Has anyone stopped taking effexor xr cold turkey?

Question

I started taking effexor xr in april and by june i was on a 150 mg. The medication worked for the first few weeks then it stopped so the doctor upgraded the mg. By the time I got on 150 mg and did the same thing, I just wanna say "eff this" and just go to thearpy. My withdrawl symptoms aren't too bad, i'm just tired and a little shakey but I think I can handle it. Has anyone stopped cold turkley before and how long does it take to stop having withdrawl symptoms?

Answer 1

Effexor has the reputation of being one of the hardest antidepressants to come off of. How long ago did you stop taking it? Sometimes it will take a few days or even a week before it gets REALLY bad.

I don't recommend stopping any anti-depressant cold turkey, but some people can do just fine with stopping it. It is bizarre and doctors do not understand why some people feel like they are dying and others can just stop.

When I ran out of Celexa once I thought I could handle it and then after a few days I was so sick I was contemplating going into the hospital before the pharmacy gave me an emergency refill of the Celexa from an old prescription I found.

I would say to work with your doctor to come up with a plan that has you getting of the meds. It is much safer and can reduce the negative side-effects.