Withdrawal...Please help!!?

Question

I have just stopped taking my effexor, I was taking 150 mgs when I stopped. I know you are not suppose to just stop taking this stuff cold turkey, but when I took it, it made me so sick, I would be in the bathroom with dry heaves and ready to pass out. I was on it for 3 weeks total. I am having bad withdrawal effects now, like nausea (extremely bad) and bad stomach cramps, dizziness, fatigue and brain zaps. It's horrible and I was wondering what would help with some of these effects. I don't recommend this drug to anyone, and I never heard about this withdrawal from it until I recently researched it. What can I do to feel any better? Thank you!!!

Answer 1

Only 3 weeks on the medicine should not result in such severe discontinuation symptoms: in fact, it is just barely enough time to begin to notice any therapeutic effects. It is possible that your symptoms are due to something else entirely. Most people have little difficulty if they cut back on the medicine by about 37.5 mg/ week (until reaching zero). Your reaction seems quite extreme (particularly given that you took the medicine for such a short time, and presumably at a relatively low starting dose).

You would be wise to see you physician for a workup. It is quite possible that there is something else going on here.

Hang in there,
~M~

p.s. In the meantime, stay well hydrated and get some rest.

p.p.s. Is there ANY chance that you could be pregnant? If so, you need to test right away. In fact, other than the "brain zaps" (which are not terribly uncommon when d/c ing effexor after long periods of time or high doses), your other symptoms (including the "dry heaves" while you were on it) sound a good bit like pregnancy.

Answer 2

Various detoxifications regimes may help. I have had desirable meds removed this way. What I would do my self (besides NEVER stopping without tapering SLOWLY even 3week) is Bitter Melon (Ampalaya , bittter gourd/cucumber) . Eat at least a cup a day, more if you can, That's about a small , half a med or third of a big one.

It is best tolerated stir fried with tomatoes/ acid flavor and break an egg over it at the end to coat and just set the egg, not long heat. I like lots of onion garlic chili too. I just found a way yesterday with essentially not bitter. The Aroy D or other canned curry, stir fry melon until browned a bit with whatever you want, toss in can of curry and it goes down easy. (not sure how healthy the curry is -oily)

It could be something else, but ampalaya is a 'cure all' I lost my diabetes, high triglycerides and cholesterol to this vegetable. I think it helped my hypertension and uti. Traditional for much more

Answer 3

i recommend never taking any maoi again. i took them for years and quit and refuse to ever take any more. it sounds more like you have anxiety issues. i quit mine cold turkey because i could not stand the effects of it either. i also had severe reactions to effexor. i suggest you talk to your doctor about taking clorazapate. it is a generic for tranzene. i take 1/2 tablet of the 7.5 mg every morning and i don't have anxiety or depression problems. plus, this drug is extremely less addictive and way less side effects than any other thing i have taken. the only side effects i have was a little drowsy effects for the first week or two. i have been taking this prescription for several months and have found marvelous results. good luck and don't let those doctors talk you into their cooky drugs. i think they get paid from the medicine companys for prescribing them. i recommend you see your general practitioner rather than a psychiatrist. your regular doctor knows your medical history better than a psychiatrist and knows how you will react with your meds.

Answer 4

Try ginger for your nausea, or peppermint tea.
Candied ginger tastes better than plain ginger root, and is still better than ginger ale which now has no ginger in it whatsoever.
"Ginger Bears" are a candy I buy at Cost Plus World Market that has all the ginger and not so much bite. It will help with your nausea.
Peppermint tea at night helps settle my stomach before bedtime. It might also help with reducing stomach cramping.
Try some enzymes like Q-10 coenzyme and some lactobacillus acidophilus (Found in most yogurts). Live cultures in yogurts will help bring back up your digestion so you can eat again, enzymes will help you digest your food so you retain more.
Try seeing if someone can give you regular massages on your back, neck, and scalp for the dizziness and fatigue. Heat on your back, neck and shoulders sometimes helps with relaxation so your symptoms are reduced. If you can, try taking regular hot, soaking bath instead of showers and put heated up towels on your body for direct heat. (you can take hand towels and put them through a hot dryer for 30 minutes, then take them out and wrap them around you, or try wetting and wringing out 2 hand towels, place in microwave, and heat up for 45 seconds, and put them on your spine and neck.)
As for brain zaps, quit drinking coffee, colas, or any form of caffeine, even chocolate. Feed your brain with soups and salads, reduce your sugar intake, and try some fresh squeezed orange juice and some pomegranate juiceinstead of sodas. (My favorite mixer is pomegranate juice or cranberry juice in 7UP.) Also fun - get a good vegetarian cookbook and learn to make some of the vegetable recipes to put more variety in your diet to appeal to your appetitie so you can eat again.
Make yourself walk outside and breathe fresh air for at least 20 minutes every day. Find a place to sit in the sunshine and get some sunshine, energy, and Vitamin D from the sun for at least 20 minutes each day.
Hope you feel better soon. A good homeopathic practitioner may help reduce your original symptoms with herbs and give you some relief.

Answer 5

Call a Pharmacist right now! Seriously.. You can't just mess around with drugs!

And you should have called your Doc and told them what was going on.. they could have changed the dosage or the drug possibly.

Answer 6

My wife experienced the same thing, you can't stop cold turkey.
She was told to slowly decrease her dose over a period of 1 week. she did this and it worked out.

Hope this helps you.

Answer 7

call your doctor