Ongoing dizziness and vertigo. Rapid flash waves of slurring dizziness (like turning to liquid for like 1/4 of a second and back), especially when I move suddenly. Waves of numbness through my body. Mental confusion.
Extremely unpleasant.
Good thing I’m not working, or I’d be home “sick”, because there’s no way I’m getting behind the wheel while this is going on!
Anyone else out there gone through this and want to share your experience? Anyone still taking this stuff wanna come and express shock at your eventual fate?
I’d do a search for this topic, but…well, you know. The whole subscription thingy.
Yup, been there. I call it the ‘brain zappies’. I had to quit taking Effexor altogether because I’m horrible at remembering to take meds and if you miss by even a few hours you enter into another dimension of perception.
It feels like your brain is on a second and a half lag from your body, small lightningstorms dancing across your cerebral cortex. Dizziness doesn’t even begin to describe it because it’s something even more ingrained, it’s not just a feeling of being off-balance, but rather a feeling that the entire space-time continuum is slowly lapsing around you. Almost like someone is tugging and picking at the corner of whatever it is that makes us conscious.
I think it took me a full week before I felt back to ‘normal’, or at least could no longer noticably discern the effects of the medication. It was almost even fun for the first day, but I felt like I was going mad after that. Unfortunately I could not take any time off work. That was fun. Heh.
I can relate my boyfriend’s experience with stopping Effexor. He described terrible cottonmouth, leg jumpiness at night so he couldn’t sleep and a “whirring” in his ears like a helicopter.
I had the pleasure as well. My doctor passed it to me like candy for mild and temporary depression. I should have educated myself before starting to take it, but I was young and stupid.
First, it didn’t work for me in the slightest. Second, withdrawal was brutal and lasted forever. I slowly stepped down what was a minimal dose to begin with and made it through. Thanks Doc.
I feel your pain. Just like XJETGIRLX, I had brain zaps. It felt like I was getting an electric shock with eye or head movements. Very unpleasant, and sometimes upsetting.
It took me a solid 3 months to get off it. Of course, my dosage was 300 mg. & it took me a while to gradually step down. Funny thing is, my mood and well-being aren’t any worse off now. I guess it wasn’t helping all that much. I wouldn’t wish depression/ anxiety on anyone.
“Almost even fun for the first day”. Heh. Wouldn’t say that at all.
But yeah, “dizziness” doesn’t begin to describe it.
And StGermain, yes, step down. Drag it out for a very long time. I stepped off a very low dose. It’s still bad.
Read a site saying that 78% experience these symptoms and that Effexor is now considered worse than Paxil (Spawn of Satan) for withdrawal difficulties. Feh. If that had been known when I started taking these things I would have physically assaulted my Doc for even suggesting that I take these damned things.
Too bad we can’t get some of these meds outlawed. They’re worse than the disease and seemingly criminally dangerous.
Effexor is the devil, imo. I took it for 3 years. I begged my dr. to take me off it, but he kept assuring me it was working, that’s why I was feeling better. What an asscrackhead. I took myself off s l o w l y and pretty painlessly. I actually wrote every dosage on paper. I started out with 24 hrs, then 25 hrs and etc. I kept extending it one hour until I was down to a week between pills, then just quit taking them. My brain actually knew when it was time for another pill. I suffered with the brain shocks and i swear to god I could sincerely HEAR the blinks of my eyes! I wouldn’t wish Effexor on my worst enemy. It’s been 2 years since I took myself off. I’m just now cluing in that I really should be on “something”, but I’m scared to get back in that cycle.
I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about Effexor. I extend my sincerest sympathies and well-wishes to those who are victims of this drug.
Personally, if any doctor of mine started hinting about prescribing Effexor, I would get up and leave, right then. There are a few things I just cannot stand for, and that’s one of them.
Seamonkey, there are much better meds out there. Most antidepressants nowadays are non-addictive and safe. Get a new doctor and ask him/her to recommend something, and then do some research on it online before you agree to anything. Tell your doctor something like “It’s my personal policy to do independent research on drugs before I agree to take them, because I’ve had bad experiences with prescription drugs in the past.” Also, insist that your doctor tell you everything relevant about the drug–addiction potential, possible side effects, severity of withdrawals if applicable, etc. My doctors are pretty good about this. If you look hard enough you’ll find doctors who aren’t afraid to give you the straight dope – most doctors are good and honest. Don’t let the bad apples get to you.
fetus I don’t think that suggesting effexor is an automatic indication that a doctor is worth dismissing as a caregiver. If they’re giving effexor out like candy then I’d be wary.
My kid was on effexor last year for a short time after he failed yet another trial of SSRI meds. OMFG. The week where he came off effexor rates up there with some of the worst of my life. We did it slowly and he was on a small dose to start with but it was eeeeeeevil. Anyone going through that has my deepest sympathies.
Primaflora, I’ve never heard about a single positive experience involving Effexor. You’re right in that it’s a bit of an exaggeration to say that any doctor who even suggests it must be a quack…but it would still make me uneasy, since it is AFAIK mostly ineffective and extremely addictive. The gist of most of the Effexor experiences I’ve heard of is “I’d rather be depressed than take Effexor.”
Well, I can honestly say that I’ve never felt as good as I did when I was on Effexor. It’s the only time in my life I’ve been completely anxiety-free, and didn’t leave me feeling empty, hollow or emotionless. But since I can’t take my pills regularly the intermittent brain zaps were not worth trying to stay on it. I’m managing quite well without it now, just having known what it feels like to live without anxiety is a good motivator, and I’m working towards that same level of wellbeing without drugs now.
