I have been taking anti-depressants for years and I am slowly

[driver8]

reducing my dosage (with my doctor's supervision, of course).

I have struggled with depression and anxiety in the past and have been taking Effexor and Wellbutrin. I saw my doctor about a month ago and he reduced the dosage I was taking. The Effexor causes raging headaches if you don't take it, and I told him that I wanted to quit taking it. I am now taking 75mg a day and hope to move to 37.5mg soon.

Is there anyone in the lounge who has quit taking Effexor after taking it for so long? What was your experience?

[driver8]

1. I'm kicking this...someone must have had experience with Effexor.

[BarenakedLady]

2. All I can tell you

is that if I forget a dose, I'm deathly ill within 24 hours. I made that mistake ONCE. I'm on 150mg. I'd be frightened to wean off it unless, like you, with a doctor's supervision. I've been talking it for over a year.

[LeftyFingerPop]

3. There is a phenomenon known as "brain jolts"....

that is very common when weaning off Effexor.

I experienced them. They are frightening, but not dangerous.

They literally feel like electrical shocks inside your head, or a momentary rush of severe dizziness.

For me, they would happen when I moved my eyes from side to side, or if i turned my head quickly to the side.

I also experienced a rapid and acute acceleration of my depression. This was short-lived however.

Just go slow, follow your doctor's schedule for you coming off the drug, and you will be fine.

Please be careful...Effexor can have absolutely horrible withdrawal symptoms if you do it wrong.

[BarenakedLady]

4. Those are my first sign

if I forget to take my pill. I take them in the am. If I forget, I get the brain jolts by evening. They are usually few and far between. Then progressively more often and worse. By the following morning I feel like I have a severe flu and extremely nauseated. I could barely move, the brain jolts were sooooo bad.

I haven't forgotten for that long since.

[LeftyFingerPop]

5. The same would happen to me...

after only one dose.

It is truly frightening how fast those symptoms manifest.

It is a powerful drug to be sure...

Now that I am thinking about it... I remember missing 2 doses, getting the brain jolts, and dropping to my knees crying in my kitchen as a wave of depression overcame me.

It's strange because my depression was in control, and then only 2 missed doses brought it back with a vengeance.

Nice to see you BNL...I hope things are well with you today. :hi: :hug:

[Adsos Letter]

19. Yes, I second philboy's advice and cautions...

the drug is a nasty one to come off of, and you should definitely do it with your doc's supervision.

Once you're completely off it the side-effects will disappear rapidly.

Best of luck! :hi:

[soleft]

6. My gf has been weaning off effexor extremely slowly for months now.

Literally opening up the capsul and counting the granuals and reducing the dosage very gradually grain by grain.

She's on hold right now tho - because she has been experiencing heart palpatations and the heart doctor she's seeing wants to make sure it's not related.

She has terrible withdrawal symptions if she doesn't take it, and is eager to get off.

[Blue Diadem]

15. That's what my daughter wants to do.

I've heard that effexor can raise cholesterol levels too, my daughter's is very high and the last time she saw the Dr. she was told that the medicine does contribute.

Her Dr. told her to go off it quite some time ago, but with no dosage less than 37.5, she's not been successful at just abruptly stopping. She read online about the method your GF is using and that's what she's going to try.

Hugs to your GF, I hope everything turns out ok with her heart and that she's successful in getting off the effexor.

[soleft]

17. Thank you, She's actually getting a heart monitor today

To wear for a few days.

I was having heart palpatations too, weirdly. Went and got it checked out and doctor says everything looked okay. I think it was stress. Haven't had any for a a month or two.

Hope your daughter's successful!!

[siligut]

23. Heart palpitations.

Not to start a subthread, but withdrawal can be tricky. How to help your gf care for her heart. Caffeine is the biggest offender. However, making sure to get enough calcium, magnesium and boron is very important.

Also potassium, low potassium is responsible for many a palpitation and a dangerous heart condition know as ventricular tachycardia, sort of like palpitations that don’t stop after 6 or 7.

