Has anyone tried to stop effexor cold turkey??? WOW!! not cool!!

oh dear sadeyesr4ever

stopping any SSRI med cold turkey is scary.....ALWAYS titrate down

hope you are feeling better

Cold turkey Even not being able to get the script for a week will kick you to the curb and run you over with a leaky garbage truck.

NEVER-EVER stop SSRI or SSNI cold turkey.

If you have any questions about discontinuing a drug, ALWAYS-ALWAYS talk to both your doctor AND your pharmacist. AND, read here: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/ They explain in very great detail how to SLOWLY titrate down off of this class of drugs.

I developed severe skin-picking as a result of being cold-turkied from Prozac 5 years ago -- STILL paying for that.

These drugs actually change the way the chemicals in your brain work. You have to be VERY SMART about knowing what you're putting in your body. After my little Prozac fiasco, I would never start taking a drug without knowing the side effects and implications BEFORE I start taking it. I always ask for the clinical notes from the pharmacist when I get a new prescription and I read that over before I start taking the drug. If there's a possibility of a bad side-effect, I always tell someone that I've just started a new drug.

To be perfectly honest, a lot of the doctors that prescribe medications do not know the long-term side effects of what they prescribe. This is why I'm scared of this rush to embrace Gardasil. No one knows anything long-term about this drug.

I probably would not be alive today if it weren't for this class of drugs -- SSRI/SSNI. I thank G-d every day for them. But, you have to BE SMART about what you're doing to your body.

In my two withdrawal experiences off of Effexor XR (couldn't get to the pharmacy in the winter due to snow and transportation problems), it takes a week to go into major withdrawals and about 6 weeks to get body leveled back up to total functioning.

Good luck.

Barb

Barb, that was such a valuable post....thank you!

The experience we had with the awful withdrawal my son went through with Luvox, Zyprexa and Haldol and the short & long term effects that they had on him, has made me very very very cautious of all drugs, but specifically ones that impact the neurological system, I extend this caution even to natural supplements if my research indicates they can impact the brain or nervous system

I recognise the vital importance of these meds for so many people, but as you have said, one MUST only take them with an awareness of what they can do, how they interact with other drugs or supplements and what happens when you want to go off them

Doctors in general are truly not forthcoming (or knowledgable?) enough to educate people correctly on so many meds and instead the patient finds out the hard way.

ok I am off my

sadeyesr4ever.....hope you are doing ok

Yes, it was a very bad idea to do what I did. I had no idea that would happen. I am back on my medication and doing much better. Thanks

so glad to hear you are doing better sadeyesr4ever