Biggest thing for me right now after stopping antidepressants for Six days is swinging from anger to wanting to cry and feel ok again in under a minute.
Did you managed to quit? I know that, for me, the worst part of the withdrawal came after 3 months. Horrible moments :P I didn't quit cold turkey, but even if I lowered slowly, it kick me after 3 months :P
better yet...... only prescribe AFTER everything else is tried.... within reason ofc fda, gov, drug companies its all a fing joke. pushing drugs not for cures. but to have lasting life long patients.......... its a very sick, cruel world atm
"try not to be on the medication more than six months to a year" Ha, yeah tell the doctors that. They just put you in and forget about you. 15 years later and I'm finally off this ****.
I was taking effexor for approximately 5 years. Side effects kept building up and all of a sudden I was having extremely negative and self destructive thoughts.
@ashok0049 And stay away from too much caffeine. It made me feel worse. Find whatever you like to drink like coconut water, power or Gatorade, herbal tea, etc.
Me. I am on week 2 of withdrawl of citalopram..been on it for f**** 10 years :(. The insomnia and fatigue are the worst. My anxiety is bad. But i wanna push through
If you have access to a sauna, definitely take advantage. Making yourself sweat will help pull out all of the toxins from your body. I have been using my infrared sauna 30 to 45 minutes daily, and I can say that it has definitely helped with all of the withdrawal symptoms.
Me! It’s miserable withdrawing/recovering from Effexor. I’ve been weaning with guidance from my physician and it’s still horrible! These drugs are damaging to the brain! SMH
as someone who has struggled with addiction and also weaning off effexor... it certainly feels like addiction. dont care what kind of differentiation that drs like to make. I am addicted to my antidepressant.
I’m weaning myself off Effexor too!! I was on 75 for a year or so and then 37.5 for 4 years. I just started taking out 10 beads at a time . I’m going to go slow so hopefully the withdrawals are minimal. How’s your taper going ?? I want off this med!!!!
@@anaksunamoon8618 how are things going with you? I’ve been on it for about two years with 75 mg. Did you notice a difference when you drop Straight to the half dose of that
This Venlafaxine / Effexor drug is a trap and a nightmare. It seems helpful and effective at first, but then you find out what happens if you miss a dose or try to get off of it. Nobody told me about this. If I knew what was coming, I never would have started taking it. The withdrawal is much worse than the condition that led me to using this medication in the first place. It's not even a rare occurrance to have such an awful experience during withdrawals and I don't understand how a drug like this is even legal and commonly prescribed. I'm on 75, I wanted a lower dose to see if it easier to get off of it. My doctor claims 37.5 doesn't exist and 75 is the lowest dose that works...
I want to listen to this, I really do, but I can’t the music is so distracting why do people make these really good videos smother with pointless music
@@Crazydoglady. No, it’s frustrating. ESPECIALLY if, say, you’re going through med withdrawals and looking for information. Her videos are very helpful and informative-but would be easier to process without the distraction is all. Cheers.
I don’t understand why there is music on teaching videos. I have trouble staying focused anyway 🙃I love this Dr and all of the teachings they are so helpful. Thank You so much for your help and support ✔️💯
I just went through agonizing symptoms, all of the ones in FINISH, these past two months. I was being monitored by a doctor (but I don't think he knew much about this) and going off Paxil gradually, but not nearly as gradually as you are saying. I had been on Paxil for 26 years. It's been awful. Really, really awful. I have been off totally for two weeks and am feeling better, but I would never have done this if I had known! Thank you for making people aware of this. I wish you could have talked to my doctor before I started this!
I am sorry that you had to go through this. I am glad to hear that you are feeling better now. If you need further support, you can call me for a free phone consultation www.levelheadedmind.com/contact. Take care 🙏🏽
Darcy, I am going through the same thing. Switching off Paxil has been miserable. I've had to take a leave of absence from work because of it. I had no idea that it was high risk to get off of. I'm glad you are improving though.
@@yyyallison After six weeks off Paxil I had to go back on it. I was miserable and having dark episodes of depression. During the withdrawal and the six weeks completely off I was taking Buspirone. It didn't seem to do anything. I am feeling back to myself again and will never go off Paxil again. Hope you feel better soon.
I really wish there were many doctor's like you who actually know about this. I've been on antidepressants for 20 years and none of my docs ever even considered getting me off of them. When I finally decided to get off of duloxetine I was tapered off to fast by my doc and have been suffering withdrawal symptoms for two months and counting. Thanks for posting this info.
I've been off Citalopram since October 2022, I started to wean off them since June 2022 and the dizziness side effects are still there, I was only on them from January 2022... Is this still a side effect or what is it
Hey how are you now? Did symptoms end? I gave up duloxetine ~3 months ago after ~9 years use and then I used fuloxetine for one month. I did all these with my doc. After 3-4 weeks then, my withdrawal symptoms (nausea, headache, fatigue, dizziness etc) started and still goes on. I cannot go away from home for so long because of those symptoms.
My nephew, who is a family physician, discussed with me how very , very tiny the increments of decrease must be to avoid problems. And if symptoms occur at any point, the patient must go back up to the last dose that was comfortable and may have to stay at that dose for awhile. Unfortunately, the capsules I take are extended-release and contain minuscule coated granules within. These granules are of different strengths and different release times, of which I am ignorant. So, for example, I can’t open a capsule and take nine-tenths of them and expect that I have taken nine-tenths of the capsule dose. At least in my area, a compounding pharmacy would be needed to custom create these doses and that would likely not be affordable for me and, I’m guessing, not covered by insurance either.
@@97k01 I took it for about 8 months. I am off now. I am not sure about bupropion. According to google, it is possible to have withdrawls. Have you talked to your doctor or pharmacist?
Been on it for over 10 years! Tapered off for 1 month /6 weeks without it and I felt great! Decided to go back on it and it's a whole new monster! Dizziness, amxiety,and mood swings! Horrible SHIT!!!!!
I’ve been on Effexor for about 15 years! 75 mg daily. Made the switch to 37.5 for a few months. Really felt no different. Then gradually came off by taking one pill every other day. Then licking my fingers and taking a few beads and then quit. The first few days was good! I could actually feel again! I could watch a movie and cry or laugh! The 2 nd week it hit me! The headaches, nausea, GI issues, aches and tingling! It’s been 4 weeks since that last little dose and I still feel horrible!
I wish you the best in your recovery. Some people find relief with free form amino acids and b complex vitamin as long as your doctor approves, try that.
@@kimschlosser2854 Too many medication interactions with St John's Wort, but it could he'll, just run it by your doctor. 5Htp can also help and no interactions. But still run it by your provider.
I’ve tapered off fluvoxamine at my drs direction. When I had a 6-7 days of 25mg twice a day he had me stop. He did increase buspirone to 15mg twice a day before I stopped the other. I’m also on 0.25mg Ativan twice daily. But man, only 4 days off and I’m having bad zappy dizziness/disorientation whenever I move my head or eyes. I can actually hear the zap sounds in my ear. Now I’m extremely nauseous and just I’ll feeling. I’m also battling some heart rate problems the last few months. So trying to deal with both issues is debilitating. I pray this goes away soon. I can’t drive and have already been off work two weeks. Waiting on cardiologist referral, thinking I might have POTS after having COVID. This is so rough and scary.
Was on for 22 years... almost 5 months down and still having issues. Chronic fatigue and severe cognitive issues one day, and the next, I'm manic and can't handle the anxiety. Way way worse than I've ever experienced.
I recently tapered off Paroxetine under the guidance of a doctor and fully quit three weeks ago. The withdrawal symptoms have been quite severe, including high levels of anxiety and even panic attacks, making me feel unstable. I believe I have passed the peak of the withdrawal symptoms, but I am still experiencing a low level of anxiety.
I'm coming off paroxetine cold turkey. It's been about a week and I feel absolutely dreadful. Constant panic attacks, trembling, anxiety etc. I'd rather feel like this than completely numb, though.
Same. I'm off venlafaxine and it's hard. They never helped me anyway and now I have to struggle with stupid symptoms. I wish the doctors warned us it would be really hard to come off of them.
@@canyouspellophthalmology I hope they realise maybe some people want to eventually stop taking them and need to be mentally prepared for the hell you have to go through.
I've been on sertraline for 15 years to treat panic disorder. Took through three pregnancies....went up after my second and third births as I had some scary postpartum anxiety after my first birth. 6 years after having my last baby I was into meditation and wasn't having anxiety much....was feeling really good. I decided I should try going off of it, as I'd heard its not great to be on it long term. I'd dropped my dose to only 50mg for the last year, so I finally weaned off in mid April. Its mid July now and I'm just not feeling like myself. I'm so easily triggered, especially by my family. I'm feeling depressed, sad, hopeless, fearful of things I once enjoyed, on the verge of anxiety and wanting to cry all the time. Its a horrible way to feel. I'm torn between going back on or seeing if waiting it out a few more months makes a difference. I so want to be normal and feel normal without the medication.
@@Jayy-xoxo Not really. The first couple of weeks I felt a little light headed. I never did experience that buzzing brain people talk about. I'm no longer waking up soaking wet with sweat. Certain foods don't taste as good as they used to. I feel extra sensitive to certain noises. I've had crazy sensitive reflexes in my knees and now they are just normal reflexes again. But my anxiety is actually a lot better now than when I wrote my original post. So thats been nice! I've been feeling a lot more balanced, emotionally.
I forgot to take my 225 mg of Venlafaxine yesterday. I felt awful all day, it was like if I had an elephant foot pressing my head towards the ground, if I no longer had skin in my body and everything even a small breeze could hurt me, like a burn or an electric shock, I couldn’t concentrate at all at any task and I slept so bad last night. I woke up like 7 times with vivid dreams, extremely thirsty and nauseous. I noticed yesterday’s pills over the counter this morning when I was going to take my dosis for this day and in the blink of an eye everything just made sense. I’m watching this videos while I wait today’s dosis to kick in. I hope this doesn’t happen to anyone 😢
looking to come off venlafaxine. i took a dose 3 hours late and felt so sick, headaches, flu like, etc. my dr. said withdrawal is not real....so no help from pychiatrist....want to get off so badly.
I stopped Lexapro cold turkey 7 months ago. Sensitive spot of my forehead when touched lightly and weird headache pulses every few mins. Torture. Hope they resolve soon. Good video
@@lilgr4 months. Came off of them For a few weeks Started having Anxiety Try to use Wellbutrin Started having terrible headaches so I stopped taking that As well period
I'm currently tapering off of Paroxetine after being on 20mg every day for the past 4 years..3 weeks in and the most noticeable withdrawal symptom for me is the vertigo by far!! Good luck to everyone in their journeys to happiness ✌️💚
That's what I'm having trouble with. I'm about mid way through my taper. Doing about 1/2 tab less weekly, but this dizziness just came on and I get really nauseous, woke up from the dizziness and couldn't go back to sleep for a while....it's scary to have the dizziness, I'm going to let my doctor know Monday, I'm thinking will need to make the taper longer.
