Effexor and withdrawals

I am one of those who take Effexor XR 150mg as part of a pain management regimen, as opposed to depression. I've had two major back surgeries that left me with arthritis and some internal scarring that causes acute, long-term back pain. Apparently, certain ani-depressants are also starting to be used to treat pain in combination with drugs like Vioxx and Ultram.

I have been on Effexor for nearly two years now. I never noticed any side effects until about a year ago when I thought I was coming down with the flu. My symptoms got steadily worse until I started to fear meningitis or even West Nile virus. I had terrible head and neck ache, neausea and dizzyness. It wasn't until I went to my pain management doctor that we figured out my symptoms started about the same time I had forgotten to take my Effexor and when I started taking over the counter cold medicine I had decided to stop taking some of my meds since I was unsure of the interactions. This turned out to be the wrong idea with the Effexor.

I was suffering from seratonin withdrawals and by the time I saw my doctor I was nearly passing out on the floor. They had neglected to tell me NOT to stop taking the Effexor. Now, I notice that if I miss a dose by even a couple of hours, I start to get dizzy and a headache.

Conversely, on a recent international trip, with jet lag I made a mistake in the time difference and took two doses within 12 hours of each other. Again, I had many of the same symptoms, but this time, even when I waited an entire 24 hours to let the extra drug exit my system, the symptoms pesisted for nearly a week before I stabilized again. Turns out the chemical(s) in Effexor have a half life of 7 days. Consequently, I had a hard time getting back on it without throwing everything out of balance.

I plan to have myself weaned off during my next visit with the doctor. I just feel fortunate that I have that option when so many others do not.

I'm sooooo glad to be off this "nightmare" drug. I had to stop it cold turkey almost 4 years ago because I found out I was pregnant. The withdrawals had me in bed for 2 days, crying, unable to sleep, wanting to die....it was horrible. Not to mention the 50+ pounds of weight gain over the two years I was on the stuff. If I was even a couple hours late with my dose, I (and everyone else around me) noticed that I would get very angry and mean. Here is some advice for anyone out there taking Effexor and having bad side effects....go back to the doctor and get him/her to prescribe something else...there are MANY good drugs out there that have minimal side effects.