Effexor XR Memory Loss
Memory Loss:Making the Connection
More than ten years on Effexor XR. A gradual yet shocking decrease in my memory: word retrieval, short term memory, sense of ‘fuzziness’ about events in recent past. Additionally, an acute sense of congitive degeneration. In my case, I found involvement in physical training program involving balance, dexterity, agility and coordination, coupled with Iyengar Yoga and meditation successfully alleviated a great deal of this fugue .. at first.
My hope initially was that since I had never been someone who exercised, this focus on the physical might result in the creation of a parallel neural nework which could function in lieu of my damaged prefrontal cortex. Actually replace the defective (as I saw it) right brain dominance.
Noticed after a few months that I was returning from exercise and from cranial sacral work totally exhausted. (The cranial sacral therapist would say “Ok, now I’ve got all your neurotransmittors stablilized). My theory was that the medication (300 Effexor XR and Wellbutrin 50 was interfering with the process of creating natural endorphins, possibly even establishing the very beginnings of new neural networks. I started cutting back on the meds; totally off the Wellbutrin and got down to 37.5 of Effexor XR until an injury necessitated me stopping my exercise program for a few months. Not shortly thereafter, the depression returned en force. Currently, I am back on 150 Effexor (after a 9 day stint on Pristiq which resulted in major Effexor Withdrawal Syndrome. Currently, Im in the process of reaclimating to Effexor: heartburn, shortness of breath, free floating anxiety, even some of those horrid suicidal ideations. All helped today by 2 mg of Ativan. A few Coca Colas for energy and sugar.
After years of talking with my psychiatrist about my memory loss, problems with word retrieval, feeling as if I was in a fog, inability to sustain a job (or a relationship) increased isolating, I was almost convinced this deterioration was an effect of the aging brain. Until I came across this discussion board last week: About: Effexor and Memory Loss, with over 100 comments from Effexor users complainig of th same thing. Some claim their cognitive functioning improved after discontinuing the medication, but others had seen no return to normal.
A note from Wikipedia: In a study of the tolerability of venlafaxine at a dose range 75 to 600 mg per day for treating DSM-IV major depressive disorder “failing memory” was reported at all doses in 44.4% of cases. The severity of venlafaxine-induced memory loss was also noted to increase with dose and length of treatment.[32] As memory loss may have a significant impact on the patient’s ability to function in his community or place of work, this adverse effect should be an important consideration when prescribing venlafaxine in an out-patient setting and suggests that venlafaxine is most suitable for the treatment of in-patients.
source: ^ Harrison CL, Ferrier N, Young AH (June 2004). “Tolerability of high-dose venlafaxine in depressed patients”. J. Psychopharmacol. (Oxford) 18 (2): 200–4. doi:. PMID 15260908.
But there are other questions I have for Individuals on ADs.
- did you start smoking again
- have you gained weight
- have you become more isolated, less motivated
- do you have difficulty holding on to a job
- do you have difficulty handling routine jobs, keeping up with mail, keeping house clean and orderly, getting car serviced on time
- have you lost contact with family and friends since you started on the drug
- has the quality of your life improved
- what have been your experiences in attempting to come off Effexor XR?
Uses, Side Effects of Effexor XR
Wyeth continues to downplay the presence of brain zaps in the discontinuation syndrome.
Along with the online discussion forums, check out Youtbube for personal video stories.
A Youtube of withdrawing from Effexor. 7 days on 37.5; take every 2nd day. Make it whole next day the day after that is when he would feel the withdrawal.
A youtube about depression
Memory loss linked to antidepressents, especially Effexor XR
Long term use of antidepressents
It’s funny, I read the title “Effexor XR and Memory Loss,” and instantly I went, “wow, maybe that’s my problem.” I’ve been on the medication for nearly 7 years and often people laugh at me saying “oh you’ve got the worst memory EVER!” but I never thought that it could be a side effect of the medication. For instance, I’ll see a movie and a week later not even remember if I had seen it, or what the plot was. I forget entire days, experiences, communications, and usually just own it up to “life is busy, I don’t have time to remember the little things.” This is definitely an interesting proposal.
kate,
there is a whole lot more information on this site about this topic. i just started work on it last week and right now i am working on the navigation problems…. If you get a chance take a look at neuroplasticity and neurogenesis pages because they deal with how we can go about repairing things like memory loss. I have kinda tapped into some ideas as to why this is occuring among so many people. Im researching it.
