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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by ChipW on May 4, 2001, at 21:36:33
I have been on 150 mg of Effexor for over a year. I want to quit, and my doctor is one of the losers. I'm doing this my way, and I started Monday. I am offering this for informational purposes, and to seek advice from the rest of you.
Monday
Split a 150-mg Effexor in half visually on a plate using a razor blade to divide up the pellets without crushing them. Took half of the pellets in OJ. This was very difficult since most of the pellets stayed in the glass. I had to rinse it out several times with water, and by the end I had drunk a lot. I also had trouble getting the little pellets down without getting them stuck in my teeth, etc. I was very careful not to crush any, since I believe this would effect the XR formulation.Put the rest of the pellets back into the capsule.
Tuesday
Took the other half capsule.Side effects are milder than what I have experienced many times, 24 hours after a missed dose.
The side effect(s) I experience 24 hours after a missed dose are what are commonly referred to as dizziness, lightheadedness, a strange sensation when I turn my head, tracers, vertigo, and sometimes even described as visual hallucinations. I think of all these descriptions as referring to one symptom, but that's just me.
This is no where close to the clinical/psychological definition of a hallucination. I have experienced a full-blown, suspension of reality, psychotic hallucination. Effexor withdrawals don't even come close. They are what some call "visuals", and they are very mild visuals. This being said, no one want to experience this 24/7 for days. There isn't anything really fun about it anyway.
I have also experienced the wide range of visual effects caused by LSD and psilocybin, and Effexor withdrawals don't even come close to these. There has been absolutely no effect on my conscious thought from Effexor that I have ever been able to detect, and that goes for the withdrawals as well. Unless constant dizziness tends to make you irritable….
The point is that LSD and psilocybin do have profound effects on my conscious thought, and even the worst Effexor withdrawal symptoms don't do this.
Wednesday
Split another capsule and used small pieces of Velveeta cheese to "pick up" half the pellets. I swallowed the pellet-ridden pieces of cheese without chewing. This worked rather well. I have to admit that I tried this because it is how I give meds to my cats and dogs….Again put the remaining pellets back into the capsule.
Thursday
Took the second half capsule. My fourth dose at approximately 75mg.Side effects are about equivalent to a missed dose.
Friday (Today)
Took nothing in the morning. Side effects were quite intense all day.Took 10mg Prozac after evening meal.
Posted by ChipW on May 5, 2001, at 21:13:02
In reply to Effexor Withdrawal Diary, posted by ChipW on May 4, 2001, at 21:36:33
Took 10 mg Prozac in the morning.
The dizzyness and visual effects were so intense that I could do little all morning but lie in bed.
By noon, I was able to function somewhat. By evening, almost all withdrawal symptoms were gone.
Posted by Wendy B on May 6, 2001, at 9:04:50
In reply to Effexor Withdrawal Diary, posted by ChipW on May 4, 2001, at 21:36:33
Hey Chip,
Sounds good, you're doing well, I like the image of you sopping up the little dots of Effexor with some velveeta.. Good idea!
Getting off Effexor is a bitch. My symptoms were nausea & dizzyness, nothing near what some people have posted that they have experienced. As you can see, getting off this drug has got to be one of THE most discussed topics for people on this BBoard.One thing, a suggestion on method: if you have got the capsules, just PULL them apart, no need to use a razor blade. I found that if you twist the cap (and it does stick a little, so keep twisting), as you ssslllloooowllly pull it, that works best.
I would then dump them into a glass of water & swallow them as best I could. Keep rinsing the glass out with more water till you swallow them all.
I also tapered much more slowly than my pdoc suggested, but it still didn't keep the nausea away, and that kept me home on the couch for at least 24 hrs every time I tapered down a notch.Good luck, man, and keep us posted on how you feel...
Wendy B.
> I have been on 150 mg of Effexor for over a year. I want to quit, and my doctor is one of the losers. I'm doing this my way, and I started Monday. I am offering this for informational purposes, and to seek advice from the rest of you.
>
> Monday
> Split a 150-mg Effexor in half visually on a plate using a razor blade to divide up the pellets without crushing them. Took half of the pellets in OJ. This was very difficult since most of the pellets stayed in the glass. I had to rinse it out several times with water, and by the end I had drunk a lot. I also had trouble getting the little pellets down without getting them stuck in my teeth, etc. I was very careful not to crush any, since I believe this would effect the XR formulation.
>
> Put the rest of the pellets back into the capsule.
>
> Tuesday
> Took the other half capsule.
>
> Side effects are milder than what I have experienced many times, 24 hours after a missed dose.
>
> The side effect(s) I experience 24 hours after a missed dose are what are commonly referred to as dizziness, lightheadedness, a strange sensation when I turn my head, tracers, vertigo, and sometimes even described as visual hallucinations. I think of all these descriptions as referring to one symptom, but that's just me.