So I took a full tablet instead of 1/2 tab that day,and now that dizziness is gone. I'm going to slow down the taper. Maybe 1/2 tab removed every 2 weeks.
Yeah apparently the taper should be really long! Like 4-6 weeks each taper! I'm still on half dose as withdrawals were pretty bad, hopefully be able to reduce again soon.. hope things go good for you mate
@ArmourofGod77 I'm glad to hear you're doing better.. I'm still on the half dose, might reduce to quarter in the next week or 2.. really don't want the withdrawals to come back again..
I'm trying to go through this paxil withdrawal before the collapse of the united states I don't want to go through this when we are going through some bull 💩.
The tapering advice on this video does not apply to those who have been on antidepressants for decades. I'm 14 years off and still suffering brain damage following a one year taper. I have healed a long way but not done. It may take years to do a very gradual taper. This just breaks my heart after reading the comments. There are so many of us suffering silently on account of "medicine". So sad.
I haven’t even gone cold turkey… i have been tapering lower and lower with my paroxetine and up until half a pill (15mg) i was doing fine. About a week ago I reduced it to a quarter (7,5mg) and have suddenly been experiencing an anxiety and exhaustion spike that has been ongoing until now. I wish my doc had told me how this stuff would be a horror to let go of.
I am having the worst and scariest withdrawal symptoms from taking cymbalta since the drug hit the market. I’m on week 6 of 8 in tapering completely off. The symptoms have been utterly horrifying to say the least. I lost my 5 year old daughter to a rare childhood cancer battle of 2 years of chemo and radiation and a liver transplant and my other daughter has a rare clotting disorder in which she almost lost both legs due to claudication and complete occlusion of arteries from her groin to ankles so she has continuous stents the length of both legs. One might say these events could cause anxiety and depression but I’m living proof it has caused those well earned unfortunate diagnoses. I’m having all of the symptoms you just mentioned and a slew more of them like severe heart palpitations, whole body zaps and stupor, blurred vision, horrid nightmares and many many more changes in my body. Cymbalta must have stopped working years and years ago because my depression was worsening and I’ve had to quit working as a registered nurse. It has affected me in my home life as well. I found your video doing some research about this topic. You seem so much like the person I would love to talk to in depth. Cymbalta has ruined my life. Thank you so much for your videos so keep up the right information coming out for those who need to be educated on this topic as myself. God Bless you. Self edited for spelling corrections
Thanks for sharing your experience. Unfortunately I hear this all too often which has led me to focus on deprescribing and helping patients get off this stuff! God bless you too and hope you have a full recovery 🙏
Thank you for your mental health channel. I know you have helped many with your expertise. I have been on Effexor/Venlafaxine for over 30 years. I recently read that long-term use of these medications can possibly cause dementia/Alzheimer's according to some research. Therefore, I spoke with my doctor to begin tapering my antidepressant. I started this week from 150 mg to now 75 mg. I will be on this dosage for three months. Thank you for sharing the cross-taper. Hopefully, my doctor is familiar with this technique, and I can quit this medication without too much disturbing side effects.
Many people, like me, had no success with a cross taper to prozac. It only works for some people. A hyperbolic taper is the best advice. For me by day 4 of making a small cut, the withdrawal was most pronounced. Wait somewhere around 2 weeks minimum to 2 months for some people to be stable before taking next cut.
I was on 150 mg of Effexor. Had been on this same drug for six or seven years. Recently, it seemed as if the drug was no longer as effective as it had previously been. So I was put on Wellbutrin and then increasing dosages with that medication. Meanwhile, my nurse practitioner put me on 75 mg of Effexor for one week, and then 37 1/2 mg for the second week. This has been a disaster for me, including the thought of harming self. The people that put us on these medications need to know how to get us off of these medication‘s without killing us. The withdrawal is a bit different for each person, but what I know for sure is that it takes me longer than two weeks to get off 150 mg of Effexor!
Been on the poison for 14 years and i have now tapered down to 5 mg from 20 mg over a two year period, and even though i go so extremely slow it's a nightmare, and it gets harder the lower i come, i'm worried that i will never be able to come off it.
I'm sorry you're having a difficult time. I wish you well on your taper and sometimes when you get towards the end you have to go slower, so give yourself grace.
Which poison? I would be curious to hear how you did. Sounds like you are doing great for someone who has been on it for so long. May I ask, why did you decide to come off?
Man I wish I would have watched this a week ago. I tapered off of my escitalopram (8years) over the course of 3 weeks according to my doctors recommendations. I took my last dose about 4 days ago and today I had to call In Sick for Work today because of my flu symptoms and feelings of vertigo. I feel absolutely TERRIBLE. I really hope that this ends soon or I’m not gonna make it. I really don’t want to go back on these meds if I can stick it out.
I was on diazepam for 10 years and stopping that was nothing compared to Paxil. I thought I was dying from some sort of disease. I was only on that for two months because it didn't work for anxiety.
Very informative! I'm glad this video ended up in my feed because I'm sure I have been experiencing AWS. And it just so happens that the antidepressant/anxiolytic I take is venlafaxine. The symptom I experience the most is "brain zaps". =\
I have taken escitalopram, quetiapine, and clonazepam for 8 months, and stopped like a month ago. At first it was just insomnia. After a while, I felt like I have the worst and longest hang over in my life! I feel nauseous every time. When I try to walk, Id feel dizzy. When I lie down, I’d feel the same thing! I wish I’d get this over with soon. I really really wanna get back on my feet.
Took asentra and have had severe symptoms+bad sleep for nearly 3 weeks. I sleep somewhat decently now with the help of some natural sleeping medicine. Still going through symptoms but it gets better with time.
I am almost 7years on antidepressants some dr are afraid if they lose you as a patient they not gonna make money my medical aid ask him for my health report because they feel some thing more has to be done I was so upset with him he diagnosis me with bipolar so he can get paid he didn't even discuss it with me wish me luck I only hope long term damage is not done thank you you video was very helpful
You forgot Hypo sexuality Anedhonie, emotional blunting, genital anesthesia, anorgasmia, erectile dysfunction I took paroxetine during 4 weeks on 2016 and it left me with cognitive and sexual disorder also known as PSSD recognize by EMA ( European medical agency) since 2019
I've been Paxil CR for years. I've been trying to come of lt for about 3 months now with no success. The brain zaps(oh sweet Jesus) nausea and mood swings an insomnia are beyond horrible. I don't think I've gotten 8 hours worth of sleep the entire week.
I got severe back body stomach spasms…this has happened before getting off this stuff. And for some reason none of these professionals will talk to me about it. It’s crazy.
I've been on 10 mg Celexa for 25 years. I started getting Parkinson's-like symptoms that I attributed to the SSRI so a year and a half ago I started to very slowly withdraw using a liquid titration method. I titrate by .01 ml (I crush a 10 mg tablet in 100 ml water) every 6 days and after a year and a half I am down to 2 mg so far. I don't feel any emotional discomfort. No brain zaps. But about 6 months ago I started feeling REALLY BAD. I thought I developed Long Covid but now I'm wondering if my symptoms are actually due to the slow withdrawal. I've always been an insomniac, but now it is through the roof. I also experience sudden, overwhelming bouts of irresistible sleepiness during the day. It's almost like Narcolepsy. It only happens on the days when I've had enough sleep. I also experience roving dull pain in my limbs. Could these symptoms be due to withdrawal? If so, will they ever go away. I'm suicidal because of the lack of sleep and useless days of sleepiness on the days I do sleep. I can't go much slower than I'm going. I will hold for a few months at 2mg. Any advice would be enormously appreciated. Maybe it's Long Covid. God knows what's happening but it is unbearable. I feel for everyone else suffering along with me.
I want to come off Lexapro because it doesn’t take my depression away. Plus I still have crazy symptoms on it. I wish I never got on this pill because it hasn’t helped and I know the withdrawals will be horrible.
My provider made quit venlafaxine cold turkey when a month ago when i was on the lowest dose already. What i can say is that my anxiety and panic attacks came back harder and feel so dizzy and weird almost everyday including brain zaps. When i say doc about my symptomps he almost doesnt believe. I kinda feel helpless..
same here. it is horrible to have a dr. that acts like you are the weird one for having withdrawal symptoms. my dr. has this attitude, like i am totally over reacting and just looking for problems. trying to wean off venlafaxine. no help from anyone. feeling very scared and alone.
The way I look at it, all the symptoms of withdrawal represent the level of help the drug WASN'T providing. Let me explain using an example with made-up numbers. Let's say your natural serotonin is 75, then you take SSRIs briefly and you feel a little bit better. Let's say you feel like serotonin is now 100. But after you take if for a while, your body will become accustomed to it and your serotonin levels (and mood) will drop. Let's say at that point your serotonin level is X. Well, once you withdraw, why do you feel like crap? Well, because your effective serotonin level is now really low. Let's say it's now 50. So what was X? Well I think it's fair to guess that the body, over the long period of taking the drug, was seeking the 75 that it started off at. Your body was that way in the first place because that's the level of serotonin that it thought you needed anyway. So when you artificially increased it to 100, the body adapted naturally to try to bring it back down to 75 by naturally producing only 50. Then, when you withdrew, you body's natural serotonin was only 50 until the body's homeostatic mechanisms realized the problem and tried to take it back up to 75. Personally, I think my journey with escitalipram has been overall helpful, but no doctor has ever encouraged me to take less or get off it. It was treated as if I should be on it forever. And I'm fine with that, except for the logic I've presented above. So what I've decided to do is to try to get off for the periods of my life when I am feeling more in control and ok, and then increase the dose again for the periods of my life when I'm starting to feel overwhelmed and overly depressed and anxious. This year, I started at 20 mg/day, but I reduced it to 20mgs/week, but then I started going through some really hard stuff, so I increased it back to 10mgs/day, then 20mgs/day briefly, but now I'm trying to go back down to 20mgs/week. We'll see how it goes. I'm just here trying to decide how quickly I should go from 10mgs/day to 20mgs/week. Maybe I'll try 40mgs/week for a month, then reduce it again to 20mgs/week.
I‘ve been taking Sertraline for 10 years. Since 4 years I‘ve been reducing and ever since I‘ve been suffering from every kind of symptoms. Most challenging symptom for me is an uncomfortable heartbeat. Doctor says everything is fine but at times it feels like my heart is about to explode like when having a panic attack and I can’t sit still and breathe properly. It drives me nuts. Some days are better than others. The better days are the only chance for me to regain faith and power to carry on. I don’t even know if my body will ever fully recover from this. And it gives me a hard time finding peace with myself and why I have not stopped taking it way sooner.