One of the things I want to do with this site is have it create community … I am going to create a section called My Story where people can write in about their unique experience, diangoses, medications they are on, have tried, what works what doesn’t etc.
memory losses is very normal with anti-depressive treatments because they are relieving depression with memory system
antidepressants boosting neurogenesis to restore the volume of shrinking place in brain this boosting little fooling the brain circuits which is responsible from memory function.
The point is everybody have a neurogenesis rate but peoples who take antidepressants have very much neurogenesis rate from the normal people i think this much rate is responsible from memory failing but we have to pay this situation for relief may be after the remission these side effect will disappear quietly
i think some of the brain ares must be restore about %96-98 to brain function normally yeah some of the brain areas must be nearly full restored for depression relief
[...] ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: By the way, this lady has a great blog on her bipolar disease and discusses Effexor causing her memory loss and brain zaps http://brainzaps.wordpress.com/effexor-xr-memory-loss/ [...]
the graphicschick life » Extended Release Medication and Malabsorption said this on July 17, 2009 at 3:22 am |
OMG! I’m so upset. I’ve been taking Effexor XR for the past 4 yrs. and I have become the family joke as far as remembering anything. This has been a very depressing experience forgetting things and not being able to focus. I’ve been scared for my job. This is serious I really thought I was losing my mind.
So, what is next?
Who can help?
yeah, it IS serious. Right now, I am researching the role of oxytocin and imbalanced circadian rhythms big time … i hope you will read through other parts of this site which deal with new therapies which do not involve psychotropics …. AND whatever you do, DO NOT get off Effexor XR cold turkey. It is one of the most addictive drugs on the market. Withdrawal has to be supervised carefully over time.
I had the same problem i felt like i had been loosing my mind and cried for hours thinking that maby my family would be better off if i was in a mental hospital. I asked my dr. if i could possiably have alztimers at the age of 31 and she had a brain scan done and they keep telling me that higher levles of stress can cause foucusing issues. my short term memory loss was so bad it was getting dangerous. For me to do simple things like cook or drive. When i cooked i would hold a spoon to remember and still burn the food b/c i couldn’t remember why i was holding the spoon. Other things i had to do were set muiltiple alarms around the house with notes so i could remember things like picking my kids up from school or to take meds. I also would be driving down the road and forget where i was going. i am not on effexor any more due to the fact i felt it had to have something to do with it and it took a while but i am starting to get my life (memory) back in order but now the stress and panicing is back. I want to start another treatment but now i am afraid and don’t know what to do.
i am working every day on listening to music and doing meditations which help with stress and panic. Search under mindful meditation and relaxation meditation for things to download. I am also signed up now to Luminoisity and every morning I sign in and do about 5 – 10 minutes of work on problem solving and improving cognitive skills. costs a little over $5 a month to join. It helps to center me and although my progress is slow it is steady and some days are better than others.
Don’t go back on that drug. I am begging you. There are other solutions. The findings on the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy are just astounding and offer so much hope for the acttive role we can play in reframing how we react to the world.
I have only been on Effexor for almost two months now. I started off with a very low dosage about 37.5mg, and have been doubling it for a few times now. I am now at 150mg. I noticed even when I got to the 75 mg, that my short term memory was starting to worsen. I am only 21 years old, and I can’t remember very much. I am till in school and I am working, and I find myself forgetting daily things and things that happened in the previous 10 minutes. It is quite frustrating.