>
> This is no where close to the clinical/psychological definition of a hallucination. I have experienced a full-blown, suspension of reality, psychotic hallucination. Effexor withdrawals don't even come close. They are what some call "visuals", and they are very mild visuals. This being said, no one want to experience this 24/7 for days. There isn't anything really fun about it anyway.
>
> I have also experienced the wide range of visual effects caused by LSD and psilocybin, and Effexor withdrawals don't even come close to these. There has been absolutely no effect on my conscious thought from Effexor that I have ever been able to detect, and that goes for the withdrawals as well. Unless constant dizziness tends to make you irritable….
>
> The point is that LSD and psilocybin do have profound effects on my conscious thought, and even the worst Effexor withdrawal symptoms don't do this.
>
> Wednesday
> Split another capsule and used small pieces of Velveeta cheese to "pick up" half the pellets. I swallowed the pellet-ridden pieces of cheese without chewing. This worked rather well. I have to admit that I tried this because it is how I give meds to my cats and dogs….
>
> Again put the remaining pellets back into the capsule.
>
> Thursday
> Took the second half capsule. My fourth dose at approximately 75mg.
>
> Side effects are about equivalent to a missed dose.
>
> Friday (Today)
> Took nothing in the morning. Side effects were quite intense all day.
>
> Took 10mg Prozac after evening meal.
Posted by ChipW on May 7, 2001, at 7:48:33
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal Diary, posted by Wendy B on May 6, 2001, at 9:04:50
> Hey Chip,
>
> One thing, a suggestion on method: if you have got the capsules, just PULL them apart, no need to use a razor blade. I found that if you twist the cap (and it does stick a little, so keep twisting), as you ssslllloooowllly pull it, that works best.This is what I do as well. The razor blade is used to seperate the pellets into different piles on the plate.
> I would then dump them into a glass of water & swallow them as best I could. Keep rinsing the glass out with more water till you swallow them all.
This is what I did on the first one, but man does that take a lot of water! Plus the little buggers kept getting stuck in my teeth, under my tongue, what a mess! I think if I had done this more than twice I would have purchased some empty gelcaps to make the whole thing easier.
> I also tapered much more slowly than my pdoc suggested, but it still didn't keep the nausea away, and that kept me home on the couch for at least 24 hrs every time I tapered down a notch.
That's exactly why I decided to taper so rapidly. I wanted to get it overwith. I went from 150 mg standard dose down to 75mg for four days, then off.
>
> Good luck, man, and keep us posted on how you feel...
> Wendy B.I will, and thanks for the post!
Posted by ChipW on May 7, 2001, at 7:54:15
In reply to Effexor Withdrawal Diary, posted by ChipW on May 4, 2001, at 21:36:33
I woke with almost no symptoms whatsoever.
Took 10mg Prozac.
As I drank my morning coffee, the dizzyness and visual effects began to return. Could caffeine antagonize the Effexor withdrawal? Anyone have any experience with this? I will try greatly reduced caffeine intake on Day 8.
Symptoms were moderate throughout the rest of the day; about the same as a missed dose.
Posted by ChipW on May 7, 2001, at 23:00:49
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal Diary, posted by ChipW on May 7, 2001, at 7:48:33
Took 10 mg Prozac.
I woke with no symptoms at all. I decided to have only one cup of coffee this morning (I usually have several), to see if I could get another data point on the possible connection between the withdrawal symptoms and caffeine. After drinking the coffee, the symptoms returned, but were very mild. By noon they were gone, and did not return for the rest of the day.
This seems to support the possible connection between the withdrawal symptoms and caffeine. Of course, correlation is not causation, and I can only do so many experiments without going back on Effexor and withdrawing again. I think others should explore this possible link.
Posted by ChipW on May 10, 2001, at 10:47:17
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal Diary, posted by ChipW on May 7, 2001, at 7:48:33
Took 10mg Prozac both days, no symptoms either day.
Will go off of Prozac Thursday Day 10.
I will post a follow-up in a couple of weeks.
Posted by Michele on May 10, 2001, at 15:06:16
In reply to Days 8 and 9, posted by ChipW on May 10, 2001, at 10:47:17
That is great..... sounds like it's coming along perfectly. Thanks for keeping us posted. I'm also doing my masters thesis.... it's on drugs and behavior.... I hope you don't mind, but I'm kind of using your little journal. Hang tough,.. and keep keeping us informed. Congrats for ya! Michele
Posted by Ann NY on May 11, 2001, at 9:42:09
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal Diary, posted by ChipW on May 7, 2001, at 7:48:33
I'm not a pharmacologist, but I am familiar with pharmaceutical formulations including slow release ones.
The purpose of the capsule is to protect the slow release component from the acid in your stomach. It sounds like you are getting a 75mg dose all at once if you are cutting it open. It sounds like you are almost finished but for other people, maybe you should split the broken capsule over two dosages.
