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Mood Disorder Community
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Administrator
Administrator
14912 Posts
Gratitude: 593
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 Posted - 05/30/2005 : 14:08:22
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Dear Members,
BIZARRE NEUROLOGICAL WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS
My patients are reporting experiencing very upsetting neurological withdrawal symptoms when rapidly coming off venlafaxine (Effexor). These vague, but very upsetting, neurological symptoms are hard for my patients to describe. One patient said "it was like my brain was going off and on". One thing was certain, my patients had never experienced anything like this when coming off previous antidepressant medications.
MY PATIENT THIS MORNING
This morning I saw one such patient. Two years previously, she had an excellent response to venlafaxine (Effexor). After a year on venlafaxine, we slowly phased it out over 3 months without any withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. Unfortunately, this year she had a severe relapse, and her depression didn't improve with my restarting her venlafaxine. Thus, after 3 months on venlafaxine, I decided to phase out her venlafaxine over 10 days in preparation for starting a new antidepressant. That proved to be a medical disaster.
I have never seen this patient as severely depressed and suicidal as she was this weekend. In addition, she had these very unusual neurological withdrawal symptoms ("like my brain going off and on"). Yesterday, we restarted her venlafaxine (quickly back to 75 mg twice a day). Within 4 hours of restarting venlafaxine, she was dramatically improved. Today, she was free of the severe suicidal ideation that was so intense yesterday. She was smiling and dramatically less depressed (all in less than 24 hours after restarting venlafaxine).
IS THERE A SEVERE VENLAFAXINE (EFFEXOR) WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME?
The fact that this patient became so suicidally depressed on phasing out venlafaxine, and dramatically (in 4 hours) improved once back on venlafaxine strongly suggests that venlafaxine causes a severe withdrawal syndrome.
The manufacturer of venlafaxine has not alerted physicians to the possibility of it having a severe withdrawal syndrome. I had never witnessed this severe withdrawal syndrome previously, since I had always taken 2 months to slowly wean my recovered patients off venlafaxine. Thus, I would conclude that this severe withdrawal syndrome only occurs if venlafaxine is rapidly withdrawn.
I have apologized to my patient for accidentally putting her through such a severe withdrawal syndrome. I think it is now time for the manufacturer of venlafaxine to apologize for not alerting the mental health community as to the existence of this severe withdrawal syndrome for venlafaxine.
Except for this severe withdrawal syndrome (on sudden discontinuation), I have found venlafaxine otherwise to be a very safe and effective antidepressant.
POSSIBLE REMEDY
First, ensure that your doctor takes 2-3 months to slowly wean you off venlafaxine (or 3-4 months if you were at a high dose of venlafaxine for years).
If severe withdrawal symptoms occur when you slowly try to withdraw from venlafaxine; I would suggest starting fluoxetine (Prozac) before attempting any further decrease in venlafaxine. After 1 week at 10 mg/day of fluoxetine, then the next week at 20 mg/day of fluoxetine; start to slowly decrease the venlafaxine by 37.5 mg every 2-3 weeks (depending on the severity of your withdrawal symptoms). Once you have fully withdrawn from venlafaxine, you can easily withdraw from fluoxetine.
ONLY TWO ANTIDEPRESSANTS HAVE A SEVERE WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME:
There is only one other antidepressant medication, Paxil (paroxetine) that has a potentially severe withdrawal syndrome (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfQUTHrWnRk). Most individuals can avoid this withdrawal syndrome by taking 2-3 months to slowly come off paroxetine.
WARNING ABOUT USE IN PREGNANCY:
In order to prevent a newborn baby going through a severe withdrawal syndrome at birth; neither Paxil (paroxetine) nor Effexor (venlafaxine) should be used during pregnancy.
COULD I ASK FOR YOUR HELP?
I would like to ask our community members if they have had any difficulty coming off venlafaxine. Thank you for your assistance.
Phil Long M.D.
Administrator 
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| fiona™©
Full Member (100+ posts)
105 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 02:02:33
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I was on Venlafaxine 375mg for over a year. If I remember correctly I took one capsule in the morning and two at night. If I so much as forgot to take just one of my prescribed doses I experienced what felt like electric shocks in my brain every time I moved my head. A very unpleasant experience. As for coming off venlafaxine altogether I am unable to remember the details. This was done during a stay in hospital and at the time I was having ECT treatments so my memory on that is rather sketchy to say the least. However if missing just one dose of the medication can bring on the electric shock syndrome it goes without saying that stopping it at all, especially very quickly, that the withdrawals will be very unpleasant indeed.
