Have you had weird problems with Effexor withdrawal?

Question:

The past five days have been so weird. I am going off Effexor XR, and am having terrible vomiting, nausea, seeing and hearing things that I know aren't there, extreme headaches, and electric shock things in my head and eyes. I am going off it pretty slowly under a doctors care, but I am having a very hard time. How can I minimize the symptoms? I feel so toxic. Can't see very well, and am crying or hyper or exhausted, for about 15 minutes at a time. My eyes feel like they are crossing. Yesterday I had like spider lightning effects in front of my eyes and couldn't see well enough to even find our big Chevy pickup out of three vehicles in a parking lot. Anything moving or with stripes or dots is making me sick. The only time I feel okay is when I first take my Effexor dose for the day (have about three decent hours) or if I am laying on my back on the floor or ground. What to do? I am feeling cold and its 85 degrees out.

Answers:
I know exactly how you feel. I was prescribed Effexor in the early nineties when it was a very new drug and unfortunately no one seemed to know much about the withdrawal effects. I was on the drug for four years and when I decided to stop taking it I had a hellish few weeks which surprised me as it worked so well as an anti-depressants and while on it, had fewer side effects than many others. I felt like my eyes took a second to catch up if I moved my head round, like I had a metal rod from the top of my head to the base of my back, like electrical impulses were going off in my brain, a 'whooshing' sound in my ears and difficulty speaking (my tongue felt rigid). I was nauseous and had terrible headaches. The only cheering news I can give you is that it lasted no longer than two weeks - it does and will pass. Is there any way you can break the tablet in two and take half at morning half at night? I went back on Effexor about six years ago, just for a few months and this time I weaned myself off VERY slowly...

Good luck to you, and it WILL get better.

I didn't have any of that. I did almost cry one day and I was VERY IRRITABLE two days off the pill. But...I haven't had these other issues? Contact your doctor now, okay. S/he needs to hear about your specific issues.

Those are typical withdrawal symptoms. Effexor has one of the worst withdrawal issues of all those types of drugs.
You need to taper off that drug very very slowly, sometimes by 1-2mg every couple of weeks. Never quit cold turkey.

Read "The Antidepressant Solution: A Step-by-Step Guide to Safely Overcoming Antidepressant Withdrawal, Dependence, and Addiction"

Yes, yes, yes, I though I was the only one! I can feel it starting even if I am 5 or 6 hours late taking to late. And when I could not afford my meds for 2 weeks, I thought I would take a vacation at Mental Hospital.
Oh, call you doc's nurse and tell her about it, you need a better routine to stop the Effexor.

I had an awful time coming off Effexor.
I couldn't stop crying/screaming and was literally banging my head against the wall.
I was okay after a few days, but it's the worst medication I've had to come off.

Have you had weird problems with Effexor withdrawal?

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