Posted by cpallen79 on March 22, 2004, at 18:50:49
In reply to Re: How long does withdrawal from Effexor last?, posted by caritasrainbow on March 22, 2004, at 12:52:38
Hi guys, thought I'd put my input in. Effexor is very difficult to taper off of as we all have learned. I thought I would have it easy since I was only on 37.5 . I opened capsules, took out about half of the pellets and did this for about 3 to 4 weeks before stopping cold turkey. Even THAT was too fast as when you go off an antidepressant, you're nervous system is a mess, some say for even up to 18 months afterwards. I'm on month 4 and I still feel very very blah (going to try buspar to take the edge off it). My advice to everyone is this... TAPER so slow that its boring. Second, don't expect to be back to normal once you're off the meds and the brain zaps stop, etc... , especially if you've been on meds a long time, you won't feel normal for quite awhile. It'll happen, but it takes time and it'll be a rollercoaster! I'm assuming that your brain needs to repair itself and restore its own serotogenic balance, and for me it's been a bumpy ride. I know people that have been thorugh this nightmare of tapering off these meds and they get through it, even though it can be painful. We'll all get through it.
poster:cpallen79
thread:1016
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040319/msgs/327146.html