and scientific papers.

Our hope is, eventually, antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs will be prescribed rarely, and only in cases of extremely severe mental illness after less invasive treatments have been tried.

Please join Surviving Antidepressants in its mission to support, document, and educate about psychiatric drug withdrawal syndrome.

 

[ChessieCat]

If you are experienced withdrawal symptoms from going off a drug too quickly then reinstatement of a small dose of the same drug might be an option:

 

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's WD Symptoms Checklist

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

This topic has links to tips for tapering various drugs which contain information about how to get non standard doses of the drug:

 

Important topics in the Tapering forum and FAQ

 

are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take

 

One Theory of Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome
What is Withdrawal Syndrome?

 

Brain Remodelling
Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery
What is Happening in Your Brain

[Faure]

3 hours ago, LarryR said:

The details of my taper are pretty irrelevant

I think you’ll find that in order to give you help the extremely experienced mods will find the details of your taper completely relevant. If you give these details they will be in a position to help you / offer advice. They have probably seen every withdrawal symptom there is and only with full information can they help. 
 

Telling people who are giving up their time to help you to “move on” is not the most productive way to get the help you have asked for.

[Altostrata]

We have 17,000 members who have had symptoms similar to yours.