katicotrophic
29-09-08, 09:08
I'm sorry if this post is confusing -- my thoughts are all over the place right now.
I have recently stopped taking effexor xr. I was on 150mg (I don't remember how long I was on it because my memory has been terrible ever since I started taking the medication).
About a month ago I decided to stop taking effexor xr cold turkey. I knew it was actually making my depression worse rather than making me feel better. It caused me to gain 20 pounds within a single year (even though my doctor disagrees, he says effexor doesn't cause weight gain, but I know that's bulls**t). And I got hives shortly after I started taking it, so I believe it's what caused me to develop CHRONIC HIVES. I have them EVERY DAY now. Also, it made me feel like a robot. I had no emotions other than annoyance and anger.
I developed severe social anxiety, so I don't even go out with friends anymore. I don't even really have any friends any more. It also caused me to have no sex drive, which really aggrivated my boyfriend.
I was put on effexor for my depression. But the thing is, I don't think I've ever had depression. I've just always had anxiety -- and if I've ever been depressed about anything it would be because I have bad anxiety.
I wish I would have researched this medication before I started taking it.
Every time I went to visit my doctor after he put me on this medication, I would tell him that I didn't think the effexor was working, but instead of taking me off of it he would either increase my dosage or change up one of my other medications (I'm also on medication for ADD).
Anyway, when I quit taking effexor cold turkey.. things were GREAT for about a week. I was motivated, I was more active, I wasn't as nervous and I actually made an attempt to get in touch with some of my old friends because suddenly it bothered me that I didn't have a social life. Then the second week I began experiencing the withdrawal symptoms. I vomited about every thirty minutes for two days straight, I had extreme vertigo, I got TERRIBLE headaches, I was paranoid that I was going to die (I would sit around thinking of all the ways I could possibly die at that moment and I would scare the hell out of myself). Then, one day, I got the mother of all panic attacks. I literally thought I was dying. I thought I had had panic attacks before but they were nothing like this. I couldn't breathe. The air that I was sucking in was not going to my lungs. I was with my mom and I asked her to call 911. Once they got there they told me it was just a panic attack and after telling them I had quit taking the effexor, they told me I needed to get right back on it. That quit taking it cold turkey is extremely dangerous.
Anyway, Monday morning I called my doctor and told him I wanted off the effexor. He tried to convince me to stay on it, but I told him I refused to stay on it. He tapered me off of it by decreasing my dosage to 75mg, then the next week to 37.5, then the next week I no longer had to take it. I took my last dose of effexor on Thursday.
Now my withdrawal symptoms are really starting to freak me out. I have a headache at least once a day. I'm always so tired but I can rarely sleep. I'm irritable. I'm INCREDIBLY paranoid (mainly about death). For example, everytime I have to drive on the interstate I'm convinced that either my tire is going to blow out or the tire of a vehicle near me is going to blow out and it's going to cause me to get in a wreck and die. I'm scared to go to a mall because I'm scared I'll be there on the day that some homicidal maniac shows up with a gun and starts shooting people. I'm scared to go to sleep because I think my heart will stop. I realize that these fears are ridiculous, but I can't control the power they have over me. I'm completely missing out on the best years of my life. I've wasted an entire year because of this stupid medication.
Other withdrawal side effects I've had are vertigo, nausea (I have it constantly), electrical shocks throughout my body, constipation, restlessness, loss of appetite, and the list goes on and on. But just tonight its started to feel like every few seconds my heart beats a little harder than normal.. and when it does I get a ringing in my ears for like a split second. Has anyone ever had this?
I'm mostly worried about this extreme paranoia I've developed. I've always been extremely cautious -- but NEVER to the point that it caused me to actually stop getting out and having fun. I've looked up typical effexor withdrawal symptoms and this one isn't listed, but has anyone ever experienced anything like this while trying to come off of depression medicine?
I feel like I'm losing my mind.
I feel like I have more problems now then I did before I started taking effexor.
I want to live a normal life so bad, but all of these side effects are holding me back. I have no control over anything anymore. I just don't know what to do.