Fiona |
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| PolarOne
Super Member (250+ posts)
456 Posts
Gratitude: 113
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Posted - 06/01/2005 : 11:35:10
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I'm glad you mentioned this side-effect Fiona. For some time now thought it might be just me.
I take venlafaxine 75mg bd(started Oct '03) and experience the same side-effect if I forget to take a dose. Usually starts essentially about 18 hours after last dose. I've seen it somewhere described as 'shock-like sensations'?
'Electric shocks in my brain every time I move my head' is a much better description of what I experience!
Disconcerting more than anything + a bit disorientating, relieved after about an hour if I take my next dose early.
Bottom line is I tend not to forget any doses now. Wouldn't like to attempt anything like e.g. driving with those sensations. The drug information leaflets & BNF don't seem to give it much attention, and are rather vague- describing 'nervousness' or 'impaired coordination'. Also much further down the list of 50-100 uncommon or rare side-effects.
Had the same side-effect with citalopram, only it was more mild. Tapered it off at home over 6 weeks when I stopped, then started venlafaxine.
Actually works OK for me on a maintenance dose, but don't look forward to stopping it (no plans to do so however).
Jason
"Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read the title." Virginia Woolf |
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| Janet C.
Starting Member
1 Posts
Gratitude: 4
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Posted - 06/11/2005 : 06:53:23
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I stopped taking Effexor five days ago. I was on 75 mg for a year, and then took 37.5 for a week. My doctor hoped that this would be enough to stave off the withdrawal symptoms. It was not. I have the horrible brain zaps everyone mentions, severe body temperature changes, muscle and joint aches, and lethargy. I could probably "tough out" these symptoms, but the intense depression is almost more than I can handle. I actually feel like I'm going crazy.
I haven't called my doctor yet--he mentioned that if the symptoms were bad, he would put me on something else to get me through the withdrawal. At this point, however, I don't want any more chemicals in my body.
Why isn't this more widely discussed in the medical community? (Neither my doctor nor my therapist seemed to know this was a possibility.) If the withdrawal is this bad for me from only 75 mg, what must it be like for people who were on higer doses? The Internet is full of forums where people are talking about what is known as "Effexor Withdrawal Hell." I'm scared that my brain chemistry has been altered--for the worse.
Janet |
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| beequeen71
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2005 : 01:01:53
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I've been on Effexor for 3 years now, to manage my OCD. I take 150mg every morning at about 9am. If I forget to take it, I start feeling it by around 2pm. It starts with a vague sort of 'bad' feeling and a headache. The headache intensifies over the next hour or so (usually by this point I know that I've missed a dose). Even if I take my dose at this point, I will still suffer from withdrawal symptoms for the next 2 hours. I feel the 'electric shock' sensation in my skull that other posters described. It's like a rushing sort of zap, feels like my head is an hourglass that just got flipped upside down. It happens every time I move my eyeballs in my head. Sometimes I 'hear' a faint noise every time the zap occurs. It's more of a sensation than a sound, but I can hear it at the same time. Sort of like, when you have turned on a really old television, you can 'hear' the high frequency hum, but also feel it in your skull. It's the same thing here. I have been in situations where I had to go without my meds for up to 2 days straight, and my symptoms did not get any better with time, they only got worse, until I was a useless miserable lump. My sense of balance was seriously impaired and I walked like a drunk person. I wish I could tell you how long it takes for the withdrawal to cease, but I've never tested it. |
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| PolarOne
Super Member (250+ posts)
456 Posts
Gratitude: 113
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Posted - 06/23/2005 : 11:20:57
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Hmmm- sounds like the Patient Information Leaflets that come with this drug aren't as accurate or open-natured as they could be.
If everyone gets these 'zaps' it should be made much clearer I think.
"Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read the title." Virginia Woolf |
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| dave1003
Starting Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 06/25/2005 : 22:45:41
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| I was on effexor 175 mg. Worked pretty good. Doctor had me switch to cymbalta. For those of you on high doses of Effexor cymbalta is a much better choice because it is much better balanced between the two chemicals. It also has a longer half life meaning less withdrawals. For me, 30mg cymbalta worked better than 175 mg effexor and had less side effects. Anyway, i had no withdrawals in my taper, and it was an abrupt taper. I went from 175 to 75mg for 1 week and then 0 mg the 2nd week while adding cymbalta 30mg. No withdrawals. For those of you who are having withdrawals get the immediate released version and a pill cutter. Then taper as slowly as you need to. |
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| vkpavlot
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2005 : 17:54:50
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Withdrawal hell is right. I'm Bipolar, and have been taking Effexor as a maintenance drug (300mg) for 3 years. I talked to my Doctor about weaning off all my meds and "starting over" since there are now so many good meds and I could maybe take two instead of the 6 I currently take.
I weaned off of Lamictal, Seroquel, Cymbalta, Provigil. No problems. Effexor, however, I'm not strong enough to withdraw from.
I became suicidal again for the first time in a year! just from withdrawing from this stupid medication. My brain feels like it's going to short out any minute. I'm so dizzy I can barely stand and deperession? Ugh. It's unbearable.
So, I'm going back to my normal dose so I can hopefully get back to "normal".
My concern is now, if the withdrawals are this horrible, what in the world is this drug doing to my body while I'm taking it?
~~**~~Viki~~**~~ |
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| Amanda Mercurio
Starting Member
2 Posts
Gratitude: 1
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Posted - 07/07/2005 : 14:12:14
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Effexor is very, very difficult to withdrawal from.
Due to an insurance change and some other difficulties I went from taking 75mg 1 x per day, to not taking anything for 4 days. Wow. I wish I knew what was going to happen.
I am moody, emotional, exhausted, very nauseous and feel like I have 'medicine head' complete with dizziness. I dream so heavily and wake up feeling as though I have ran a marathon. Honestly...I'm not sure what kind of 'good sleep' I have had since taking this drug. My heart feels as though it is going to pound through my chest and I am so agitated by the most minor things.
I started the drug due to severe anxiety attacks directly related to an emotional litigation I was going through. The drug helped me in dealing with the anxiety, but it is so hard to stop. I am so ready to not be dependant on a synthetic chemical....I hate that my body goes nuts without it. My three sons need their mommy to feel good. :(
My heart goes out to all of you going through the same thing. My advice is to withdrawal very slowly and very steadily. It is too hard on your body to do it any differently. However, it seems like withdrawal symptoms are to be expected no matter what the dose.
Use this experience to know the importance of researching the drugs you take. Do your own research...MD's simply cannot, and do not, know everything...there are way too many drugs out there. Companies who make these drugs cannot be trusted to provide acurate or all the information their patients have. The companies are concerned primarily about their profits....so many drugs are pushed through without the appropriate testing and safety research. (Vioxx!) Be careful and understand the importance of using safe and natural products. God gave us great things on this earth that we humans simply cannot out-do. There are very powerful and effective natural and safe remedies for many, many things. Yes, there is a time and place for synthetic drugs...but please do your research!!
Amanda
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| colordog
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2005 : 04:22:37
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I won't detail the reasons under which I started taking Effexor. However, I have found the drug to work well for myself, applying to mild depression and moderate-to-severe obsession and mild-to-medium anxiety. (Depression really being an effect of the anxiety and obsession.)
Like many others, I have the common side-effects: sleep (less deep, easier to wake up), sexual (difficult to 'reach' ejaculation), slightly more manic or 'wired'. Also, I seem to have a rare one - I clench my jaw in my sleep on Effexor.
Overall, I am glad to have the ability to use the drug.
Recently, I have decided that at this point in life I should be able to rely upon Effexor less, having a different life situation now than when I started taking it, and also with a few years of behavioral training to deal with my obsessive tendancies. Off the top of my head, I believe that I have take Effexor for about 4 years. My dose has ranged from 75 to 225mg - it currently is 150mg. I'm a 30 year old male.
I have recently moved across the country and so wasn't psyically able to ask my MD to prescribe a few weeks of 75s, and 37.5s. Disliking physicians in general (no offense), and not wanting to go through the laborius process of finding one I trust implicitly, I decided to stop taking Effexor "cold-turkey".
