Posted by LauraBeth on December 23, 2004, at 15:16:22
In reply to effexor withdrawal symptoms, posted by mollie on December 5, 2004, at 23:32:10
I have had an experience with Effexor XR that i would like to share with both those who are currently taking this medication and those who are planning on beginning a regimine.
I was on a stable dose of I beleive 300mg for almost two years when my doctor decided to try me out on WellButrin. I felt that the Effexor XR was somewhat successfull for me in that my depression was lessened, along with my anxiety and restlessness. However, I was still feeling somewhat depressed and was not as happy as I wanted to be, so I decided to try out WellButrin. My doctor happened to have a month's worth of samples in his office, so I was told to immediatly begin to take one 150mg pillof WellButrin a day, and to reduce my Effexor XR intake to 75mg each day for the next week, and then to stop taking the Effexor altogether and continue with the WellButrin.
The week that I was taking the reduced intake of Effexor, I was experiencing mild withdrawl symptoms that included occasional light nausea and mild lightheadedness. However, when I stoppped taking the Effexor altogether, I had severe withdrawls: for the first week and a half, I had severe nausea to the point that I had trouble keeping any food down- I was eating nothing more than dry toast and bagels and ginger ale. It was as if I had the flu, only without the aches and pains associated with it. Also, I had that strange lightheadedness, shaky headache feeling that is hard to describe and that i haave heard other Effexor patients refer to as "brain shakes." These shakes were giving me a headache, and making it hard for me to even move around without getting sick.
Now, I am not what you would call a hypocondriac. I now that these symptoms seem severe, but i must say that I don't recall feeling this sick for a long time.I even missed a few days of school and work as a result of this "sickness." I was assuming that these symptoms would go away within a week, but no such luck. Given, after a few weeks I did feel better and my symptoms were almost gone, but within the last week, they have returned ( I even thought i might have been pregnant!!) and it has been almost a month since I discontinued my use of Effexor. I am still feeling sick right now!!! Does ANYONE have any advice or similar experience? I have asked my doctor and even my pharmacist nd they both said that everyone's body reacts differently to medicine, and that there wasn't much that could be done but wait it out! HELP!!....24 year old female from Chicago.
poster:LauraBeth
thread:425043
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041223/msgs/433403.html