[Javaman]

7. I've been taking it for just over a year now for anxiety.

I'm hoping to drop my dose very soon, probably next month.

when I don't take it, I don't get headaches, but I do get this very bizarre feeling of electrical nerve impulses jumping throughout my body. It's really very trippy actually. LOL I've had pretty good luck with it.

[mickeyraul]

8. What's depressing you?

Maybe you should see a psychologist and try to discover the root of your depression. Maybe by tackling your problems you could soon be off meds.

[LeftyFingerPop]

9. Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Depression is a FUCKING ILLNESS.

[Connonym]

10. you, sir, are an idiot

and a jerk.

[Shakespeare]

11. What a profoundly stupid and ill-informed post.

You have no CLUE about depression.

[khashka]

18. Oh for fuck's sake, let me clue you in.....

As a trained psych (count my degrees and years working)....

Depression can be an illness. Mine is. Life long. It can also be a reaction to circumstances, unresolved issues, stuff like that.

It's not always the same thing.

mickeyraul was not giving bad advice.

Khash.

[LeftyFingerPop]

21. I call bullshit.

psychiatrist or psychologist?

My psychiatrist would tell you that you are confusing the TRIGGER with the ILLNESS.

So would most "trained" professionals.

Meds and talk therapy are part of the control of the ILLNESS.

And while his advice was not bad if it were to be expounded upon, as it stands alone, his advice perpetuates the myth that depression is not an illness.

if you are indeed "trained", you should know better than to imply what you are implying on a public message board.

[Shakespeare]

24. Well said. n/t

[Adsos Letter]

22. I agree...

I went through talk therapy for years, and it helped.

It still didn't handle the biological aspect of the depression, which the medication alleviated, and which allowed talk therapy to help improve my life and outlook overall.

Still...I gotta' stay on my meds to keep the physiological manifestation of depression from kicking in.

IMHO, much of the confusion on this issue comes from the overprescription of anti-depressants without enough consideration for the differences in categories you pointed out.

[Connonym]

25. I disagree, it was a very dismissive post

Certainly therapy is helpful and not all people require medication to deal with their depression but some of us need both therapy and life-long medical treatment. I've been clinically depressed for over 20 years and in the beginning after I would get relief from the antidepressant I would think I was cured and would go off meds only to fall back into a deep depression. Finally I realized that I'm stuck with this for life and my quality of life is so much better with medication and therapy that I won't ever go off meds again. To throw out that comment without knowing the OP's particular circumstance is presumptuous and indicates a lack of understanding that clinical depression is not the same as situational depression. Furthermore, since the OP said he's weaning off the meds and specifically the issue is withdrawal telling him to get therapy won't do a fucking thing for the problem of withdrawal. The OP wasn't asking for anything except advice on dealing with withdrawal, he wasn't asking how to deal with the depression. I've heard the "just snap out of it" or "get a hobby to take your mind off of it" bullshit too many times and I know that a lot of people don't know jack shit about how awful the situation can be. Even though you clearly prefer therapy I think you're being rather callous yourself (especially considering your personal experience with the subject matter). Are you like that with your clients? Because if so, I think your attitude could be construed as more harmful than good with the implication that someone just needs to snap out of it.

[Adsos Letter]

29. I'll just reacknowledge my agreement with you...

without getting into a flame-fest with any others here...

You probably shouldn't have used the phrase "let me clue you in" because all of us who have dealt with severe, clinical depression are well aware of the in's and out's of the illness.

Still...I do believe mickeyraul's advice was well-meaning, if a bit clueless in considering what all of us sufferers know from first hand experience.

A lot of reaction comes from people telling us we don't need drugs which we all KNOW that we do.


EDIT: Lexapro STILL hasn't corrected my spelling deficit... :dunce:

[LeftyFingerPop]

39. Thinking about this further, I have 3 questions for you

1) What do you mean by "trained psych"? What exactly are your qualifications?

2) You state that depression CAN be an illness. What reliable medical tests are available that determine whether, as you say, it is an illness or not an illness?

