Getting off the drug effexor (Day 1)

[Zeflesera]

I really hated the brain zaps...don't go cold turkey

[rddbba]

its people like you who make the Pharmaceuticals succeed in t esting drugs on human beings without a brain left for thinking

[rddbba]

My God get rid of it slowly please it is deadly it messess up with the heart rythm by the brain and in the end heart stops You are an experiment to science and the pharma NWO antichrist

[rddbba]

My God get rid of it slowly please it is deadly it messess up with the heart rythm by the brain and in the end heart stops

[ihateEffexor]

Effexor ruined my life... Please shoot me now!

[jeepstar9]

i was on efexor xr 150 mg for 2 1/2 years. hated needing it so i got off it for 4 yrs. currently taking venlafaxine. had 2 get back on it didnt feel normal for 4 years. went to the E.R. with an anxiety attack, so i gave back in.... this drug is worse then herroione. never did that but i can understand where junkies stand. its like a legal drug 4 me.... how much will u pay to feel normal? i have no ins. so its so expensive and ur rite wen its time 2 take it and u 4get u r like a druggie tryin 2

[Thereminized]

I hate Effexor.  Been on it 6 months. When I stop taking it i get really hyper for a week. After that I can't stop crying. Effexor, Zoloft, Lithium and Prozac are proof that I am beyond help. I am quitting this stupid drug. Dropped from 150mg to 75mg in a matter of 2 days. Now going to drop to 37.5mg. Effexor did not help my depression. I've been getting horrible nightmares. This sruff is worse than LSD.

[ihateEffexor]

@Thereminized Indeed! EFFEXOR IS AN EVIL DRUG!!!

[ayilatan]

i've been taken Effexor XR 150 for the past 4 years and once while traveling overseas i lost it and wasn't taking it for the whole week. didn't have any withdrawals besides vivid nightmares sometimes.. i guess i am lucky

[sav8665]

Efexor is the WORST medication to come off. I have been on many medications but miss a few doses of Venlafaxine and you know all about it. Are you off it now? How did it go? I am on 300mg.

[JDavies444]

Yep, been off of it for over 3 years. Check the summary video in my channel

[OrthodoxDarwinist]

@sav8665

First switch to a SSRI like zoloft and then after a while on that, lower the dose, then after a while stop altogether.

Take it from me, it is IMPOSSIBLE to quit Effexor once you've been on a high dose by just stopping it. Your brain goes haywire and the nausea is worse than anything imaginable.

Just go to the local doc, don't tell them you're on Effexor (to cover their arse they always say to just keep taking it), and just ask for a SSRI script.

PS: 300mg is ridiculous!

[stowjer]

I normally take 150mg xr capsule daily. I have not taken any in 5 days now and my head is very dizzy! The important thing is not to think about it and to remember that any weird feelings in your head are simply physical withdrawal effects and not the return of any anxiety or panic setting in! Its 0713 in the morning and i'm waiting for my chemist to open at 0900 so i can get my fix kick this horrible dizzy feeling and inability to concentrate.

[365daysgone]

Are you insane? you drop your dosage every 5 days!? Youre doctor must be an idiot! I went from 150mg and dropped it every month and still have started feeling LIKE CRAP!!!

[islamrapesthemind]

taking natural GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) works great and has no weird side effects. you can get it at vitacost website on the internet.

[bfuthisisit]

i just had a 75 mil 1 and im feeling fair fucc kd and had some cones and feeling way wack

[SnedTube]

You can't get high on Effexor so you're talking shit

[herrapikkarainen]

Actually it IS possible to experience a euphoric high when on this antidepressant, especially when the medication has just been started or when the dosage is increased.

[InfinityDose]

effexor is a dumb drug to try and get high off of, only thing u'll get is a limp dick for 2 days.

[SnedTube]

I'm on day 3 of withdrawal. I foolishly ran out on Saturday. It's now 4am on Tuesday, I wasn't able to order them yesterday and now won't get them til tomorrow late afternoon.

