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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by smejonesy on July 4, 2004, at 17:37:11
I know these posts were a few years ago but i am having an alarming problem with withdrawals from Efexor XR. I was on 75mgs for 6mths, then went up to 150mgs for 6mths. I am back down to 75mgs for the past three months and am now trying to taper off them. I know they have worked wonders for my depression and seeing as this is my first case of depression the doctor and i feel comfortable that i am able to stop medication and see how i go. I dont want to be on medication forever but i cannot stand this vertigo. I read a post that described it perfectly, massive dizziness moving my head from side to side, electric shock feeling in my brain. Its scaring the crap out of me! I have been taking one 75mg every second day, then one every third day and thats as far as i can get without the symptoms getting out of control. How long does this last if you stop completely? I feel so dependant on this and i hate that. One bout of depression shouldn't mean you need to take these forever. Help!
Posted by Tony C. on July 5, 2004, at 11:11:41
In reply to efexor XR withdrawals, posted by smejonesy on July 4, 2004, at 17:37:11
Hello, hang in there. I suffered one MAJOR Depression in my life, I was 27 years old, am now 34 I am a male. I lost 40 lbs in 2 weeks, and laid awake virtually an entire summer, major constipation, no appetite, no concentration etc. It was a bad as it gets, it is due to my religious upbringing that squashed the suicidal feelings. Anyhow as severe as it was, only 200MG Serzone/Nefazodone a day 100x2 alleviated it, and got me back to where I needed and I have done fine, however I weaned down 10to 20 mg for last 33 days, did not feel bad, but felt dizzy in an odd way, I could tell I was experiencing something, it wasn't terribly frightning, but I said if I feel like this after 33 days, what would I feel at with 1/2 my 7 year dosing ? Scary it is for me to think about it. So I believe I will go back to the 200 mg a day, till the day they Yank Nefazodone, if they ever even do. BUT THE BIG QUESTION I WANT ASK YOU, IS HOW SEVERE WAS YOUR 1 BOUT OF DEPRESSION ? WAS IT VEGATATIVE LIKE MINE OR WHAT ?
Please let me know, I want to know where you stood with the severity of your depression, mine was so insomniated, everytime I did close my eyes, I got immedaitely startled from a Hypno Gogic vivid image, I now get 4 to 5 broken hours of sleep a night, and feel great with that. Best wishes, and Please answer my question.Sincerely - Tony C.
Posted by smejonesy on July 5, 2004, at 16:58:04
In reply to Re: MAY I ASK YOU efexor XR withdrawals, posted by Tony C. on July 5, 2004, at 11:11:41
Hey Tony C..
I was put on them when my husband walked out and left me with my then 5mth old baby. We had just moved to a new state, i had no friends or family close by (all in another state) so i felt helpless. I was coping ok then i just burst and did nothing but cry all the time and felt really hopeless about the future. I never felt suicidal, perhaps because a part of me still knew i had to get up and look after a child and no matter what i wouldn't want to miss him growing up etc. I was put on Ciprimil first but that did nothing so they moved me to Effexor XR 75mgs a day. I stayed on that for 6mths but still felt that i had a few bad days where my emotions still ran a little high and i would get teary for no good reason. Then the doc put me up to 150mg and i was great. After that i got a part time job, had my son in child care a couple of days a week and started to make friends. Before you know it i met another guy and we now live together. My life and situation improved ten fold, and getting over the divorce and finding my way as a single mum in a new place was made a hell of a lot easier when Effexor stopped the tears. The doctor agrees that the bout of depression was onset by major stress and loss. Now that almost two years later i have never been happier and cicumstances changed the doctor thinks i can stop them and see how i go, obviously now knowing what depression feels like so if i ever feel it coming again i can go straight to him and gain treatment again. I feel like i am ready to give it a go, i feel like i have regained my life and i honestly don't believe i need them anymore at this point. However i am aware that it can definately come back, and i will definately keep a look out for those signs.It is now day 4 of no tablets and i am still rather dizzy and still have the electric shock things in my brain. It seems to depend on what kind of dosage you were on and how long you were taking them when it comes to how long the withdrawals will last. From what i have read on here some people are better in a week, some in two.. some are sick for up to 8 weeks. With any luck this will pass!! I have read that you can take Prozac and other things to get over the withdrawals, the last thing i really want to do though is replace one drug with another. I have read that Benedryl can help, i might give it a try in the next day or two if i dont start feeling better.