3) You state that depression can be a reaction to circumstances. Please explain the term "reaction". Is this "reaction" a change in brain chemistry? If so, is this considered an illness? If not a change in brain chemistry, is the reaction merely "sadness" and therefore not depression in the first place?

Thank you.

[KitchenWitch]

26. How awfully unenlightened of you.

Have you not heard of chemical imbalances. All the talk therapy in the world cannot cure that.

x(

[BarenakedLady]

28. Sometimes it is biological

Talk therapy doesn't help that.

[siligut]

32. It is complex and I don’t want to get into it.

There has been research that shows trauma can change brain chemistry. People don’t react the same way to trauma due to chemistry. Lifestyle also affects chemistry. There are cases where precipitating factors are not evident and that depression is congenital. To deny that depression is a disease is cruel and ignorant. However I believe talk therapy can be a good adjunct to treatment with meds.

I know that you are saying that talk therapy doesn’t fix an inherent chemical imbalance, I agree.

[BarenakedLady]

40. Exactly

There is no one-size-fits-all description of depression or cure for depression. The variables are unending. My depression is biological and environmental. Therapy did help to an extent, but I still need the meds to balance out my chemical imbalance.

I got a "just snap out of it and get happy" vibe from the post I was replying to. That attitude usually raises my hackles a bit.

[driver8]

35. Believe me...I've been seeing a psychiatrist AND a therapist.

I've been feeling much better, which is why I want to get off of the meds.

[Fox Mulder]

38. Sometimes it's not a problem in life that a person is going through...

that's causing the depression. Sometimes it's a chemical that someone is missing that's causing it and the medication will help that.

You should try being a little more sensitive to those of us who are suffering from depression.

[Westegg]

41. Get a clue, pal.

[gemdem]

47. Take that happy tune you want people to whistle

and blow it out your ass!

You obviously don't understand anything about what depression is.

:mad:

[pdx_prog]

12. I took Paxil for a short period of time....

I couldn't take it anymore....especially after I told an entire restaurant full of people to go fuck themselves....lol

[siligut]

13. I used to work in a position where I helped people with withdrawal.

I don’t take them but I know about them. SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have to be weaned down. Bodies adapt to the drugs and alter the production of serotonin, so slow withdrawal allows the body to readapt.

Flu-like symptoms are most reported, however, much research indicates serotonin may be at the root of migraines, so that could explain the headaches. Here are two links. The first gives the “how to” and the second gives tips on how you might feel and how to take care of yourself.
http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/taper.htm

Scroll down to “As You Go Off an Antidepressant…”
http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Depression/treatment/antidepressants/article_withdrawl.asp

I wish you luck, and success. However, my genuine thought is, better to take the medication than suffer from depression. I also believe our environments cause the depression in many people.

[khashka]

14. Me

Effexor worked great for awhile - then I had bad side effects. Migraines(I get one maybe once or twice a year and I was having them all the time), weight gain (when I quit it I lost 70lbs. Only time in my life I've been fat.)

Quitting it was actually pretty easy. Although taking it helped, I found not taking it also helped.

Just cut down slowly....

Khash.

[BarenakedLady]

27. The weight gain

Is really, really getting me down.


:(

[driver8]

43. I never realized that weight gain was a side effect...

I thought I was getting fat from sitting on my ass all the time!

[Adsos Letter]

16. I quit taking Effexor XR about 6 years ago...

I HATED that drug...it caused weight-gain, "brain-shivers" and other unpleasant side-effects.

I had only taken it a couple of years and chose to quit it during a case of serious flu (hey, if you're gonna be miserable for awhile...) BUT YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO STAY UNDER YOUR DOC'S SUPERVISION WHILE YOU DO IT. I don't mean to sound alarmist, just wanna' underscore that keeping your doc aware of what and how you are doing is important.

So...you have my complete empathy and sympathy...and the effects of getting the meds out of your sysrem WILL GO AWAY once you are totally off them. :)

I take Lexapro now, and it has no side-effects that I am aware of, even if I miss a dose here and there.

Best of luck to you! It will get better, PROMISE!!!