I had a horrible experience when my doctor tampered me off Lexapro over the course of two weeks. Now I am back on it and I don’t know how to tamper off.
Honey I am learning to love the symptoms. The pill never helped me anyway and I want to completely cut it off. The brain zaps become eh after a day or two, but the gi tract is dead. Wish me luck.
Worst headache of my life day 3. Cymbalta seemed so harmless but this headache in my jaw and ears and even forehead is the worst! Tylenol, aspirin, ibuprofen with caffeine headache medicine helps for a short time. I'm at the ice pack point. I can't taper off because they're capsules and I'm at 30mg already. I could try dumping out half the powder then close it up again. I have to lay my head down to give my neck a break
Hi dont know how your doing but i been on pills 44+ years and im tapering of cymbalta. They r extremely hard to get off. I joined a Facebook group called cymbalta hurts. That group has taught me how to do the duloxetine, cymbalta taper. Its the best advice u will find anywhere and still its so hard. Ive been tapering over a year now and down to my last few granules now and this bit is the hardest. Cymbalta hurts has all the questions and answers there that i need and i can ask questions too if i need to. I hope this info helps you.
I've been on 50 mg trazodone for 30 years with 15 mg mirtazapene. I decided it's the healthiest time of my life I'm 62. I started with taking an entire year cutting the 50 mg of trazodone in half till I was eventually taking an apple seed size bite every night for the last month. Week 3 I crashed with nausea, tiredness, anxiety can't even drive. Now I wonder how in the world I'm going to get off mirtazapene which I heard is horrible. I had to start cutting with a blade the apple seed size piece in half 3 days ago and I am doing much better. I just need support. My own pcp didn't even suggest a tapering regime she just said go slow. I think a year is slow. No one believes me that it's awful
My story is a bit different. Long time use of Prozac, 31 years, but at a low dose of 3.5 mg per day. Began tapering 5 months ago and down to 1.5 but even at a low dose I have had symptoms of headaches, vivid dreams, anxiety and some depression. For me even a small dose has created some difficulty in tapering down.
I've been on 50mg sertraline for 12 years and had to quit cold turkey due to insurance issues. It's been 2 weeks and the flu like symptoms and depressing vivid night mares are terrible.
I just wish I could get off these horrible pills Effexor. I have been on them over 30 years and tried many times to taper off. The longest I went was 3 weeks and the swishing in my head was still so annoying that I returned on a maintenance dose. I am trying to get off again and tapered off and and went 4 days and took 19mg and now I went two days and already feeling swishing . I don’t know if I will get off I just would say don’t use them
Mines is I feel like I have to throw up 24/7… this other is my libido is higher and also I have nightmares a lot.. I’ve been take Zoloft for 9-10 years. I’m literally trying by not taking them completely
So you take. It depression meds and that causes your serotonin receptors to work even worse than they did before bc now they don’t need to work since you’re getting it syntheticly?
Thank you so much for this video. I had a really bad experience coming off of 150 mg sertaline a year ago after tapering even slower than my doctor told me to. It was so bizarre- three months after I had completely stopped the medication, I randomly had a huge spurt of vivid, horrific nightmares and a resurgence of mood swings. Almost like the last of the drug was leaving my system. Does this sound at all possible? I’m getting ready to taper off of 10 mg lexapro after being on it for about a year. I’m really nervous about it so videos like this help a lot.
I'm currently coming off sertaline and I'm having constant vivid dreams including nightmares. It's really exhausting because I feel like I'm living 10 extra lives in my sleep and wake up in the morning like i haven't rested at all.
I went from 150 mg of Venlafaxin to 75, I stay there for one month. Then from 75 to 37.5 for two weeks, finally I stopped taking the medication and I was FINISH. It almost ends my marriage. After 10 day of suffering Its almost done. I think next week this torture is going to be history for me
I'm three days into cold turkey quitting my 30mg Lexapro. Brain zaps and incontrollable sudden crying. I'm in it to win it though so, here goes.. Thank you for this video. Very helpful.
Same. I'm crying because it's so draining. But I am beyond tired of these pills, they haven't fixed my mental health, I feel so much better without them. How's it going now?
@interstellar what comforts me is the thought of how I'll feel within a week or so. I'll be much better and I'll laugh thinking of the past. I'm going through hell but I am not going back.
PLEASE TRY TO TAPPER, I STOPPED CANABIS COLD TURKY 42 DAYS AGO AND I CAN SAY IT WAS HELL, AND THAT WAS CANABIS, IT ALSO MADE MY CLONAZAPAM WITHDRAW COME BACK AFTER 4 MONTHS. IM A LIVING WRECK...BE SAFE HOPE YOU GET WELL SOON
Staying hydrated helps, also. Easier said than done, I know, but I have found that the dizziness and brain zaps have lessened quite a bit for me. Water, coconut water, gatorade, whatever. Just try not to drink too much caffeinated drinks, because they make you even thirstier.
This is really helpful, and today is my first day of not taking Venlafaxine medication from 37.5mg to 0mg, what are the withdrawal symptoms with coming of this medication? for good?, I would really appreciate anybody who has been on this medication and has been through the side affects?, thank you and good luck everybody ☺️
You may need to taper slowly from 37.5 to 0. Some people are ok and some become disabled. What are your symptoms like now? I've been taking effexor for 24 years and tapering down to 20 mg. per day from 225. I'm healing and can tell you it will get better. Time foes help to heal.
@@dianemorrell9638 Thank you for your helpful advice but I’m off Venlaflaxine now and the withdrawal symptoms were really hard coming of this anti depressant at the time, and that medication make me feel so manic with my mental illness anti depressants do not work well with me, and my depression has got so much more better! then what it use to be, I now take natural supplements to help with my low mood and depression and they really work really well! for me, and I hope that things get better for you ☺️
“Be in touch with your provider” let me tell you- he decides IF he sees patients… and then decides when. It took me two months to meet with him to which I’m finally going to in 1.5 weeks. My GP and psych both tell me to talk to him…. Long story short, if I come off of them… it’s gonna be a free fall as my psychiatrist seems to have no interest in being readily available By the way, my psychologist convinced me to stay on them ongoing almost indefinitely. She felt like it was necessary, so even though I have wanted to stop for 5 months or so, she insists I continue taking them. So does my GP. His reason? “Some people have lower serotonin. They’re born that way”. Your video does not speak to the reality of the mental health system. You’re living in a fantasy land where people are well informed and available… sorry. Nice video though, I still found it informative
totally get it. my pychiatrist blows off my concerns of effexor withdrawals. he thinks it is all b.s. so no help from my doctor. so scared. wish i never went on these meds. want off so badly.
Unfortunately, I've been taking venlafaxine for about ten years now 😕 I can't stop taking it. Venlafaxine is very addictive :/ Any advice on how I can taper off of it?
Hello, I have a question. I stopped taking Cipralex 8 months ago, and I was experiencing terrifying withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety, dizziness, muscle tension, and dissociation from reality. Now I have improved, but my short-term memory does not work. I forget a lot. I cannot create new memories. Please, do you know about this, and will it last? With me all my life ، I am a 24 year old young man.Note: There is an improvement in memory, but little improvement
Very helpful video. I was on trintellix for anxiety for 6 years. Helped a little bit. I was on 20mg for awhile then 10mg for several months. I went to lowest dose of 5mg for 3 months then was off it for 6 days then started on a low dose of 12.5mg luvox. I’m pretty sensitive to meds. I had crazy acid reflux and GI issues on luvox and panic and anxiety daily. I gave it 33 days then told my doc I wanted off. She said I could just stop since it is such a low dose. After a few days I had skin burning sensations, depersonalization, dizziness, lightheaded, nauseous, crazy vivid dreams and fatigue. A little bit of agitation. It has been 5 weeks and I’m still feeling those symptoms for several hours a day and every now and then I’ll have a day with very little symptoms. Day 1 off the meds I drastically changed my lifestyle. Walk 5 to 7 miles throughout the day. I eat healthy and I’ve lost 20lbs. I get all my vitamins in too. My panic is basically gone and my only anxiety stems from these withdrawal symptoms because my doc says it’s highly unlikely what I’m feeling is withdrawal since I was on a low dose. I’ve had everything checked and they found no issues. Something interesting though is my testosterone while on these SSRI drugs was diminishing to near 200. 2 weeks off it went to 287! kinda proves to me that even a low dose can effect me.
I'm 51yrs old, I recently came off effexor after a long 20yrs. yes 20 long years. I slowly tapered off from 375mg to now days 0mg, the withdrawal symptoms are horrible and I hope they go away soon. it has been 5 days on 0mg. I still feel like i'm floating, and can't quite explain it. just like trying to explain depression symptoms to someone who's never experienced it. At times i'm feeling no symptoms at others i'm feeling like i'm not going to get better. the Psychiatrist prescribed me trintelix upon my request and recommendation but i haven't taken it. i don't want to jump on a new antidepressant if i can avoid it. I don't like the tapering off part of it. I just wanted to share that I thought I was ready to be off Effexor completely after so long. and it is not as easy as i thought it would be. I knew that in the past if i missed a dose i would feel like this but how long does this last when you are trying to be off it forever.
It is different for each person and there are different factors to consider. One thing that seems to help many are free form amino acids, talk to your provider about using them to help.
HELLO I AM 49 WANT YOU TO KNOW YOU ARE NOT ALONE ON THIS JOURNEY, I HAVE BEEN TAKING CLONAZAPAM 0.5MG STARTED WITH 2MG, PAST 5 YEARS. IVE TAPERED OFF OF IT ONCE LASTED 4 MONTHS OFF. HAD A RELAPSE WHEN I STOPED SMOKING CANABIS, WAS ONLY TAKING AT NIGHT FOR ANXIETY, AND INSOMNIA NOT FOR FUN OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. I ALWAY BELIEVED CANABIS WAS NOT ADDICTING! I WAS WRONG, IT WAS HORRIBLE I FELT LIKE I WAS LOOSING MY MIND PANICK ATTACKS, NIGHTMARES, COLD SWEATS, BODY PAIN, ALL FROM GOING COLD TURKEY OFF OF CANABIS, I ALSO WAS HAD STOPPED THE CLONASAPAM AT THE SAME TIME BUT I COULD NOT HANDLE IT SO IM BACK TO DAY ONE ON THE TAPERING OFF THE CLONAZAPAM 0.5MG I WILL START SUNDAY NIGHT, YESTERDAY DOCTOR STARTED ME ON GABAPENTON 300. I TOOK ONE PILL JUST TO SEE IF I COULD SLEEP MORE THAT 4 HOURS. BUT I DONT PLAN ON TAKING MOREOF THIS PILL IT ALSO IS VER ADDICTING IVE HEARD. WELL JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU IT DOES GET BETTER DONT KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES BUT YOU ARE THERE SO CLOSE....BLESS YOU AND SORRY FOR THE RANT..