Why isn't your docotor helping you get off? I know you can get as low as 25 mg as immediate release tablets - that's what I started on.
Good luck and good health.
Posted by Sunie on May 11, 2001, at 12:11:45
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal Diary, posted by ChipW on May 7, 2001, at 7:48:33
Hey, then maybe the reason that splitting capsules worked for me at the end no prob is because I also pulled apart some ginseng caps, dumped the ginseng out, and then put the one half of the pellets back into the effexor case, and the other into the empty herbal capsule.
I didn't notice a thing coming off of effexor. I also did it over a period of two weeks, in very small increments.
Posted by ChipW on May 20, 2001, at 15:51:14
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal Diary, posted by Ann NY on May 11, 2001, at 9:42:09
> I'm not a pharmacologist, but I am familiar with pharmaceutical formulations including slow release ones.
>
> The purpose of the capsule is to protect the slow release component from the acid in your stomach. It sounds like you are getting a 75mg dose all at once if you are cutting it open. It sounds like you are almost finished but for other people, maybe you should split the broken capsule over two dosages.I think that is the purpose of the individual pellets within the capsule -- each pellet releases at a different time. That was my assumption, anyway.
>
> Why isn't your docotor helping you get off? I know you can get as low as 25 mg as immediate release tablets - that's what I started on.There are good doctors and bad ones.
>
> Good luck and good health.
Posted by ChipW on May 20, 2001, at 16:06:25
In reply to Re: Effexor Withdrawal Diary , posted by Sunie on May 11, 2001, at 12:11:45
First, let me apologize for a mistake. The post titled Days 8 and 9 should have been 9 and 10.
Essentially, I went from 150mg Effexor XR to nothing in ten days, including several days of 10mg Prozac.
My advice for others trying to get off is to start the Prozac a couple days before you reduce your dose, then taper the Effexor rapidly.
In the time since day 10, I have had several episodes with the "dizzyness" symptom. The most recent one was yesterday and lasted several hours.
One thing that really sticks out to me is that the physical withdrawal symptoms from Effexor are quite severe compared to other drugs. I have explored many illegal psychoactive drugs, including Marijuana, LSD, Psylocibin and MDMA. I have never encountered the severity of withdrawal symptoms that I have gone through with Effexor; even after months of daily use of Marijuana. Effexor did absolutely nothing to help me while I was on it, as far as I and others were able to determine. My opinion is that this drug is at best useless with terrible side-effects, and at worst could be permanently damaging to the user's brain.
Posted by mvaureen on May 21, 2001, at 18:32:47
In reply to Followup, posted by ChipW on May 20, 2001, at 16:06:25
Chip,
I read your "diary," and decided that this is the day to respond. Having done it, I think Effexor withdrawal is a brave thing to undergo, especially if you know what will be coming. It is the consistency and pervasiveness of the symptoms which make it so hard. There is almost no moment of relief that comes until the entire process is done. What I want to say is that I also voiced much anger toward the drug itself. I felt it was useless, that it didn't help me, that everyone should know how much damage the drug did to me during and after its use. I was furious about the detachment I had during the treatment and the life decisions I made when I was in that state. I don't think that I realized I was so detached, and thus unable to see the results of the drug, until now. My constant thought for a while was, "What were they thinking -- giving this drug to people?" Anyway, my anger is lessening. In fact, I must admit that I had about two weeks of anger that is beginning only now to wane [I'm starting my 3rd week off of Effexor]. So when you wrote that this drug is useless what I thought was, "Yeah! I sense that anger I've had, too." I have wondered much, though, if the drug didn't save my life. I was in a massive state of deterioration after recessing into post traumatic anxiety and depression. Now I'm not. I still hate the drug and feel it had no right to give me permanent or transient effects. It does seem that the damage or the effects are permanent, doesn't it? That's what infuriated me so much. Good Luck! I love your idea of a diary! I've been posting on this site every other day since I started off. It's important, I think.
> First, let me apologize for a mistake. The post titled Days 8 and 9 should have been 9 and 10.
>
> Essentially, I went from 150mg Effexor XR to nothing in ten days, including several days of 10mg Prozac.
>
> My advice for others trying to get off is to start the Prozac a couple days before you reduce your dose, then taper the Effexor rapidly.
>
> In the time since day 10, I have had several episodes with the "dizzyness" symptom. The most recent one was yesterday and lasted several hours.
>
> One thing that really sticks out to me is that the physical withdrawal symptoms from Effexor are quite severe compared to other drugs. I have explored many illegal psychoactive drugs, including Marijuana, LSD, Psylocibin and MDMA. I have never encountered the severity of withdrawal symptoms that I have gone through with Effexor; even after months of daily use of Marijuana. Effexor did absolutely nothing to help me while I was on it, as far as I and others were able to determine. My opinion is that this drug is at best useless with terrible side-effects, and at worst could be permanently damaging to the user's brain.
This is the end of the thread.
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