Posted by Dirtylowdown4 on March 24, 2004, at 8:18:36
In reply to Afraid of Effexor Xr, posted by Jeano on March 23, 2004, at 0:01:03
When I found this bulletin board and read the comments about the nightmarish Effexor withdrawl symptoms I thought "this won't happen to me - I'm not like these people". I believed that they were all exaggerating. And then I stopped cold turkey just to see for myself and wow was I in for a surprise! It was as bad as everyone described! And the withdrawal symptoms lasted several days after I started taking it again. At this point it's been helping me tremendously with my depression and I try not to think about going off it and the inevitable withdrawal symptoms but now I'm past the point of no return and know what I will eventually have to deal with when I stop. This bulletin board offers a wealth of personal experiences but again it bares repeating - every person's experience is different and users have reported experiencing completely opposite side affects from one another. When I finally stop taking this medication for good I'm sure I will go back and review the helpful suggestions of others who have posted here and who have tried to wean themselves off while trying to lessen the horrible side affects. Good luck with whatever you ultimately decid to do!
> I have been under an extreme amount of stress over the past two months. I got to the point that I knew I needed some help coping so I made an appointment with my doctor. She gave me a low dose Effexor XR "starter kit" plus a prescription with 1 refill.
> I have been taking this for 6 days and the change is amazing. I feel much better already.
> The only down side is occasional the sleepiness and a little stomach irritation. I feel calmer and much more refreshed when I wake up in the morning.
> However, after surfing the net for some feed back regarding withdrawal symtoms, I am afraid to continue taking Effexor XR. The reported brain shocks really scare me. Since I have only taken it for a few days, I'm thinking of stopping and trying something more natural like St John's Wort. Has anyone experienced bad side effects by going off effexor cold turkey?
poster:Dirtylowdown4
thread:327262
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040319/msgs/327674.html