Yeah cheers I really needed that awful sound at the beginning that sounds almost identical to the brain zaps I'm getting from withdrawal at the moment. Thanks for that...
Seriously what the fuck was that???? I sought videos that would help ease my symptoms, and while dude is clearly smart with his science, this video's music, especially the abrupt intro, shook me
Lol! Agree! As much as I found the information very helpful, I must disagree with the statement made about it making people feel happy and like they won the lottery, (I think that was the statement he made at the very beginning). I feel like I can function well and I guess that could be equated with winning the lottery when suffering from severe depression and anxiety. But, I found the information helpful. I’m trying to taper off SLOWLY due to crazy awful side effects when I miss only 1 day, and see how microdosing mushrooms in combination with Lions Mane works for me.
I've been on Venlafaxine for 20 years and not once has it made me feel euphoric, but trying to come off them is making me so I'll, wish I never had one.
Me too I was put on after my the love of my life died horribly in front of me. They should have left me to grieve him. But they poison me. With. This drug. X
This drug should be made illegal. It is so wonderful to hear a doctor acknowledge these withdrawal symptoms. I can’t function if I miss a dose because of pharmacy running behind or doctor not getting it called in. I finally had my doctor call out a double dose to have way extra in hand if I end up without. I’ve withdrawn from 150mg to 75mg and it took me 18 months. I removed 2-3 beads out of the capsule weekly. I’m still at 75 snd it’s time to start tapering again. I feel like a prisoner.
Effexor was the only thing that worked. But I didn't allow myself to go beyond 2 capsules a day. I used it to take the edge off, but I didn't expect "euphoria". I have done the same very slow taper. I got off and only then realised how much it was helping so I am back on my 2 capsules. One capsule would have probably been enough and I might go back down... slowly.
i poop those tiny beads out 🥺 one time i saw 40 and yes i have malabsorption when i had a colonoscopy they told me it was normal to have them in there??? the fuck
THE BELOW IS ONLY MY SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE. PLEASE DO NOT SUDDENLY STOP YOUR MEDS. ❤ It's been 4 hours since I missed my dose. I'm missing a dose today so that tonight I can put in my earbuds nightshade and enter my own subconcious completely lucid. However by 6am I can feel my heart muscle palpitating even when I'm floating around rooftops in inner space and I wake myself up and have a tablet. I am a person who has an extremely high tolerance to drug side effects and withdrawel. I have withdrawn from Valium after becoming dependant after 2 weeks it was absolute hell on earth to me. And I would not recommend this garbage.
I found the best way ever to come off Venlafaxine. I was on 75mg for anxiety, it didn’t work. After 2 years I thought I got to get off this drug but I was dreading it as forgetting to take my tablet the following day was awful - light headed, dizzy, diarrhoea, etc. I went down to 37.5 mg which took a week to adjust to. I stayed on this dosage for about 3 weeks. But this is the best part. I ordered 37.5 mg capsules. When I opened up the capsules they have three 12.5mg tablets inside. So I then took one 12.5mg tablet out and started having 25mg for a week. This wasn’t too bad. After a week I went down to one a half 12.5mg tablets inside the capsule and I felt fine. After 3 days I went down to one 12.5mg tablet inside the capsule and again felt fine. After 3 days I then went down to half a 12.5mg capsule which was ok. After a week I decided to no longer take any tablets and I managed to do it without feeling any side effects. I felt so relieved and flushed the remaining medication down the loo.
Thankyou soooo much for sharing this! I’m starting my tapering journey any day now and to know they contain smaller doses inside the capsule is such valuable helpful information God Bless You 🤗
@@traceechislett8463 hello, how are you getting on with coming off Venlafaxine? I hope it’s going well and you’re dropping the dose levels without too much side effects. I feel so relieved to be off that medication, I never ever felt any positive benefits from taking it and yet the side effects if I missed a day was horrific. Not sure if you felt any benefits from taking it?
Strontium Dog I know this comment is old, but to me, brain zaps feel like a speed up button was pushed and then slowed down again. It’s a super trippy feeling
Yes I have that too, but the way I describe it is that I feel like I’m seeing pixelated. It is a very uncomfortable sensation, I am dying for it to pass.
Whoever is watching this, thinking the pain won't end, it will. Just know this is only a chemical action in your brain and it will balance out. I know it's hard, but you will prevail.
I started crying when I saw this vid, cause I finally dont feel crazy, every symptom he mentioned is what I am feeling. 4days. From 225 to 0. Not on purpose, I couldn't get to the pharmacy on time. This is hell.
Yikes! I just tapered from 150mg to 75mg because I felt better at 75mg and I am feeling some withdrawal. It's not severe but enough to make me uncomfortable. Couldn't imagine going from 225 to zero 🥴🤒😔😰
Been on Effexor about 7 or 8 years, since middle school. 225mg dose for GAD and depression. I have been tapering off (doing it the recommended way) for 6 months or so, and it is hellish. For anyone else out there experiencing the withdrawals, you're not alone. Today is my 3rd or 4th day lowering the dose again and the side effects are at their worst. Nausea, headache, dizziness, throbbing eyes, brain zaps and insomnia. I do not recommend tapering off yet if you are in school or college because it is so hard to focus. And this is supposed to be the easiest way to get off of it. Do not get off of it cold turkey! I feel like that could almost kill you. I once went almost 3 days without it at my full dose and I couldn't stand up. I could hardly talk. I can't emphasize how bad that feels. It's worse than the flu. Not worth it, especially when you have work and family etc. Edit: almost forgot to add the freakish nightmares! Been taking allergy pills to help myself fall asleep, but sleep comes with weird and vivid and often disturbing dreams.
I had tapered down for a total of 9 weeks. Ended December sometime. I am worse off then before I started. This should not be prescribed by a physician as there are many different types of antidepressants for different cases, it should be prescribed by a physiatrist who can diagnose your mental illness not at the hands of a family physician. Also physician who subscribes should highly recommend the person enrol in council.
I was not able to get one of my doses (75 mg) for about a week. I’m still recovering! I can’t stop shaking and kicking my legs and wringing my hands and I just don’t know what to do. Being compliant with this med is hard!!
Man who the fuck prescribes a kid 225mg? As a regularly-medicated young adult myself I know it helps, but really we all know the issues lie beyond us, our minds, and our control. I hate that society made us feel such ways to begin with. Anyway, I'm on Day 3 of full-withdrawal symptoms and zaps after tapering from 187.5mg to zero in 5 weeks. Hope you're doing well
Totally agree. I'll never go on this or any other anxiety or anti-depressant again. I'd much rather use CBD which is naturally based, does not give you awful side-effects if you miss a dose and can take it when or wherever and also works for a myriad of other things including menstrual cramps, general aches and pains etc.. I was rxd Effexor for a temporary time in my life, but never told about the withdrawal side effects. I didn't even realize how much it had deadened my emotions until I began weaning off it - I feel so much alive again, and feel that I can really "feel" again. I'm just having a tremendously difficult time weaning off this last 37.5mg dosage. All the other reductions were a piece of cake, but this one feels like I missed a dose and am suffering all those awful things you do when you forgot to take it. Ugh!
Diarrhea has been the worst for me. I took it for the past 3 and 1/2 years. That the and the constant reoccurring highly lucid/vivid dreams and not feeling completely rested. Also, severe anxiety, but I’ve had that for most of my life without the help of CBD and a benzo.
Same here. And I'll never, ever go any any kind of anti-anxiety/depression drug again. Give me CBD any day. It doesn't fuck you over like those drugs do.
10 days of hell coming off it. Couldn’t tell if I was hallucinating or sleeping. Brain had to rewire itself to deal with emotions. Uncontrollable crying when not even sad. Also felt like I had the flu. Stomach vibrations. Really bizarre. Just the worst. You DO get over it, and you WILL come out the other side! It’s just no kind of fun. Oh, the visual “sparks” are real, but they go away. Best advice: take some time off work. Hole up at home. Ride it out. You can do it!
@@JohnRambo1947-July-6th Are you saying the Effexor caused a disability, or coming off it? I don't mean to ask anything too personal, just want to understand your comment.
I missed my dose last night and for the whole day I felt like there was static electricity running throughout my whole body. I was also very depressed and thought about how I was going to kill myself in the future because of my fear of being alone. Also had the brain fog.
Cold turkey withdrawals (daily 150mg): Dizziness, sleep paralysis at night (which can be fun once you realize what they are), very vivid dreams (not the greatest), night sweats, intense brain zapping in anytime of day, deep anxiety when waking up, feeling of no real sleep or rest for about a week or two, manic behavior during the day, loss of concentration at work i.e. "zonking out".
I am withdrawing venlafaxine after 15 years. It is s so bad, I want to die. The psychiatric on the ward wanted me to come off to give me a completely different anti depressant which I don’t want. It actually is so bad that I fear I will end my life. I hate this tablet.
Dude, every doctor I've told about the brain shocks looked at me like I was just plain fugging weird except for one. The thing is, I was at 300mg at the time I was experiencing it. Now I'm down to 150mg and it only happens about 5-10 hours after a missed dose. DO NOT LET YOUR DOCTOR PUT YOU ON THIS DRUG. IT STOPS HELPING EVENTUALLY AND THEN YOU GO THROUGH TORTURE ON THE WAY DOWN.
I agree !! This drug should be banned. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever taken and coming off it completely is pure hell. Day 2 of completely being off of venlafaxine. It’s pure poison.
Had 75 and was still depressed.. They put me to 150.. The horror! Not taking it at exactly the same time each day is what was causing my broken sleep and misery. I recomend this to noone!
Hey all! Withdrawing from Effexor currently and I’ve found that covering my eyes help tremendously with the side effects, I hope this finds somebody in need! I really feel that people should be warned about the side effects of getting off these meds because they’re really messed up. I surely wasn’t told at all about the side effects:( coming off of the lowest dose available to me in the north and experiencing the worst side effects thank god I figured this out sooner than later. Hopefully this finds somebody searching for some sort of relief!
I took this medication for anxiety at 37.5mg for 2 days and that was enough for me. The first day was fine, the second day I felt depersonalization and like what was happening around me was not real. That night I went to bed at 10pm and woke up 2 hours later having racing thoughts and hallucinations and hot flashes. My heart was racing, I had a burning in my chest that radiated up to my underarms and my body was shaking and sweating profusely. This was followed by chills and then repeat of the same scenario with the hot flashes and racing thoughts/hallucinations. I thought I had been given LSD by mistake! Never again. Never in my life did I expect a medication developed to help with anxiety cause MORE anxiety as an initial side effect. This med needs to go back to the drawing board.