:hi:

EDIT: Lexapro has not, however, improved my spelling... :dunce:

[hobbit709]

20. Lat year my wife got off all her meds like that

Every time she saw the doctor, he would add another one to the list. She was on Effexor, Paxil, Seroquel, Clonazepam and a couple of others. With the help of her GP she slowly weaned her off of them-took almost a year. She feels a lot better with less depression and anxiety attacks than she had while on all those meds. Her therapist agrees that she's much better without them. It was the the psychiatrist that was prescribing them and adding more all the time. She couldn't function at work, couldn't focus and was zoned out all the time. Now she's able to do things and get out and about.

[Heidi]

30. For me, when I'm depressed, I always refer to two things, one of which is a gift you gave me:

This thread recounting your sweet Leah's take on pet "shedding": http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=4459593#4459919

And this photo of my sister-in-law's cat, Barley (brother of The Wiley and Excellent Cat Named Ginger), begging at my patio door.

[driver8]

36. Ha Ha -- that is a great photo!

Leah's comments were pretty funny, weren't they?

[ceile]

31. Frickin' horrible!!

Sorry, don't mean to scare you. I have been on and off meds for years (I've never taken anything for much longer than 1 1/2 to 2 years-I always level out) and think the side effects from getting off Effexor were the worst. Headaches, shaking, panic attacks, sleeplessness. This was about 10 years ago and I can still "feel" the shakes. Good luck to you. :hug:

[newmajority]

33. I'm no doctor and can only speak from personal experience, but

You might want to consider the natural alternative 5-HTP. You can find it any place where natural supplements are sold. No horrible side effects. Actually some good ones.... it may help you sleep a little better, and it cuts carb cravings, which might help some people lose weight, if they need to.

I can honestly say the stuff saved my life when I was in a horrible depression several years ago.

[siligut]

34. Okay, just a reminder.

There is a condition known as serotonin syndrome. I agree 5HTP along with B6 can help some forms of depression. However, anyone should talk with their doctor if they are weaning off an SSRI and want to try 5HTP.

[Flying Dream Blues]

42. I agree...5HTP has helped me with mood and cravings. I only realized how much

it helped when I ran out and started wolfing down the carbs again like it was my job. :)

[Fox Mulder]

37. I was on Effexor a few years ago...

and I quit it cold turkey after being on it for a year or so. That was the dumbest thing I've ever done. For two weeks I was totally out of it and I felt like I was disconnected. I never had headaches though.

Edited to add that I'm on Prozac now and I haven't had any problems from it. Of course I'm only taking 20 mg.

[driver8]

44. Thank you for your responses -- I appreciate it!! n/t

[hunter]

45. Quitting Effexor is a wild ride.

Make sure your social safety nets are secure before you start.

[nomorenomore08]

46. I can only speak for myself, but despite my long-term depression, medication just isn't for me.

I was on Zoloft for about a year (August 2003-September 2004, IIRC), for both anxiety and depression. The first few months I seemed to feel better, although it may have simply been my optimism about starting college. By November, though, I was closer to suicide than I'd ever been, and by February the combination of personal issues and possible medication effects led to me spending an afternoon and evening in a psych ward being evaluated. After that my dosage was increased, not once but twice, and a low dose of Risperdal (normally a drug for schizophrenics :crazy:) was added to the mix. Still didn't fix the problem.

So finally, around the start of my sophomore year, I decided I was done with the whole thing, and I quit both drugs cold turkey. At the same time I abruptly stopped talking to my long-time therapist, whom I'd been keeping in touch with by phone. Since then I've had my ups and downs, including some serious (though short-lasting) low points, but ironically I've never come anywhere near as close to taking my own life as I was on Zoloft. I managed to graduate college on time, in June 2007, and while I'm currently living at home and unemployed, I can't say things have worked out all that badly for me.

In the interest of full disclosure, some people over the past few years have suggested I seek professional help, but considering all the years of therapy I've had already, it would seem close to Ben Franklin's definition of insanity (doing the same thing, etc. etc.) to try it over again. And really, it's not as if I was horribly abused as a child, or anything dramatic like that - I figure those therapeutic resources are better spent on real trauma victims.