I do wish you all the luck in the world Tony. i know that everyone has different severities when it comes to depression and no two people are the same. Oh and as for your sleeping question, i was the opposite, all i wanted to do was sleep, sleep, sleep. My attitude was the more i could sleep the less i would need to deal with what was going on. Due to my 5mth old i couldnt ever give into wanting to sleep though and since then my sleeping patterns are back to normal. Anyway sorry i babbled on so much!
> Hello, hang in there. I suffered one MAJOR Depression in my life, I was 27 years old, am now 34 I am a male. I lost 40 lbs in 2 weeks, and laid awake virtually an entire summer, major constipation, no appetite, no concentration etc. It was a bad as it gets, it is due to my religious upbringing that squashed the suicidal feelings. Anyhow as severe as it was, only 200MG Serzone/Nefazodone a day 100x2 alleviated it, and got me back to where I needed and I have done fine, however I weaned down 10to 20 mg for last 33 days, did not feel bad, but felt dizzy in an odd way, I could tell I was experiencing something, it wasn't terribly frightning, but I said if I feel like this after 33 days, what would I feel at with 1/2 my 7 year dosing ? Scary it is for me to think about it. So I believe I will go back to the 200 mg a day, till the day they Yank Nefazodone, if they ever even do. BUT THE BIG QUESTION I WANT ASK YOU, IS HOW SEVERE WAS YOUR 1 BOUT OF DEPRESSION ? WAS IT VEGATATIVE LIKE MINE OR WHAT ?
> Please let me know, I want to know where you stood with the severity of your depression, mine was so insomniated, everytime I did close my eyes, I got immedaitely startled from a Hypno Gogic vivid image, I now get 4 to 5 broken hours of sleep a night, and feel great with that. Best wishes, and Please answer my question.
>
> Sincerely - Tony C.
Posted by Tony C. on July 5, 2004, at 20:05:46
In reply to Re: MAY I ASK YOU efexor XR withdrawals, posted by smejonesy on July 5, 2004, at 16:58:04
Glad to hear your doing better. This is my situation. I was suicidal, it was horrible depression, after 7 years of relief it is controversial, has killed like 55 people out of 11,000,000 users. What scares me is SEVEN YEARS I am so accustomed to this Medicine I did not feel bad, but I didn't feel great either, and I honestly cannot see any forseeable relief in sight when reducing, the odd things are that it seems to get worse each day as I cut down rather then better, to me that is scary as hell. Withdrawals are real, symptoms I feel are real, and alot of them undocumented. I mean the other day in the tub I felt like I was going to shake right out of my skin, YET I was not nervous nor shaking, it was a STRANGE sensation. I am convinced if I ever have to get off of this med I am am in BIG trouble, and will DEFINITELY have to be switched to something else. You have not been on as long as me, and your depression was different than mine so HOPEFULLY you can tough this out and get back to yourself agin and be drug free. Not to be gross but as much as the Serzone/Nefazodone has helped me, it has diminished my sex drive bad, and ejaculations are kind of funky more times than not. So if your having any sexual problems from your med, they should return to normal when you are off the med and your body picks up again.
Best wishes to you ; )
Tony C.