Major depressive disorder over here. Some quack put me on this. New psychiatrist. Great man. We started weaning… (due to miscommunication) I understood to take it down from 150 to 37.5 and I handled it like a champ even though it was wrong. The 37.5 to 0
Same here I was totally doing fine on the 37.5 with help of Prozac. Went off the last bit and totally loosing it. Terrible side effects hod to get back on
I'm on 37.5 mg now, I've been slowly decreasing it for the past 6 months. I'm now taking it alternate days and it's so shit. The brain shocks, numbness, balance issues, shivers, hot flushes, sweating, nausea, diarrhoea, just to name a few. It's really bad, I'm struggling to still work, I'm a nurse and work nights as well as days and it's hell. I was misdiagnosed with depression 4 years ago when they put me on them and if I hadn't suggested it to my GP that I'd like to come off them as I now had the help I needed for my bpd , they would not even considered reviewing me and the need to be on them. If I could go back in time, I would not take any pill at all.
Ive been on 37.5 (lowest dose) and decided to withdrawal cold turkey. Day 1 - nothing Day 2 - slight woozy but not enough to affect me much Day 3 - brain fog, looked around a lot trying to find my words, had minor concentration issues. (That evening caught up with friends and drank alcohol and danced all night.) Day 4 - shouldn't have drunk night before.. Hungover! I woke dizzy, vivid dreams, a very fast heart rate, loose bowels, but thought it was the hangover. Made myself unhook from all thoughts and feelings and drink more water before lying back down until 11.30am to let the grossness pass. Couldn't shake the hangover that evening. I think the alcohol affected the same receptors though because I felt like I was mostly hungover but knew I was withdrawing too - vertigo, stomach cramps, slight headache, not hungry but feeling I should eat, nausea, dopey, couldn't sleep at night so youtubed a fan noise and it helped me sleep. Was hot all night. Day 5 - Went to work, trouble concentrating, irritable to customers, nausea, upset stomach, hungry but not hungry. Teary eyed seeing news about Russia. Felt like a space cadet - dopey, tired and woozy. Had to have a 45min sleep in car on my lunch break to give my brain/body a break. Massive urge to drink orange juice...lots and lots of orange juice. So bought a lot of it. I never drink it normally. Day 6 day - lot better but bit spaced out and loose bowels. Co-workers told me off for going cold turkey but I said I'll be fine. Lol. Orange juice with pulp is my saviour, it helps a lot. Drinking lots of water too. Rang dr to let them know that I went cold turkey and ensure I didn't need to do anything else to help my recovery. Dr says withdrawal will be 1-2 weeks. Day 6 night - worked full day then went to night school. Felt good, tiny bit loopy but able to act normally lol :) Cried watching a reality tv show called MAFS though...so dumb lol. So far, so good. (I've been drinking around 3-4 litres of water daily.) Please note I do not endorse drinking while withdrawing. That was very stupid and I didn't think it through properly. All the best.
Hang in there. Watch the drinking, though there are dangers to your liver exacerbated by venlafaxine use. Carry something that reminds you of a lover or VP moment in your life. When all else fails, breathe and wait, all things come to pass. Pls don't give up, the drug will make you think suicide is better than life. You must never forget the good times, believe those times WILL return. Have faith in you.❤
Brother, I have taper all the way down to 6.25 mgs I am taking a quarter of 25mg a day and I've finally decided to discontinue. And I still have all this side effects.
I was on it for 3 weeks and was a zombie on it. A friend took me to a comedy club. I drank 2 beers and blacked out. So I quit cold turkey. Withdrawing from opiates was a walk in the park compaired to this. I legit thought I had a brain tumor. On week 2 and feeling much better but that’s with very aggressive exercise and gallons of water a day. Couldn’t even exercise until day 5. Days 2 & 3 were debilitating. I have my own company and am lucky I have a good team because I had nothing to contribute. Never. Again. Exercise and sunshine for me only. Oh yeah and I can’t drink anymore. I tried to drink a beer tonight and started gagging after a couple sips. I’m okay with that bc I don’t really like to drink but it’s weird how bad it f’d me up. That’s after only being on it for 3 weeks. Oh yeah almost forgot I got thrush - yeast infection in the mouth too. I’m not sexually active. It was 100% because of this poison. If you’re withdrawing, force yourself to exercise. It literally was a game changer. You can do it. Good luck
what mg were you on bc i was on 75mg for a few months and i just quit cold turku and i thought i had a brain tumor too😭 i’ll just be walking around and then my eyes will refocus for a second and i’ll get dizzy for a quick second and then i’ll be okay bjt it’s so annoying
My personal withdrawal symptoms:brain zaps feels like someone jostling my brain around(accompanied with sweeping noises,like someone is pushing a tiny broom around in my head),drunk disoriented feeling,dizziness,headache,nausea,vomiting,crying spells,Body aches,tremors,chills,anxiety and panic attacks that feel like fire running through my veins,insomnia,sweats and heart palpitations.This is HELL ON EARTH!
I just spent 3 months coming down from Venlafaxine, was taken 150mg a day. I did it slowly with my doctors help. Started tapering off 1st month at 112mg. The doctor had me take one 75mg and one 37.5mg a month then the second month I took one 75mg capsule and the last month 37.5mg. I'm on my third day of being permanently off of the Venlafaxine and I'm suffering from the side affix. Mine is insomnia and light headiness so far. There is no easy way in my opinion too come down from using this drug. I've been on Venlafaxine for 8 yrs. and well never take an anti depressant like this ever again.
@@Allanwify Thanks so much for getting back to me Pacer. I'm on a low dose by comparison to what I have been in the past, but am almost scared to try and come off it, and my treating psych is reluctant to take me off it completely due to several very bad episodes of depression in the past. Oddly, it has been a very good treatment for me, and things are pretty stable. Have you had any experience with it yourself? Can you recommend any good ones of those groups you mentioned? Thanks again for taking the time to respond. Hope all good with you buddy.
@@jameswalker68 Oh yes I´m just like you, many depression throughout my life. I´m not saying it does not work, but it is very very hard to come of for many people. Withdrawal can last for years if you are unlucky. I was on 10 mg Effexor/Venlafaxine by slowly taper over years and things were looking good, then I decided to split the 10 mg up in 2 times 5 mg a day, after 5 days I became suicidal, severe headache, chills - so you need to be very careful with this drug, I thought I was! Also my brain felt like it was on fire - literally. This group is very good: facebook.com/groups/effexorsupportgroup/?ref=bookmarks
@@Allanwify Ah, so sorry to hear all that buddy. Thankyou for the link. Are you off it altogether now, or still on the low dose due to it being too difficult to come off?
Dear Dr. Sal, Question, would you EVER take this drug yourself? If your answer is NO, then why are you still prescribing it to others? You state is "only masks the symptoms" and has terrible side effects/withdrawal symptoms. Effexor has the rare side effect of "homicidal ideation" and is one of the drugs Andrea Yates was on when she killed her 5 children. Sickening to know that doctors like yourself are still prescribing this horrible drug.
I'm going through my withdrawal right now...So far so so good. I'm not a Dr. but what I did was open my 37.5 mg capsules and split the little white granules in half. I put the loose granules in a small container, then I put the remaining granules back in the capsule to take the next day. I did that for 6 days which equals 12 doses. Haven't had a does in 3 days now. Feeling a little dizzy today. We will see how it goes. If I need to, I will split my 37.5 mg capsules into 4 parts to ease withdrawal symptoms. This is just my recipe for tapering, please follow your Drs. instructions first. : ) ( BTW I was taking Effexor XR for twenty years now. It all started with the Dr, prescribing it to me for PMS )
I’m coming off of it now. Going on a 2 day break between pills and it’s hell. Went through a week of waiting one day between and it’s just crap. Brain zaps and anxiety 😥 i hope everyone’s coming off of it is doing okay and keep pushing, you can do this!
I'm having brain zaps, sweats and feverish feeling, and constant sleepiness. I'm definitely going to go get st John's wort to see if it will help with these side effects.
Been on Venlafaxine for about 18-19 years. Diagnosed with Dysthymic Disorder and bouts of Major Depression. Only side effect I get is dry mouth. I didn't understand how serious dry mouth is. After a few years my teeth stared falling apart, just chunks breaking off. I wear dentures now. One benefit, if you are nearing Menopause, Venlafaxine is your friend. I breezed through it! Basically I just stopped having periods. Only thing that's gone so easy for me! A few years later I heard that women who had been on it for some time had an easier time with menopause. I've tried a few times to get off Venlafaxine. Tapering ever so gradually, getting down to the smallest strength, then even emptying out some of the medicine to taper even more. Never made it past that. Got down that low but too sick, I caved and went back on each time. I'm ok if I die taking Venlafaxine, not going through that again.
So back here after a couple of weeks. Trying to get off this last 37.5mg has been truly awful. I've literally had to do as others have done, and open the capsule and count out the beads. I'm down to about 16 beads now, but still get the jiggy-jiggy eyes and zaps if I'm late taking them. Coming off the 37.5mg in one go was just not doable. I was out of commission for several days, unable to function at all. Nauseous, terrible brain zaps, dizzy, light-headed unable to concentrate, weepy, angry, frustrated. The CBD has been so very helpful and so thankful I stocked up on it.
I take this medication for resistant depression. I can go through withdrawals after only like two-three days of missing a dose. Just this morning, I went through one of the worse withdrawals, a never ending pain attack all day. When I have a pain attack, any pain I’m in goes up to eleven and my skin feels like it’s on fire. I ran to the doctor because I honestly thought I was dying. I had forgotten this medication. I thought I would rather be dead than hurt like this. Thankfully, my doctor recognized the pill immediately and asked if I had skipped any dose. A dose and a hard-core anti-anxiety pill later, I feel a little normal, if a bit shaky. I need to get off of this. I can’t live like this.
I was on the lowest dose at 37.5 mg. This is my third anti-depressant. This drug has helped me control my thoughts but, I’ve had disturbing dreams and emotional bluntness from it. I’m coming off it now and it’s bad with the brain zaps.
I am on day three of cold turkey withdrawl from 75mgs for about 4 years..prior to that i was on 37.5. I am so nausea and dizzy..brain zaps...sounds like ducks quacking in my head...Also, headaches....overall I am ok, I should call my doc, but i just want it out of me....I am in such a better place mentally....Mine was definitely situational depression.
I've had withdrawal symptoms since beginning this medication and I started at the lowest dose. At one point it gave my COVID symptoms. I'm still getting headaches, nausea, body aches, dry mouth, and fatigue.. I'm definitely over this ish!
The highest I went was 75mg (extended release) and had to taper off on the tablets. I had to decrease by 12.5 mg every month or so and I just stopped about 5 days ago after being on 12.5 mg for 3 weeks previous. And, the withdrawal is so bad even though it ended on a low dose. But, I guess it makes sense if your body was at a steady state with the chemical. Yeah, the dizziness and brain zaps are the worst. If I quickly dart my eyes around the room, it feels like my brain jolts and it's accompanied by a whoosh noise. I just started getting extremely nauseous that all strong smells, whether pleasant and unpleasant, would make me gag. It's terrible! The mood swings, too. Yeah, let's not go there lol
Yeah, I never felt on top of the world on it either but twenty years on a drug for PMS is way too long. The Drs. will just keep on prescribing you refills unless you put a stop to it. In all fairness to the Drs out there, My marriage was pretty bad too so there was never a really good time to wean off until now. Sometimes the Dr. would keep prescribing the Effexor and increasing the mg dosage because of my ups and downs throughout my rollercoaster life.
