Venlafaxine withdrawal symptoms?

[baileyvanilla]

Hello everyone, this is my first post.

I'm here because I have recently discovered how hard coming off venlafaxine is and I would like to exchange stories with other people that are going through similar issues (or that didn't have any!).

I've been on 150mg of venlafaxine for a few months, and recently started noticing that if I missed a dose I would get the following symptoms:
-extremely vivid dreams/nightmares
-cold night sweats
-waking up with all my muscles tensed up
-strange electrical sensation in my brain
-brain zaps
-weird pressure sensation in my ears
-faintness
-dizzyness
-general feeling of weakness
-feeling like my brain is being shaken inside my head like an egg yolk inside the egg shell

Through trial and error I've figured out that these symptoms start to appear after about 30 hours since my last dose, and get increasingly worse. I have never made it more than 2 days without taking a dose.

I want to go off the medication because I no longer feel depressed and I don't think it ever did much to begin with, and also I'm a student and I could really use the money for something else, like paying rent. But if the effects are so horrible after only 2 days, I shudder to think what might be in store for me....

[nomorepanic]

Hi

Do you mean that you just stopped taking them without slowly tapering off?

[baileyvanilla]

I haven't actually stopped taking them, but I want to. What I'm describing here is the effects I suffer after missing one dose.

[spawn]

You need to speak to your doctor about tapering off of them.

[Dan1975]

I was on 200 and stopped just like that. Symptoms lasted a week and then dissapeared

[Emphyrio]

Venlafaxine seems like one of the worst antidepressants to come off - probably worse even than paroxetine which is known for its withdrawal symptoms. Its because venlafaxine has such a short half-life so it leaves the body comparatively quickly compared with other antidepressants.

I've never taken venlafaxine before but I've heard that there isn't a liquid version available, so when tapering people have to take individual pellets out of the capsules and use very sensitive scales to taper by a very small amount each time. There is well known website which talks about withdrawal from seroxat (or the US version of the drug) I don't know if you can mention other sites here, but it essentially advises tapering by 10% every 3-6 weeks to minimise long-term withdrawal symptoms. The website is fairly anti-medication, and many people seem to blame symptoms months or years after quitting a medication on withdrawal symptoms. I don't know whether this is true or not, but a slow taper does seem like the best way to come off the medication.

You could also temporarily switch to another SSRI with a longer half-life such as fluoxetine as a way of minimising the side effects. To quote wikipedia:


Many doctors advise patients who are suffering from SSRI discontinuation syndrome to use fluoxetine as a substitute for their current drug.[39] Substituting fluoxetine in the final stages of SSRI discontinuation, or post discontinuation, provides a rate of reduction of antidepressant which can minimize or eradicate withdrawal symptoms in the patient. Fluoxetine migrates slowly from the brain to the blood. The active metabolite of fluoxetine remains a long time in the brain because it is lipophilic, with a biological half-life of 4 to 8 days (the longest of any SSRI). Therefore the level of the drug in the body falls slowly at a rate to which the brain can adjust when the dosage is reduced. Fluoxetine is also available in a liquid formula, allowing the physician to titrate the drug with greater ease (e.g., with an oral syringe).

Good luck! Also, if you're worried about the money, mention that to the GP and try and get 2 or 3 months prescription to save on prescription charges. A good GP will give you more than a month's worth if you explain your situation.

[pAULspybeef]

they are a ******* if you miss one dose!!! I get really funny feelings. I was on 250 now I'm on 150 and plan to go down to 75mg soon. brain zaps and feelings of weakness, dizzyness, surreal feelings, faintness, lethergy.....just very odd and unpleasant and even fuels anxiety. I can't wait to be off it altogether!

[Pipkin]

I was on venlafaxine 10 years ago (75mg) and stopped overnight. It wasn't very pleasant for a week or so with headaches and dizziness (if I experienced brain zaps, I didn't notice) but it didn't last long and was easily bearable. I wouldn't recommend stopping without tapering though - I did it to get it over with quickly. Having said that, I've spent years training myself not to pay attention to anxiety symptoms so it's possible I tuned them out.

I've now been back on venlafaxine for a year because it works really well for me and the benefits far outweigh any side effects or withdrawal symptoms. I took sertraline for a very short period and the side effects with that were horrendous in comparison.

I guess everyone's different but I certainly wouldn't be put off taking ven as it has improved my quality of life immeasurably.