Super helpful video! I'm a bit sad that my psychiatrist didn't warn me about this syndrome, despite I asked. Unfortunately, the withdrawal syndrome has begun :( I hate anxiety kicks, but the brain zaps are the worst... My case was kind of special since I found out I am pregnant. I consulted this immediately with my psychiatrist, and they advised me to take half of the my current does for 2-4 days and then stop completely. Is there anything I can do to minimize this syndrome? Taking another medication is not an option at the moment.
Oh man, that sounds tough. It sounds cliche, but I think you just need to focus on natural things. Try to get some exercise. I say this as someone who is physically broken in so many ways, so I know that can be difficult. Try to eat healthy. Don't worry about being anxious. That will just make it worse. Just focus on the good that you're doing and the good things that will happen. Keep remembering that the darkness isn't real, it's just withdrawal. Be kind to yourself.
@@mitchjohnson4714 thank you for your kind words.BTW my brain got used to it and brain zaps were gone after around 2-3 weeks. Can't tell exactly because it wasn't a concrete cut-off.
Thank you! I think this is why I was so sick this week. I chose to skip taking my escitalopram until I refilled my buproprion and lamotrigine so I could continue taking them all together. Then, even after I refilled my prescriptions, I didn't bother to take them because I wasn't feeling very bad.r After about 4 to 6 days off my meds, I got really nauseous. I went into work one day feeling hungry and ended up in an ER because I couldn't stop throwing up. I thought I had just overworked myself and not eaten enough over the weekend. So, I rested and ate well for a day. I had read some advice to stop taking oral medicine while I'm nauseous, so I continued to skip my meds. When I still didn't feel well, and was unable to go back to work, I started wondering if not taking my medicine had anything to do with the way I was feeling. My symptoms seemed like typical withdrawal symptoms. I also recalled the last time I had to go to the ER because I couldn't stop vomiting was during a time when I wasn't taking my meds. Your video makes it really clear that withdrawing from antidepressant medicine is real thing. I should get back on my medicine and then see if I feel better. I now have even more reason to make sure I take my meds consistently. When I take my meds I feel fantastic, when I fall off of them I start to feel like something is wrong with me within 4 to 24 hours. Now I know that if I go too long without my meds, I end up physically sick with no strength to function normally.
What should people that have chronic anxiety due to adhd and or ocd do? Are we supposed to stay on ssris for life? For the first time in my life i realize what normal ppl feel like............. i had no idea the lenght i was suffering for 35 yrs....... im terrified of getting off and the anxiety coming back......
Right now yes I not actually trying to quit I just moved from another state and still waiting on the doctors to look at my insurance and it taking way too long now I having at least 3 of the symptoms most severe is the worst is the Sensory also have trouble sleeping and the least right now is my stomach issues however it not really nausea much it more like diarrhea
I’m not trying to go off my current antidepressant on purpose, but for some reason because of prior authorization and my insurance I haven’t been able to get my meds renewed. I’ve kind of forgotten how horrible this is and am not sure what to do while I wait.
I have been on escitalopram for about 4 years and i am on my 2nd day trying to stop taking them, also the losartan, amlodipine and the prevaststin. I lost my insurance so im going to stop them for financial reasons, plus my diet is a lot more healthier. Yor video is very helpful, thanks
So I am feeling more stressed about withdrawal and how long it will continue after this. I was on 300 of Effexor for at least 15 years, could be longer, it just kept getting increased to assist with depression and anxiety. I dropped 75 about 18 months ago which was horrible. So now I’ve been decreasing. Initially 75 less for around 2 weeks, then 37.5 for 2 weeks. I’m now on 75 and it’s really horrible. In 2 weeks I’m supposed to drop another 37.5 but take prestique 50 with it then after one week drop the 37.5 of Effexor. I have felt horrible for weeks and weeks. Not sure where I’m supposed to go after that ! That’s a long time to be on these meds. I’m finding with each reduction it’s days 4, 5, 6 and 7 are the worse and either way I end up having to take at least 2 days off work so it has eaten away at sick leave and Rec leave. I am in Australia, has anyone else had to come off such high dosage of Effexor ?
Very informative video. Thank you for addressing all the poasible aspects in details. I need your help i am on Vilazidone hydrochloride 20mg since past 20 months. My doctor reduced my dosage to 10mg per day 8 months ago but since than he isn't reducing or ending it at all. So i decieded to stop eating it since past 4 days. Now i am suffering from sensory issues you've mentioned. Electrical shock like sensation. How to cop up with it?
You may require amino acid support. However, best to let your provider know, as you may need to titrate that last 10mg more slowly. You would need to get a compounding pharmacy to make it into liquid though. Also consider looking at root causes and potential deficiencies such as vitamin D, b12, folate, or magnesium.
Great video. My first week of a Zoloft 100mg taper down to 75 mg (25 mg taper ) have me insomnia. Almost no sleep. So I resumed the normal dose. So disappointing.
I took trintellix for 12 days, 10 days 10mg, 2 days 20mg. I ended up in the ER with intense dizziness. My doctor decided to switch for escitalopram 10mg. Diziness came down a bit but never went away. Another 2 weeks on escitalopram. Then one week for 5mg and three days for 2.5mg and stopped. Finally I had relief from dizziness for 4-5 days. Then withdrawals kicked in insomnia, high HRs, vivid dreams, fatigue, and dizziness began climbing back up. At this point I've been off them for 5 weeks which is almost the same time as I took them. Most withdrawals except for agitated HR and dizziness have subsided. I'm stuck with dizziness & vertigo Unable to function whatsoever. Have you seen something like this in your experience and what can I do about it? I've had all kinds of assesments for vertigo, brain and neck MRI, Holter, neuro assesment and all squeaky clean!
Sounds like you had a neurological injury from the medication which causes inflammation. If there are no contraindications and you get OK from your doctor, try bio available curcumin to reduce inflammation. Then support your neurotransmitters with free form amino acids, and bio available B complex.
@@LevelheadedMind Thank you so much for your guidance. As it turns out it may be neurological. I had a complete neuro vestibular assesment done and the result is an impaired cvemp and absent ovemp in my inner left ear. Otolith dysfunction of left inner ear. Any recommendations based on this?
It's a personal choice. In my experience it seems removing the worst offender 1st, tends to be better in the long run. So, I'd start with the Paxil and go slow!!
Exactly..these meds do much more harm than good. The problem is how to get alternative help for depression and anxiety especially when it's chronic and severe
@@garysimone4977 I just weaned off Effexor. Took 15 months. Had to do it myself. Drs can’t help. They can only wean you by 50%. Too much to tolerate. I also don’t agree with adding another drug in to get off of it. I’ve been off totally for 11 days. More symptomatic at night. Getting better every day.
Biggest thing for me right now after stopping antidepressants for Six days is swinging from anger to wanting to cry and feel ok again in under a minute.
Same plus nausea
Did you managed to quit? I know that, for me, the worst part of the withdrawal came after 3 months. Horrible moments :P I didn't quit cold turkey, but even if I lowered slowly, it kick me after 3 months :P
@@mariannelabanane2589 It's been over 3 months now, most of withdrawal symptoms are gone. I only having a little anxiety every now and then.
Same
same, I can't do it anymore. I guess ill just have to start taking them again,
I wish prescribing doctors would discuss withdrawal symptoms and all the issues you can have when coming off the medication BEFORE they prescribe.
No one would take these drugs if they would discuss the withdrawal symptoms. They are aweful.
100% @@LansingLawnServiceLLC
They don’t want you to quit
I was not even warned that they come with a black box warning
better yet......
only prescribe AFTER everything else is tried.... within reason ofc
fda, gov, drug companies its all a fing joke. pushing drugs not for cures. but to have lasting life long patients..........
its a very sick, cruel world atm
"try not to be on the medication more than six months to a year" Ha, yeah tell the doctors that. They just put you in and forget about you. 15 years later and I'm finally off this ****.
Same.
I was taking effexor for approximately 5 years. Side effects kept building up and all of a sudden I was having extremely negative and self destructive thoughts.
Hlo bro i need your help
@@ashok0049 Stay hydrated. I have found this has greatly helped with the dizziness and brain zaps.
@ashok0049 And stay away from too much caffeine. It made me feel worse. Find whatever you like to drink like coconut water, power or Gatorade, herbal tea, etc.
AHHHHHH. Who else is feeling absolutely horrible ???
Me! Feeling sleppy and in a kind of pain. Feeling lightheaded. My pills ran out
Nightmares! I did not know that quitting Zoloft could cause it. Well, i now know i can.
Me. I am on week 2 of withdrawl of citalopram..been on it for f**** 10 years :(. The insomnia and fatigue are the worst. My anxiety is bad. But i wanna push through
If you have access to a sauna, definitely take advantage. Making yourself sweat will help pull out all of the toxins from your body. I have been using my infrared sauna 30 to 45 minutes daily, and I can say that it has definitely helped with all of the withdrawal symptoms.
Me! It’s miserable withdrawing/recovering from Effexor. I’ve been weaning with guidance from my physician and it’s still horrible! These drugs are damaging to the brain! SMH
as someone who has struggled with addiction and also weaning off effexor... it certainly feels like addiction. dont care what kind of differentiation that drs like to make. I am addicted to my antidepressant.
Big pharma call it discontinuation syndrome they don't want them having same stigma as opiates, barbiturates big pharma corrupt as uck
I’m weaning myself off Effexor too!! I was on 75 for a year or so and then 37.5 for 4 years. I just started taking out 10 beads at a time . I’m going to go slow so hopefully the withdrawals are minimal. How’s your taper going ?? I want off this med!!!!
@@anaksunamoon8618 how are things going with you? I’ve been on it for about two years with 75 mg. Did you notice a difference when you drop Straight to the half dose of that
I'm down to literally 1 effexor bead but now having trouble just stopping that! I've been hearing of using st.johns wort
This Venlafaxine / Effexor drug is a trap and a nightmare. It seems helpful and effective at first, but then you find out what happens if you miss a dose or try to get off of it. Nobody told me about this. If I knew what was coming, I never would have started taking it. The withdrawal is much worse than the condition that led me to using this medication in the first place. It's not even a rare occurrance to have such an awful experience during withdrawals and I don't understand how a drug like this is even legal and commonly prescribed.
I'm on 75, I wanted a lower dose to see if it easier to get off of it. My doctor claims 37.5 doesn't exist and 75 is the lowest dose that works...
I want to listen to this, I really do, but I can’t the music is so distracting why do people make these really good videos smother with pointless music
I'm sorry! I've been trying to make the music less distracting.