If I may be blunt, I would like to summarize this experience by saying holy ****ing ****.
I have been off the drug for a little over five days now. Of course, crashing off the drug I expected some profound withdrawl symptoms; regardless, I was unprepared for this. The first full day without Effexor left me feeling sick, like I had the flu. Of course, having the flu is fairly sucky. However, it got much, much worse. After that first day, the real fun has begun:
- So-called "brain shocks". This is a difficult sensation to describe. It's like an electrical earthquake that 'reboots' your thoughts. Not painful per se, but incredibly odd and distracting. Zap. Zap. The immediate thought you have is "I'm pretty sure my brain shouldn't be doing that". I understand this is a very very common effect with effexor.
- Brain fog. Again, difficult to describe. Cotton stuff in my brain. Neurotransmitters having to travel through thick fog. How can this be verbally described? Stuffy thinking. A slowing and mild imparment of cognitive skills. Like when you are having trouble seeing, and so squint, but mentally.
- Over-sleeping. Not surprising at all coming off an SNRI. However, as an example, I slept through several phone calls and an hour of my alarm clock fully today, and didn't regain consciousness until 5PM. I was "hung-over" for the next couple hours - incredibly tired and wanting to go back to bed despite sleeping for about 17 hours. I overslept 10 hours - to me this is shocking.
- Confusion. Some hours of the day I simply cannot think. I'm not sure what I was talking about. I stop caring about what I was doing at that moment (e.g., fixing a meal) because it becomes too complicated. A few hours later, all fine again, no confusion. Then, I'm back to "huh?".
- Shaking. When I am 'most-confused' and mentally foggy, my shoulders and arms literally shake. Are these the "DTs" I wonder? Scares me though. I shiver as if I'm cold.
- Temperature. And speaking of cold, half the time I'm really hot, and half the time I'm really cold. This is especially bad when I start trying to sleep - the hot/cold cycling.
- Mood. Forget it. I'm argumentative. Angry. Pissed. Sad. Isolated. Crying. Yelling. Mellow. Thoughtful. Apathetic. I spent the last hour before this post deciding that I was hungry then not hungry about 20 times.
- Nightmares. Ok. We've all had nightmares. What I've been having are the most horrible, tortuous, vivid and lucid "nightmares" imaginable. Let me highlight the word torture. I would practically do anything to never experience anything like these dreams ever again. If I actually had to keep experiencing these horrid dreams for a period of my life, I'm sure I'd become quickly suicidal. I would do anything to avoid them. In my life, nothing has ever been so utterly and darkly sinister as my Effexor withdrawl nightmares. Torture. When these wake me up screaming, I'm in a very altered, surreal state of mind, and have to read or watch television for 2-3 hours to 'come back' to 'normal reality' before I can force the feelings to fade back to a normal dream and attempt sleep again. While on Effexor or prior to starting Effexor, I did not have nightmares and sleep well.
- Insomnia. This I'm sure is a secondary effect of not wanting to fall asleep to avoid the nightmares, and actually leads to a great deal of anxiety and panic as it gets later in the night, I realize that I'm not sleeping and will 'crash' in the morning, jeopordizing my work schedule. And then I sleep longer likely due to the fact that I was awake so long (~32 hours?)
Individually, with the exception of the nightmares, these withdrawl symptoms aren't so horrible in and of themselves. However together all at once, they are entirely crippling. Between extreme oversleeping, nightmares, severely altered sleep schedule, physically shaking, the inability to carry through verbal conversations at times, apathy, anxiety and anger all at once with mental fog, I cannot work. Worse, I really cannot consistly function with normal American life situations, dealing with household chores or bills either. At best, I can't care about them, or they are too terrifying or stress-inducing to work through.
Overall, I feel incredibly ill. My mental state is completely shot, and the phsyical effects aren't a barrel of monkeys either. I would state the overall situation as "hellish". I have tried to report the feelings I'm having from my withdrawl as objectively as possible. Having said that, how I feel in this withdrawl is so very much worse than how I felt previously in life that got me on it in the first place.
As a research scientist (Microbio BS, MolBio PhD) I actually read those damn 3-point-font drug information sheets that describe possible side-effects, the results of the double-blind panel, etc. I understand that in 2004 they've added a section "suggesting" that no one goes cold turkey, and list the withdrawl effects as mild effects that can occur. I'm fairly outraged that every effect I am having is severe (much much more severe than the side-effects of being on the drug), and this is 'down-played' by the company and their reps.
