What is the best way to quit an anti-depressant??

Question

Hello.
This is a serious question. I have been on the anti-depressant "Effexor ER" the one that is time released and comes in capsules NOT the tablets.
I have recently decided to to quit them do to the fact that i don't believe that they are doing me any good anymore.Also, if i forget to take them one day I get really dizzy and nauseous . I am not liking that and it is making me believe that I am becoming reliant on them and I dont want to have to take a pill for the rest of my life!
So. My question is what is the best way to quit them and is there a way to do it without the dizzy feeling??
I figured I would ask here incase there might be a doctor that reads these rather than pay money for what I think I know the aanswer is already...which is "you just have to quit them slowly and deal with the dizziness." i hope there is another way.
THANKS FOR YOU ANSWERS!

Answer 1

I was on Effexor XR too....please listen carefully. When you go off of this medication it is very important that you go off this medication particularly slowly....if you don't you could suffer serious side effects such as seizures....I quit an antidepressant once the wrong way and I now suffer from Grand Mal seizures...you don't want that....

Okay depending on how much you are on, you need to decrease the amount you are taking down to the next highest amount. So say you are on 150 mgs....you need to reduce it to 100 mgs...I forget how the capsules come because it has been awhile....but you need to do it by the next highest dosage. And when you decrease, you should do that for a minimum of a week....I am serious....I have even heard that with Effexor it has been recommended to wean yourself off for months however I didn't do that....Anyway, go down from 150 to 100 to 50 etc....depending on how much you are taking....like I said I forgot how they came because it has been a couple of years since I took them....just do it week by week.....you will feel crappy, the dizziness and bad feelings from withdrawal are common with Effexor and Effexor XR...If you think of what it does it makes sense. It alters your brain chemistry and you are removing those drugs out of your system thus changing your brain chemistry again....

Just don't rush it....take it slow and make your doctor aware that you are no longer taking the medication...It doesn't mean you are committing yourself to going back for more trials of antidepressants. That is all up to you. You have to decide that for yourself. These doctors like to make people believe there is a cure for everyone's depression and I am living testament that that is simply not true. If the drugs make you sick, don't let them make you sicker....I entrusted my care to doctors for years. I took almost every SSRI out there. I listened to them when they said they could help me and now I have a seizure disorder that I have to take medication for and those meds have ravaged my body....I don't want to scare you but I want you to be informed that doctors don't always tell patients the risks of these medications....they are practicing medicine...essentially using us all as guinea pigs to see if they can make combinations of drugs work on our brains and sometimes they can alter our brain chemistry even more so making life even more difficult....

Good luck and take care of yourself....make sure to eat well and get plenty of rest during this period of withdrawal....

Answer 2

Don't just stop if you get dizziness. If you get dizzy talk to a doctor. I had a problem with one of my medications once, I have epilepsy (lots of anti-depressants are also anti-convulsants). I didn't realize how bad it was getting but it was just sort of gradually getting worse.
I was getting sort of dizzy, I was coming off of some medication gradually and I was getting to be this way (I was getting sick of the side effects of depakote), . Seemed to just be a bad headache most of the time. I complained to my doctor but he said the stuff I was on is for migraines also, should be going away after my body adjusts.
One day it was just another bad headache, but it's just a day I had gotten used to. I go to work then get back at the usual hour. It gets to be 7 PM & I realize that I am not hungry and I have not eaten all day. Whenever I drink something I immediately have to go to the bathroom, urine comes out the color of water.
I realized something is seriously wrong here. If I keep doing this I am going to continue to be thirsty and not hungry. I dial 911 since I can't find anybody around. They get over to my place and ask me why I called for help. I tell them my story and they say my insurance is already stuck with the bill now so they'll take me to the hospital. They take a blood sample there at the hospital. Sodium levels in my blood were dangerously low.
I had to lay in a bed at the hospital with a tube stuck in my arm for 2 days so things could be stabalized in my blood. If I would have kept ignoring those side effects I'd be dead.
Don't just think you can quit this without professional supervision. Personally I never like to hear about side effects with any kind of medication such as this.

Answer 3

Anti depressants are classed as non addictive as they are less likely to be abused people do however get addicted to meds used for aniety and depression usually antipsychotics or tranquillizers eg trazadone olanzapine xanax diazepam temazepam lorazepam etc as this not only take the bad feelings away they can also make you feel stoned/drowsy and some people become addicted to this feeling. If withdrawn correctly and slowly by gp over a period of time side effects should be quite mild or non existent they are usually strong if someone stops taking these meds abruptly and therefore their anxiety or depression increases tenfold you can also suffer from this if you stop taking trong painkillers abruptly. All withdrawal should be discussed with gp and there are national drugs help lines who can refer you to a call center that deal solely with antidepressant addiction.

Answer 4

I am taking effexor too 300mg. I know what you mean about the awful dizziness even if they're taken late. One doctor told me to stop taking them and start straight away on another tablet. The effects after 3 days off effexor were terrible. I had to see emergency gp and go back on them. It's not that you get addicted to them, it's just a shock to your system to not have them. So now, when I do get off them, I'm gonna do it oh so slowly. It was too bad the other way.
Sometimes I wonder what good my tablets are doing, then I think maybe I'd be worse without them and I don't wanna risk that.
So to be a complete bore, sorry, but I'd say is it wise to quit now?
Would you get worse, and definitely don't do it suddenly.

Answer 5

I used to take Paxil for anxiety and if I missed one for some reason I would feel kinda funny so I know what your saying. I tried to take one every other day after about 18 months on them and got sick and threw up so I just quit, and seemed to get over it within 2 -3 days I was fine and no longer needing them. I honestly believe my prayers had a lot to do with it more than anything. Please consult a doctor before you try anything though even just call your doctors office and ask over the phone it's free and the smartest thing to do, I hope this helps and you get through this fine :)

Answer 6

You have to slowly taper yourself off of them if you don't want to have to deal with the intense withdrawals. What I did was start taking them every day and a half (one day in the morning, the next at night, skip a day, repeat) and then once every other day at night and so on until I felt that I could handle the more minor withdrawals. Good luck!

Answer 7

Its brutal getting off these pills. It can be like 4 days of pure torture. I tried doing it gradually and it didnt help,just prolonged it. Might as well just stop,Ive dont that too. Ive been off a long tiime now and acually its mind over matter. Be sure to drink alot of water,avoid surger thatll make the dizziness worse.

Answer 8

You'll have to ween yourself off of them. Try going a few days at a time with out them and when you feel dizzy, take the pill. Eventually, you will work your self up to a few weeks and you'll be off the pill.

Answer 9

If you are seriouse about not taking them you need to do it slowly, you will need to wean yourself off of them, if you can cut your pills in half (or take one less if you take several). Regardless, it has to be graduall. Just don't go cold Turkey.

If you stop immedietly your depressive symptoms could amplify dramatically causing you to feel even worse than you do.

Answer 10

the best way is to ween yourself off of them...when i was on 60mg of Paxil per day, I quit them cold turkey, talk about a bad idea...that was such a high dose and to quit it right away, made my body crazy...

when i quit cold turkey, i literally felt drunk all day...i couldnt walk straight or even drive...it was horrible...i went to my doctor and she said that you cannot do that with anti-depressants...its sending a shock through your body if you just stop them...

ween yourself off of them...thats what most doctors will tell you