Psychiatrist gave me prescription for this medicine (37.5mg) for moderate depression. After reading these comments, im really fucking scared to start this medication. Feels that i shouldnt even touch that shit.
Thank you for this video. My doctor completely lied to me about this drug and I wish I knew how to report him for it. He pushed this on me and any concern I mentioned about this drug he dismissed and acted as if I was worried for no reason. I have panic disorder, with NO depression at all. This drug seems Overkill and wrong for me. I do not want to take a drug that is so hard and impossible seeming to get off of. Might as well prescribe crack for energy improvement basically. This drug is horrible I'm going to have to find a new doctor that will prescribe me something that will help me not hurt me.
Krystal Rose I hope you find a great new doctor. I absolutely hate the type that push a certain prescription for extra cash. Why call yourself a doctor if you’re just a sales representative? I hope you find something that works for you!
I've had a handful of times I went a week or more without being able to take venlafaxine due to refill errors. Here were my withdrawals in what I can best remember in order from earliest to latest: 1. "Fuzziness" /dizziness 2. Increased depression 3. Increased agitation 4. Extreme restlessness / can not sit still or lay down (this sounds minor, but it is actually excruciating) 5. Extreme anger and depression 6. Muscular "locking" in neck and jaw as well as uncontrollable yawning. * The last 2 or 3 symptoms usually manifested after 7 to 9 days of not taking the drug Last time I had to experience any of that was a few years ago, and it was probably the most physiologically excruciating thing I've ever went through. That said, I'm a combat Marine veteran and passed kidney stones when I was 3 years old with a 104° fever.
@@Sdgsmith92 hey, I sincerely thank you for your concern. I'm still on venlafaxine, but luckily I haven't had any further issues with the VA being late on refilling my prescriptions. Hopefully, at some point in time I'll be able to find an alternative medication that both works better (other benzodiazopines do not work for me) but also does not give horrible withdrawal symptoms like venlafaxine.
It was truly awful. Had to break the pills and titrate so small I was only licking a grain at a time off of a finger and it was still hellish! Never knew something that unique style of bad.
Effexor makes me so nauseated! Sometimes it's so bad, I can't move my head or I'll just puke for hours, vomiting nothing! Spit, air, dry heaves. Miserable.
Thanks so much. I am still in withdrawal and it has been awful. My doctor didn’t do enough research and I didn’t take enough time. For me, a slower reduction over a year might have been best. I have had tremors in my solar plexus at night.
Thank you so much for this video. 💗 I want nothing more than to be done with effexor. I wish I had never started taking this horrible drug. The withdrawals are so terrible. I'm definitely going to use your methods to rid myself of this prison that effexor has me in.
Thought I could get off this shit over a long weekend, but its day 5 and the zaps are worse now. I can feel them all the way through my head and eyes, through the tip of my tongue. I gotta work tomorrow operating heavy equipment, guess I'll try St. John's Wort
I haven't taken my venlafaxine for a few days just because I ran out and didnt get around to making it to the pharmacy, and I've been having some crazy withdrawal symptoms. I honestly feel intoxicated, like I've been walking around in a fog. Borderline hallucinations, like I feel like I'm in a dream all the time. I also am having a hard time falling asleep, so the sleep deprivation and fogginess are proving to be a potent combination... I will start taking it again so hopefully this goes away, but it makes me nervous as hell if I ever want to actually come off the drug
I’m currently in the process of going off this drug because it has managed to make my BPD worse than it already is. I started at 225 mg and got sent to 150. I’ve been on 150 for a week and I feel nausea, extreme dizzy spells, and general bad headaches. I literally can’t eat without getting sick right now (which isn’t good while having an Eating disorder). I wish I was never on this medication. It’s ruined me more than BPD ever did.
I have a terrible habit of not taking my meds (taking 275 mg per day), and it has shown me the withdraws almost immediately. I don’t want to take this pill forever, but I also don’t want to live with MDD either.
All of the comments that I have read are truly Horrifying. I have suffered with Chronic Pain for over 45 years and have recently , exactly nine months of getting off of Opiods. Seriously the hardest thing my body has gone through. I was overwhelmed with terrible Pain in my legs all day long. Some call it restless leg Syndrome. This drug changed my life, and for the Better. I could not have taken another day the Pain was sooo Severe. From 1-10, my Pain was a 9. Hopefully it will help people like myself, with Neuropathic Pain. God Bless each and every Soul Suffering.🙏
Coming off of it now on a schedule after almost three years. Truly I feel like this stuff is either going to ruin my life or my relationships. I’m stumbling, in pain, and so angry I almost punched my bathroom mirror. I’m all for medication (I’m on a new med myself) but please ask all the questions you can think of! Effexor is the only medication this has happened to me on, but it’s brutal. I think people assume I’m having opioid withdrawal!
I want you to know that everything you have described, is felt. This medication has robbed me of so many years and will because of going through an extremely slow scheduled withdrawal… I have literally only had a couple physical side effects when I first started taking medication, nothing has ever been like this… Nothing is okay about this.
I've been on these things for years, probably about 7 or 8 and I got down to 75mg and 2 weeks or so ago went cold turkey. I'm going to either die within the next couple of weeks or I'm going to be myself again, or close to it. Either way - I won't let these awful, life destroying pills control me any further. They've done so much damage, what I'm going through now might feel like hell, but I know I can get through it somehow. Yeah, even if it kills me. I need to know where someone is now who's been off these things and through the withdrawal stage. How long did it take? Where are you now? All the best to anyone reading this.
Wow, makes sense! When I was like 17, my mom couldn’t make it to the pharmacy to pick up my refill so I went without it for 2 days. From 150 mg a day to nothing.. brain zaps, dizziness, weird eye movements, panic attacks, uncontrollable crying. Sucked so bad!
I was put on this medicine when I was just 13 years old. I’m now 24 and have had some of the worst experiences because of this medicine. I had an issue with my insurance deciding the month of December didn’t exist for coverage after renewal. I had been taking 225mg. I couldn’t even drive my vision got so bad. Side affects started the first day from not taking it. I became extremely sick. I had to jump through loops dealing with insurance to get my prescription. Fast forward, I decided I needed to get off. I have 2 kids and cannot be put in that situation again. My doctor has been prescribing me lower doses, it’s been 5 months and I’m on the lowest dose. I’ve been lowering it by the 37mg every month. The side affects are still there, but they have subsided compared to the beginning. I’m not going to go into details, let me just emphasize that it’s painful and continues to be very difficult. I might go back up to 75mg, I don’t know how to make this better. Have I been on it too long to ever be normal off of it?
I was on Citalopram for anxiety for 5 years then I was prescribed 225mg by my Dr. After 1 week of constipation and nightmares I've gone cold turkey. This is my 4th day and I feel awful. I really hope I get better as this feeling is the worst in the world.
Got pulled over once, officer thought I might be under the influence. I swiftly failed the test after begging to just forfeit the test. Once we were down town and I had a chance to offer up a sample, the officer let me know that he really was quite sorry, I was only his second case ever where he eyeballed it wrongly. Naturally, I was just happy for a ride home. Since then I try not to accidentally miss a dose from poorly timed refills.
DO NOT GO COLD TURKEY WITH EFFEXOR ! i HAVE quit Ambien and Klonopin , both controlled substances, cold turkey and tried doing the same with effexor. It was terrifying ! I dreamt of demons and had hallucinations. I could have easily hurt myself. Be responsible and get weened off with a doctor. You are not as tough as you think you are. This drug is extremely addicting to your brain chemistry.
What I can recall from being on this was when I missed 1 or 2 days & was a complete & utter mess, crying hysterically & was totally inconsolable 😑 really scared me but I’m on different anti depressants now & have missed days with them also but never with such negative side effects.
I have taken Effexor XR for 20 years. For the first 15 years took 37.5 daily. Increased to 75 mg daily for the past 5 years. Began tapering off two weeks ago. Dropped back to 37.5 daily. Will take this for a month and then stop. I notice I feel quiet and a little withdrawn but nothing else so far. I hope when I stop the 37.5 it will not be to bad. May alternate days for a couple of weeks. Thanks for the video.
I'm on 150 dose of Effexor. I have been on this dose for 21 years. It works so great but I'm concerned about ever coming off of it. I had debilitating anxiety which I tried a few things and this worked. My main concern about coming off of it is that I'm thinking my anxiety will come back again. 🥴🥴🥴
Currently coming off mine right now and I just want to fucking cry,my head feels so weird,I can’t move without my head feeling like it’s floating and spinning,I try and sleep it off only to feel worse when I wake up. This is the second time I’ve come off these and honestly the worst thing to come off,I hate it
Almost off of it. Definitely helped me get to a better place but once I was feeling better I wanted to feel that way naturally. Getting off this med is tough because it’s not a fast process. All I’m gonna say is that every time I’ve tried cold turkey ive ended up in a worse place. Don’t try it, just take your time and find your true friends and family that will help you struggle through :) we got this shit y’all
Currently dealing with both serotonin syndrome and withdrawal symptoms from Venlaflaxine, Methylphenidate and allergy medication. This is absolute hell. I feel like I’m going to die.
Hi, 10 months later... I'm where you were 10 months ago. Are you ok? Did you get through it? How long did it take you? Wishing you the best, fellow person who suffered but, I hope, got out the other side.
Thank you, very helpful and informative! May I suggest though to change your opening music to something a little less violent when you make videos for people that is struggling with their brain chemistry? I almost had a seizure 🤪
I was prescribed this medication six years ago after losing my son. I’ve been on the lowest dose 37.5 mg for the last 2 years, and trying for over a year to taper! No matter what I try, Within the first week of tapering just slightly , I am in a living hell! Can’t work or function at all!! I find myself feeling like a prisoner on this drug with no choice but time off work that I don’t have, ultimately resulting in loosing my job… OR continue being enslaved to the medication! This is ridiculous!! Do they not think about this before they prescribe it?? I honestly wish I would have never started taking this medication! This should be illegal to prescribe! I’m worse off now than I was before I started it !! This does absolutely nothing to actually help somebody if you ask me!!
Sorry for your loss. 😔 I’m researching the best way to taper off my 150mg daily dose. A few sources suggest either direct switching or cross-tapering to another antidepressant with a longer half-life for the final taper down to zero. Venlafaxine/Effexor has a really short half-life compared to some of the others. I’m thinking of cross-tapering to either ecitalopram or sertraline, both of which I’ve taken in the past and successfully tapered off without major issues. I didn’t find either as helpful with my mood as venlafaxine, but I’m fine with switching back over for a while as part of the taper. I had no idea this drug was so different.
The withdrawals are NOT WORTH IT. I don't know what to do. I tapered off and stopped after every other day of the 37.5 (took 150 for about a year). I keep having to run to the bathroom at my job (watching small toddlers) to shit. Like 9 times a day. Horrible vivid dreams. Random shivering even when I'm hot. Sweating like a pig all day. So tired at work even after a night of 8-9 hours of sleep that I nearly fall over sleeping standing up. Huge brain zaps. But by far the worst is the itchy, tingling sensations all over my skin, like I have bugs crawling all over me. It's been over a week! I may fucking choose to die before I go on dealing with this shit!