My sister has had a positive experience with Effexor! She was on anti-depressant after anti-depressant. She spent years in therapy. Nothing seemed to help. She was always borderline suicidal, and miserable. Effexor changed her life. She is now reasonably happy and fun to be around. She says that she’ll never go off of Effexor. Ever!
And having said that, she also plans on never missing another dose in her life either. She calls withdrawl “the zaps” and absolutely hates it!
Just to add a datapoint…
I feel for the OP as I had similar problems coming off Paxil, but moving from Effexor XR(Slow Release capsules) to another med caused me no problems at all. These anti-depressants realy seem to effect different people in very different ways.
I described it to my husband as “like having a fever of 106…but without the fever, and actually kind of worse.” Y’all are calling it “the zaps” - that sounds about right. And I agree that it was strangely fun for the first full day (then again, I’ve experimented with drugs in the past, so maybe I’m just open to having my brain messed with), but the inability to “sober up” as 'twere the next day SUCKED. The day after I was finally able to get some more meds, thank gawrd.
Worst part? The day after I ran out I drove three hours from Baltimore to Richmond. Fortunately I only felt kinda weird at that point. It was the next day that screwed me up. Tark had to stay home from work that Monday because I was incapable of taking care of the kids.
However…Effexor (or, as I call it, 3ff3xx0r) has helped me. I don’t get suidical. I don’t get an almost irresistable desire to just get in the car and go ANYWHERE and forget my family and start a new life. Therefore, I’m more than willing to stay on it.
Wow! I’m having all that fun right now, too. Glad to know that the wierd stuff in my head is NORMAL.
StGermain, yeah, you are supposed to back off slowly or else you do dumb stuff like kill yourself. In my case I ran out of Effexor the other day and have neglected to get it refilled. Since a 24 hour dose sometimes wears off after 12 hours for me I keep some Welbutrin around because a) I had some and b) it helps with the weirdness. I figured I could take the Welbutrin for a couple days since they operate about the same and, like I said, it helps when the Effexor wears off early. It worked for the first day or two.
Not anymore. I am both dizzy and hostile.
So I just called the pharmacy and will pick up my refill at lunch.
Been there. My doctor prescribed them for me for a short, temporary bout of depression. (Of course, at the time I didn’t realize it would be temporary.) He assured me that I could just stop taking them anytime I wanted to, no withdrawal to worry about. Like an idiot, I believed him.
The Effexor did help me through that time, but after about a year I knew I didn’t need it anymore. I decided to slack off gradually. I knew from missing a few doses that I would suffer some withdrawal.
Oi, the misery! I called the brain zaps “brain shivers.” I was completely miserable for a couple of weeks. I was so upset…For awhile I was afraid I had permanently damaged my brain.
I can say, though, that for some reason taking cold medicine helped. I think it was Nyquil…seemed to dull those brain shocks or whatever they were. So maybe try that.
Also, I think I can safely say that my brain was not damaged permanently, after all. After the first two or three weeks, I was feeling better than I had for awhile, even before I went off. (I was on the meds way too long.)
So don’t worry, this too shall pass. Just hang in there.
Positive experience here. I’ve been taking Effexor XR for two years (currently 300mg/day) and it’s controlled my depression and anxiety better than any SSRI I’ve tried.
If I miss a dose, though, within 8 hours I get the dizziness/vertigo/confusion. This has led to 1) Coffee ‘n’ Meds as a morning routine; 2) Automated Pharmacy Refills.
Over the course of four doctors and five antidepressants, though, I’ve never been told to go off them cold turkey. At least six weeks has been allowed each time I taped off/switched over, to minimize or avoid withdrawal problems.
I’m going to speak up as another who is glad to be on this Effexor stuff. This does not mean that I like the effects I get when I forget my dose, but it does leave me less unstable, more able to avoid going all stressed out and stuff. I, personally, don’t noticed what it does for me, but when everyone around me can tell when I’ve missed a few doses, I’ll accept that it IS doing something for me.
Having said that, skipping a dose, or going off, is pure Hell. If you’ve ever read Tim Powers’ Expiration Date one of the characters description of ‘bar time’ is a pretty good description of what I go through. I feel like I’m reacting to things before they happen. And I can’t control it. One of the worst experiences I had was when I went to visit a friend in Boston for a few days, and forgot to pack my pills. Because I was out of state, my insurance at the time wouldn’t cover an emergency script, without going to an ER, and I could NOT get the meds, driving back to Rochester took something like 16 hours, instead of 8, because I had to keep pulling over to rest and let the world get back to normal.
‘The zaps’ would work as a name for me, too, if I hadn’t already decided on ‘bar time’.
Oddly enough, even the withdrawl symptoms aren’t the worst part of Effexor for my tastes - it was the dreams. I went from having one dream a month, on average, to getting as many as four a night. Which wouldn’t have been too bad, if it weren’t for the fact that they were 95% of the time vivid, violent, gory, and deadly. (I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been killed in dreams.)
Thanks for sharing the positive Effexor experiences. I still don’t think I would ever take it just because of its sheer addictiveness. It’s the only drug I’ve heard of that seems to give everyone bad withdrawals. Has anyone taken it and never experienced withdrawals?