My memory is getting worse, and it scares me because I am still in school and continue to do more school after I graduate. I am not really sure if I should continue this medication or try to find a different one. I know it takes a while to get used to, and I am not up to what will be my full dosage yet, but I don’t know if the memory loss is worth it.
checking in to see how you are doing on theEffexor…
I have gone from 150 to 75 & now I am taking 37.5 Effexor XR. I have been having memory issues for years, also fatigue exhaustion shortness of breath weight gain obsessive eating. I thought some of these symptoms were happening because I have a Neuro Muscular disease (Myasthenia Gravis). Withdrawl from this drug is bad I get dizzy, anxious, irritable, disoriented, I also have those brain clicks or zaps when I move my head from side to side and even when I blink my eyes, usually when I get up in the morning it goes away rather quickly. I hope to be off compleatly in 3 months. Whish me luck
did you have the zaps when you went on psychotropic meds? Cause I sure did! And involuntary body movements … like i can remember for almost a year my head would snap, sometimes so severely i would fear wrenching my neck …
Oh good luck to you. My story your story…. I have been down to 37.5 before .. coupled with ongoing exercise and yoga, meditation. it worked until i injured self and then had to stop exercising.
Im back to exercise again …. cutting back and hopefully will be at your dose soon. It is so hard .. disorientation… I’ve experienced this thoughout the cutdown. Its scarey. The whole damn thing is. Stay in touch. Are you using any of the boards like crazymeds? really helpful.
I have been on effexor sr, 225mg for over 10 years. Recently, I have been having severe problems with word retrieval and verbalization of ideas. Memory loss is not as severe. I am a professor and am very aware of what is going on. I’ve gone to a memory loss clinic (neuroscience) and they tell me its my aging brain (I’m a very young 62); but the onset is so noticeable I don’t think that aging is the problem. I have been exercising routinely for the past 35 years. Has any one done research on a kind of aphasia associated with long-term use? I am desperate.
i don’t know yet of any studies at all on long term effects .. but of course you know that the drug companies wouldn’t fund them and so where would the money come from? I am interested in what kind of exercise you do… I am working with agility and balance training again as well as Ivengar Yoga. I find that this ‘retraining’ or rewiring of the brain helps me a great deal in organizing or relearning and in fluidity…. wondering if you have tried that. Plus is it possible for you to cut down the dose? I am at 150 from225 and hoping to get down to 75 (its an on again off again process)
I am a professional writer, semi retired reporter who also is very much on my game … but this word retrieval and verbalization? unless I am so immersed in conversation that I lose all sense of self, it plagues me as does my episodic memory…. read Oliver Sachs and Doidge and anything you can find on neuroplasticity. i think our answer is building new pathways in the brain. I have a posting on this idea somewhere which i will send you. Check back in. would love to talk more.
I’ve been taking Venlafaxine for 10 years now, I have tried to reduce below 75mg but I start to get withdrawl effects which are very unpleasant, the electric “Zaps” being the most noticible. I have noticed over the past 2 years my cognitive skills declining, my spelling is becoming worse, I can’t remember how to spell words on occasions.
I’m sorry for others experiencing the same but take comfort in knowing I’m not alone.
I’ve been down to 37.5 w/no brain zaps or side effects until i stopped exercising. Then I went into full blown depression again. I cannot suggest strongly enough Ivengar Yoga, Mindful Meditation and exercise to help with withdrawal and cognition. Also Cognitive Therapy really is helping me so much. The goal being to create new neural pathways epigenesis ….
Im doing so research now on new medicatins focusing on glia as opposed to the synaptic interventions … I’ll post findings as I find them.
You are NOT alone. Routing for you!
this is so scary. am a nurse and this memory and cogtnitive decline is really scaring me
I am starting to exercise more but have such low energy that it is hard
what other meds are you on? what is your dose?
Can somebody help me? I have been thinking I have alzheimers or the beginning of Parkinson’s (of which my Dad died from) but am starting to feel a bit relieved thinking it is the Effexor. My memory loss and cognitive decline is showing up in my performance at work however so now am getting very anxious about loosing my job (and health insurance). I really thought I was going nuts and getting ready to hang it up but just knew deep inside that something is wrong with my thinking. Help, where do I go from here? Of course I am seeing my doctor on Monday but am scared of the withdrawls too as I missed my Effexor for a 36 hr period once and was physically sick, very ill!!! Crap, this just sucks. I just want to figure it out.
