monique: in midst of withdrawal

[monique]

Hi,

 

First of all, it's wonderful to have a place where we can share our withdrawal stories, thank you!

I had been on 225 mg of Effexor for the last 16 years (some dosage adjustments over the years) and recently 12.5 mg of Amitripthyline was added for neuropathic pain. A few years ago I developed weird neurological symptoms. I wrote to the people who make Effexor, to see if it was related to the drug. They invited me to send them my symptoms, and never heard back from them. About a year or so ago, my mood and everything crumbled. The increased irritability was out of character and really getting to me. I went from 150 mg to 225 mg of Effexor, but it only made things worse. At that point I was convinced the medication was making me sick, to the point I experienced "serotonin toxicity." Anyway, it took me 2.5 months to taper off the 225 mg with the last dose on Febr 1 2013. The medical world will have us believe the withdrawal symptoms only last a few weeks, which doesn't help my anxiety. The fact that the symptoms are very real and very present sets off the fear. It's been 6 weeks now, and the anxiety, panic, confusion, irritability etc are tough to deal with. The physical symptoms I candle handle better. I have to keep reminding myself not to fight these symptoms, and that it's common to experience withdrawal s & s for months after taking the last dose. Any reassurance is greatly appreciated! : )

Thank you and God Bless!

[strawberry17]

Hi Monique

Welcome to the forums here, you've come to the right place. I'm sorry you're feeling rotten right now, it does sound to me like a very fast taper off Effexor, and someone more knowledgable about Effexor might suggest you reinstate some to aleviate your withdrawals and to taper off it slower. I know what you mean about the fear being very real and present, and it can become a horrible downward spiral with our natural fear at what's happening feeding into the withdrawals. I agree that in many ways physical withdrawals are easier to rationalise and deal with than the mental ones.

Not surprised you never heard back from the drug company, probably got filed in the bin.

Strawberry

[peggy]

Hi Monique,

225 effexor to zero in 2.5 months after 16 years is a brutal schedule!

 

At this point you can go two ways - you may get better and your symptoms resolve gradually or they may become protracted and you could experience several months to years of distress. It is not possible to predict.

 

I have been on effexor for 14 years - most of that time i was on 150, but did spend a few months here and there on 225. The last time i came off 150mg i crumbled under stress and anxiety for 6 weeks before giving in and reinstating back to 75 and then 150mg a week later. I was fortunate in that i was able to reinstate with no problems, some people find that they have developed sensitivity to the medication and are unable to reinstate.

 

If i was in your shoes i would consider reinstating and then reducing on a 10% per month schedule.

[basildev]

Hi Monique,

 

welcome to the forum and I'm so sorry you're struggling.

 

As peggy says your taper was way too fast and like most of us you probably tapered according to the instructions of a doctor, so thought you were doing the right thing. You are correct, the pharmaceutical industry would love us to believe that these symptoms last at most a few weeks. Unfortunately this isn't the case with everyone.

 

I would do what peggy suggests and reinstate, stabilize and then start a very slow taper. It's not possible to predict whether reinstatement will work but I think it's certainly worth a try.

 

Here is some information on tapering if you haven't already read it:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/300-important-topics-in-the-tapering-forum-and-faq/

 

I totally understand where you're coming from re the mental symptoms. The problem is, the thoughts that go through our minds during withdrawal feel so real that we fully believe the stories we are telling ourselves.

 

When I find myself in a 'trance of panic', I remember to ask myself: 'is everything alright right now? Usually, the answer is yes. We're not dying, we're not in any immediate danger and we're relatively safe. But what we ARE doing is going into the future (which hasn't happened yet) and creating a storyline about how unbearable life is going to be and how we're never going to feel better again.

 

I know because I was doing all of this just yesterday.

 

Who knows what today will bring?

 

I hope you feel better very soon.

 

Take care

[tezza]

Hi Monique,

 

Welcome to our community! I'm very glad you are here. You will get lots of friendly support and good advice.

 

it seems you have tapered too fast for your system to adjust to not having the medication. Alto is an expert and will have great advice to help you get stabilized so that you can taper much more slowly. A good, slow taper greatly minimizes withdrawal symptoms. You may not need to reinstate the full dosage, Alto can advise you best on the dosage amount.

 

Could you add your drug history by following instructions in this link, please:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/893-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

 

Thanks and I hope you feel better soon!

Tezza

[dalsaan]

Hi Monique

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Unfortunately I agree that your taper schedule was too quick and that reinstatement is probably your best option. This doesn't necessarily mean reinstating the full dose.

 

Others might be better placed to recommend a reinstatement dose.

 

Feel free to ask any questions and read through the wealth of info here

 

Sorry you are suffering and I hope things turn around soon

 

Dalsaan

[tezza]

Here is a link about tapering Effexor:

 

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

[areyouthere]

Welcome Monique. Good for you for

 

1) Contacting the company 2) Finding this forum so quickly

 

There is a thread here on symptoms and self care that you might find useful here.

 

I am relatively new here as well, having been on an antidepressant since 1995 ( along with a benzo ). Your story sounds familiar.

 

Toward the end of this long time on antidepressants I suddenly put 2 and 2 together and realized that the drugs were actually making me feel WORSE. And here I am and doing much better

 

My best advice for you is to NOT panic. Alto will be along to give you the suggested reinstatement dose ( if that is what she suggests and I would guess she will) and then to be PATIENT. It DOES get better and you will get excellent advice on how to make it better. It might not be EASY , but you will find that if you try the advice given and give it a chance, you will gain a certain amount of control over your taper and your symptoms. Oh. You might want to keep a daily journal to keep track of things.

 

At first the following helped me quite a lot:

* Warm baths with soothing music.

* I quit using my computer a few hours before bed... slept better

* When I felt myself getting anxious about all this new , very scary stuff I would lay down and do some deep breathing ( in some pretty weird places I might add!)

*I quit drinking several cups of coffee and only have one cup in the am. I've switched to de caf. tea.

 

Welcome again!!!! Hang in there!!! We're all rooting for you!!!

 

RU

[monique]

Thank you for your replies and welcome, much appreciated!

I agree that my tapering was too fast, but I'm not keen on going back on Effexor, especially not after having been without it for 6 weeks already. Also, I take St. Johns Wort now and cannot take Effexor and St. John's Wort together. Over the last month of tapering I did count out the beads inside the capsules and removed one each day. The brain zaps have completely stopped, and most physical symptoms as well, so I keep focusing on being positive and the anxiety etc will soon be a thing of the past as well. : )

Thanks again!

[tezza]

Hi Monique,

 

I respect your choice not to reinstate Effexor. I really do hope the other symptoms resolve soon. If they don't or get worse at all, I hope you might reconsider and reinstate a very small amount of Effexor.

 

Some people have protracted withdrawal that can last months or even years. There is no way to tell if a person will have symptoms that long until it has already happened. Hopefully, you will be one that can get by with a fast taper.

 

Please keep us informed. Also, please read through the 'Symptoms and Self-care' section. There is some valuable information there on how to deal with symptoms.

 

I wish you the best,

Tezza

[Altostrata]

Welcome, monique.

 

What withdrawal symptoms do you have now? Which have gotten better?