Thank you, I stopped taking 150mg on my own and I am almost 5 days in. I have the brain snapping which is my worst symptom. Along with dizziness, brain fog, and insomnia. I’m dealing with it, but something to help the symptoms would be helpful. I’ll try the St. John’s wort.
Iam currently on a medication called "CRF" Carlifornia Rocket Fuel it's a combination with "Venlaflaxin Effexor and Mirtazapine Remeron" This medication is really helping me out. Only side effect i have get is weight gain and when i get off the meds i will recieve the side effect you are describing in this video but mostly electric shock in the head.
I've been on Effexor for at least 10 years, the last few at 375 mg daily. Saw a new psychiatrist today after a move, and he said E is the worst antidepressant out there! Said he wouldn't give it to his dog lol. In his opinion, this has gone on for so long bc coming off it is so hard that no one wants to bother. He was legit appalled at the dosage and how long i'd been on it with no noticeable benefit. Past attempts to quit, both cold turkey and titrating down, landed me in the ER with intolerable withdrawals. Anyway, he's mapped out a 4 week plan to get me off it once and for all. I'm filled with dread at what's going to happen, but am going to trust his positive results with other patients who had used it for much longer.
@@occulthands I can't believe anyone remembers my post; ty so much for following up! Happy to say I followed the 4 week instructions, and have been off Effexor since. There were no meaningful side effects or withdrawals. Idk if the underlying condition is better, but at least this poison is out of the picture. Best wishes if you're gearing up to quit :)
@@Butterfly-vd4tg hello again! Pleased to report that I'm still Effexor-free with no troubling side effects. Legit thought I'd be on that poison the rest of my life! Are you considering a change?
@@shrimpie69 hey thanks. No i will never ever will take a drug or ssni or ssri or anti depressant again. My doc give it to me because of panic attacks and stress induced anxiety. It destroyed my life since 4 years. Evil drug
I was taking 150 mg and 75 mg for 9 months. Now I'm in the process of cutting off slowly.. it will take at least 3 months to cut them off completely and I can say I'm doing great. Yes, I have side effects. Insomnia and brain zaps. And I keep forgetting things? I don't know if that's a side effect.. anyway, I can handle it (for now lol). I'm suffering from generalized anxiety disorder and Effexor helped me a lot. I guess I'm the only one who feels that way? 😅 I don't know.. They really helped with my anxiety. I'm much happier, calm, relaxed.. it also helped that I was focused with my work, my kids, I also started to exercise more, going to antigravity yoga or for walks with my puppy while listening to music. My doctor warned me about 3 things: never miss a pill, never go cold turkey and should also help myself, don't rely on Effexor only. Just sharing my experience, I'm not doubting those who had issues with Effexor. Wish you all the best ❤️
LOL, been off Pristiq for 4 weeks. Been freaking out, because panic returns. I have fight or flight vital signs. My Psychiatrist knows I am off all meds, because I have been on a litany of pharmaceuticals the past decade due to combat stress. It's amazing to feel the fear again; because it forces you to explore it's etiology.
I went from 150mg to 112.5mg for 2 weeks. No withdrawal symptoms. Then down to 75mg. First week at this dose I'm feeling mild brain zaps, mild fogginess and dizziness, mild headache, hungry but not really, irritable. Hoping this will subside on the second week at this dose. I have felt wonderful on this medication and hope I can feel as good without it.
I had tapered down for a total of 9 weeks. Ended December sometime. I am worse off then before I started. This should not be prescribed by a physician as there are many different types of antidepressants for different cases, it should be prescribed by a physiatrist who can diagnose your mental illness not at the hands of a family physician. Also physician who subscribes should highly recommend the person enrol in counci
I feel so insany awful giga dizzy, stomach ache and sickness also brain shocks Im actually crying because how awful i feel I just dont have the mental strength zo withstand this....
I had to stop & I have this pain in my head like someone is slapping pot and pans on the right side of my head . Hands shake when I wake up I can’t sleep if I do I wake up a lot and usually drenched in sweat even thou I was shivering before I went to sleep
I only started taking it to maybe help with motivational issues. I haven’t been taking it too long. Under 6 months. Only taking the 37.5mg twice a day. I ran out of pills and didn’t get it refilled due to an insurance issue and I feel like I can just not take it anymore since it wasn’t too big of a dosage in the first place. So far I’m just extremely dizzy and slightly nauseous. I feel like I can do this.
Can't do it sir,not even witht he tapering. The nasua and headache and the hearing problems makes me want to die .I'm in my bed moaning ,vomitting and rubbing my head in the mattress, crying!
I can add another side effect to the list: severe body itching including burning skin during a shower and strange blisters on my skin ( and im not allergic)
So far throbbing eyes symptom for me was the worst. For some reason it felt like a small seizure x_x I could handle sweating, nausea and insomnia But those throbbing eyes man Overall withdrawal symptoms felt like severe flu + being drunk.
Switching to a low dose of Prozac to come off Effexor is what my doctor spoke to me about. Currently a year and a bit on Effexor (75mg for 1 year, 125mg for 2 months) and having no issues with taking it daily.
My ENT prescribed Venlafaxine (ER 37.5mg) for my Vestibular Neuritis. He said it would take 2 weeks and my vertigo would be gone. I took one pill and my vertigo was 80% gone in 2 hours. Hey great... At 4am I woke up with a blinding headache. Then I remembered reading watch your blood pressure if you take this. So I take my blood pressure....197/121. Off to the ER I go. The ER Dr. gave me 0.1mg of Clonidine and in one hour my blood pressure was 117/74. If I have to chose between Vertigo and a Stroke I think I'll go with the Vertigo.
It should be illegal to put people on medications like this that have such awful side effects when coming off of it! I would have insisted on trying something else first had I known!!
This drug has destroyed my daughters health. She weaned off as slowly as possible ,over several months. Now about 5 months later she has horrible stomach pain, cramping, nausea, and diarrhea when she eats. Some days she can barely function. How do you recover from that part?
My withdrawal lasted almost 2 weeks. It was actual hell i went thru crazy derealization and i was so sick and dizzy, couldnt stop throwing up and shaking
I stoped from half 37.5 mg and toltaly crashed with depression and anxiety. I hate this drug and I will never ever take this again. Now its week 6 and Im still having anxiety all day long and I even started on sertraline 4 weeks ago! Took venlafaxine for 5 years.
I was happy with thIs drug until it stopped working aswell after 2 years. Im down from 150mg to 30mg now. I tappered down the dose 10mg a week. i sweated the whole time when on a effexor, only now at 30mg has it stopped for the most part. I found the hardest withdrawal to be anxiety dreams really badly but theu have reduced over the last two week. Thank god. Dont be foolish and just stop taking the drug. Go really slow! GL
I went from 225ER to 4 days of 150ER to 4 days of 75mgXR then nothing. On it for a year. Literally cannot see straight and am a general mess. Don't take it!!!
At my worst I was on 300mg per day of Venlafaxine. Some missed doses gave me such horrible feelings of dread, claustrophobia and anxiety/panic attacks that I told myself I couldn't do this any more. I worried what would happen if I didn't have access to it anymore for whatever reason. The short story is I weaned myself down to 50mg per day and even now I still worry if the medication was not available what would happen. I can deal with most of the side effects but not the one I described above. It is totally traumatizing.
@@sarahperks8226 Hi Sarah 🙂 Thank you for your concern and likewise, I truly hope you are doing ok weaning yourself off! If you ever feel like talking about it, I am all ears. I'm sure we could find a suitable medium if so. Good luck and take care!
Yeah cheers I really needed that awful sound at the beginning that sounds almost identical to the brain zaps I'm getting from withdrawal at the moment. Thanks for that...
Seriously what the fuck was that???? I sought videos that would help ease my symptoms, and while dude is clearly smart with his science, this video's music, especially the abrupt intro, shook me
😂😂😂
Lol! Agree! As much as I found the information very helpful, I must disagree with the statement made about it making people feel happy and like they won the lottery, (I think that was the statement he made at the very beginning). I feel like I can function well and I guess that could be equated with winning the lottery when suffering from severe depression and anxiety.
But, I found the information helpful. I’m trying to taper off SLOWLY due to crazy awful side effects when I miss only 1 day, and see how microdosing mushrooms in combination with Lions Mane works for me.
Exactly!!!!
Benadryl works wonders for both the zapps and those ungodly dizzy spells!
I've been on Venlafaxine for 20 years and not once has it made me feel euphoric, but trying to come off them is making me so I'll, wish I never had one.
Did you gain weight on meds like I did? That’s the primary reason I’m trying to stop. Also, I’m over the event that was making me depressed.
Me too I was put on after my the love of my life died horribly in front of me. They should have left me to grieve him. But they poison me. With. This drug. X
Ive gained weight and its really made me hate myself@@bullmoose6739
it's a horrible evil drug, it should never have been created
This drug should be made illegal. It is so wonderful to hear a doctor acknowledge these withdrawal symptoms. I can’t function if I miss a dose because of pharmacy running behind or doctor not getting it called in. I finally had my doctor call out a double dose to have way extra in hand if I end up without. I’ve withdrawn from 150mg to 75mg and it took me 18 months. I removed 2-3 beads out of the capsule weekly. I’m still at 75 snd it’s time to start tapering again. I feel like a prisoner.
I see your comment is from 2 years ago. How did it go?
Effexor was the only thing that worked.
But I didn't allow myself to go beyond 2 capsules a day.
I used it to take the edge off, but I didn't expect "euphoria".
I have done the same very slow taper.
I got off and only then realised how much it was helping so I am back on my 2 capsules.
One capsule would have probably been enough and I might go back down... slowly.
i poop those tiny beads out 🥺 one time i saw 40 and yes i have malabsorption
when i had a colonoscopy they told me it was normal to have them in there??? the fuck
No-one should be put on this awful drug any more, it is outdated and the suffering caused by it far outweighs any benefits of it
I missed my dose and 4 hours later I feel like I'd rather die than feel this way
💀
It’s a horrible horrific experience. This medicine is straight from hell
THE BELOW IS ONLY MY SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE.
PLEASE DO NOT SUDDENLY STOP YOUR MEDS. ❤
It's been 4 hours since I missed my dose. I'm missing a dose today so that tonight I can put in my earbuds nightshade and enter my own subconcious completely lucid.
However by 6am I can feel my heart muscle palpitating even when I'm floating around rooftops in inner space and I wake myself up and have a tablet.
I am a person who has an extremely high tolerance to drug side effects and withdrawel. I have withdrawn from Valium after becoming dependant after 2 weeks it was absolute hell on earth to me. And I would not recommend this garbage.
