Effexor XR Mild Depression, Clean Slate, Bad Spell, Depressed State, Effexor

Posted over a year ago

I am 32 yr old male who has battled mild depression off and on, that at it's worse causes me to basically not be able to function or focus, and spend the day in bed. I have taken Zoloft in the past, off and on, but then it seemed that it no longer has the same affect it first did (maybe because it got switched to generic since the first time) and so after stopping it in December '08, and after a recent very bad spell of depression recently, my doctor and I decided I should try something new. He prescribed Effexor. I started at 75mg and went up to 150mg which I've been on for the last 6 months or so. As far as being on the drug, it has been great with no noticeable side effects at all. I easily got myself out of that depressed state and back to "normal". So the drug does what it is supposed to do, for me, keeping me from getting those lows that may spiral into a prolonged depression spell. ... more »

However, after having read the side effects that occur when coming off the drug, as well as my own experiences when simply missing a dosage by a few hours, I personally decided to get myself off the drug for hope that there is something better out there that won't mean a hellish period if I were to come off of it. This, coupled with exercising more, and discovering I have sleep apnea so that there may be a correlation between getting terrible sleep each night (which I can now fix) and my depression, lead me to want to get back to a "clean slate" with any drugs for depression. So I started by doing an every other day dosage of the 150mg. The first day off was pretty bad, as I got the dizzy, foggy brained, head spins that everyone has experienced, but also was wired that night and unable to sleep hardly at all. Within a few hours of taking the next day's dosage, it was gone. Then the next off-day, was again a mess, but a little bit less so.. and soon by the 3rd off day of the first week I was able to pretty much make it through the day without the spins. So that's where I am now, about to try to go 1 day dosage, 2 days off, so I'm fully expecting a terrible week. The thing that must be realized in this, is that not only do you have that off day hell, where you really can't do anything or be a normal person, you continue that until you actually take the next day's dosage. So really I've only had small blocks of time during this weening off procedure where I have been feeling good and close to my normal self. I wouldn't say that the depression is back or anything, but it is simply those side effects mentioned that have kept me pretty much grounded. I'm hoping that I can get myself off it before I would need to refill my prescription, but I'm going to be cautious to make sure I don't just jump off of it too quickly.

My recommendation for anyone looking to find something for their seasonal or mild depression, is to look elsewhere. The results of actually taking the medications are positive as they did what they are supposed to do, but I don't believe the side effects when missing a dose (if only for a few hours) or when having to come off the drug, are worth it. There are likely other, less severe, drugs or methods to deal with your depression. And trust me, this is coming from someone who has been in those down days or weeks where you can barely get yourself out of bed to eat, and knows he's needs "something" to right his ship.

5 Replies

Dmbfreak - An update to my post It's been going well since I've been doing 1 day on, 1 day off.. even though at first that one day off is pretty bad (most notable symptom is "brain zaps", like you're dizzy but not really and you turn your head but your brain takes a second to follow, also feels like your brain is pulsating.) Anyway, now at the point where one day off isn't bad, so moving up to 1 day on, 2 days off.. yesterday was the 2nd day, and the last 18 hours has been a living hell. I won't get into too much detail, but the brain zaps get worse, to the point that you think you're having an aneurysm, you feel like you have the flu but don't, you can't sleep, you go through every emotion possible for no reason (I cried off and on for 2 hours watching movies.. it would just come onto me like an earthquake of emotions), and I was even having these "3d" vivid and lucid dreams (which is saying alot since mine are always vivid) the minute I closed my eyes before even falling asleep, where it felt like I was on some hallucenigenic drug. I woke myself up at some point fearing for my life and yelling out my sister's name for no reason. It's very obvious that everything I'm experiencing is directly related to being off of the drug for going on 72 hours now. I cannot function at all, as I've decided to just stay in bed today to let it run it's course. This is fine for me since I own my own business and work from home, but someone who's life depends on being able to actually get to work and function at a normal level, will never be able to do it. I've read things about taking Omega-3 fish oil pills, at least 3 grams, to stave off some of the brain zap symptoms, and also taking a supplement drug that relieves the symptoms but is easy to stop once you're ready. I am going to look further into this. I know you are supposed to work with your doctor to ween yourself off any drug for depression, but I have taken Zoloft in the past and was easily able to take care of the weening process on my own. This drug is on a whole different level. So I certainly recommend trying to work with your doctor to figure out the regiment to get you off of it. You should not have to suffer through these debilitating withdrawal symptoms. Personally, I pay for my visits to the doc out of pocket, so I tend to avoid it as much as possible and thought I could handle it. But I am going to now finally contact my doctor to figure out what the best course of action is. I'm tempted to just suffer through however many days or weeks it will last if I just stopped cold turkey, hoping that it is like pulling off a band aid and trying to avoid prolonged agony by pushing all the pain up front, but I think it's a bad idea. I'll try to update more as I move forward to let you know my progress and what steps I take to get myself off of this drug. Again, the drug worked and may be necessary for some people. So I do not blame the medical field, the pharmaceutical companies, or science for trying to create something that can be a benefit to many people. But just know the risks off coming off it, if and when you have to. For me, the balance tips heavily into avoiding the drug, as the withdrawal is not worth the benefit it was giving me. Anything that can do this to my body cannot be a good thing to take for mild depression.