I can do up to the average GP and ask what could happen if I go ON an SSRI/SNRI, and I'll get fairly reasonable replies. You ask about going OFF them, quickly, and you'll get standard replies of being sleepy, etc. Effexor is CLEARLY exceptionally bad to come off immediately/quickly, and the company has not in the past, and now poorly at the present, provides this information to physicians (and really not at all to patients.)
As I understand, there are a few very, very rare cases where individuals simply don't live through these withdrawl symptoms until they adjust - they actually DON'T adjust and are literally addicted to it. Regardless of the amount of weeks or months after stopping, they continue to be in "withdrawl". Sometimes switching to Prozac then quitting works, sometimes not. Yes, is IS very very very rare, but patients still have the right to know about this risk, and was not in the literature when I started it.
Experiences with SSRI/SNRIs are always very unique. Regardless, through my own experience, I would urge you to dissaude any of your patients to quit quickly, much less cold turkey.
Because I must work, I will likely resume taking my 150mg doses tomorrow/this morning, and wait until I can find a physican to make writs for a month of 75s and a month of 37.5s. Even then, I'll probably dose something like 150 / 150 / 150 / 75 / 150 / 150 / 75 / 150/ 75 / 75 / 75 / etc to help the transition. Not sure it will help, but shouldn't hurt I think.
Bottom-line: If your patients want to come off Effexor quickly(under 1 month), advise them it may interfere with all actions of their life.
Searching Goggle for "effexor" and "withdrawl" will provide you with more interesting stories. (While you can always find horror stories about the effects of being ON any given SSRI, Effexor clearly shines in horror stories about coming OFF them).
I hope this post can be of some use to you - as this time, my brain is fuzzy again and I can feel my IQ dropping, so, farewell. |
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| PolarOne
Super Member (250+ posts)
456 Posts
Gratitude: 113
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Posted - 07/09/2005 : 07:18:46
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A quite eloquent account given all the turmoil.
"Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read the title." Virginia Woolf |
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| sailor
Starting Member
5 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2005 : 12:49:13
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 Wow, what a weird drug. It should be banned. I was put on Effexor for a non-depressive, physical condition. Doc said it would fix me up over time. Right....
After experiencing tremendous weight gain and loss of sexual function, I thought maybe I should try dropping this med. I skipped a few days. By the third day I was having weird dizzy type spells, hearing roaring in my head, became very grouchy and mean, and was having violent nightmares. So I took another pill, and the symptoms immediately went away. I will be asking my Doc. to ween me off (Slowly, very slowly), or I will be switching Docs. I wonder about his judgment even putting me on this stuff for a non-depressive condition. Hey I work for a living in a very responsible job and can't be going off on folks or be ill, which is what I fear will happen while weening off this stuff.
Sailor |
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| mconpro
Starting Member
2 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2005 : 12:01:45
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Hi all, first time poster here. I have been taking this med for the last 9 months and because of the side effects, have decided to stop taking it. I was taking 75mgs a day and am now taking 0.
i have been having most of the withdrawal symptoms that have been mentioned so far, but one thing that I am experiencing is very profuse cold sweats. At the slighest bit of heat or activity, the old sweat pumps open full bore and I am a damp mess. Now I have experienced this even when on the drug and am wondering if this is normal? I know that people have mentioned sweating as both a side effect and withdrawal symptom, but is it normal for it to be so extreme. It got so bad yesterday that the nurse at my work took my vitals which revealed a higher BP and Puls rate. I am just wondering if others have had it this bad. My skin can be cold and I am sweating profusely.