I found the best way ever to come off Venlafaxine. I was on 75mg for anxiety, it didn’t work. After 2 years I thought I got to get off this drug but I was dreading it as forgetting to take my tablet the following day was awful - light headed, dizzy, diarrhoea, etc. I went down to 37.5 mg which took a week to adjust to. I stayed on this dosage for about 3 weeks. But this is the best part. I ordered 37.5 mg capsules. When I opened up the capsules they have three 12.5mg tablets inside. So I then took one 12.5mg tablet out and started having 25mg for a week. This wasn’t too bad. After a week I went down to one a half 12.5mg tablets inside the capsule and I felt fine. After 3 days I went down to one 12.5mg tablet inside the capsule and again felt fine. After 3 days I then went down to half a 12.5mg capsule which was ok. After a week I decided to no longer take any tablets and I managed to do it without feeling any side effects. I felt so relieved and flushed the remaining medication down the loo.
Thankyou soooo much for sharing this!
I’m starting my tapering journey any day now and to know they contain smaller doses inside the capsule is such valuable helpful information
God Bless You 🤗
@@traceechislett8463 hello, how are you getting on with coming off Venlafaxine? I hope it’s going well and you’re dropping the dose levels without too much side effects. I feel so relieved to be off that medication, I never ever felt any positive benefits from taking it and yet the side effects if I missed a day was horrific. Not sure if you felt any benefits from taking it?
These brain zaps ...it feels like a siphoning sensation and even makes my eyes dart to the side. Anyone else have this?.
Yes ☹️
I do, I came to youtube to see if I was alone. It's horrible
Yes and they are horrible
Strontium Dog I know this comment is old, but to me, brain zaps feel like a speed up button was pushed and then slowed down again. It’s a super trippy feeling
Yes I have that too, but the way I describe it is that I feel like I’m seeing pixelated. It is a very uncomfortable sensation, I am dying for it to pass.
Whoever is watching this, thinking the pain won't end, it will. Just know this is only a chemical action in your brain and it will balance out. I know it's hard, but you will prevail.
I just got my first prescription and after reading these comments, I don’t think I want to start
Thnx, it’s like there is a hand on my brain and the hand squeezes my brain, and I constantly feel like puking all the time.
I started crying when I saw this vid, cause I finally dont feel crazy, every symptom he mentioned is what I am feeling. 4days. From 225 to 0. Not on purpose, I couldn't get to the pharmacy on time. This is hell.
Still taking it?
Its so hard. I vomited, bones aching, brain zaps omg
150 here. Just went 3 days without. Was dreadful. Sore stomach, vertigo, nausea, mood swings, general grouchiness
@matt how long did that last?
Yikes! I just tapered from 150mg to 75mg because I felt better at 75mg and I am feeling some withdrawal. It's not severe but enough to make me uncomfortable. Couldn't imagine going from 225 to zero 🥴🤒😔😰
Been on Effexor about 7 or 8 years, since middle school. 225mg dose for GAD and depression. I have been tapering off (doing it the recommended way) for 6 months or so, and it is hellish. For anyone else out there experiencing the withdrawals, you're not alone. Today is my 3rd or 4th day lowering the dose again and the side effects are at their worst. Nausea, headache, dizziness, throbbing eyes, brain zaps and insomnia. I do not recommend tapering off yet if you are in school or college because it is so hard to focus. And this is supposed to be the easiest way to get off of it.
Do not get off of it cold turkey! I feel like that could almost kill you. I once went almost 3 days without it at my full dose and I couldn't stand up. I could hardly talk. I can't emphasize how bad that feels. It's worse than the flu. Not worth it, especially when you have work and family etc.
Edit: almost forgot to add the freakish nightmares! Been taking allergy pills to help myself fall asleep, but sleep comes with weird and vivid and often disturbing dreams.
Im using venlafaxine for 10 years. I can feel your pain. Coz I going thru as well. Its horrible... maybe you can give some advice to me.
5% taper a month
I had tapered down for a total of 9 weeks. Ended December sometime. I am worse off then before I started. This should not be prescribed by a physician as there are many different types of antidepressants for different cases, it should be prescribed by a physiatrist who can diagnose your mental illness not at the hands of a family physician. Also physician who subscribes should highly recommend the person enrol in council.
I was not able to get one of my doses (75 mg) for about a week. I’m still recovering! I can’t stop shaking and kicking my legs and wringing my hands and I just don’t know what to do. Being compliant with this med is hard!!
Man who the fuck prescribes a kid 225mg? As a regularly-medicated young adult myself I know it helps, but really we all know the issues lie beyond us, our minds, and our control. I hate that society made us feel such ways to begin with. Anyway, I'm on Day 3 of full-withdrawal symptoms and zaps after tapering from 187.5mg to zero in 5 weeks. Hope you're doing well
You make this sound like this drug is good. Yet everyone who takes it seems to think it's a horrible drug.
Totally agree. I'll never go on this or any other anxiety or anti-depressant again. I'd much rather use CBD which is naturally based, does not give you awful side-effects if you miss a dose and can take it when or wherever and also works for a myriad of other things including menstrual cramps, general aches and pains etc.. I was rxd Effexor for a temporary time in my life, but never told about the withdrawal side effects. I didn't even realize how much it had deadened my emotions until I began weaning off it - I feel so much alive again, and feel that I can really "feel" again. I'm just having a tremendously difficult time weaning off this last 37.5mg dosage. All the other reductions were a piece of cake, but this one feels like I missed a dose and am suffering all those awful things you do when you forgot to take it. Ugh!
As somebody with BPD, I can say that I love it. It has helped me so much.
@@shamma1354 the issue is stopping it can be a nightmare, regardless of how much it helps.
@@mcb00 agreed. it’s a great medicine but i forgot to take my dose once and i had a horrible withdrawal
It's poison
If I could go back I would have never took this medication. The nausea and GI side effects is terrible. Do not recommend.
About 5-6 months later my daughter is still having horrible GI problems.
Diarrhea has been the worst for me. I took it for the past 3 and 1/2 years. That the and the constant reoccurring highly lucid/vivid dreams and not feeling completely rested. Also, severe anxiety, but I’ve had that for most of my life without the help of CBD and a benzo.
Same here. And I'll never, ever go any any kind of anti-anxiety/depression drug again. Give me CBD any day. It doesn't fuck you over like those drugs do.
@@looloolawrence4009 well i cant go without so what do i do :(
@@MrAchsas I don't know, to be honest. If what you are using it for is not a transitional thing, may be speak with you GP. I'm sorry, I really am.
10 days of hell coming off it. Couldn’t tell if I was hallucinating or sleeping. Brain had to rewire itself to deal with emotions. Uncontrollable crying when not even sad. Also felt like I had the flu. Stomach vibrations. Really bizarre. Just the worst. You DO get over it, and you WILL come out the other side! It’s just no kind of fun. Oh, the visual “sparks” are real, but they go away. Best advice: take some time off work. Hole up at home. Ride it out. You can do it!
How long were you taking it for? What dose?
Yes, how long and what dose? I was 13 years at 225mg. I am a year and 4 months off and disabled because of it.
@@ambermcgar6577 r u doing ok?
@@JohnRambo1947-July-6th Are you saying the Effexor caused a disability, or coming off it? I don't mean to ask anything too personal, just want to understand your comment.
Very good advice!
I missed my dose last night and for the whole day I felt like there was static electricity running throughout my whole body. I was also very depressed and thought about how I was going to kill myself in the future because of my fear of being alone. Also had the brain fog.
Me too. I call them brain zaps. Can't miss 1 dose
I cant follow with the porno track in background
When I came off of it years ago nobody took my withdrawal symptoms seriously. I’m glad this is a widely known fact now. Thank you.
Cold turkey withdrawals (daily 150mg): Dizziness, sleep paralysis at night (which can be fun once you realize what they are), very vivid dreams (not the greatest), night sweats, intense brain zapping in anytime of day, deep anxiety when waking up, feeling of no real sleep or rest for about a week or two, manic behavior during the day, loss of concentration at work i.e. "zonking out".
how you doing now?
Does withdrawal affect your ability to drive?
What do you mean manic behavior
Why did you not taper?
That’s me too:(
I am withdrawing venlafaxine after 15 years. It is s so bad, I want to die. The psychiatric on the ward wanted me to come off to give me a completely different anti depressant which I don’t want. It actually is so bad that I fear I will end my life. I hate this tablet.
Dude, every doctor I've told about the brain shocks looked at me like I was just plain fugging weird except for one. The thing is, I was at 300mg at the time I was experiencing it. Now I'm down to 150mg and it only happens about 5-10 hours after a missed dose. DO NOT LET YOUR DOCTOR PUT YOU ON THIS DRUG. IT STOPS HELPING EVENTUALLY AND THEN YOU GO THROUGH TORTURE ON THE WAY DOWN.
I agree !! This drug should be banned. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever taken and coming off it completely is pure hell. Day 2 of completely being off of venlafaxine. It’s pure poison.
Had 75 and was still depressed.. They put me to 150.. The horror! Not taking it at exactly the same time each day is what was causing my broken sleep and misery. I recomend this to noone!
Same thing
Yes if you don't do same time med drops way down. It sucks
Absolutely on it for 5 years , stay way way away . It's an aweful drug
Hey all! Withdrawing from Effexor currently and I’ve found that covering my eyes help tremendously with the side effects, I hope this finds somebody in need! I really feel that people should be warned about the side effects of getting off these meds because they’re really messed up. I surely wasn’t told at all about the side effects:( coming off of the lowest dose available to me in the north and experiencing the worst side effects thank god I figured this out sooner than later. Hopefully this finds somebody searching for some sort of relief!
Hey how are you doing now? I hope great. I'm worried that if I come off will my anxiety come back.
I took this medication for anxiety at 37.5mg for 2 days and that was enough for me. The first day was fine, the second day I felt depersonalization and like what was happening around me was not real. That night I went to bed at 10pm and woke up 2 hours later having racing thoughts and hallucinations and hot flashes. My heart was racing, I had a burning in my chest that radiated up to my underarms and my body was shaking and sweating profusely. This was followed by chills and then repeat of the same scenario with the hot flashes and racing thoughts/hallucinations. I thought I had been given LSD by mistake! Never again. Never in my life did I expect a medication developed to help with anxiety cause MORE anxiety as an initial side effect. This med needs to go back to the drawing board.
Major depressive disorder over here. Some quack put me on this. New psychiatrist. Great man. We started weaning… (due to miscommunication) I understood to take it down from 150 to 37.5 and I handled it like a champ even though it was wrong.
The 37.5 to 0
Same here I was totally doing fine on the 37.5 with help of Prozac. Went off the last bit and totally loosing it. Terrible side effects hod to get back on
I'm on 37.5 mg now, I've been slowly decreasing it for the past 6 months. I'm now taking it alternate days and it's so shit. The brain shocks, numbness, balance issues, shivers, hot flushes, sweating, nausea, diarrhoea, just to name a few. It's really bad, I'm struggling to still work, I'm a nurse and work nights as well as days and it's hell. I was misdiagnosed with depression 4 years ago when they put me on them and if I hadn't suggested it to my GP that I'd like to come off them as I now had the help I needed for my bpd , they would not even considered reviewing me and the need to be on them. If I could go back in time, I would not take any pill at all.
Ive been on 37.5 (lowest dose) and decided to withdrawal cold turkey.
