Long term after effects from taking Effexor

Hi,

About 5 years ago I was in an absolutely wonderful relationship with a woman I would describe as being my soul mate.

About 12 months into the relationship, I was having issues with stress and anxiety from work due to long work hours and massive work loads, so I decided to go to the doctor, and he put me on Effexor.

Well, everything has changed since then in a very bad way. My relationship fell apart very quickly due to me being cold, unloving, and downright nasty at times, saying things that were totally uncharacteristic of me. I started going out drinking all the time, which led to even more problems due to the horrendous interraction of Effexor with alcohol - making me due really stupid things, and form very irrational decisions.

Basically, my life turned into a foggy, irrational, steaming pile of crap. About 2 1/2 years ago, I decided it was time to stop taking this drug, and I had no idea at the time how much it had torn my life apart. It took 6 months to ween myself off of it due to the horrific side effects (dizziness, brain shocks, fatigue, and feeling foggy headed all the time), but I got through most of that ok.

The problem is that two years since finally stopping, I am nowhere near the person I used to be. Daily life is a big challenge for me, I very rarely feel clear headed, I don't know if I could hold down a new job (I lost my last one due to these side effects), and even just walking around and trying to do normal things is a chore. I sleep way too much, but seem to never get any real restful sleep.

I constantly feel foggy and unbalanced, and a little dyslexic at times. It's as if I'm not really here a lot of the time, but caught in a horrible haze.

If only there were some way to reverse these after effects - I would give ANYTHING to get my old life back. Just to be the same person I was before touching this abomination of a drug.

You would think that after 2 years, a person would be back to normal, but no... something changed in me, and I may never get back to normal.

Please, if you are considering taking ANY form of SSRI or SNRI, do your research. Try to find some alternative form of therapy if possible, and only use drugs as a last resort. I wish I had tried alternative therapies first, or even learnt some kind of stress management.

i know exactly what your going through i was on efexor for 10 years and weaned off them by reducing the balls and successfully got off them with the help of the expensive trb health vitamins but back then i thought that was the hardest challenge but its not that,the hardest challenge now is living my life ,i think i may lose my job as i have had so many sick days and still cannot function as i cannot concentrate .Days go on and i just feel im living in a hazy world and cannot get on with my goals as i used .I wish i could put posters outside doctors surgeries telling people antidepressants wont fix your life just make things worse but the only good thing after getting off them was that i postponed my bladder operation as after getting off the crap i miraculously have no bladder infections and do not have to go through surgery but apart from that life is hard and tough i hope i can get through work

Hi Matita,

Your story sounds extremely similar to mine. After years of going through this foggy haze though, I've had just about enough. I've seen doctors many times about it, but no one has been able to offer any help whatsoever, so in the last few months I've been doing a lot of research into SNRIs and SSRIs, and eventually decided that I would give a low dose of Lexapro a go at 5mg as this is the primary anti-depressant that my doctor recommends to people now.

I started on it last Friday night at 10pm, and the first couple of days was quite trying. I didn't want to do anything, and felt really out of it and well... weird. I've been logging my progress on it so far, and as the days have gone on, I've felt noticeably better.

Obviously there is still quite a long way to go, and who knows where it's going to lead. For now though I feel so much better than I have in a long time, and only after 7 doses.

The initial side effects I felt from a 5mg dose were relatively mild compared to what I've heard a lot of people have gone through on higher doses - just some mild nausea, a couple of headaches, and some dizziness. No real issues with having a dry mouth though - just slightly at first.

I did a LOT of reading on other people's experiences with Lexapro, and was going to chuck the stuff in the bin until I decided to try looking for "positive" stories about it, and what I found gave me a slight glimmer of hope that it might help get me out of this horrible rut.

When I was on Effexor I just felt numb and disconnected... there isn't really any other way to describe it. Talk about a bad mistake =/

I'm finally starting to feel more connected and motivated now. I just hope this is a continuing trend. I might have to play with a higher dose later on, but for now I'm going to stick it out at 5mg (have to cut the 10mg tablets in half) and see where it takes me.

I hope you are doing ok.

A quick taper anything faster than 5-10% every 4-6 wks can cause long term withdrawal effects sometimes taking years to pass the minimum time frame for normalcy is 24 months. I am at 23 months and I went cold turkey from 150 mg of effexor after 7 years use.
Many people give up too soon and take another antidepressant and it will help if you can't stand it the down side is you will have to go thru it again when you get off the new drug. Sometimes going back on the same drugs does not work
Staying on AD's forever is not an option due to side effects and pooped out. They can keep swithcing you around but really most of these pill have the same base you are getting addicted all over again.
There is effexoractivist.org for info on effexor
tribe.net effexoractivist for live talk
paxilprogress.org for withdrawal information and support.
beware many docs diagnose withdrawal as bipolar so don't be tricked by that one.
many people on paxilprogress say it has taken them 2-3 years to feel right some longer some shorter.

Fast withdrawal and cold turkey is believed to cause protracted (longer harder withdrawal)
Many people take fish oil to help with withdrawal symptoms. I was having symptoms of ms parkinsons while still on effexor (parkinsonism) symptoms like parkinsons disease and a host of other illnesses which seem to be all going away since quitting. You can read my posts at paxilprogress.org under been there done that.
I went to a health food store while waiting for me ms test result (mri of my brain) the man suggested fish oil I took it for a few years before I quit and for a year and half after. As I was on it before I quit effexor I can't be sure the effects. Really since there are no studies being done (to figure out how to help withdrawal that I know of anyway)it seems we all have to fly by the seat of our pants and trial and error.
Felt like my spine and joints were seizing on effexor and that is improving as is the pain. Stomach is almost normal or closer than it has been in 3 years. I take no meds now was on blood pressure stomach with effexor.

Time is what heals good food moderate exercise some vitamins.
TIME your brain is trying to adjust it needs time!