Agreed!
Wow. How rude 😒
@@Crazydoglady. No, it’s frustrating. ESPECIALLY if, say, you’re going through med withdrawals and looking for information. Her videos are very helpful and informative-but would be easier to process without the distraction is all. Cheers.
I don’t understand why there is music on teaching videos. I have trouble staying focused anyway 🙃I love this Dr and all of the teachings they are so helpful. Thank You so much for your help and support ✔️💯
I just went through agonizing symptoms, all of the ones in FINISH, these past two months. I was being monitored by a doctor (but I don't think he knew much about this) and going off Paxil gradually, but not nearly as gradually as you are saying. I had been on Paxil for 26 years. It's been awful. Really, really awful. I have been off totally for two weeks and am feeling better, but I would never have done this if I had known! Thank you for making people aware of this. I wish you could have talked to my doctor before I started this!
I am sorry that you had to go through this. I am glad to hear that you are feeling better now. If you need further support, you can call me for a free phone consultation www.levelheadedmind.com/contact. Take care 🙏🏽
Darcy, I am going through the same thing. Switching off Paxil has been miserable. I've had to take a leave of absence from work because of it. I had no idea that it was high risk to get off of. I'm glad you are improving though.
@@yyyallison After six weeks off Paxil I had to go back on it. I was miserable and having dark episodes of depression. During the withdrawal and the six weeks completely off I was taking Buspirone. It didn't seem to do anything. I am feeling back to myself again and will never go off Paxil again. Hope you feel better soon.
@@LevelheadedMind same, I'm trying to lay off venlafaxine and it's draining.
It’s been 5 months and I’m still not ok. How are you?
I really wish there were many doctor's like you who actually know about this. I've been on antidepressants for 20 years and none of my docs ever even considered getting me off of them. When I finally decided to get off of duloxetine I was tapered off to fast by my doc and have been suffering withdrawal symptoms for two months and counting. Thanks for posting this info.
Not all doctor’s are smart enought !
I've been off Citalopram since October 2022, I started to wean off them since June 2022 and the dizziness side effects are still there, I was only on them from January 2022... Is this still a side effect or what is it
Hey how are you now? Did symptoms end? I gave up duloxetine ~3 months ago after ~9 years use and then I used fuloxetine for one month. I did all these with my doc. After 3-4 weeks then, my withdrawal symptoms (nausea, headache, fatigue, dizziness etc) started and still goes on. I cannot go away from home for so long because of those symptoms.
How are you now
My nephew, who is a family physician, discussed with me how very , very tiny the increments of decrease must be to avoid problems. And if symptoms occur at any point, the patient must go back up to the last dose that was comfortable and may have to stay at that dose for awhile. Unfortunately, the capsules I take are extended-release and contain minuscule coated granules within. These granules are of different strengths and different release times, of which I am ignorant. So, for example, I can’t open a capsule and take nine-tenths of them and expect that I have taken nine-tenths of the capsule dose. At least in my area, a compounding pharmacy would be needed to custom create these doses and that would likely not be affordable for me and, I’m guessing, not covered by insurance either.
This information is literal GOLD! God bless you 🫂
Dealing with this now as I am tapering down my Zoloft. The med didn't help and now I'm going through a withdrawal. I wish I had never taken this crap
How long have you been taking it ? I’m planning to withdraw bupropion xl 150 mg just after a week of taking it . Will I face withdrawal symptoms .
@@97k01 I took it for about 8 months. I am off now. I am not sure about bupropion. According to google, it is possible to have withdrawls. Have you talked to your doctor or pharmacist?
Been on it for over 10 years! Tapered off for 1 month /6 weeks without it and I felt great! Decided to go back on it and it's a whole new monster! Dizziness, amxiety,and mood swings! Horrible SHIT!!!!!
@@bluestorm9651how are you now?
This is a well-made and hugely informative video. I love your clear and concise explanations.
Thank you 😊.
Glad it was helpful!
I’ve been on Effexor for about 15 years! 75 mg daily. Made the switch to 37.5 for a few months. Really felt no different. Then gradually came off by taking one pill every other day. Then licking my fingers and taking a few beads and then quit. The first few days was good! I could actually feel again! I could watch a movie and cry or laugh! The 2 nd week it hit me! The headaches, nausea, GI issues, aches and tingling! It’s been 4 weeks since that last little dose and I still feel horrible!
I wish you the best in your recovery. Some people find relief with free form amino acids and b complex vitamin as long as your doctor approves, try that.
@@LevelheadedMind yes I started taking a B complex vitamin. Will St John’s wort help?
@@kimschlosser2854 Too many medication interactions with St John's Wort, but it could he'll, just run it by your doctor. 5Htp can also help and no interactions. But still run it by your provider.
I’ve tapered off fluvoxamine at my drs direction. When I had a 6-7 days of 25mg twice a day he had me stop. He did increase buspirone to 15mg twice a day before I stopped the other. I’m also on 0.25mg Ativan twice daily. But man, only 4 days off and I’m having bad zappy dizziness/disorientation whenever I move my head or eyes. I can actually hear the zap sounds in my ear. Now I’m extremely nauseous and just I’ll feeling. I’m also battling some heart rate problems the last few months. So trying to deal with both issues is debilitating. I pray this goes away soon. I can’t drive and have already been off work two weeks. Waiting on cardiologist referral, thinking I might have POTS after having COVID. This is so rough and scary.
Was on for 22 years... almost 5 months down and still having issues. Chronic fatigue and severe cognitive issues one day, and the next, I'm manic and can't handle the anxiety. Way way worse than I've ever experienced.
Until you have actually come of the crap you will never know how painful it can be. Coming off Efexor almost killed me.
This makes more sense to me than anything else I have listened to. I'm dropping dose of fluoxetine after years massive struggle.
I recently tapered off Paroxetine under the guidance of a doctor and fully quit three weeks ago. The withdrawal symptoms have been quite severe, including high levels of anxiety and even panic attacks, making me feel unstable. I believe I have passed the peak of the withdrawal symptoms, but I am still experiencing a low level of anxiety.
I'm coming off paroxetine cold turkey. It's been about a week and I feel absolutely dreadful. Constant panic attacks, trembling, anxiety etc.
I'd rather feel like this than completely numb, though.
You are very brave. Good job
How are you doing now?
If withdrawal is worse than depression why anyone start to use AD?
Thanks for making this! I so regret starting ssri’s
Same. I'm off venlafaxine and it's hard. They never helped me anyway and now I have to struggle with stupid symptoms. I wish the doctors warned us it would be really hard to come off of them.
@@Bunnyandart yeah we actually never learned about it in med school. so dumb. i wonder if it's on purpose
@@canyouspellophthalmology I hope they realise maybe some people want to eventually stop taking them and need to be mentally prepared for the hell you have to go through.
I've been on sertraline for 15 years to treat panic disorder. Took through three pregnancies....went up after my second and third births as I had some scary postpartum anxiety after my first birth. 6 years after having my last baby I was into meditation and wasn't having anxiety much....was feeling really good. I decided I should try going off of it, as I'd heard its not great to be on it long term. I'd dropped my dose to only 50mg for the last year, so I finally weaned off in mid April. Its mid July now and I'm just not feeling like myself. I'm so easily triggered, especially by my family. I'm feeling depressed, sad, hopeless, fearful of things I once enjoyed, on the verge of anxiety and wanting to cry all the time. Its a horrible way to feel. I'm torn between going back on or seeing if waiting it out a few more months makes a difference. I so want to be normal and feel normal without the medication.
I’m sorry this is happening to you. I hope things get better for you. Have you had any withdrawal symptoms physically other than mental ones?
@@Jayy-xoxo Not really. The first couple of weeks I felt a little light headed. I never did experience that buzzing brain people talk about. I'm no longer waking up soaking wet with sweat. Certain foods don't taste as good as they used to. I feel extra sensitive to certain noises. I've had crazy sensitive reflexes in my knees and now they are just normal reflexes again. But my anxiety is actually a lot better now than when I wrote my original post. So thats been nice! I've been feeling a lot more balanced, emotionally.
I forgot to take my 225 mg of Venlafaxine yesterday.
I felt awful all day, it was like if I had an elephant foot pressing my head towards the ground, if I no longer had skin in my body and everything even a small breeze could hurt me, like a burn or an electric shock, I couldn’t concentrate at all at any task and I slept so bad last night. I woke up like 7 times with vivid dreams, extremely thirsty and nauseous.
I noticed yesterday’s pills over the counter this morning when I was going to take my dosis for this day and in the blink of an eye everything just made sense. I’m watching this videos while I wait today’s dosis to kick in.
I hope this doesn’t happen to anyone 😢
looking to come off venlafaxine. i took a dose 3 hours late and felt so sick, headaches, flu like, etc. my dr. said withdrawal is not real....so no help from pychiatrist....want to get off so badly.
I'm trying to get off effexor too. Yall have any updates or advice?
@@doctoraMariela don't worry... you will be totally fine ... consult your doctor regarding this.
Hey how are u now?
At home right now as I watch this video suffering!
Sorry to hear that. I hope you will find some comfort 🙏
I stopped Lexapro cold turkey 7 months ago. Sensitive spot of my forehead when touched lightly and weird headache pulses every few mins. Torture. Hope they resolve soon. Good video
How long were you on them
@@lilgr4 months. Came off of them For a few weeks Started having Anxiety Try to use Wellbutrin Started having terrible headaches so I stopped taking that As well period
I'm currently tapering off of Paroxetine after being on 20mg every day for the past 4 years..3 weeks in and the most noticeable withdrawal symptom for me is the vertigo by far!! Good luck to everyone in their journeys to happiness ✌️💚
That's what I'm having trouble with. I'm about mid way through my taper. Doing about 1/2 tab less weekly, but this dizziness just came on and I get really nauseous, woke up from the dizziness and couldn't go back to sleep for a while....it's scary to have the dizziness, I'm going to let my doctor know Monday, I'm thinking will need to make the taper longer.
So I took a full tablet instead of 1/2 tab that day,and now that dizziness is gone. I'm going to slow down the taper. Maybe 1/2 tab removed every 2 weeks.
Yeah apparently the taper should be really long! Like 4-6 weeks each taper! I'm still on half dose as withdrawals were pretty bad, hopefully be able to reduce again soon.. hope things go good for you mate
@SmokeyJ420 yes. Thank you. I'm going to take it slow. I'm doing better. Hope all is well with you.
@ArmourofGod77 I'm glad to hear you're doing better.. I'm still on the half dose, might reduce to quarter in the next week or 2.. really don't want the withdrawals to come back again..
I'm trying to go through this paxil withdrawal before the collapse of the united states I don't want to go through this when we are going through some bull 💩.
I am from South Africa . Trust me, those greedy drug dealers will make sure you can find their drugs .