Day 1 - nothing
Day 2 - slight woozy but not enough to affect me much
Day 3 - brain fog, looked around a lot trying to find my words, had minor concentration issues. (That evening caught up with friends and drank alcohol and danced all night.)
Day 4 - shouldn't have drunk night before.. Hungover! I woke dizzy, vivid dreams, a very fast heart rate, loose bowels, but thought it was the hangover. Made myself unhook from all thoughts and feelings and drink more water before lying back down until 11.30am to let the grossness pass. Couldn't shake the hangover that evening. I think the alcohol affected the same receptors though because I felt like I was mostly hungover but knew I was withdrawing too - vertigo, stomach cramps, slight headache, not hungry but feeling I should eat, nausea, dopey, couldn't sleep at night so youtubed a fan noise and it helped me sleep. Was hot all night.
Day 5 - Went to work, trouble concentrating, irritable to customers, nausea, upset stomach, hungry but not hungry. Teary eyed seeing news about Russia. Felt like a space cadet - dopey, tired and woozy. Had to have a 45min sleep in car on my lunch break to give my brain/body a break. Massive urge to drink orange juice...lots and lots of orange juice. So bought a lot of it. I never drink it normally.
Day 6 day - lot better but bit spaced out and loose bowels. Co-workers told me off for going cold turkey but I said I'll be fine. Lol. Orange juice with pulp is my saviour, it helps a lot. Drinking lots of water too. Rang dr to let them know that I went cold turkey and ensure I didn't need to do anything else to help my recovery. Dr says withdrawal will be 1-2 weeks.
Day 6 night - worked full day then went to night school. Felt good, tiny bit loopy but able to act normally lol :)
Cried watching a reality tv show called MAFS though...so dumb lol.
So far, so good.
(I've been drinking around 3-4 litres of water daily.)
Please note I do not endorse drinking while withdrawing. That was very stupid and I didn't think it through properly.
All the best.
Hang in there. Watch the drinking, though there are dangers to your liver exacerbated by venlafaxine use. Carry something that reminds you of a lover or VP moment in your life. When all else fails, breathe and wait, all things come to pass. Pls don't give up, the drug will make you think suicide is better than life. You must never forget the good times, believe those times WILL return. Have faith in you.❤
Brother, I have taper all the way down to 6.25 mgs I am taking a quarter of 25mg a day and I've finally decided to discontinue. And I still have all this side effects.
@@Getithowyoulive863How are you doing? I'm off for a month, tapered by 12.5mg. Going to take St John's Wort.
I was on it for 3 weeks and was a zombie on it. A friend took me to a comedy club. I drank 2 beers and blacked out. So I quit cold turkey. Withdrawing from opiates was a walk in the park compaired to this. I legit thought I had a brain tumor. On week 2 and feeling much better but that’s with very aggressive exercise and gallons of water a day. Couldn’t even exercise until day 5. Days 2 & 3 were debilitating. I have my own company and am lucky I have a good team because I had nothing to contribute. Never. Again. Exercise and sunshine for me only. Oh yeah and I can’t drink anymore. I tried to drink a beer tonight and started gagging after a couple sips. I’m okay with that bc I don’t really like to drink but it’s weird how bad it f’d me up. That’s after only being on it for 3 weeks. Oh yeah almost forgot I got thrush - yeast infection in the mouth too. I’m not sexually active. It was 100% because of this poison. If you’re withdrawing, force yourself to exercise. It literally was a game changer. You can do it. Good luck
what mg were you on bc i was on 75mg for a few months and i just quit cold turku and i thought i had a brain tumor too😭 i’ll just be walking around and then my eyes will refocus for a second and i’ll get dizzy for a quick second and then i’ll be okay bjt it’s so annoying
My personal withdrawal symptoms:brain zaps feels like someone jostling my brain around(accompanied with sweeping noises,like someone is pushing a tiny broom around in my head),drunk disoriented feeling,dizziness,headache,nausea,vomiting,crying spells,Body aches,tremors,chills,anxiety and panic attacks that feel like fire running through my veins,insomnia,sweats and heart palpitations.This is HELL ON EARTH!
I just spent 3 months coming down from Venlafaxine, was taken 150mg a day. I did it slowly with my doctors help. Started tapering off 1st month at 112mg. The doctor had me take one 75mg and one 37.5mg a month then the second month I took one 75mg capsule and the last month 37.5mg. I'm on my third day of being permanently off of the Venlafaxine and I'm suffering from the side affix. Mine is insomnia and light headiness so far. There is no easy way in my opinion too come down from using this drug. I've been on Venlafaxine for 8 yrs. and well never take an anti depressant like this ever again.
Keith Mattox Hey Keith. Just wondering how you are doing now?
@@jameswalker68 Dont go this way James, you will regret it. Seek groups on facebook and you will learn.
@@Allanwify Thanks so much for getting back to me Pacer. I'm on a low dose by comparison to what I have been in the past, but am almost scared to try and come off it, and my treating psych is reluctant to take me off it completely due to several very bad episodes of depression in the past. Oddly, it has been a very good treatment for me, and things are pretty stable. Have you had any experience with it yourself? Can you recommend any good ones of those groups you mentioned? Thanks again for taking the time to respond. Hope all good with you buddy.
@@jameswalker68 Oh yes I´m just like you, many depression throughout my life. I´m not saying it does not work, but it is very very hard to come of for many people. Withdrawal can last for years if you are unlucky.
I was on 10 mg Effexor/Venlafaxine by slowly taper over years and things were looking good, then I decided to split the 10 mg up in 2 times 5 mg a day, after 5 days I became suicidal, severe headache, chills - so you need to be very careful with this drug, I thought I was! Also my brain felt like it was on fire - literally.
This group is very good: facebook.com/groups/effexorsupportgroup/?ref=bookmarks
@@Allanwify Ah, so sorry to hear all that buddy. Thankyou for the link. Are you off it altogether now, or still on the low dose due to it being too difficult to come off?
Dear Dr. Sal,
Question, would you EVER take this drug yourself?
If your answer is NO, then why are you still prescribing it to others?
You state is "only masks the symptoms" and has terrible side effects/withdrawal symptoms.
Effexor has the rare side effect of "homicidal ideation" and is one of the drugs Andrea Yates was on when she killed her 5 children. Sickening to know that doctors like yourself are still prescribing this horrible drug.
Dr Sal: Next question!
Maria Mangicaro he can't even spell compounding.......Dr Sal is a fraud, like all the others prescribing these rat poisons.
I'm going through my withdrawal right now...So far so so good. I'm not a Dr. but what I did was open my 37.5 mg capsules and split the little white granules in half. I put the loose granules in a small container, then I put the remaining granules back in the capsule to take the next day. I did that for 6 days which equals 12 doses. Haven't had a does in 3 days now. Feeling a little dizzy today. We will see how it goes. If I need to, I will split my 37.5 mg capsules into 4 parts to ease withdrawal symptoms. This is just my recipe for tapering, please follow your Drs. instructions first. : ) ( BTW I was taking Effexor XR for twenty years now. It all started with the Dr, prescribing it to me for PMS )
Thanks for sharing your wean strategy.
How's it going now are you still off Effexor?
I’m coming off of it now. Going on a 2 day break between pills and it’s hell. Went through a week of waiting one day between and it’s just crap. Brain zaps and anxiety 😥 i hope everyone’s coming off of it is doing okay and keep pushing, you can do this!
I'm having brain zaps, sweats and feverish feeling, and constant sleepiness. I'm definitely going to go get st John's wort to see if it will help with these side effects.
Been on Venlafaxine for about 18-19 years. Diagnosed with Dysthymic Disorder and bouts of Major Depression. Only side effect I get is dry mouth. I didn't understand how serious dry mouth is. After a few years my teeth stared falling apart, just chunks breaking off. I wear dentures now. One benefit, if you are nearing Menopause, Venlafaxine is your friend. I breezed through it! Basically I just stopped having periods. Only thing that's gone so easy for me! A few years later I heard that women who had been on it for some time had an easier time with menopause. I've tried a few times to get off Venlafaxine. Tapering ever so gradually, getting down to the smallest strength, then even emptying out some of the medicine to taper even more. Never made it past that. Got down that low but too sick, I caved and went back on each time. I'm ok if I die taking Venlafaxine, not going through that again.
No mention of all the horrible side effects WHILE taking the drug.
Amen to this!!!
So back here after a couple of weeks. Trying to get off this last 37.5mg has been truly awful. I've literally had to do as others have done, and open the capsule and count out the beads. I'm down to about 16 beads now, but still get the jiggy-jiggy eyes and zaps if I'm late taking them. Coming off the 37.5mg in one go was just not doable. I was out of commission for several days, unable to function at all. Nauseous, terrible brain zaps, dizzy, light-headed unable to concentrate, weepy, angry, frustrated. The CBD has been so very helpful and so thankful I stocked up on it.
I take this medication for resistant depression. I can go through withdrawals after only like two-three days of missing a dose. Just this morning, I went through one of the worse withdrawals, a never ending pain attack all day. When I have a pain attack, any pain I’m in goes up to eleven and my skin feels like it’s on fire. I ran to the doctor because I honestly thought I was dying. I had forgotten this medication. I thought I would rather be dead than hurt like this. Thankfully, my doctor recognized the pill immediately and asked if I had skipped any dose. A dose and a hard-core anti-anxiety pill later, I feel a little normal, if a bit shaky.
I need to get off of this. I can’t live like this.
These comments have me so scared, this is my 4th day taking it I think am going to stop taking it. Lord have mercy!
My doc didnt inform me how bad the side effects might get after quiting it
Did you stop taking it ? I am also in my 4th day, can it be stoped safely if you have only take 4 ?
I hope you stopped taking it!
I was on the lowest dose at 37.5 mg. This is my third anti-depressant. This drug has helped me control my thoughts but, I’ve had disturbing dreams and emotional bluntness from it. I’m coming off it now and it’s bad with the brain zaps.
I am on day three of cold turkey withdrawl from 75mgs for about 4 years..prior to that i was on 37.5. I am so nausea and dizzy..brain zaps...sounds like ducks quacking in my head...Also, headaches....overall I am ok, I should call my doc, but i just want it out of me....I am in such a better place mentally....Mine was definitely situational depression.
I've had withdrawal symptoms since beginning this medication and I started at the lowest dose. At one point it gave my COVID symptoms. I'm still getting headaches, nausea, body aches, dry mouth, and fatigue.. I'm definitely over this ish!
The highest I went was 75mg (extended release) and had to taper off on the tablets. I had to decrease by 12.5 mg every month or so and I just stopped about 5 days ago after being on 12.5 mg for 3 weeks previous. And, the withdrawal is so bad even though it ended on a low dose. But, I guess it makes sense if your body was at a steady state with the chemical. Yeah, the dizziness and brain zaps are the worst. If I quickly dart my eyes around the room, it feels like my brain jolts and it's accompanied by a whoosh noise. I just started getting extremely nauseous that all strong smells, whether pleasant and unpleasant, would make me gag. It's terrible! The mood swings, too. Yeah, let's not go there lol
Iv never felt happy or on top or the world on ven it levels me out
I feel like that’s what my “baseline” should be. Like not great just not like crap lol
Yeah, I never felt on top of the world on it either but twenty years on a drug for PMS is way too long. The Drs. will just keep on prescribing you refills unless you put a stop to it. In all fairness to the Drs out there, My marriage was pretty bad too so there was never a really good time to wean off until now. Sometimes the Dr. would keep prescribing the Effexor and increasing the mg dosage because of my ups and downs throughout my rollercoaster life.
