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From: Uk_lad
Date: 25/01/04
Time: 13:07:50
Remote Name: 81.103.166.29
This is what I posted a little while ago, its still on here but you have to scroll down a fair bit so I thought Id repost it for reference...
************************************************* I have been on Effexor for the past 2 years.
I started by taking a daily dose of 75mg but as it had little effect and my depression was severe, my psychiatrist increased my dose to 150mg daily.
Over time my dose was increased until eventually I was taking 375mg a day.
I missed a few doses by mistake and felt the side effects that everyone has mentioned on here so far, but as soon as I took my next dose I felt fine.
As Im sure a lot of people on medication do, one day I decided Id had enough of the medication and stopped taking it...
BIG MISTAKE. Going from 375mg a day to 0mg a day messed with my head more than I can ever describe. This caused a failed suicide attempt, I was signed off work, and I was admitted to hospital.
Thankfully, I recovered well as soon as I was back on the drug and I continued on the 375mg for a while.
As my therapy (psychiatrist, councellor, and psycologist) progressed my dose was decreased, slowly.
I was allowed to drop 75mg every 2 months or so.
I am now on just 37.5mg a day and I am due to stop altogether in the next month or so.
I have suffered hardly any withdrawel symptoms when dropping down by 75mg each time.
In the majority of what I cases that I have read about on the internet ("Effexor is bad" and "the withdrawels are awful") it seems that the people involved have tried to come off it too quickly.
Weening yourself off over a period of weeks is too fast in my opinion, it needs to be done over a period of months and under the supervison and advice of a doctor.
Of course this is just my opinion on it and Id like to point out that I have no medical training at all, its just come from experiance.
I think when coming off Effexor people need to remember the saying "less speed, more haste". *************************************************
On October 13th 2003 I took my last dose of Effexor. At that time I had gone down to half a 37.5mg tablet each day. I stopped completly and for the first week I suffered minimal withdrawels such as a slight dizzyness when standing, a slight "sick" feeling, but other that that I felt fine. I did have a few "brain shocks" but they were so weak that I hardly noticed them. The minimal withdrawels got less and less over a period of 2-3 weeks and then I was completly fine.
3 months down the line and Im still feeling fine, I have NO withdrawels/side effects etc, and am completly level headed and dare I say it...happy!
It may have taken a whole year from the date I decided I didnt want to take them, but the position Im in now makes it all worthwhile.
I just wanted to post to say that if done slowly, rationaly and under supervision of a doctor, you CAN come off Effexor without going through hell.
Uk_lad