unbelievable!

[umami_mommy]

my DH stopped effexor a week ago. it was making him feel terrible. he's still having symptoms even though he weaned off of it exactly as the doc said. so he researched it today and discovered that some people have lingering problems 2 months after stopping and some people don't feel right a year later!!

why did the doctor not discuss these risks with him?

[BellinghamCrunchie]

Probably because when you research things on the internet you'll find a huge variety of symptoms people will ascribe to this medication or that, and the doctor goes only by the PDR.

And probably because the pharmaceutical company didn't do a whole lot of longevity studies, so there is nothing in the PDR about long-lasting side effects.

For what its worth, I've taken Effexor, and the withdrawal effects take a while to go away, but they do go away. Also, I found its better to take the taper the doctor prescribed and double it (that is, go twice as slowly as recommended, stretch it out). Most effects are caused by too rapid decrease in dosage. Effexor is a strange medication.

[Wrenae]

I took Effexor and seems to me I read somewhere to taper it 10% less every 2 weeks. I bought some empty gel caps and divvied the littlest capsules of Effexor into slowly decreasing ammounts and litterally until I was only getting a little sprinkle every day for the last 2 week period.

Effexor is known to be a hard one to discontinue. When I was taking it, if I missed a dose, I felt physically icky. If I happened to miss another dose later the same week, I felt absolutely horrible!

I have met 2 people who stopped cold turkey! OMG ... I can't imagine!

Good luck to your husband!

[umami_mommy]

he weaned off exactly as the doctor said. yesterday was a week and he was still feeling icky last night. i almost cried when he said "i just want to feel normal again."

[jillmamma]

I used to take Effexor (before my last pregnancy) and ran out before refilling once or twice, and I KNOW that can make you feel completely lousy! Did your DH switch to a different medicine, or is just not taking any more antidepressants? Strangely enough, when I found out I was pg and needed to switch to something better for pregnant/nursing (Prozac for me), my psychiatrist had me just one day stop Effexor, and start Prozac, and the withdrawal was not bad at all. I can also tell you that going off Prozac is WAY better than going off Effexor if you miss a dose or are no longer taking it due to its longer half life. I hope he feels better soon!

[lyterae]

I ran out and didn't have the money for my prescription and ended up stopping cold turkey. It was AWFUL. I felt terrible for about a month and it took about 2 months for all of the withdrawal symptoms to go away.

[babygrant]

I only took effexor for 4 days and couldn't take it anymore because of the side effects.

I hope your DH is feeling better.

[alicia622]

I take effexor xr and I don't always remember to take it. While I do notice a mood change, I don't have any physical side effects from not taking a couple days or so. DH is usually the one to suggest I forgot to take it because he notices my mood quickly going down the drain.

I have heard that this med is one of the worst to come off of. I used to take celexa and weaning myself off that was dreadful- I remember thinking this is what drug addicts feel like when they stop using.

[umami_mommy]

DH has a sensory modulation disorder, so his nervous system is really sensitive and doesn't function like most people's.

he is still having symptoms, though they are lessening. last night about 2 am he woke up sweating and shaking again. it usually happens about once a day. but it's getting less and less. i am hoping they will be gone soon.

i think we have decided that AD aren't a good drug in general for him. he keeps having bad side effects.

[punkrockmomma]

I'm Pristiq right now, which is basically Wyeth's answer to Effexor's patent running out in the next couple of years. It's still, basically Effexor, after the body metabolizes it. Anyway, I was really reluctant to take this AD because of the horrible withdrawal symptoms I had read about. I get withdrawal symptoms really bad from most AD, except Prozac, which doesn't really work for me. So, the plan my doc., and I have worked out is that when I decide to go off of it I'm going to take Prozac a couple of days, because it has such a long half life, and that should help with any withdrawal symptoms I may have, and it's not really trading one for the other because I'd only be taking the Prozac a couple of days. If your husband is still having withdrawal symptoms, have him call his doc, and see if this might be an option.

[zebra15]

Im late to the thread but a 2 yrs ago I was on effexor when i was trying to find the right med combo... i was on effexor for a short time frame and coming off it was horrible for me. (think major headaches, shakes, nausea etc). It was about 2-3 weeks to wean off effexor and start a new med before I was 'ok' again. Your DH should be working with a DR/psych when doing this.

psych meds are difficult.

[umami_mommy]

he is working with a psychiatrist. he followed his directions for coming off the meds exactly. however, he neglected to mention is SPD. he neglected to discuss with the doc how sensitive his CNS is or how strongly he's reacted to all these meds. (i blame them both, DH for not being upfront and the psych for not fully disclosing the risks of the meds, or getting to know my DH a bit before perscribing a really intense med for him)

anyway, i finally got him to agree to see my doc (since he's been in a holding pattern with the symptoms for the past 2 weeks now), and she felt the same thing i have. (but i have kept my mouth shut about it) that DH needs to work a bit harder at finding things that will sooth his CNS and make him physically feel better. he's just kind of wallowing in the symptoms and doing nothing but working, sleeping and complaining. it's been a long 6 weeks.

[MoonWillow]

I took Effexor for a bit and hated it as well. Its trial and error unfortunately.

[VisionaryMom]

I've taken it and stopped twice. The first time I found out I was pg and stopped cold turkey. I had 3 absolutely miserable days, and then I was okay. I weaned off of it the second time, and the problems seemed to linger for longer.

My GP told me its nickname among doctors is "side effexor."

Just wanted to say, too, that Effexor is *not* an anti-depressant. It's an anti-psychotic, and they work very differently. If anti-psychotics don't work, an anti-depressant may be a better choice.

[heathergirl67]

Originally Posted by VisionaryMom

Just wanted to say, too, that Effexor is *not* an anti-depressant. It's an anti-psychotic, and they work very differently.

Huh? Where did you get that information?

[umami_mommy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effexor

it is classified as a SNRI, which is used to treat major depression. it is not indicated for psychotic disorders.

[umami_mommy]

so my DH went to see the psychiatrist today who told him that it wasn't possible that his symptoms were related to the meds, (excuse me?) that it was "just" his anxiety returning since he's not on meds now, and he needs to see a therapist. since all these symptoms are widely documented on the internet as seratonin deficiency (a long term effect of withdrawing from effexor) and 5-HTP has made a major difference in how he feels, we feel like the doc is just playing cover your ass medicine. what a hack.