Withdrawal is in full swing right now and I'm on 300mg. I cannot describe how bad this is. Not just physically. Mentally I'm in a very dark place, I feel like my soul is vanishing, I feel weak-minded, extremely vulnerable, paranoid... and I can feel little glimpses of insanity breaking through. I can't cope right now

[InfinityDose]

i had to open each capsule and remove 5 more beads than the pervious day, i think i did it over a period of like 1-2 months and that finally worked. previous to that i had tried unsuccessfully for a year to get off. gradual is the way to go, and try Cognitive behavioural therapy and natural supplements like gabba for anxiety, 5-htp and st. john's wort for sleep, and some other stuff

[flemming4ever]

I am no longer on the pills and back to feeling myself....don't judge others unless you walk in their shoes...I felt the same way you did fragile before my major depression. I thought people were just not strong enough. I don't agree with that statement anymore!!!!

[TheFragile89]

I don't judge anybody, I'm bipolar, so I walk the walk. And get offended when people (not you) say that I can't do it without meds. I've been doing it for 5 years. Don't be surprised if your symptoms come back in a couple.

[flemming4ever]

Hey Fragile, people have been doing it without meds for hundreds of years clearly, but it all comes down to your quality of life and the severity of your symptoms...if it comes down to thinking really bad thoughts and having a hard time with regular functioning from day to day...take the meds(in my opinion) But I am too young to stay on them, and I was happy once without them...

[flemming4ever]

I have just recently wheened off of them and I am feeling fine..I am just afraid the symptoms will return....which I pray they won't ....will just see:) All the best

[ccross112233]

youve been off meds for 5 years?

I agree, that if its possible, then take advantage of being drug free.

i just cold turkey'd off celexa, and might soon come off my 100mg of seroquel.

right now, my only drug that works for me is

ZOPICLONE

[TheFragile89]

besides cancer or bodily diseases.

[TheFragile89]

prescription drugs only mask the root problem, which is the reason why people see the symptoms return a few years down the road. Do research and you'll find that there is no reason to take prescription drugs ever. Natural methods can cure almost anything.

[TheThunderCunt]

Fuck you. You obviously don't have anxiety or major depression so you don't know what you're talking about.

[TheFragile89]

I've had both so fuck you right back.

[TheFragile89]

Do the research and you'll see what I mean, unless you're too apathetic to care.

[zardcat1111]

You're right, these assholes don't know shit about anxiety and depression. I hate these idiots that tell you, "Oh, you have sleep problems or stress a lot? Drink some tea or go to your local sprouts and pick up this vitamin.". Use common sense, if these "remedies" really do make a significant difference these drug companies would've been out of business years ago. People are fed up with health care in this country, so if drinking some tea or going to your local health store is the cure, are

[zardcat1111]

they stupid enough to still pay money for drugs? No. I have more faith in the average consumer. They don't go to their local health store, because they know that these vitamins and natural herbs don't do anything for people.

[Thereminized]

@TheThunderCunt I love your screen name! Sounds like one of my many tics. I would totally shout that on the street. Because in addition w/ being blessed w/ major depression, i have Tourette's Syndrome, IOW, I'm totally fucked!

[iBinary]

I totally agree, the side effects of this crap made me worse than I was in the first place. As soon as I took venlafaxine i was hostile and angry, when i stopped taking this, i suffered panic attacks which i had never had before.

TheThunderCunt fuck you.

[flemming4ever]

Sorry Fragile...I don't really agree with your natural methods, I had a major death in the family and went through really nbad depressions. Before the death i was quite happy...once depression hits, it hits! i tried every natural method for a year in a half, from exercise to St John's wart. Pills were my last resort, and thank God cause it saved my life!!!!

[TheFragile89]

You still on them?

[franchise516]

i take this drug ery day dryness of eyes random agnryness anxiety head aches in the pass i have 1nce withdrawd it truly sux cok u et rele angry and become very sweaty n hot

[jstreet0789]

I can relate, I have been on Effexor XR (150 mg) for about 6 months, I recently quit cold turkey b/c of not being able to pay for the meds. I have had some very odd side-effects. Dizziness, Fatigue, Nausea, Insomnia, Nervousness, Flu like symptoms, and some problems seeing. I would not recommend this drug to anyone. Has anyone ever had the side-effect of having high blood pressure when on it?

