Does anyone get SEVERE withdrawls from their anti-anxiety medication?

[Fenris]

I take Effexor on account of my social/generalized anxiety disorder. If I run out of medication (for various reasons) my body starts suffering. I'm going through a bout right now, and my head and body are swimming. Does anyone else on anti-anxiety/anti-depressant medication get these sort of painful withdrawl symptoms?

[drb]

1. You betcha! Very common!

Google: Effexor withdrawl side effects, and you get 49,600 hits.

[H2O Man]

2. I think most people do.

Though I'm retired now, I worked for a mental health clinic. In the past decade, a wide variety of new, improved medications were placed on the market. They were all, of course, over-prescribed. That's not to say that some people do not need them. But, the truth is that those who prescribe many of these medications do not inform the consumers of the serious side effects that are encountered when one stops using the medication. And the goal should rarely be to have anyone take medication nonstop, forever. If you are experiencing the symptoms that you might expert a heroin addict to experience upon withdrawal, it is a clue that you are on the wrong medication. Though withdrawal is uncomfortable, even painful, you might want to consider what your body is expressing to you. Good luck. (I always felt that medication was terribly over-prescribed.)

[Bossy Monkey]

3. Is normal. Literature says taper down, don't go cold turkey

Here: http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/venlafax_ids.htm towards the bottom. This is the same stuff that's in the Physician's Desk Reference and also the package inserts, but written bigger and machine-searchable.