Pip

[bobbyd]

Thank God I found this site. I was beginning to believe I had something sinister wrong with me. I decided to stop taking my dose and go cold turkey as after ten years usage it seemed to be ineffective. never told my GP as he would have talked me out of it. I knew the withdrawal would be bad but boy not this bad.
constant shivering, even in heat.
brain zaps
tremors in my hands
thrush
sickness
diarrhea
itchy bottom
severe headaches
palpation's
chest pain
disorientation
no concentration
etc etc etc
No way am I going back on this drug. It has been a week and hopefully it will end soon. I will stick it out. Good luck to everyone else on their mission we will overcome!!!

[KatyUK]

Hi,

I have been on venaflaxine 75mg for 1 month, during which time I have suffered from extreme sweating, night sweats, vivid dreams and sensitivity to sunlight. There has been little/ no improvement in my depression/anxiety. Before renewing my prescription, I spoke to my GP who advised me to come off the medication completely and immediately.

I have now been without for 3 days and am experiencing a constant buzzing in my ears, palpitations, dizziness, twitching, sweating, diarrhoea and nausea.

As I was only on the medication for a short time, does anyone know how long this will last? or any ways to combat it?

Any help appreciated :)

[spawn]

Hi Katy, Ven can take up to 6 weeks to work, so you may of not felt the benefits.
What you have described is pretty normal, you may settle after a week, if not go back to your gp. Just try and stay positive! :)

Gav

[kittikat]

I agree with Gav Katy...in fact I probably didn't feel the full benefits for about 8 weeks but the side effects were fairly mild and passed quickly for me. Really haven't looked back since, has been a good med for me.

Good luck with it. Kitti :)

[Pipkin]

I agree with Gav and Kitti. It took around 3 months to take full effect for me. Stick it out!

Pip

[Hana74]

Katy,

I totally agree, my doctor told me not to even expect any improvement in the first two weeks. Are you just taking the meds or going through therapy also ? The meds themselves can only do some of the job. You can try Omega 3 to see if that would help with some of the side effects, it did work for me.

Hana

[menbehavingsadly]

Venlafaxine did little for me, I then tapered with a few weeks at half dose followed by another few weeks at half dose every other day, but once I stopped I became very unwell, no concentration, fuzzy head, close to fainting every 20 to 30 mins....two weeks in and no change, back to doc and advised to 'sit it out for another two weeks....' real helpful....anyone else?

[charbee87]

Hi,

I am on 150mg per day and find if i miss a dose the side effects are quite horrible!

Symptoms are -
Shaking
faintness
nausea
brain zaps
electrical sensations to the brain
tiredness
severe headaches
and the most worrying is that when trying to go to sleep i get a weird sensation to the brain that freezes my body to the point i cant move! I have tried explaining it to my doctor who replies everytime that i cant just stop taking venlafaxine straight away, which i only missed a dose.

As i have read most symptoms seem to be experienced by others on here but not the last. If anyone has experienced this please can you give any advive.
:weep:
It would be most appreciated

thanks

[magic girl]

I decided I wanted to stop taking my venlafaxine earlier this year having been on them for 10 years.At the time I was on 75mg but have been on 150mg in the past I was doing really well and felt ready to come off of them,first piece of advise is not to ask your gp to reduce them I have done this in the past with little or no success instead if your seen by a phyciatrist get them to reduce it for you as the deal with mental illness and nothing else and will withdraw it very gradually.It has taken me 9 to 10 months to completely stop them which by the end involved me breaking tablets into little pieces,yes I had withdrawal symptoms(shakiness,headaches,arms trembling and the usual symptoms I get with anxiety and panic)and my anxiety and panic attacks got worse but I felt I could deal with them hence I felt ready to stop taking them.Since stopping them I have more energy and I don't sleep in the afternoons anymore and im pretty convinced they were zonking me out but on the down side my panic and anxiety have got worse but not so bad yet that I want to start meds again so another important consideration is weather you can handle your panic and anxiety getting worse im hoping this is only temporary(fingers crossed)also think about cognitive behavioural therapy as I find this very useful or if there is a local group you could join so you will have some support while you withdraw I wouldn't have been able to do it on my own but I have done it and im really proud of myself as I found it very difficult :yesyes: good luck to anyone else trying to come of there meds it can take a while but you can do it if you really want to :hugs:

[spawn]

Well done magic girl :)
I'm currently on day 8 of no Ven after going cold turkey, I've been on it for around 14months and went up to 150mgs. It isn't nice coming off of it at all, and at one point
I nearly gave in and started taking it again!
Gav.