Same here
The tapering advice on this video does not apply to those who have been on antidepressants for decades. I'm 14 years off and still suffering brain damage following a one year taper. I have healed a long way but not done. It may take years to do a very gradual taper. This just breaks my heart after reading the comments. There are so many of us suffering silently on account of "medicine". So sad.
I haven’t even gone cold turkey… i have been tapering lower and lower with my paroxetine and up until half a pill (15mg) i was doing fine. About a week ago I reduced it to a quarter (7,5mg) and have suddenly been experiencing an anxiety and exhaustion spike that has been ongoing until now. I wish my doc had told me how this stuff would be a horror to let go of.
Get it in liquid and reduce by much less, 5 or 10 percent.
I am having the worst and scariest withdrawal symptoms from taking cymbalta since the drug hit the market. I’m on week 6 of 8 in tapering completely off. The symptoms have been utterly horrifying to say the least. I lost my 5 year old daughter to a rare childhood cancer battle of 2 years of chemo and radiation and a liver transplant and my other daughter has a rare clotting disorder in which she almost lost both legs due to claudication and complete occlusion of arteries from her groin to ankles so she has continuous stents the length of both legs. One might say these events could cause anxiety and depression but I’m living proof it has caused those well earned unfortunate diagnoses. I’m having all of the symptoms you just mentioned and a slew more of them like severe heart palpitations, whole body zaps and stupor, blurred vision, horrid nightmares and many many more changes in my body. Cymbalta must have stopped working years and years ago because my depression was worsening and I’ve had to quit working as a registered nurse. It has affected me in my home life as well. I found your video doing some research about this topic. You seem so much like the person I would love to talk to in depth. Cymbalta has ruined my life. Thank you so much for your videos so keep up the right information coming out for those who need to be educated on this topic as myself. God Bless you.
Self edited for spelling corrections
Thanks for sharing your experience. Unfortunately I hear this all too often which has led me to focus on deprescribing and helping patients get off this stuff! God bless you too and hope you have a full recovery 🙏
I just want to say im so sorry for ur pain ..... have u tried to work with a constitutional homeopath and an emdr therapist?
I pray 🙏🙏
You get better
Oh my gosh! That sounds so hard.
@@BayanHijirPlease can I contact you please?
Thank you for your mental health channel. I know you have helped many with your expertise. I have been on Effexor/Venlafaxine for over 30 years. I recently read that long-term use of these medications can possibly cause dementia/Alzheimer's according to some research. Therefore, I spoke with my doctor to begin tapering my antidepressant. I started this week from 150 mg to now 75 mg. I will be on this dosage for three months. Thank you for sharing the cross-taper. Hopefully, my doctor is familiar with this technique, and I can quit this medication without too much disturbing side effects.
Thank you so much for the medication comparison videos! Your info has been so helpful to me.
You are so welcome! Glad you found it helpful.
Many people, like me, had no success with a cross taper to prozac. It only works for some people. A hyperbolic taper is the best advice. For me by day 4 of making a small cut, the withdrawal was most pronounced. Wait somewhere around 2 weeks minimum to 2 months for some people to be stable before taking next cut.
Great advice!
What's a hyperbolic taper?
Never knew only suppose to be on a MED for only a yr...very interesting
I've come off zoloft about 5 times now, it doesn't get any better each time :(
When i got off my SSRI i got angry OUT of the blue! Was just pissed AF! It felt like i was about to explode... It was weird tho... But not too bad..
I feel the exact same I’ve been angry and agitated all day with a massive headache this is bs…
I was on 150 mg of Effexor. Had been on this same drug for six or seven years. Recently, it seemed as if the drug was no longer as effective as it had previously been. So I was put on Wellbutrin and then increasing dosages with that medication. Meanwhile, my nurse practitioner put me on 75 mg of Effexor for one week, and then 37 1/2 mg for the second week. This has been a disaster for me, including the thought of harming self. The people that put us on these medications need to know how to get us off of these medication‘s without killing us. The withdrawal is a bit different for each person, but what I know for sure is that it takes me longer than two weeks to get off 150 mg of Effexor!
Been on the poison for 14 years and i have now tapered down to 5 mg from 20 mg over a two year period, and even though i go so extremely slow it's a nightmare, and it gets harder the lower i come, i'm worried that i will never be able to come off it.
I'm sorry you're having a difficult time. I wish you well on your taper and sometimes when you get towards the end you have to go slower, so give yourself grace.
Which poison? I would be curious to hear how you did. Sounds like you are doing great for someone who has been on it for so long. May I ask, why did you decide to come off?
@@AstroMartine because in the long time this medicines ARE that, poison
Man I wish I would have watched this a week ago. I tapered off of my escitalopram (8years) over the course of 3 weeks according to my doctors recommendations. I took my last dose about 4 days ago and today I had to call In Sick for Work today because of my flu symptoms and feelings of vertigo. I feel absolutely TERRIBLE. I really hope that this ends soon or I’m not gonna make it. I really don’t want to go back on these meds if I can stick it out.
How long your withdrawal symptoms please reply me
I was on diazepam for 10 years and stopping that was nothing compared to Paxil. I thought I was dying from some sort of disease. I was only on that for two months because it didn't work for anxiety.
My doctor prescribed me to withdraw within a month. And I fell back to a higher dose again. I don't think he knows anything of these!
Very informative! I'm glad this video ended up in my feed because I'm sure I have been experiencing AWS. And it just so happens that the antidepressant/anxiolytic I take is venlafaxine. The symptom I experience the most is "brain zaps". =\
I have taken escitalopram, quetiapine, and clonazepam for 8 months, and stopped like a month ago. At first it was just insomnia. After a while, I felt like I have the worst and longest hang over in my life! I feel nauseous every time. When I try to walk, Id feel dizzy. When I lie down, I’d feel the same thing! I wish I’d get this over with soon. I really really wanna get back on my feet.
Excellent video!
Did anyone else have bed sleep after stop wellbutrin ?already have bed sleep for 3 weeks.
Took asentra and have had severe symptoms+bad sleep for nearly 3 weeks. I sleep somewhat decently now with the help of some natural sleeping medicine. Still going through symptoms but it gets better with time.
How are you now by the way?
I am almost 7years on antidepressants some dr are afraid if they lose you as a patient they not gonna make money my medical aid ask him for my health report because they feel some thing more has to be done I was so upset with him he diagnosis me with bipolar so he can get paid he didn't even discuss it with me wish me luck I only hope long term damage is not done thank you you video was very helpful
You forgot Hypo sexuality Anedhonie, emotional blunting, genital anesthesia, anorgasmia, erectile dysfunction
I took paroxetine during 4 weeks on 2016 and it left me with cognitive and sexual disorder also known as PSSD recognize by EMA ( European medical agency) since 2019
Sorry to hear that.
I've been Paxil CR for years. I've been trying to come of lt for about 3 months now with no success. The brain zaps(oh sweet Jesus) nausea and mood swings an insomnia are beyond horrible. I don't think I've gotten 8 hours worth of sleep the entire week.
I got severe back body stomach spasms…this has happened before getting off this stuff. And for some reason none of these professionals will talk to me about it. It’s crazy.
I've been on 10 mg Celexa for 25 years. I started getting Parkinson's-like symptoms that I attributed to the SSRI so a year and a half ago I started to very slowly withdraw using a liquid titration method. I titrate by .01 ml (I crush a 10 mg tablet in 100 ml water) every 6 days and after a year and a half I am down to 2 mg so far. I don't feel any emotional discomfort. No brain zaps. But about 6 months ago I started feeling REALLY BAD. I thought I developed Long Covid but now I'm wondering if my symptoms are actually due to the slow withdrawal. I've always been an insomniac, but now it is through the roof. I also experience sudden, overwhelming bouts of irresistible sleepiness during the day. It's almost like Narcolepsy. It only happens on the days when I've had enough sleep. I also experience roving dull pain in my limbs. Could these symptoms be due to withdrawal? If so, will they ever go away. I'm suicidal because of the lack of sleep and useless days of sleepiness on the days I do sleep. I can't go much slower than I'm going. I will hold for a few months at 2mg. Any advice would be enormously appreciated. Maybe it's Long Covid. God knows what's happening but it is unbearable. I feel for everyone else suffering along with me.
Hi, great info but the music is distracting.
Thank you so much, but PLEASE, drop the background music. It makes it difficult to listen to your voice and makes the listener tense. 😊
I want to come off Lexapro because it doesn’t take my depression away. Plus I still have crazy symptoms on it. I wish I never got on this pill because it hasn’t helped and I know the withdrawals will be horrible.
Take it slow and I wish you all the best with your taper.
My provider made quit venlafaxine cold turkey when a month ago when i was on the lowest dose already. What i can say is that my anxiety and panic attacks came back harder and feel so dizzy and weird almost everyday including brain zaps. When i say doc about my symptomps he almost doesnt believe. I kinda feel helpless..
same here. it is horrible to have a dr. that acts like you are the weird one for having withdrawal symptoms. my dr. has this attitude, like i am totally over reacting and just looking for problems. trying to wean off venlafaxine. no help from anyone. feeling very scared and alone.
Nasılsın şu an reissss
How long did the withdrawal symptoms last?
The way I look at it, all the symptoms of withdrawal represent the level of help the drug WASN'T providing. Let me explain using an example with made-up numbers. Let's say your natural serotonin is 75, then you take SSRIs briefly and you feel a little bit better. Let's say you feel like serotonin is now 100.
But after you take if for a while, your body will become accustomed to it and your serotonin levels (and mood) will drop. Let's say at that point your serotonin level is X. Well, once you withdraw, why do you feel like crap? Well, because your effective serotonin level is now really low. Let's say it's now 50. So what was X?
Well I think it's fair to guess that the body, over the long period of taking the drug, was seeking the 75 that it started off at. Your body was that way in the first place because that's the level of serotonin that it thought you needed anyway. So when you artificially increased it to 100, the body adapted naturally to try to bring it back down to 75 by naturally producing only 50. Then, when you withdrew, you body's natural serotonin was only 50 until the body's homeostatic mechanisms realized the problem and tried to take it back up to 75.
Personally, I think my journey with escitalipram has been overall helpful, but no doctor has ever encouraged me to take less or get off it. It was treated as if I should be on it forever. And I'm fine with that, except for the logic I've presented above. So what I've decided to do is to try to get off for the periods of my life when I am feeling more in control and ok, and then increase the dose again for the periods of my life when I'm starting to feel overwhelmed and overly depressed and anxious. This year, I started at 20 mg/day, but I reduced it to 20mgs/week, but then I started going through some really hard stuff, so I increased it back to 10mgs/day, then 20mgs/day briefly, but now I'm trying to go back down to 20mgs/week. We'll see how it goes. I'm just here trying to decide how quickly I should go from 10mgs/day to 20mgs/week. Maybe I'll try 40mgs/week for a month, then reduce it again to 20mgs/week.