[AnglOsAxOn2]

Firstly, you quit because you could not pay for the drug? Not sure where your from but here in the uk if you dont work meds are free.Even so if you are in the usa once precribed efexor you should not be left alone.

Secondly, i take it due to a history of deppression,which i know have overcome,if i miss a tablet one day i get an odd felling around my eyes.Having said that the efexor is a great med to take, there are side affects comming off which can be overcome

[BTPossum]

Yeah, I have high blood pressure so I'm coming off 300mg a day.

How much are those damn things over there? I pay 5 bucks a month.

[JDavies444]

ya, in no way to i feel this is a "bad Drug" i think it helped me very much with my anxiety. I think that if it is helping with anxiety, stay on it...these videos are just showing the time I had getting off of it because I feel like I didnt need them anymore.....things are going well for me, have felt like I wanted to get back on them, but instead I deal with the anxiety head on and it usually subsides after a day or two.

[Muslim4Lyfe64]

Hey Davies.

For me I feel the anxiety attacks are so terrifying in themselves that I'd rather have the nausea or whatever than the anxiety. But maybe it is different for everyone. Hope you feel better off it. I'm on St. John's wort, 900mg a day I feel generally calmer than before.

[jadefalcon0]

I have been on effexor for a month or two now and it's been working great since week 2. Week 1 I did have some headaches, nausea and the like- my appetite did wane. After that I did pretty well- I am apathetic at times but stuff that made me panic before makes me think "eh what do I care" and I go about my day normally. WARNING: DO NOT miss a day. I've done so and gotten dizzy, vertigo, and tonight I got panic attacks. Back on the pill, two hours later I am doing good.

[JDavies444]

I am not sure why people keep asking me why im on it? why not switch....as you can see these ARE videos about me GETTING OFF the drug....ive been off of it since these videos were made

[RealLemonade]

oh and i forgot to add, i looked as though i was anxious , my pupils were so dialated .this is a horrible drug, why not talk to your doctor and change to something more tollerable.

[RealLemonade]

OMG i absolutley hate this drug, ive been on numerous antidepression/anxiety drugs , aswell as being a ex heroin addict and i only lasted 6 days on 75mg the cluttered thinking, sweats,shakes,and jumbled speech made my heroin days feel like a walk in the park. i went back on lexapro 20mg, and continue seeing a therapist,i dont know how this drug could work for some people, its so intense, u cant even function. i dont mean to put anyone off but why not try a milder drug without the side effects.

[digidrama]

i just started on effexor a week and a day ago. I have yet to see the effects because i'm new on it. I just started on the 75mg and I still have my continuous anxiety. I pray it'll work... my sister had been on this drug for her depression but started having suicidal thoughts so she stopped taking them

[wow06]

this is shit is fucked up i was takin that shit an was more fucked up then before i took it. i say fuck perscription drugs use holistic remedies such as medical marijuana works wonders for anixiety with lil or no side effects try it out an throw out those pills an stop letting quacks dose you with posien just so they can make a buck

[stormbouy]

i know 600mg sounds like a lot,it was 4x150mg tabs

i went blind with eye tremors for 3 days when i halved the dose in a hospital detox ,then my whole body went burning cold for about 3 months like i was in a bath of ice but i wasnt in a bath of ice.

my blood pressure went up really high and i got lots of stabbing pains too

nearly 3 years later im doing ok

no thanks to the doctors who wanted to keep me on the shit

[stormbouy]

i was on 600mg a day plus a bag full of other drugs for anxiety etc for 5 years

i was on disability pension and not copeing.

Then i detoxed with natural therapys AND GOT BETTER.

Now ive got 2 jobs looking after people with disabilities

go figure

[ZradargerioZ]

Can someone help me ...?

I'm just 16 and I suffer from GAD (generalized anx disord)

I feel like I'm dying.. I had suicidal thoughts..very dark thoughts.. I have that ''omg i'm not gonna be able to move on..

Do u know how to recover?

[JDavies444]

hey, sorry it took so long to respond, message me and let me know how you are doing

[Brunnhilda]

<I had a very strange experince with this drug. I'm taking 75mg per day due to the depression I have few months ago. And one day I realised that I have no more pills... It was one of the worst days in my life: panic, crying, terrible dreams and so on I felt worse then in the deepest depression.. Few days later I was talking about this experience to my psychologist and she said that the majority of those effects was no real side effects but my fear of them.