Same!
I just feel like a normal person now. I can never imagine myself going off of it. Life has been great on venlafaxine.
Psychiatrist gave me prescription for this medicine (37.5mg) for moderate depression. After reading these comments, im really fucking scared to start this medication. Feels that i shouldnt even touch that shit.
Did you end up taking it?
Short term Valium or Ativan rx can cover the side effects. Long half life meds like Prozac can be useful too during tapers
Thank you for this video. My doctor completely lied to me about this drug and I wish I knew how to report him for it. He pushed this on me and any concern I mentioned about this drug he dismissed and acted as if I was worried for no reason. I have panic disorder, with NO depression at all. This drug seems Overkill and wrong for me. I do not want to take a drug that is so hard and impossible seeming to get off of. Might as well prescribe crack for energy improvement basically. This drug is horrible I'm going to have to find a new doctor that will prescribe me something that will help me not hurt me.
Krystal Rose I hope you find a great new doctor. I absolutely hate the type that push a certain prescription for extra cash. Why call yourself a doctor if you’re just a sales representative?
I hope you find something that works for you!
I've had a handful of times I went a week or more without being able to take venlafaxine due to refill errors. Here were my withdrawals in what I can best remember in order from earliest to latest:
1. "Fuzziness" /dizziness
2. Increased depression
3. Increased agitation
4. Extreme restlessness / can not sit still or lay down (this sounds minor, but it is actually excruciating)
5. Extreme anger and depression
6. Muscular "locking" in neck and jaw as well as uncontrollable yawning.
* The last 2 or 3 symptoms usually manifested after 7 to 9 days of not taking the drug
Last time I had to experience any of that was a few years ago, and it was probably the most physiologically excruciating thing I've ever went through.
That said, I'm a combat Marine veteran and passed kidney stones when I was 3 years old with a 104° fever.
God bless you man, thank you for your service, seriously. Hope you’re doing well now
@@Sdgsmith92 hey, I sincerely thank you for your concern. I'm still on venlafaxine, but luckily I haven't had any further issues with the VA being late on refilling my prescriptions.
Hopefully, at some point in time I'll be able to find an alternative medication that both works better (other benzodiazopines do not work for me) but also does not give horrible withdrawal symptoms like venlafaxine.
A doctor who tells you to alternate days doesn’t know what they’re taking about. That’s the medical yo-yo.
I’m going to die it feels like. I’d rather come off heroin than this.
It was truly awful. Had to break the pills and titrate so small I was only licking a grain at a time off of a finger and it was still hellish! Never knew something that unique style of bad.
Effexor makes me so nauseated! Sometimes it's so bad, I can't move my head or I'll just puke for hours, vomiting nothing! Spit, air, dry heaves. Miserable.
Thanks so much. I am still in withdrawal and it has been awful. My doctor didn’t do enough research and I didn’t take enough time. For me, a slower reduction over a year might have been best. I have had tremors in my solar plexus at night.
Thank you so much for this video. 💗
I want nothing more than to be done with effexor. I wish I had never started taking this horrible drug. The withdrawals are so terrible.
I'm definitely going to use your methods to rid myself of this prison that effexor has me in.
Very welcome. Everyone who wants off eventually makes it, it's just unpleasant for awhile.
Thought I could get off this shit over a long weekend, but its day 5 and the zaps are worse now. I can feel them all the way through my head and eyes, through the tip of my tongue. I gotta work tomorrow operating heavy equipment, guess I'll try St. John's Wort
I haven't taken my venlafaxine for a few days just because I ran out and didnt get around to making it to the pharmacy, and I've been having some crazy withdrawal symptoms. I honestly feel intoxicated, like I've been walking around in a fog. Borderline hallucinations, like I feel like I'm in a dream all the time. I also am having a hard time falling asleep, so the sleep deprivation and fogginess are proving to be a potent combination...
I will start taking it again so hopefully this goes away, but it makes me nervous as hell if I ever want to actually come off the drug
I’m currently in the process of going off this drug because it has managed to make my BPD worse than it already is. I started at 225 mg and got sent to 150. I’ve been on 150 for a week and I feel nausea, extreme dizzy spells, and general bad headaches. I literally can’t eat without getting sick right now (which isn’t good while having an Eating disorder). I wish I was never on this medication. It’s ruined me more than BPD ever did.
I have a terrible habit of not taking my meds (taking 275 mg per day), and it has shown me the withdraws almost immediately. I don’t want to take this pill forever, but I also don’t want to live with MDD either.
All of the comments that I have read are truly Horrifying. I have suffered with Chronic Pain for over 45 years and have recently , exactly nine months of getting off of Opiods. Seriously the hardest thing my body has gone through. I was overwhelmed with terrible Pain in my legs all day long. Some call it restless leg Syndrome. This drug changed my life, and for the Better. I could not have taken another day the Pain was sooo Severe. From 1-10, my Pain was a 9. Hopefully it will help people like myself, with Neuropathic Pain. God Bless each and every Soul Suffering.🙏
How long have you been taking it?
Coming off of it now on a schedule after almost three years. Truly I feel like this stuff is either going to ruin my life or my relationships. I’m stumbling, in pain, and so angry I almost punched my bathroom mirror. I’m all for medication (I’m on a new med myself) but please ask all the questions you can think of! Effexor is the only medication this has happened to me on, but it’s brutal. I think people assume I’m having opioid withdrawal!
I want you to know that everything you have described, is felt. This medication has robbed me of so many years and will because of going through an extremely slow scheduled withdrawal… I have literally only had a couple physical side effects when I first started taking medication, nothing has ever been like this… Nothing is okay about this.
I've been on these things for years, probably about 7 or 8 and I got down to 75mg and 2 weeks or so ago went cold turkey. I'm going to either die within the next couple of weeks or I'm going to be myself again, or close to it. Either way - I won't let these awful, life destroying pills control me any further. They've done so much damage, what I'm going through now might feel like hell, but I know I can get through it somehow. Yeah, even if it kills me.
I need to know where someone is now who's been off these things and through the withdrawal stage. How long did it take? Where are you now?
All the best to anyone reading this.
Wow, makes sense! When I was like 17, my mom couldn’t make it to the pharmacy to pick up my refill so I went without it for 2 days. From 150 mg a day to nothing.. brain zaps, dizziness, weird eye movements, panic attacks, uncontrollable crying. Sucked so bad!
I was put on this medicine when I was just 13 years old. I’m now 24 and have had some of the worst experiences because of this medicine. I had an issue with my insurance deciding the month of December didn’t exist for coverage after renewal. I had been taking 225mg. I couldn’t even drive my vision got so bad. Side affects started the first day from not taking it. I became extremely sick. I had to jump through loops dealing with insurance to get my prescription. Fast forward, I decided I needed to get off. I have 2 kids and cannot be put in that situation again. My doctor has been prescribing me lower doses, it’s been 5 months and I’m on the lowest dose. I’ve been lowering it by the 37mg every month. The side affects are still there, but they have subsided compared to the beginning. I’m not going to go into details, let me just emphasize that it’s painful and continues to be very difficult. I might go back up to 75mg, I don’t know how to make this better. Have I been on it too long to ever be normal off of it?
I was on Citalopram for anxiety for 5 years then I was prescribed 225mg by my Dr. After 1 week of constipation and nightmares I've gone cold turkey. This is my 4th day and I feel awful. I really hope I get better as this feeling is the worst in the world.
Hi Sean I hope you're doing better. If you get notified of this reply, could you let us know how you're doing and how long the withdrawals lasted?
Got pulled over once, officer thought I might be under the influence. I swiftly failed the test after begging to just forfeit the test. Once we were down town and I had a chance to offer up a sample, the officer let me know that he really was quite sorry, I was only his second case ever where he eyeballed it wrongly. Naturally, I was just happy for a ride home. Since then I try not to accidentally miss a dose from poorly timed refills.
DO NOT GO COLD TURKEY WITH EFFEXOR ! i HAVE quit Ambien and Klonopin , both controlled substances, cold turkey and tried doing the same with effexor. It was terrifying ! I dreamt of demons and had hallucinations. I could have easily hurt myself. Be responsible and get weened off with a doctor. You are not as tough as you think you are. This drug is extremely addicting to your brain chemistry.
What I can recall from being on this was when I missed 1 or 2 days & was a complete & utter mess, crying hysterically & was totally inconsolable 😑 really scared me but I’m on different anti depressants now & have missed days with them also but never with such negative side effects.
Many users have to open the last dose capsule and count beads to avoid terrible withdrawals. Do not skip days.
I have taken Effexor XR for 20 years. For the first 15 years took 37.5 daily. Increased to 75 mg daily for the past 5 years. Began tapering off two weeks ago. Dropped back to 37.5 daily. Will take this for a month and then stop. I notice I feel quiet and a little withdrawn but nothing else so far. I hope when I stop the 37.5 it will not be to bad. May alternate days for a couple of weeks. Thanks for the video.
I'm on 150 dose of Effexor. I have been on this dose for 21 years. It works so great but I'm concerned about ever coming off of it. I had debilitating anxiety which I tried a few things and this worked. My main concern about coming off of it is that I'm thinking my anxiety will come back again. 🥴🥴🥴
Currently coming off mine right now and I just want to fucking cry,my head feels so weird,I can’t move without my head feeling like it’s floating and spinning,I try and sleep it off only to feel worse when I wake up.
This is the second time I’ve come off these and honestly the worst thing to come off,I hate it
yeah its been 2 years for me and i still feel off. my brain feels like its on fire from time to time
Almost off of it. Definitely helped me get to a better place but once I was feeling better I wanted to feel that way naturally. Getting off this med is tough because it’s not a fast process. All I’m gonna say is that every time I’ve tried cold turkey ive ended up in a worse place. Don’t try it, just take your time and find your true friends and family that will help you struggle through :) we got this shit y’all
Currently dealing with both serotonin syndrome and withdrawal symptoms from Venlaflaxine, Methylphenidate and allergy medication. This is absolute hell. I feel like I’m going to die.
Hi, 10 months later... I'm where you were 10 months ago. Are you ok? Did you get through it? How long did it take you? Wishing you the best, fellow person who suffered but, I hope, got out the other side.
Thank you, very helpful and informative! May I suggest though to change your opening music to something a little less violent when you make videos for people that is struggling with their brain chemistry? I almost had a seizure 🤪
Sorry about that Aki. Problem making vids is they sound totally different on each system. I'll temper it down on future uploads.