I‘ve been taking Sertraline for 10 years. Since 4 years I‘ve been reducing and ever since I‘ve been suffering from every kind of symptoms. Most challenging symptom for me is an uncomfortable heartbeat. Doctor says everything is fine but at times it feels like my heart is about to explode like when having a panic attack and I can’t sit still and breathe properly. It drives me nuts. Some days are better than others. The better days are the only chance for me to regain faith and power to carry on. I don’t even know if my body will ever fully recover from this. And it gives me a hard time finding peace with myself and why I have not stopped taking it way sooner.
I had a horrible experience when my doctor tampered me off Lexapro over the course of two weeks. Now I am back on it and I don’t know how to tamper off.
Slowwwwww
Talk to your doctor about doing a longer taper, try over 3 months instead.
Honey I am learning to love the symptoms. The pill never helped me anyway and I want to completely cut it off. The brain zaps become eh after a day or two, but the gi tract is dead. Wish me luck.
Worst headache of my life day 3. Cymbalta seemed so harmless but this headache in my jaw and ears and even forehead is the worst! Tylenol, aspirin, ibuprofen with caffeine headache medicine helps for a short time. I'm at the ice pack point. I can't taper off because they're capsules and I'm at 30mg already. I could try dumping out half the powder then close it up again. I have to lay my head down to give my neck a break
Hi dont know how your doing but i been on pills 44+ years and im tapering of cymbalta. They r extremely hard to get off. I joined a Facebook group called cymbalta hurts. That group has taught me how to do the duloxetine, cymbalta taper. Its the best advice u will find anywhere and still its so hard. Ive been tapering over a year now and down to my last few granules now and this bit is the hardest. Cymbalta hurts has all the questions and answers there that i need and i can ask questions too if i need to. I hope this info helps you.
I am getting serious withdrawal symptoms from Prozac (was on it for years).
I've been on 50 mg trazodone for 30 years with 15 mg mirtazapene. I decided it's the healthiest time of my life I'm 62. I started with taking an entire year cutting the 50 mg of trazodone in half till I was eventually taking an apple seed size bite every night for the last month. Week 3 I crashed with nausea, tiredness, anxiety can't even drive. Now I wonder how in the world I'm going to get off mirtazapene which I heard is horrible. I had to start cutting with a blade the apple seed size piece in half 3 days ago and I am doing much better. I just need support. My own pcp didn't even suggest a tapering regime she just said go slow. I think a year is slow. No one believes me that it's awful
My story is a bit different. Long time use of Prozac, 31 years, but at a low dose of 3.5 mg per day. Began tapering 5 months ago and down to 1.5 but even at a low dose I have had symptoms of headaches, vivid dreams, anxiety and some depression. For me even a small dose has created some difficulty in tapering down.
I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better soon. 🙏
I've been on 50mg sertraline for 12 years and had to quit cold turkey due to insurance issues.
It's been 2 weeks and the flu like symptoms and depressing vivid night mares are terrible.
I am taking 50mg sertraline reduce to 25mg. Now, reduced to 1 4th and it has severe withdrawl symptoms 😢
@@sabihaahmed41 I had to go back on mine because the withdrawals were too much.
The muscle pain got so bad i couldn't even get out of bed.
I just wish I could get off these horrible pills Effexor. I have been on them over 30 years and tried many times to taper off. The longest I went was 3 weeks and the swishing in my head was still so annoying that I returned on a maintenance dose. I am trying to get off again and tapered off and and went 4 days and took 19mg and now I went two days and already feeling swishing . I don’t know if I will get off I just would say don’t use them
Mines is I feel like I have to throw up 24/7… this other is my libido is higher and also I have nightmares a lot.. I’ve been take Zoloft for 9-10 years. I’m literally trying by not taking them completely
Thank you for the information. Please do away with the music for future videos. It is difficult to hear you and the music is distracting.
I'm six months off Zoloft, and struggling every day was on 50mg for three years.
Fast taper?
@@Snowflake1374 maybe, two months but the doctor suggests two weeks.
How do they compare to opiod withdrawal?
So you take. It depression meds and that causes your serotonin receptors to work even worse than they did before bc now they don’t need to work since you’re getting it syntheticly?
Thank you so much for this video. I had a really bad experience coming off of 150 mg sertaline a year ago after tapering even slower than my doctor told me to. It was so bizarre- three months after I had completely stopped the medication, I randomly had a huge spurt of vivid, horrific nightmares and a resurgence of mood swings. Almost like the last of the drug was leaving my system. Does this sound at all possible?
I’m getting ready to taper off of 10 mg lexapro after being on it for about a year. I’m really nervous about it so videos like this help a lot.
My doctor, of course, told me that sertaline didn’t have any discontinuation symptoms and that my experience was my “anxiety coming back”. 💀
I'm currently coming off sertaline and I'm having constant vivid dreams including nightmares. It's really exhausting because I feel like I'm living 10 extra lives in my sleep and wake up in the morning like i haven't rested at all.
Same, tapered zoloft too fast by doc. I can hardly walk, my head feels like electricity, I feel terrible.
I went from 150 mg of Venlafaxin to 75, I stay there for one month. Then from 75 to 37.5 for two weeks, finally I stopped taking the medication and I was FINISH. It almost ends my marriage. After 10 day of suffering Its almost done. I think next week this torture is going to be history for me
I'm sorry to hear this! I hope you have recovered well. 🙏
How are you now?
I'm three days into cold turkey quitting my 30mg Lexapro. Brain zaps and incontrollable sudden crying. I'm in it to win it though so, here goes.. Thank you for this video. Very helpful.
Dude, taper it. That's a terrible thing to do to yourself!!
Go slow! Try to taper by 2.5mg. Rule of thumb taper over 1/2 the time you were on the medication, with over 2 years being the max for most people.
Same. I'm crying because it's so draining. But I am beyond tired of these pills, they haven't fixed my mental health, I feel so much better without them. How's it going now?
@interstellar what comforts me is the thought of how I'll feel within a week or so. I'll be much better and I'll laugh thinking of the past. I'm going through hell but I am not going back.
PLEASE TRY TO TAPPER, I STOPPED CANABIS COLD TURKY 42 DAYS AGO AND I CAN SAY IT WAS HELL, AND THAT WAS CANABIS, IT ALSO MADE MY CLONAZAPAM WITHDRAW COME BACK AFTER 4 MONTHS. IM A LIVING WRECK...BE SAFE HOPE YOU GET WELL SOON
Staying hydrated helps, also. Easier said than done, I know, but I have found that the dizziness and brain zaps have lessened quite a bit for me. Water, coconut water, gatorade, whatever. Just try not to drink too much caffeinated drinks, because they make you even thirstier.
This is really helpful, and today is my first day of not taking Venlafaxine medication from 37.5mg to 0mg, what are the withdrawal symptoms with coming of this medication? for good?, I would really appreciate anybody who has been on this medication and has been through the side affects?, thank you and good luck everybody ☺️
You may need to taper slowly from 37.5 to 0.
Some people are ok and some become disabled. What are your symptoms like now? I've been taking effexor for 24 years and tapering down to 20 mg. per day from 225. I'm healing and can tell you it will get better. Time foes help to heal.
@@dianemorrell9638 Thank you for your helpful advice but I’m off Venlaflaxine now and the withdrawal symptoms were really hard coming of this anti depressant at the time, and that medication make me feel so manic with my mental illness anti depressants do not work well with me, and my depression has got so much more better! then what it use to be, I now take natural supplements to help with my low mood and depression and they really work really well! for me, and I hope that things get better for you ☺️
“Be in touch with your provider” let me tell you- he decides IF he sees patients… and then decides when. It took me two months to meet with him to which I’m finally going to in 1.5 weeks. My GP and psych both tell me to talk to him…. Long story short, if I come off of them… it’s gonna be a free fall as my psychiatrist seems to have no interest in being readily available
By the way, my psychologist convinced me to stay on them ongoing almost indefinitely. She felt like it was necessary, so even though I have wanted to stop for 5 months or so, she insists I continue taking them. So does my GP. His reason? “Some people have lower serotonin. They’re born that way”.
Your video does not speak to the reality of the mental health system. You’re living in a fantasy land where people are well informed and available… sorry. Nice video though, I still found it informative
totally get it. my pychiatrist blows off my concerns of effexor withdrawals. he thinks it is all b.s. so no help from my doctor. so scared. wish i never went on these meds. want off so badly.
Fluoxetine does have withdrawal it just doesnt hit until 2-4weeks after stopping and the length of withdrawal is also longer due to the long half life
Unfortunately, I've been taking venlafaxine for about ten years now 😕 I can't stop taking it. Venlafaxine is very addictive :/ Any advice on how I can taper off of it?
Hello, I have a question. I stopped taking Cipralex 8 months ago, and I was experiencing terrifying withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety, dizziness, muscle tension, and dissociation from reality. Now I have improved, but my short-term memory does not work. I forget a lot. I cannot create new memories. Please, do you know about this, and will it last? With me all my life ، I am a 24 year old young man.Note: There is an improvement in memory, but little improvement
You can get some guidance on Outro website here: learn.outro.com/home it is free to sign up.
Very helpful video. I was on trintellix for anxiety for 6 years. Helped a little bit. I was on 20mg for awhile then 10mg for several months. I went to lowest dose of 5mg for 3 months then was off it for 6 days then started on a low dose of 12.5mg luvox. I’m pretty sensitive to meds. I had crazy acid reflux and GI issues on luvox and panic and anxiety daily. I gave it 33 days then told my doc I wanted off. She said I could just stop since it is such a low dose. After a few days I had skin burning sensations, depersonalization, dizziness, lightheaded, nauseous, crazy vivid dreams and fatigue. A little bit of agitation. It has been 5 weeks and I’m still feeling those symptoms for several hours a day and every now and then I’ll have a day with very little symptoms. Day 1 off the meds I drastically changed my lifestyle. Walk 5 to 7 miles throughout the day. I eat healthy and I’ve lost 20lbs. I get all my vitamins in too. My panic is basically gone and my only anxiety stems from these withdrawal symptoms because my doc says it’s highly unlikely what I’m feeling is withdrawal since I was on a low dose. I’ve had everything checked and they found no issues. Something interesting though is my testosterone while on these SSRI drugs was diminishing to near 200. 2 weeks off it went to 287! kinda proves to me that even a low dose can effect me.
It’s a needed drug in some but I think it’s over prescribed. I’m withdrawing from citalopram and it’s awful. AWFUL!