This post has been automatically edited by the NMP post filter
I have recently stopped taking effexor xr. I was on 150mg (I don't remember how long I was on it because my memory has been terrible ever since I started taking the medication).
About a month ago I decided to stop taking effexor xr cold turkey. I knew it was actually making my depression worse rather than making me feel better. It caused me to gain 20 pounds within a single year (even though my doctor disagrees, he says effexor doesn't cause weight gain, but I know that's bulls**t). And I got hives shortly after I started taking it, so I believe it's what caused me to develop CHRONIC HIVES. I have them EVERY DAY now. Also, it made me feel like a robot. I had no emotions other than annoyance and anger.
I developed severe social anxiety, so I don't even go out with friends anymore. I don't even really have any friends any more. It also caused me to have no sex drive, which really aggrivated my boyfriend.
I was put on effexor for my depression. But the thing is, I don't think I've ever had depression. I've just always had anxiety -- and if I've ever been depressed about anything it would be because I have bad anxiety.
I wish I would have researched this medication before I started taking it.
Every time I went to visit my doctor after he put me on this medication, I would tell him that I didn't think the effexor was working, but instead of taking me off of it he would either increase my dosage or change up one of my other medications (I'm also on medication for ADD).
Anyway, when I quit taking effexor cold turkey.. things were GREAT for about a week. I was motivated, I was more active, I wasn't as nervous and I actually made an attempt to get in touch with some of my old friends because suddenly it bothered me that I didn't have a social life. Then the second week I began experiencing the withdrawal symptoms. I vomited about every thirty minutes for two days straight, I had extreme vertigo, I got TERRIBLE headaches, I was paranoid that I was going to die (I would sit around thinking of all the ways I could possibly die at that moment and I would scare the hell out of myself). Then, one day, I got the mother of all panic attacks. I literally thought I was dying. I thought I had had panic attacks before but they were nothing like this. I couldn't breathe. The air that I was sucking in was not going to my lungs. I was with my mom and I asked her to call 911. Once they got there they told me it was just a panic attack and after telling them I had quit taking the effexor, they told me I needed to get right back on it. That quit taking it cold turkey is extremely dangerous.
Anyway, Monday morning I called my doctor and told him I wanted off the effexor. He tried to convince me to stay on it, but I told him I refused to stay on it. He tapered me off of it by decreasing my dosage to 75mg, then the next week to 37.5, then the next week I no longer had to take it. I took my last dose of effexor on Thursday.
Now my withdrawal symptoms are really starting to freak me out. I have a headache at least once a day. I'm always so tired but I can rarely sleep. I'm irritable. I'm INCREDIBLY paranoid (mainly about death). For example, everytime I have to drive on the interstate I'm convinced that either my tire is going to blow out or the tire of a vehicle near me is going to blow out and it's going to cause me to get in a wreck and die. I'm scared to go to a mall because I'm scared I'll be there on the day that some homicidal maniac shows up with a gun and starts shooting people. I'm scared to go to sleep because I think my heart will stop. I realize that these fears are ridiculous, but I can't control the power they have over me. I'm completely missing out on the best years of my life. I've wasted an entire year because of this stupid medication.
Other withdrawal side effects I've had are vertigo, nausea (I have it constantly), electrical shocks throughout my body, constipation, restlessness, loss of appetite, and the list goes on and on. But just tonight its started to feel like every few seconds my heart beats a little harder than normal.. and when it does I get a ringing in my ears for like a split second. Has anyone ever had this?
I'm mostly worried about this extreme paranoia I've developed. I've always been extremely cautious -- but NEVER to the point that it caused me to actually stop getting out and having fun. I've looked up typical effexor withdrawal symptoms and this one isn't listed, but has anyone ever experienced anything like this while trying to come off of depression medicine?
I feel like I'm losing my mind.
I feel like I have more problems now then I did before I started taking effexor.
I want to live a normal life so bad, but all of these side effects are holding me back. I have no control over anything anymore. I just don't know what to do.
This post has been automatically edited by the NMP post filter