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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Hawklady on April 1, 2005, at 4:44:54
Hi,
I have just joined this forum. I am in the UK and started effexor XL 150 mg in Aug 2002, in Aug 2004 I tried to come off it too quickly, the side effects were horrible ,worst I have ever experienced even when I "stupidly" experimented with recreational illeagal drugs in the 90's.
I am down to 1/4 of a 37.5 mg tablet a day, I take 1/2 am and 1/2 pm. I am still getting some pretty minging side effects and have been reading here that I could use different tablets the, the capsules and count the beads amd also that there are other medication I could take to alieveate the symptoms which are:- aching all over, head ache, head twitch/jolts/pains, racing heart beat, palpatations (doc given me beta blockers for these) sleeplessness, twitchy/restelss legs in bed, numbness everywhere particular hands, feet, head, nether regions UNFORTUNATLY!! low libido never had a problem prior, quite the opposite, weight gain. I am on such a low dose its a shame to have to back track, any advice would be appreicated.
Good luck everyone - yours un-comfortably numb.
PS Sorry for my rubbush spelling, its 2.29 am here in the UK and visiting these forums helps with the insommnia
Posted by SLS on April 2, 2005, at 9:23:10
In reply to Effexor withdrawal - how long left???, posted by Hawklady on April 1, 2005, at 4:44:54
> Hi,
Hi.
Welcome.
> I have just joined this forum. I am in the UK and started effexor XL 150 mg in Aug 2002, in Aug 2004 I tried to come off it too quickly, the side effects were horrible ,worst I have ever experienced even when I "stupidly" experimented with recreational illeagal drugs in the 90's.
> I am down to 1/4 of a 37.5 mg tablet a day,
That is too little. You might experience withdrawal effects indefinitely that way.
I would try:A. Discontinue the Effexor now and suffer withdrawal effects for a period of time that would be difficult to predict. You can try to ameliorate the symptoms using Benadryl.
B. Going back up to 1/4 tablet 2-3 times a day until the withdrawal effects disappear for a week. You could then either:
1. Go to 1/4 tablet twice a day if you haven't already:
a. maintain this dosage until you are ready to discontinue Effexor completely. Do not bother with 1/4 once a day. It is counterproductive.
b. try to cut the tablets smaller and take a dose only when you first feel the withdrawal effects returning and take one of these small doses immediately. Hopefully, the time in between doses will extend longer and longer. Once you hit a plateau, then you discontinue the drug completely2. Switch over to Prozac briefly and taper the Prozac.
For ME, the way that worked best was to go with the "B-1-b" plan. This is a flexible dosing strategy that focuses on time rather than total daily dosage. To be used towards the end of the taper process, it seems to work best for me when I take only enough Effexor to allow me to go without withdrawal symptoms for between 6-8 hours - no longer. I actually wait for these symptoms to appear before taking the next dose. However, I don't allow them to persist for longer than 1/2 - 1 hour before deciding to dose again. In this way, I guarantee that I am tapering the medication at exactly that rate that the body can handle comfortably.
If "B-1-b" doesnt work, I would then suggest going to "B-2"
This explanation might be a bit confusing. Please post questions if there is something I was unclear about.
Substituting Effexor for Prozac is probably the easiest way to go. Many people report great success with it. I'm not sure where the "sweet spot" is for how many days to take the Prozac before discontinuing it. I would guess 5-10 days.
Hopefully, people will provide replies to your post with alternatives.
- Scott
Posted by darren reynolds on April 10, 2005, at 23:32:26
In reply to Effexor withdrawal - how long left???, posted by Hawklady on April 1, 2005, at 4:44:54
I was taking 300mg/day and stopped abruptly 30 days ago. I have yet to see any IMPROVEMENT in the symptoms. I have had insomnia, fevers and chills, ringing in the ears, loss of balance and coordination, and a form of depression that Ive never experienced before.
Posted by SLS on April 13, 2005, at 7:24:56
In reply to Re: Effexor withdrawal - how long left???, posted by darren reynolds on April 10, 2005, at 23:32:26
> I was taking 300mg/day and stopped abruptly 30 days ago. I have yet to see any IMPROVEMENT in the symptoms. I have had insomnia, fevers and chills, ringing in the ears, loss of balance and coordination, and a form of depression that Ive never experienced before.
I think the more abruptly you discontinue an SSRI and the more severe are the withdrawal symptoms, the longer those symptoms persist after discontinuation. It's sort of like the kindling of an epileptic to have more frequent and severe convulsions.
For many people, it seems, going "cold turkey" is disasterous and leads to protracted suffering.
You can either interupt the withdrawal syndrome by taking Prozac for a short period of time or use something palliative like Benadryl to mitigate some of the withdrawal symptoms.
- Scott
This is the end of the thread.
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