I was prescribed this medication six years ago after losing my son. I’ve been on the lowest dose 37.5 mg for the last 2 years, and trying for over a year to taper! No matter what I try, Within the first week of tapering just slightly , I am in a living hell! Can’t work or function at all!! I find myself feeling like a prisoner on this drug with no choice but time off work that I don’t have, ultimately resulting in loosing my job… OR continue being enslaved to the medication! This is ridiculous!! Do they not think about this before they prescribe it??
I honestly wish I would have never started taking this medication! This should be illegal to prescribe! I’m worse off now than I was before I started it !! This does absolutely nothing to actually help somebody if you ask me!!
Sorry for your loss. 😔
I’m researching the best way to taper off my 150mg daily dose. A few sources suggest either direct switching or cross-tapering to another antidepressant with a longer half-life for the final taper down to zero. Venlafaxine/Effexor has a really short half-life compared to some of the others. I’m thinking of cross-tapering to either ecitalopram or sertraline, both of which I’ve taken in the past and successfully tapered off without major issues. I didn’t find either as helpful with my mood as venlafaxine, but I’m fine with switching back over for a while as part of the taper. I had no idea this drug was so different.
Thank you for sharing this. I've been weening off with my doctors assistance . 4 pills left . I just wanna be back in control with out them
Getting off this is hell.
There should be a warning before going on this drug.
The withdrawals are NOT WORTH IT. I don't know what to do. I tapered off and stopped after every other day of the 37.5 (took 150 for about a year). I keep having to run to the bathroom at my job (watching small toddlers) to shit. Like 9 times a day. Horrible vivid dreams. Random shivering even when I'm hot. Sweating like a pig all day. So tired at work even after a night of 8-9 hours of sleep that I nearly fall over sleeping standing up. Huge brain zaps. But by far the worst is the itchy, tingling sensations all over my skin, like I have bugs crawling all over me. It's been over a week! I may fucking choose to die before I go on dealing with this shit!
Thank you, I stopped taking 150mg on my own and I am almost 5 days in. I have the brain snapping which is my worst symptom. Along with dizziness, brain fog, and insomnia. I’m dealing with it, but something to help the symptoms would be helpful. I’ll try the St. John’s wort.
I’m doing the same but I’m on day 4 and these brain zaps omg! I feel worse on the meds! I hate the sick feeling so I’m gonna stick to it.
Iam currently on a medication called "CRF" Carlifornia Rocket Fuel it's a combination with "Venlaflaxin Effexor and Mirtazapine Remeron" This medication is really helping me out. Only side effect i have get is weight gain and when i get off the meds i will recieve the side effect you are describing in this video but mostly electric shock in the head.
3 months down from 300mg- 75mg. Now it's getting difficult to reduce it further but getting there.
I've been on Effexor for at least 10 years, the last few at 375 mg daily. Saw a new psychiatrist today after a move, and he said E is the worst antidepressant out there! Said he wouldn't give it to his dog lol. In his opinion, this has gone on for so long bc coming off it is so hard that no one wants to bother. He was legit appalled at the dosage and how long i'd been on it with no noticeable benefit. Past attempts to quit, both cold turkey and titrating down, landed me in the ER with intolerable withdrawals. Anyway, he's mapped out a 4 week plan to get me off it once and for all. I'm filled with dread at what's going to happen, but am going to trust his positive results with other patients who had used it for much longer.
are you off it now? i just want to know how it went !
@@occulthands I can't believe anyone remembers my post; ty so much for following up!
Happy to say I followed the 4 week instructions, and have been off Effexor since. There were no meaningful side effects or withdrawals. Idk if the underlying condition is better, but at least this poison is out of the picture.
Best wishes if you're gearing up to quit :)
@@shrimpie69 how are you now? You take it 10 years abd get off them?
@@Butterfly-vd4tg hello again! Pleased to report that I'm still Effexor-free with no troubling side effects. Legit thought I'd be on that poison the rest of my life! Are you considering a change?
@@shrimpie69 hey thanks. No i will never ever will take a drug or ssni or ssri or anti depressant again. My doc give it to me because of panic attacks and stress induced anxiety. It destroyed my life since 4 years. Evil drug
I was taking 150 mg and 75 mg for 9 months. Now I'm in the process of cutting off slowly.. it will take at least 3 months to cut them off completely and I can say I'm doing great. Yes, I have side effects. Insomnia and brain zaps. And I keep forgetting things? I don't know if that's a side effect.. anyway, I can handle it (for now lol). I'm suffering from generalized anxiety disorder and Effexor helped me a lot. I guess I'm the only one who feels that way? 😅 I don't know.. They really helped with my anxiety. I'm much happier, calm, relaxed.. it also helped that I was focused with my work, my kids, I also started to exercise more, going to antigravity yoga or for walks with my puppy while listening to music. My doctor warned me about 3 things: never miss a pill, never go cold turkey and should also help myself, don't rely on Effexor only.
Just sharing my experience, I'm not doubting those who had issues with Effexor. Wish you all the best ❤️
How you doing now?
same here, it helps me a lot
i ve been taking it for 3 months now i just decided to stop it. i ve been decreasing doses and then stop it
LOL, been off Pristiq for 4 weeks. Been freaking out, because panic returns. I have fight or flight vital signs. My Psychiatrist knows I am off all meds, because I have been on a litany of pharmaceuticals the past decade due to combat stress. It's amazing to feel the fear again; because it forces you to explore it's etiology.
I've taken a multimodal approach to healing.
I went from 150mg to 112.5mg for 2 weeks. No withdrawal symptoms. Then down to 75mg. First week at this dose I'm feeling mild brain zaps, mild fogginess and dizziness, mild headache, hungry but not really, irritable. Hoping this will subside on the second week at this dose. I have felt wonderful on this medication and hope I can feel as good without it.
I had tapered down for a total of 9 weeks. Ended December sometime. I am worse off then before I started. This should not be prescribed by a physician as there are many different types of antidepressants for different cases, it should be prescribed by a physiatrist who can diagnose your mental illness not at the hands of a family physician. Also physician who subscribes should highly recommend the person enrol in counci
The nightmares this drug gives me are starting to literally give me PTSD because they are so realistic and intense.
I feel so insany awful giga dizzy, stomach ache and sickness also brain shocks
Im actually crying because how awful i feel
I just dont have the mental strength zo withstand this....
I had to stop & I have this pain in my head like someone is slapping pot and pans on the right side of my head . Hands shake when I wake up I can’t sleep if I do I wake up a lot and usually drenched in sweat even thou I was shivering before I went to sleep
It ruined my life. I have crushing, disabling, head pain and tinnitus. I can't even function correctly.
I only started taking it to maybe help with motivational issues. I haven’t been taking it too long. Under 6 months. Only taking the 37.5mg twice a day. I ran out of pills and didn’t get it refilled due to an insurance issue and I feel like I can just not take it anymore since it wasn’t too big of a dosage in the first place. So far I’m just extremely dizzy and slightly nauseous.
I feel like I can do this.
Can't do it sir,not even witht he tapering. The nasua and headache and the hearing problems makes me want to die .I'm in my bed moaning ,vomitting and rubbing my head in the mattress, crying!
I can add another side effect to the list: severe body itching including burning skin during a shower and strange blisters on my skin ( and im not allergic)
So far throbbing eyes symptom for me was the worst. For some reason it felt like a small seizure x_x
I could handle sweating, nausea and insomnia
But those throbbing eyes man
Overall withdrawal symptoms felt like severe flu + being drunk.
Switching to a low dose of Prozac to come off Effexor is what my doctor spoke to me about. Currently a year and a bit on Effexor (75mg for 1 year, 125mg for 2 months) and having no issues with taking it daily.
My ENT prescribed Venlafaxine (ER 37.5mg) for my Vestibular Neuritis. He said it would take 2 weeks and my vertigo would be gone. I took one pill and
my vertigo was 80% gone in 2 hours. Hey great... At 4am I woke up with a blinding headache. Then I remembered reading watch your blood pressure if you take this.
So I take my blood pressure....197/121. Off to the ER I go. The ER Dr. gave me 0.1mg of Clonidine and in one hour my blood pressure was 117/74.
If I have to chose between Vertigo and a Stroke I think I'll go with the Vertigo.
It should be illegal to put people on medications like this that have such awful side effects when coming off of it! I would have insisted on trying something else first had I known!!
Only a American makes a happy and Holly/dolly intro to a topic, that literaly kills people in the thousands!
MY SISTER IS HAVING A HELL OF A TIME GETTING FREE OF THE STUFF.
How can I hear your voice over the music and brain zaps?
This drug has destroyed my daughters health. She weaned off as slowly as possible ,over several months. Now about 5 months later she has horrible stomach pain, cramping, nausea, and diarrhea when she eats. Some days she can barely function. How do you recover from that part?
Has she been checked over to ensure her symptoms aren't from another illness?
Might be unrelated.
How is your daughter now?
My withdrawal lasted almost 2 weeks. It was actual hell i went thru crazy derealization and i was so sick and dizzy, couldnt stop throwing up and shaking
I stoped from half 37.5 mg and toltaly crashed with depression and anxiety. I hate this drug and I will never ever take this again. Now its week 6 and Im still having anxiety all day long and I even started on sertraline 4 weeks ago!
Took venlafaxine for 5 years.
Sertraline is a pure SSRI. Effexor is an SNRI. Might need some augmentation with some N through something like Wellbutrin - bupropion. Stay strong.
How long did your physical symptoms of withdrawal last? I am on day 4 of being off 37.4 mg and I am so sick physically and mentally.
I was happy with thIs drug until it stopped working aswell after 2 years. Im down from 150mg to 30mg now. I tappered down the dose 10mg a week.
i sweated the whole time when on a effexor, only now at 30mg has it stopped for the most part. I found the hardest withdrawal to be anxiety dreams really badly but theu have reduced over the last two week. Thank god. Dont be foolish and just stop taking the drug. Go really slow!
GL
The side effects can be debilitating and can last for months or years if you come off too fast! be careful! Many doctors don't know about this.
Gone from 300 to zero, cold turkey. 1 wk down, pretty f'ing horrible. Did you do this, how long did it last?
@@davidralph2188 Killed me for 3 months…Went back on it. 😰😰
I went from 225ER to 4 days of 150ER to 4 days of 75mgXR then nothing. On it for a year. Literally cannot see straight and am a general mess. Don't take it!!!
At my worst I was on 300mg per day of Venlafaxine. Some missed doses gave me such horrible feelings of dread, claustrophobia and anxiety/panic attacks that I told myself I couldn't do this any more. I worried what would happen if I didn't have access to it anymore for whatever reason. The short story is I weaned myself down to 50mg per day and even now I still worry if the medication was not available what would happen. I can deal with most of the side effects but not the one I described above. It is totally traumatizing.
Hi hope you're doing ok I am coming off it and very similar symptoms to you 💓
@@sarahperks8226 Hi Sarah 🙂 Thank you for your concern and likewise, I truly hope you are doing ok weaning yourself off!
If you ever feel like talking about it, I am all ears. I'm sure we could find a suitable medium if so. Good luck and take care!
Trying to come off this drug is absolute hell. It should be the last resort.