Why dont prescibers know how bad wds are. They think it lasts a few weeks montgs try year's for some off us
who could not believe those eyes
I'm currently cross tapering effexor (after 10 years) to Prozac... It's NOT fun... I did a Genomind test and hopefully the Prozac does work 🙏❤️
Best of luck!
@@LevelheadedMind thank you. It's very tiring...
I'm 51yrs old, I recently came off effexor after a long 20yrs. yes 20 long years. I slowly tapered off from 375mg to now days 0mg, the withdrawal symptoms are horrible and I hope they go away soon. it has been 5 days on 0mg. I still feel like i'm floating, and can't quite explain it. just like trying to explain depression symptoms to someone who's never experienced it. At times i'm feeling no symptoms at others i'm feeling like i'm not going to get better. the Psychiatrist prescribed me trintelix upon my request and recommendation but i haven't taken it. i don't want to jump on a new antidepressant if i can avoid it. I don't like the tapering off part of it. I just wanted to share that I thought I was ready to be off Effexor completely after so long. and it is not as easy as i thought it would be. I knew that in the past if i missed a dose i would feel like this but how long does this last when you are trying to be off it forever.
It is different for each person and there are different factors to consider. One thing that seems to help many are free form amino acids, talk to your provider about using them to help.
HELLO I AM 49 WANT YOU TO KNOW YOU ARE NOT ALONE ON THIS JOURNEY, I HAVE BEEN TAKING CLONAZAPAM 0.5MG STARTED WITH 2MG, PAST 5 YEARS. IVE TAPERED OFF OF IT ONCE LASTED 4 MONTHS OFF. HAD A RELAPSE WHEN I STOPED SMOKING CANABIS, WAS ONLY TAKING AT NIGHT FOR ANXIETY, AND INSOMNIA NOT FOR FUN OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. I ALWAY BELIEVED CANABIS WAS NOT ADDICTING! I WAS WRONG, IT WAS HORRIBLE I FELT LIKE I WAS LOOSING MY MIND PANICK ATTACKS, NIGHTMARES, COLD SWEATS, BODY PAIN, ALL FROM GOING COLD TURKEY OFF OF CANABIS, I ALSO WAS HAD STOPPED THE CLONASAPAM AT THE SAME TIME BUT I COULD NOT HANDLE IT SO IM BACK TO DAY ONE ON THE TAPERING OFF THE CLONAZAPAM 0.5MG I WILL START SUNDAY NIGHT, YESTERDAY DOCTOR STARTED ME ON GABAPENTON 300. I TOOK ONE PILL JUST TO SEE IF I COULD SLEEP MORE THAT 4 HOURS. BUT I DONT PLAN ON TAKING MOREOF THIS PILL IT ALSO IS VER ADDICTING IVE HEARD. WELL JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU IT DOES GET BETTER DONT KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES BUT YOU ARE THERE SO CLOSE....BLESS YOU AND SORRY FOR THE RANT..
Hey how are you now
Why didn’t my psychiatrist look like you? 🥇❤️💪🏼
I stopped bupropion abruptly and two days later started feeling very I’ll until I went back on it and started tampering slowly
Super helpful video! I'm a bit sad that my psychiatrist didn't warn me about this syndrome, despite I asked. Unfortunately, the withdrawal syndrome has begun :( I hate anxiety kicks, but the brain zaps are the worst... My case was kind of special since I found out I am pregnant. I consulted this immediately with my psychiatrist, and they advised me to take half of the my current does for 2-4 days and then stop completely. Is there anything I can do to minimize this syndrome? Taking another medication is not an option at the moment.
Oh man, that sounds tough. It sounds cliche, but I think you just need to focus on natural things. Try to get some exercise. I say this as someone who is physically broken in so many ways, so I know that can be difficult. Try to eat healthy. Don't worry about being anxious. That will just make it worse. Just focus on the good that you're doing and the good things that will happen. Keep remembering that the darkness isn't real, it's just withdrawal. Be kind to yourself.
@@mitchjohnson4714 thank you for your kind words.BTW my brain got used to it and brain zaps were gone after around 2-3 weeks. Can't tell exactly because it wasn't a concrete cut-off.
Thank you! I think this is why I was so sick this week.
I chose to skip taking my escitalopram until I refilled my buproprion and lamotrigine so I could continue taking them all together. Then, even after I refilled my prescriptions, I didn't bother to take them because I wasn't feeling very bad.r
After about 4 to 6 days off my meds, I got really nauseous. I went into work one day feeling hungry and ended up in an ER because I couldn't stop throwing up.
I thought I had just overworked myself and not eaten enough over the weekend. So, I rested and ate well for a day. I had read some advice to stop taking oral medicine while I'm nauseous, so I continued to skip my meds.
When I still didn't feel well, and was unable to go back to work, I started wondering if not taking my medicine had anything to do with the way I was feeling. My symptoms seemed like typical withdrawal symptoms. I also recalled the last time I had to go to the ER because I couldn't stop vomiting was during a time when I wasn't taking my meds.
Your video makes it really clear that withdrawing from antidepressant medicine is real thing. I should get back on my medicine and then see if I feel better.
I now have even more reason to make sure I take my meds consistently. When I take my meds I feel fantastic, when I fall off of them I start to feel like something is wrong with me within 4 to 24 hours. Now I know that if I go too long without my meds, I end up physically sick with no strength to function normally.
How are you now?
thanks from canada
You're welcome. Glad it was helpful.
What should people that have chronic anxiety due to adhd and or ocd do? Are we supposed to stay on ssris for life? For the first time in my life i realize what normal ppl feel like............. i had no idea the lenght i was suffering for 35 yrs....... im terrified of getting off and the anxiety coming back......
Six months to a year 😂 I'm autistic so anxiety and depression for the most part, I'll be stuck with my entire life.
Right now yes I not actually trying to quit I just moved from another state and still waiting on the doctors to look at my insurance and it taking way too long now I having at least 3 of the symptoms most severe is the worst is the Sensory also have trouble sleeping and the least right now is my stomach issues however it not really nausea much it more like diarrhea
I’m not trying to go off my current antidepressant on purpose, but for some reason because of prior authorization and my insurance I haven’t been able to get my meds renewed. I’ve kind of forgotten how horrible this is and am not sure what to do while I wait.
I have been on escitalopram for about 4 years and i am on my 2nd day trying to stop taking them, also the losartan, amlodipine and the prevaststin. I lost my insurance so im going to stop them for financial reasons, plus my diet is a lot more healthier. Yor video is very helpful, thanks
You're welcome. 😊
So I am feeling more stressed about withdrawal and how long it will continue after this. I was on 300 of Effexor for at least 15 years, could be longer, it just kept getting increased to assist with depression and anxiety. I dropped 75 about 18 months ago which was horrible. So now I’ve been decreasing. Initially 75 less for around 2 weeks, then 37.5 for 2 weeks. I’m now on 75 and it’s really horrible. In 2 weeks I’m supposed to drop another 37.5 but take prestique 50 with it then after one week drop the 37.5 of Effexor. I have felt horrible for weeks and weeks. Not sure where I’m supposed to go after that ! That’s a long time to be on these meds. I’m finding with each reduction it’s days 4, 5, 6 and 7 are the worse and either way I end up having to take at least 2 days off work so it has eaten away at sick leave and Rec leave. I am in Australia, has anyone else had to come off such high dosage of Effexor ?
Very informative video. Thank you for addressing all the poasible aspects in details.
I need your help i am on Vilazidone hydrochloride 20mg since past 20 months. My doctor reduced my dosage to 10mg per day 8 months ago but since than he isn't reducing or ending it at all. So i decieded to stop eating it since past 4 days. Now i am suffering from sensory issues you've mentioned. Electrical shock like sensation. How to cop up with it?
You may require amino acid support. However, best to let your provider know, as you may need to titrate that last 10mg more slowly. You would need to get a compounding pharmacy to make it into liquid though. Also consider looking at root causes and potential deficiencies such as vitamin D, b12, folate, or magnesium.
Great video. My first week of a Zoloft 100mg taper down to 75 mg (25 mg taper ) have me insomnia. Almost no sleep. So I resumed the normal dose. So disappointing.
I took trintellix for 12 days, 10 days 10mg, 2 days 20mg. I ended up in the ER with intense dizziness. My doctor decided to switch for escitalopram 10mg. Diziness came down a bit but never went away. Another 2 weeks on escitalopram. Then one week for 5mg and three days for 2.5mg and stopped.
Finally I had relief from dizziness for 4-5 days. Then withdrawals kicked in insomnia, high HRs, vivid dreams, fatigue, and dizziness began climbing back up. At this point I've been off them for 5 weeks which is almost the same time as I took them. Most withdrawals except for agitated HR and dizziness have subsided. I'm stuck with dizziness & vertigo Unable to function whatsoever.
Have you seen something like this in your experience and what can I do about it?
I've had all kinds of assesments for vertigo, brain and neck MRI, Holter, neuro assesment and all squeaky clean!
Sounds like you had a neurological injury from the medication which causes inflammation. If there are no contraindications and you get OK from your doctor, try bio available curcumin to reduce inflammation. Then support your neurotransmitters with free form amino acids, and bio available B complex.
@@LevelheadedMind Thank you so much for your guidance. As it turns out it may be neurological. I had a complete neuro vestibular assesment done and the result is an impaired cvemp and absent ovemp in my inner left ear. Otolith dysfunction of left inner ear. Any recommendations based on this?
@Amitabh Varma I am not a neurologist so can't recommend treatment. However, it was a good thing you found the root cause.
@@LevelheadedMind thank you so much for taking the time to review my question and responding. I sincerely appreciate it.
That table is wrong. I’ve heard duloxetine and Mirtazapine and two of the hardest to stop. Where as Amitriptyline has mild withdrawal.
I’m on mirtazapine and paroxetine which would be the one to get off first
It's a personal choice. In my experience it seems removing the worst offender 1st, tends to be better in the long run. So, I'd start with the Paxil and go slow!!
Almost impossible to come off Paxil without fluoxetine even when tapering over a really long time..?
How is this legal to prescribe then?
months? It is taking me 3 years. I'm tapering slowly but I still have terrible withdrawal symptoms.
It may take longer for some people, but going slow is key.
How are you now
What is the name of the song used in this video?
What ever happen to the oath..Do no harm.....
Exactly..these meds do much more harm than good. The problem is how to get alternative help for depression and anxiety especially when it's chronic and severe
@@justinebourke9449 look into magic mushrooms..but I know 1000s of people have suffered
It’s called big Pharma.
@@georgiabessie boy is that right !!!!!!
@@garysimone4977 I just weaned off Effexor. Took 15 months. Had to do it myself. Drs can’t help. They can only wean you by 50%. Too much to tolerate. I also don’t agree with adding another drug in to get off of it. I’ve been off totally for 11 days. More symptomatic at night. Getting better every day.