I quit taking my Effexor on Sunday. This drug was hell for me. I have felt better as far as sleep. On the med I had trouble falling asleep and could never sleep all night w/out waking. Plus excessive sweating at night. I felt ok the first couple days. But now I seem to feel very shaky and light headed. I am hungry alot too. Is this just all coincidence or can it really be from quitting the med cold turkey? I called my dr and he said I shouldn't have quit like that. But at this point he just wants me to start on some Prozac today. Just curious as to what you ladies think. Any info appreciated. thank you.
I understand what you are going through. I about a month ago quit, cold turkey, my effexor. I felt i was doing supurb. One day i just took the last pill in the bottle and didnt get a refill. Well a few days later i could feel my body reacting to the lack of the medicine. I was extremely dizzy, light headed, and sick to my stomache. I got an appointment with my doc. and he said he promised me that was what it was from. After about 2 weeks it trailed off and i was better. Now with the stress of pocs and endimetriosis and finding all these neg posts about depo lupro i am thinking i need it more than ever. Who knows maybe we will all magically get better. We can wish cant we!?!? I hope you find comfort in my words. It will get better.
I would definately have to say that quitting cold turkey, any anti-depressant, can give you symptoms like that. Usually a doctor will have you ween yourself off of the meds to lessen withdraw symptoms. In my experience it has helped, but some withdraw is still always present. For me withdraw has lasted 1-2 weeks. If you have nausea - I've had good results with coke syrup and crushed ice. If you start Prozac right away it might help curb your symptoms...last time I went off paxil I was put right on effexor and noticed withdraw didn't last as long. I dunno..hope that helps
I get the lightheadedness and this weird brain flashes...don't know how else to explain that...which makes it somewhat hard to relax and fall asleep. i get this though usually after missing 2 doses. I was warned not to stop taking it suddenly either...sorry can't say i've ever been on prozac...but i was on paxil a few years ago and that was a total nightmare.
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Quitting Effexor is horrible. I had mild hallucinations, crawling sensations on my skin, non-stop crying, etc. when I went off it, and I tapered off it very gradually. I wasn't on a high dose, just 75 mg.
It is from quitting cold turkey. You should be weened off of Effexor. Check around here and on the internet and you will see the side effects. If I were you, I would start taking it and talk to your doctor about coming off of it slowly before the side effects get worse. Good luck!
I am on effexor too, and if I miss a couple of pills, I am like that. You probably shouldn't have quit cold turkey. Even when I switched drugs - zoloft to effexor - I was downgrading on the zoloft and upgrading on the effexor to lessen the symptoms.
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i was on effexor for over 5 years...what a mistake! not only does this drug make you gain weight, but there are some studies going on that link effexor and hypothyroidism. i was diagnosed with hypo while still on the effexor.
it is hell to come off of...hands down, the hardest thing i have ever had to do, and i've had a double mastectomy.
it was horrible...light headed, dizzy, sick to my stomach. i didn't do it cold turkey either, so i can't imagine how hard that must have been. i lowered my dosage slowly with the guidance of my doctor.
Effexor withdrawal is brutal. You'll experience it regardless, but the symptoms are more manageable if you ween yourself off rather than going cold turkey.
I was taking 225mg/day and I would frequently get upset and stop taking my medication. I was completely unable to function after a few days. I tapered off of it, but the withdrawal symptoms still happened.
Off topic: I agree with wiggles. Effexor was the worst thing that happened to me. I gained weight while on the medication. I was suicidal. I think i got worse while taking it.
Things will wear off and you'll love the feeling when the withdrawal symptoms wear off!
I was on Effexor and I actually got a lil homicidal as well as suicidal. It's one of the more dangerous ones to just cut cold turkey so I was told. I was SO neurotic on it.
Since you already cut cold turkey, you might have to just tie yourself to a chair for a few days. Just keep telling yourself that the feeling like this is bad chemicals in your head. That helped me keep my head above water for the few days it took to gain back some sanity.
There are several meds I'll NEVER go back on, ever ever ever. Paxil, and Effexor are the top two.
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I had the same withdrawal symptoms when I stopped my effexor too. I felt like I had the flu also. Ended up switching to Cymbalta which worked great for a while but then it started to make me feel like I was on speed so I had to stop that one too. Same withdrawal symptoms coincidentally!
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Effexor w/d issues 