[Brunnhilda]

And some time ago the situation has repeated - I didn't take my pill. But this time almost nothing had happened - I only felt dizzy. But no panic, no depression, emotionally I was OK...

I was shocked! It's hard to belive the influence of an anticipatory fear can be so strong!

[Muuip]

Thank you for sharing.

Very well documented.

[SirAlfredSourcock]

I was on 150 mg for a couple of years. I decided to be a tough guy and quit cold turkey. It felt like I was being electrocuted for a month afterwards. Now I'm on Cipralex.

[kimip00]

man... i am presently on effexor XR, been on it steadily @ 75 mg since nov 2007, after a previously short (and mostly unsuccessful) stint on the drug back in dec 2005.

the psst 2 - 3 days. i hadn't been able to get to my walk-in clinic to get a refill, and those days were pure HELL. i'm talking, extreme vertigo (dizzyness) and nausea caused because of it. NO fun. effexor is definitely not something you want to stop abruptly. it's downright frightening, amoung other things!

[quarknimble]

i use tramadol instead of effexor.

works alot better with almost no side effects.

effexor withdrawal may be worse, actually.

[goodone1080]

I was taking two 75mg pills a day, now my doctor took me off, I gained around 50 pounds since I started with the medication and I also have the same side effects that you mention when I dont take the medication, I have been off it 4 days now, I have been feeling dizzy and stuff, but as each day passes it seems to be less intense, Luck to you man, thanks for the post.

[otterpop321]

From 75mgs to none, it took me 3 months to taper. It was horrible. I felt like my bones turned to ice, my stomach was clenching, vomiting, these shudders "brain shakes", it was a nightmare. Until quitting Effexor, going cold turkey from 2 packs of Marlboro's a day was the hardest thing ever... not now!!!

[schafer4016]

man i was on 75's of this stuff and i COULD NOT stop tossing/turning in bed. I also couldnt stop flexing my legs (you know that stretching feeling?).

[mettanc]

side effects suck!

from time to time i have to take 37.50, but i normally split that into.

just started taking a generic. doesn't seem to be working as good as the effexor.

hope all is good with u.

[MarkJGS]

I'm on 300mg a day

[JDavies444]

Thanks for everyone's concern!!! If you keep watching my videos you will see im now off of the effexor and feeling great!

[Tessietots]

Please contact me! I've been weaning for the past 3 and half months.. The withdrawals are horrendous. You are weaning far to quickly. Please take my advice.. I was on 150mg effexor xl (slow release). My presently down to a half or a quater! I get itchy and hallucinate, brain zaps, vomiting etc its endless. Just be careful. Contact me for more info if necessary. Take Care of yourself!...Tess

[PositivelyPrimitive]

I went through that too, it was horrible, took me 1.5 years to taper down from 300 mg/day. Tapering down again, but withdrawal is not as bad this time. Terrible vertigo though this time, room spins literally, tipping over.

[Tessietots]

Oh My heart is with you. I know how bad that is. If you can get to the doctor get a anti seasickness tablet called Stemitil. It works for the vertigo. very good! Its taken me 5 months and I took my last quater a month ago. No more withdrawals apart from the odd vertigo attack and brain zap! :) I'll never go back. Moods low but Im coping. Take Care of yourself

[symbolx69]

get off these drugs. I used to take them and I had horrible side effects that remain to this day.

[ethers]

Your taper should be over several months not a couple of days. A 50% dosage cut is too much. Every other day dosing is ill advised, as you will have interdose withdrawal. You better off reducing the dose by 10% every couple of weeks by counting "spheres."

[JDavies444]

Hmm, interesting, However, i do not believe Effexor makes pill dosages every 10 percent. I was told though if I do feel sick to take a little more until i dont, if that makes sense, but we will see how it goes, thanks for the comment!

[ethers]

Is it Effexor XR? If so you can take them apart and reduce 10% by counting "spheres." The bottom line is your body will let you know how fast you can go but generally speaking the tapering schedule your doctor gave you is not safe, especially with Effexor's extremely short half life. Best of luck though... Everyone's different though and one or another you'll get there!