MJ in N Dak
first of all, don’t be surprised if your doc doesn’t attribute this to the effexor … they just don’t KNOW about it. The drug companies hide this information. My suggestions are: see about lowering your dosage. Start exercising right away. Focus on mindful meditation, yoga. These help to rekindle the growth of brain cells and you re-learn how to be in the moment and re-connect with fluidity and automaticity. There are supplemnts you can start taking to make up the deficits caused by lowering of both the serotonin and the epeneprine.
You cannot go off effexor cold turkey. you really have to wean off slowly. I am now down to 150 and ready to make my next drop to 110 …
You really need to find someone who works with integrative medicine. Cognitive Therapy is really amazing because it deals with re-wiring the brain. My life has turned around since my shift from psychotherapy and psychopharmacology yto cognintive therapy and integrative medicine coupled with exercise. My brain is so much more health.
Check in Monday. Believe me. This WILL get better. You just need to find the right people to work with you.
Bootsie, you must be a night owl. I just want you to know that I really appreciate your help and suggestions. My brothers are doctors and they thought I was nuts when I started talking about brain zaps a couple of years ago, so you are right, they just don’t know. Damn that drug company! I so helps to be able to know I am not going nuts and there are people out here who know exactly how I feel. Thank you!
I’m on 75mg at the moment and there is something to be said for physical activity. I’m now working as an Agency Nurse in Nursing Homes and thework is far more physical than I’m used to. After a shift I feel mentally quite alert,thinking is quicker and I can remember things better. This wears off after about 6 – 7 hours and I get very tired the next day. I also feel happier when I get home, this doesn’t last long though mainly due to my wife not understanding that I feel low and exhausted a lot of the time. She calls me pathetic and a lot more to boot. I do try to ignore it but it’s difficult. I have to ask her to repeat what she said sometimes as I forget quickly at home and she calls me thick and stupid.
What suppliments can I take that would help my memory.??
PS. Forgive my spelling as I’m forgetting how to spell as well !!!
XX
i’ve heard a lot lately about http://www.prevagen.com/
also B3, CoQ10, Omegas & Vitamin K (which works with Vitamin D)…
Let me know what doc says monday and I will also check in with the integrative health docs i work with for other ideas.
I get tired after exercise. the glow wears off for sure. BUt I cannot stress enough the power of yoga, particularly Ivengar Yoga and any kind of agility training where you have to learn to focus on the different parts and positioning of y our body neurogenesis is KEY!
Well, hopefully my doctor will wean me off the Effexor but then what? I have had depression forever. What do I go on next? Started out on — um, see, I can’t remember!! That sucks, anyway, eventually was changed to Zoloft and when that quite working was put on the Effexor, which was awesome for the depression–and we all know what happened then. I am scared to try something else but scared to be on nothing. frustrating…..
NO this is NOT true. There are so many advances being made now. As yo are weaning off, you are supplmeneting, you are changing your life style, you are retrainng your brain to , building new neural pathways. tacking that HPT Axis (forget it that is the right acronym.
You know what I’d like to do. I’d like to start a weely hang out for those of us who are struggling with this. Do you use Google + yet? You can create a private group there and schedule virtual hangouts for a particular time … we could get a small group together to touch base in real time and offer solutions.
Let me know.
This is just the beginning of your fight.! Trust me. Im 60 and I’ve been battling this my whole life and for the first time ever I am making progress independent of the medicatiion model.
It can be done. Not easy. But possible. Not that there aren’t slip backs. but they are never total remissions because I have built the skills and the connections to pull me back before i get too far gone.
I am here to help you and to promise you. IT WILL GET BETTER and no, you will not be depressed forever.
Here we go, met with my dr. today and will go down from 150 to 37.5 three tmes a day for a week and then 37.5 twice a day for a week and then 37.5 once a day……….I told him that I wasn’t feeling so positive about going down that fast but he said I would be the judge and go slower if need be. I am also hoping to walk more as the weather has been very beautiful here, then will hit the mall in cold weather. I don’t know, it sounds too easy. The doc did say I will go through types of withdrawls so might as well “get ‘er done”. Easy for him to say. Told my boss and she was surprised when I said “Effexor” (her eyes got huge) and she said, “that’s what my Mom was on and she had terrible short memory loss” so in a way it is nice that my boss is understanding that part!! I am scared, I just know how sick I got when I missed 2 doses, forced my nauseated stomache to keep an effexor pill down and put myself to bed, not even knowing if I would wake up again!