This really sucks and i am wondering how much more of this i can expect as there is no way in hell that i will take this drug again even for a slow taper. |
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| awilcox
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2005 : 18:19:16
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I'm both a psychologist and an effexor user, and i applaud the dr. who started this thread as i know many, many people would not normally volunteer so much helpful, albeit personal, information.
i'm 47 with significant ptsd and have been on antidepressants for 13 years- prozac for 9 and effexor for 4. i take 150 qd, time release.
i did wonderfully on prozac but had to find something to switch to when i started having a lot of perimenopausal symptoms. effexor was recommended due to having some positive impact on night sweats.
i too have noticed the brain shock symptoms the entire time i've been on it. it used to be i'd miss a dose by 8 hours and my blood pressure would plummet (yes, way way down) and i'd have the brain shocks and headache. i found it odd that happened after such a short period of time, as did my physician, but we just assumed i was some sort of wierd anomoly and i made sure to take it on time. about a year and a half ago i started hearing my patients report the same complaints, and others similiar or the same as many detailed on this thread. i have always been professionally adamat that my patients taper off ALL meds when they want to make changes, as there are just too many pitfalls to stopping anything suddenly (sugar and caffeine being two non prescription good examples, eh?!). please always taper meds!
for my part, i lost my insurance a couple of years ago and have been functioning without. right before i lost it i had two serious back surgeries, resulting in my being unable to work for 8 months (no insurance, no disability ins. and self employed: ouch!). i've been pretty close to losing everything and hanging on by the grace of friends so i really worried about how i was going to deal with the effexor. it costs me $80 for a 14 day supply. It has at times come down to, "do i pay the rent on my office or buy my meds?".
i can't imagine how folks who can't purchase their medicines manage to get off when they have to go cold turkey. it's definitely worthy of study from the academic/md types out there, and quickly!
as a side note, a friend started me taking some juice made from yerba matte, cupacu and acai in january. it's NOT cheap (less than effexor at $80/month rather than $160, but not cheap) but since it eliminated the necessity of buying vitamins and other medications for my back, as well as greatly reduced my desire for coffee, it was a worthy investment. i've noticed since taking about 3-4oz daily i no longer have night sweats and other perimenopause symptoms AND have cut my effexor dose, virtually effortlessly by a factor of 60% over 4 months.
that may not be huge to some and is certainly not a valid scientific
trial, but i mention it only because it's been helpful to me. my hope is that in another 4 months i'll be on juice alone. i'll let you know. if you're curious or interested i made a website with a bunch of info about the juice ingredients which should show up somewhere in here with my profile.
if it doesn't, email me and i'll send you the link.
my deepest and most compassionate gratitude to those of you who have shared. thank you so much,
allison
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| purpletabby
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2005 : 16:14:07
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I am also having a terrible time tapering off the Effexor. I was taking 223 mg a day and stopped because it didn't seem to be helping with all of the depression symptoms.
I tapered off it starting 6 weeks ago. I've been off it completely for 2. I have suffered everything under the sun--the worst depression in my life, the most moody I've ever been, crying spells, anger, impatience insomnia, nausea, vomiting; hot/cold spells, etc.
Most of the withdrawal symptoms have stopped except for the "brain zaps" or head rushing, or whatever it is. It is hard to describe. Several times an hour (sometimes more), it feels like my head is rushing? I liked the explanation of one of the sand timers turned upside down. It seems like all the blood rushes quickly through my head and my brain temporarily--for a very brief fraction of a second--stops working. Obviously, it's still working, but it's very strange. It's almost like I'm falling asleep, but it's happening so fast that I don't stop anything--I can even still (usually) keep my train of thought.
It's awful. I'm just hoping since other people are going through this that means that it will eventually stop.
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| Merry
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2005 : 16:25:01
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I feel so betrayed! I had no idea why I was feeling this way! I am two years post-menopausal, and I started to wonder if I could be possibly be pregnant -- why else would I have this severe nausea all the time? I am going back and starting a slow titration program as soon as I clear the withdrawal effects from the slapdash mess I made.
It probably shouldn't surprise me that the withdrawal effects are so bad -- after all, the side effects were no picnic either. I have to do something to get off this drug, now that I am almost twice my beginning weight (125 when I started, 195 now).
This company should be ashamed. And so should the doctors. I was never warned about any of this, and, frankly, there was no real reason for me to take it.
I was doing fine on Prozac (and I could go on and off of it at will with no bad effects). Then one doctor thought I ought to change; he'd had "good luck" with Effexor. Then I hit menopause, and a second doctor increased the dosage to deal with my hot flashes. I'd rather be having night sweats than dealing with this weight problem, that's for sure!
Anyway, thanks to all of you for your insight and assistance with this awful problem.
Merry |
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Is There A Severe Effexor Withdrawal Syndrome?
