Effexor XR Brain Zaps, Pexeva, Cold Turkey, Withdrawls, Outloud
Posted over a year ago
I am going on day 4 of stopping my Effexor cold turkey. I was on 300 mg and taking 20 mg of Pexeva. I am stopping cold turkey after being on this medication for three years. The withdrawals are terrible, I don't know why any doctor in their right mind ... more »
I am going on day 4 of stopping my Effexor cold turkey. I was on 300 mg and taking 20 mg of Pexeva. I am stopping cold turkey after being on this medication for three years. The withdrawals are terrible, I don't know why any doctor in their right mind would ever prescribe this medication for anyone. I have those wonderful brain zaps every ten seconds, the only thing that momentarily makes me sane is food, as if the 30 pounds this medication has gained me aren't enough, stopping it is going to pack on another 30. I am a bundle of anger and rage directed at anyone within distance. I am at the toilet every night waiting and praying that I can just throw up. When I finally can fall asleep I am jolted awake in a puddle of sweat having just had yet another nightmare. And when I say nightmare, I mean the kind that have me screaming out loud in terror waking my husband. Minor daily tasks are ignored due to the fact that putting one foot in front of the other is too much to handle. I can't stand this feeling and only pray for the day that it will stop.
Laceyann - I too am on my 4th day of stopping (cold turkey) taking Effexor xr. I know what you're going through because I'm right there with you. I keep praying every morning that I can/will throw up. I'm having severe stomach cramps and brain pangs. I'm even seeing the chrome dots everywhere if I stand up too fast. For me the food thing is opposite. If I smell food, think about food, or even drink tea (my favorite beverage) my stomach hurts and my mouth starts watering as if I'm going to throw up. I told my husband if I didn't know any better, I would swear that I was Pregnant. But I KNOW I am NOT!!
Gday51 - I can sympathize. I am also going cold turkey. I am in day 6 of withdrawal. Still getting the zaps but not as often. Nausea still there- 7up helps but then I get the chills. Sometimes the blankets won't stop the deep cold. Then just as sudden as the cold came on, the excessive sweating will arrive - at least this warms me up for awhile. I usually don't vomit but have had a few bouts; mainly suffering from never ending diarrhea. I am hoping to lose some of the 15lbs I have gained from this med. I have experienced a skin rash which developed in the first month of taking effexor. I have tried everything to clear this rash but i think it is getting better. Not itching like it has been. I feel like the worst is almost behind me and things will only get easier from now. Good luck
Lowandleft - Hi all - hang in there. I was on Effexor XR 75mg for 2 months and decided that the side effects outweighed the benefits. SO, over the past month I've weened and stopped 5 days ago - here's what I did: 10 days at 37.5 mg, then opened capsules and took 20 less beads for a week, 40 less, etc. Eventually, for the final 10 days, I took 25 beads/20/15 (with yogurt) - then DONE. I've done ok w/ the withdrawal - the worst has been the dizziness/vertigo along with somewhat of a slowed thought process/speech. BUT, I'll deal w/ that happily based on what I've read this COULD be like. All the best to each of you :)
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Terrenlee - I am on effexor XR 135mg? and i am starting to feel i dont want to be on this medication and after reading all these side effects everyone is complaining about im wondering how good this medicationt actually is for my body if my body is going to go through so much withdrawl what is it doing to me? i dont understand any of it now im scared and i want off this medication right away even more than ever before!
Browneyedgurl2 - Why would anyone in their right mind prescribe this medication if the withdrawal symptoms are so horrible? Maybe because YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO QUIT COLD TURKEY. Any doctor would agree. If you had spoken with your doctor and told them you had wanted to come off the medication most likely they would have switched your medication to another one with a half life that isn't so short (aka the reason for bad withdrawal symptoms with sudden onset) so that they could wean you down at a reasonable rate so you wouldn't get side effects. That and if you were had been at a place where you needed 300 mg of effexor you should at least be smart enough to realize that there's something with you that you need help with (whether it's counseling or not) and that you probably shouldn't just stop your medical/biological part of your treatment cold turkey. Effexor is a wonderful tool to help with certain mental illnesses, but it is only a tool. It only goes so far. It will put you in a normal biological and chemical state so that you can think clearly and with some help make the right decisions that probalby led to you needing the medication in the first place. Without the will and the desire to change yourself you will not find ANY medication that will make you feel better. Most people who bash these medications are people who expect them to fix everything that is wrong with them and that is just not the case. There is nothing wrong with Effexor. Only the people who abuse it because of ignorance.
-An Effexor user who has used it and no longer needs it and had a 99% symptom free withdrawal.
Ginrummy83 - I have to say that this isn't halt as bad as I thought it would be. I was on 150 mg for 2 years and with the help of my fiancé decided to get off effexor xr for good. First before doing anything, I looked online and read all the posts I possibly could about what to expect. I was petrified hearing about all the brain shocks the psychiatric wards at the hospital and the list goes on but I decided to do it anyway and stick with my decision no matter what. I called the actual effexor manufacturer and they basically just wished me luck but said I should be fine. Day one I kept busy cooking, baking and relaxing. I felt a bit dizzy and nauseous but nothing unbearable. Day two was the same but day three was a bit worse. The manufacturer said it takes three days for the meds to fully leave your system and then you have up to two weeks to start experiencing withdrawal. Day four wasn't fun. I was nauseous to the extreme, dizzy to the point it was uncomfortable to move my eyes and the diareah! Ew! I just kept telling myself to relax, it's just the medication. Today is day six and I'm still not feeling 100% but I'll live. Anything is better then being back ON the effexor. I don't blame my doctor for putting me on this, I blame myself for not better researching every single aspect of this very serious drug before allowing it to enter my system. It might take one more day, one more week, a month etc. but I'll get through this and I'll learn from this to be more aware and less trusting just because someone is a doctor. They're just regular people trying to make a living. It's up to us to make our own decisions. So to all the cold turkey quitters, the gradual weeners and the too scared to quitters, just know a) don't read all the incredibly negative, scary and awful postings out there, do your own research and respect your own body; b) for me doing nothing but laying on the couch watching t.v. or sleeping, eating without worrying about putting on weight, taking it easy and relaxing, keeping positive and remembering this is the medication withdrawal and I'm going to be fine, a little salad with olive oil, salt, pepper and APPLE CIDER VINEGAR ( look up the benefits for nausea) were the key to getting through this. Take off from work for as long as you need and RELAX! Pretend you have cancer and the only way to fight it is to sleep, eat, relax, pray, smile, and be strong. You'll be just fine. When my withdrawal is totally over and complete, I'll try to post again and let you know how it went. In the words of Bob Marley: "don't worry about a thing because every little thing is gonna be alright".
Emmalar - I agree with Browneyedgurl with the cold turkey, weening yourself down is the healthy way to come off anything, especially meds! I was only on 37.5mg for 4 months, and cut down over 2 months. Although 37.5mg is not a high dose I still wanted to look after my body! I have now fully stopped for 5 days, I get brain zaps first thing in the morning and at night but nothing major!
What are these zaps?
I hope you are all OK now :)
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