I've been taking Effexor XR for about 6 months, doctor was hooking me up with samples all the time cause I'm broke.

Anyway, I ran out of samples 2-3 days ago, and OMG, what the hell is this crap I've been taking? What the hell am I going through now? My head is so light-headed, so depressed, very very angry, can't focus, Adderall isn't doing anything to help with the withdrawal from Effexor.

How long will this take for the effexor withdrawal? I hope it doesn't get worst, I have a bunch of strattera in my house, I was wondering if I should take this since I read somewhere they somewhat the same??????

Thanks for any input

T-Bass

Did the dr stop giving you the samples? He should have at least told you how to wean off of them! You are not supposed to stop Effexor cold turkey --you are supposed to decrease the dose first. Sorry, I don't know what to tell you. If you are still on good terms with your dr, I recommend calling him. I don't know anything about Straterra, but as a general rule...
You should talk to a medical doctor before taking any prescription medication.

The doctor didn't have any samples so I didn't think it would be a big deal if I didn't take it, I was wrong, good thing I knew someone who takes Effexor same dosage as me, I got 2 from him and went to the pharmacy and had them call the doctor for a renewal prescription which I'll pick up tomorrow.

I guess I'm stuck taking this, another $120 out of my pocket per month.

All I have to say is Thank God for Marijuana, feeling much better.

T-Bass

For some people Effexor is hard to quit taking. You may have to slowly wean yourself off over the course of a month or two, depending on how bad your reaction is. Quiting any anti-depressant "cold turkey" is not a good idea, unless the side effects are very bad. You may experience flu like symptoms as well as anxiety and/or depression. Some drug companies will provide drugs free for a period of time to patients in financial need - like the samples, they want to get you hooked ;-) - you might inquire about that, who knows?
Good luck,
Greg

For some people Effexor is hard to quit taking. You may have to slowly wean yourself off over the course of a month or two, depending on how bad your reaction is. Quiting any anti-depressant "cold turkey" is not a good idea, unless the side effects are very bad. You may experience flu like symptoms as well as anxiety and/or depression. Some drug companies will provide drugs free for a period of time to patients in financial need - like the samples, they want to get you hooked ;-) - you might inquire about that, who knows?
Good luck,
Greg
Thanks, I will look into that.

T-Bass

See if you can get prozac instead and wean off with that since it doesn't have the withdrwal problems. Otherwise reduce your dose gradually as suggested.

I had no idea how bad the withdrawal symptoms were, until I was ran out on a friday with no refills on my script. I had been taking it like a good little patient and doing quite well...having absolutely no idea how bad the withdrawal would be. Now, I keep my script filled and try to keep samples on hand, just in case I forget to get it filled on time. I would like to say just how negligent your doctor was, but I guess mine was too.

It's hard for doctors to keep track of patients scrips. They might have warned you to make a new appointment or whatever when you are about to run out of meds, and perhaps it's prudent to warn people not to stop cold turkey, but not all people have this kind of reaction either and you don't necesarily want to scare someone away from a medication that might help them. Withdrawl from SSRI's, et al can be flu like, last from a day to a couple of weeks, range in intensity from not at all to nasty as hell and will depend on the person, the drug, the dosage and how long you've been taking it. Of the SSRI's I've tried, the only one that gave me any sort of withdrawl was Paxil and that was pretty light, dispite a bad reputation. Most people taper off without problems or suffering, but there's always an exception.

I was on effexor xr for a while and had to get off it because of the side affects when I was on it. But coming off it was awful. I felt like I was ten feet tall and floating an extra 3 feet off the ground. I couln't hear very well and my brain didn't work normally at all. It was bad. I hated and I will never take it again. I am on Prozac now and that is working very well for me.