EFFEXOR'S WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS

...and is now in need of a rehab center. I will say that it was pretty intense both times. The first time I was at 37.5mg and then tapered down even further by breaking the capsules in half and trying to separate the granules on a piece of paper. I took 18mg for a week and then 9mg for another week. When I went down from 75mg to 37.5 I did so abruptly without tapering and experienced no withdrawal effects whatsoever. This was the case both times. But when I started breaking the capsules apart (as in the first time above) I started experiencing withdrawal right away. The second time I just decided it was better to go off 37.5 cold turkey as breaking the capsules apart didn't seem to help much. I was right. I suffered on both occassions but it lasted a little less time with the cold turkey method. (**Important!! - Stopping any SSRI cold turkey is dangerous. Always consult your doctor before making any decision to discontinue your medication. I was at the lowest dose already and had the ok from my doctor).

If you scroll down you'll see a list of the discontinuation or withdrawal effects of effexor XR that can be found on the net. The one's I experienced were; hot flashes, BAD headaches, lots of intense stomach cramping, BAD nausea, abdominal PAIN, brain shivers or intense vertigo, emotional sensitivity (felt like crying for no reason), vivid & intense dreams, feeling ill - as if I over worked - and was 'run down'. Most of the people I have spoken to over the years have had these same withdrawal symptoms. The most common were all of the ones I experienced above.

I got off the drug for good on January 1st 2007. The withdrawal was extremely difficult and it was very tempting to take a capsule just to ease the pain. I was in pain when I went to bed, had restless sleep and nightmares and night sweats. I was dizzy and nauseas throughout the day with headaches that wouldn't go away and had an abdomen that was cramped up in pain. Then the cycle would repeat all over again. This lasted for 3 weeks with the first week being the most intense. The 2nd two weeks were bearable but only because the first was so painful in comparison. As I write this it's now April 2007 and looking back I can safely say that after a month the withdrawal symptoms had either gone away completely or had diminished significantly.