Thanks for your reply
Posted by smejonesy on July 6, 2004, at 17:50:23
In reply to Re: MAY I ASK YOU efexor XR withdrawals, posted by Tony C. on July 5, 2004, at 20:05:46
Hey Tony. Have you considered changing meds now to stop the withdrawals? I remember when i first told my doctor about my withdrawals, he told me there was no way that the dizziness/sickness came from stopping the effexor and that i had a middle ear infection instead. That worries the hell out of me, made me feel like an idiot, and now i know just how undocumented so many of these side effects are. I've read on here that there are a few different ones with longer half lifes that don't leave your system for a couple of weeks or so therefore taking away withdrawals. Could you ask your doctor to change to one instead of going through this? I really feel for you, i know that if i can feel this crappy after being on them for a year or two then you must be going through hell after seven years. If you ever need a chat i am a keyboard away :)
As for me i am doing ok, my head is still spinning and it is now day 5. I really have my fingers crossed that one day soon i will wake up and won't feel like this anymore. I have noticed a few dramatic changes already though. As you mentioned about your sex drive, i never realised that mine had been that effected. I knew that it took a little longer to reach a climax but wow.. i have only been off them for 5 days and my partner keeps commenting about how much my sex drive has doubled. I dont know how crude this might sound but reaching climax has become extremely easy compared to when i was taking effexor. I am sure it will all adjust and go back to normal but yeah, i never realised it affected me that much in that department. I have been really watchful of my attitude, i am making sure that i watch for any signs of getting over emotional again. So far so good. Keep in touch Tony.
Sam
Posted by Tony C. on July 7, 2004, at 16:37:55
In reply to Re: MAY I ASK YOU efexor XR withdrawals, posted by smejonesy on July 6, 2004, at 17:50:23
Dear Sam, glad to here your hanging in there, I am back on Reg. Dose and that is where I will stay till I find a new strategy with my Doc. Strategy as in adding Prozac or something as I cut down on the Serzone/Nefazodone. I am rooting for you to achieve your goal of being med free, and some people can be, I may not be one that can, due to the vegatative severity of the Depression I suffered, and the length of years I have been on the med. At 200mg I see my libido is nill again, I can function and get some pleasure, it is just not as good as before my Depression and the Med. Yes it was better when I was down from 200mg a day to 180mg a day, and I can only imagine it would of keep getting better, however I was getting more nervous as time went by and just all around different than when on the reg. dose - But I look at it this way, I am more of a benefit to my family being functionable with work and everyday life and being calm, versus having Horny feelings and wanting more sex but then being nervous, more emotional and sleeping less. It is a rotten trade off feeling normal, but low sex drive and pleasure, OR Feeling nervous and sad, yet Climaxing hard, I think I would rather feel normal and less pleausre and libido. I am truly glad your doing good, please keep me posted of your progress in the withdrawals and the length. I have heard that nasty withdrawals from SERZONE/NEFAZODONE EFFEXOR etc. can be eased with 10 to 20mg of Prozac. Thank you for your replies, and I am pulling for you, but PLEASE if you feel rotten mentally in the future (Maybe you will only feel better and these withdrawals will go away), don't be ashamed to use these meds, I am glad they are available, cause I know they save alot of peoples lives who are at complete rock bottom. I think yours was situational, and you can get through this.
Best Wishes Tony C. : )
Posted by smejonesy on July 8, 2004, at 17:14:46
In reply to Re: MAY I ASK YOU efexor XR withdrawals, posted by Tony C. on July 7, 2004, at 16:37:55
Hey Tony. So your back on the regular dose from before? At least that will stop the withdrawals for you. As you said.. its a crappy choice huh, either feel suicidal and terrible off them or still feel crappy symptoms when you are. I do agree with what you said though, i am very glad that they are out there to help people. I wouldn't want to imagine a world without them being available.
It is day 7 for me today! I have officially made it one week drug free. The brain zaps have become noticeably less severe and i can move my head quickly from side to side and only get mildly dizzy. Hopefully i am coming to the end of the nasty stuff. No teary episodes yet either. Fingers crossed it keeps getting better! Talk to you soon Tony.
Sam
This is the end of the thread.
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