I got the print out of the drug description from my pharmacist and he said he had heard of the short term memory loss but nothing about brain zaps or major cognitive problems. Any tips on doing this weaning-off and how slow to go??? Like I said before, here we go………………….thanks
ps What is Google+ ?
1. you are NOT on Effexor XR?
2. what kind of doc is this?
3. what are plans after going down so low?
4. its way too quick a cut back!!!
Google + is like facebook.
1. yes, it is Effexor XR
2. MD Family Practice
3. try Wellbutrin if needed
4. I started today and no brain zaps but still cognitive problems will see what happens why?
I am still furious at the drug company. The pharmacist had heard of short term memory loss with Effexor XR ONLY, not any of the other side effects.
i would just go slower in the taper down and add (seriously, to avoid a major crash) Yoga and meditation, think about 5HTP supplement when you get down low or having the doc put you on prozac for the final taper down. I would ask the MD how much experience he/she has with integrative medicine and can you get a referral? I would think about a neurologist … the cognitive probs will not go away for awhile and not without some work on your part with your brain. I wish we could start a class action suit again Wyeth and i thought i would share something I wrote for a group called Kosability @ Daily Kos http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/09/21/1013352/-KosAbility:-The-Taking-of-The-Cookie-Tea
I see my therapist today … cognitive therapy is short term and you see immediate results PLUS is covered by most insurance cos. will ask about your docs ideas and for her input.
stay in touch. and if i don’t get back to you for a few days don’t think i’ve forgotten. im a writer and sometimes i just need to shut off the connection to the internet ….
A few weeks ago, I was explaining to my doctor the things I was forgetting (even how to get to a location I’ve been to MANY times!), mistakes I’m making, blanking on spelling, words, etc. She felt some of these things may be due to early dementia, which has absolutely devastated me, and I have been torturing myself ever since when I forget things, etc. thinking “oh no, it’s dementia!” My therapist though feels it is basically from anxiety, that I am a worrier, and find it difficult to always be in the moment, paying attention to what I am doing now, rather than my mind racing in all directions.
I have been on Effexor XR for YEARS, different doses. About a month ago I stopped Effexor XR (it had started making me feel WAY WORSE) and I changed to Welbutrin and Celexa, and taking Seroquel at night.
None of the memory/mental issues have gotten better, and from what I read elsewhere by some people who have been off for years, that it may not get better. So essentially it is no different than dementia. How disheartening ! There should be a lawsuit against the makers of this horrible drug.
Sounds like you need to find NEW network of professionals supporting you, hook up with someone who is working as a fitness trainer — a really good fitness trainer knows more about how the mind works than most of these doctors and therapists who dole out pharmaceuticals which blunt or try to blunt symptoms and create new often worse ones. Check out Crazyboards which is run by a good friend of mine who writes there under moniker “Velvet Elvis” …
I am so sorry you are on this new cocktail… Yoga, mindful meditation, supplements with the assistance of a professional for determining which ones will be the best.
I am 28 years old currently and have been taking Effexor xr for over ten years. I thought when it was the first drug to really control my horrible depression problems that it was the most wonderful thing, but now I am having serious doubts.
Depression is terrible, especially when you self-mutilate, but what is worse really? That or forgetting my own son’s milestones? I can’t even remember that we took him to the national fair 2 weeks ago. When I saw the pictures from it I was completely shocked…and I was in the pictures with him! I feel like I am crazier than ever! My husband and mom look at me like I am crazy when I ask about things that we have done before, not remembering that we have done them.
What is weirder is that I was sick this past weekend with something flu-like and since then my memory has been terrible! I can’t remember asking my boss for a raise just last week! It seems like since I was sick I can’t remember the most basic of things! What is wrong with me???
I am not having the “brain zaps” or th spelling issues so much as just simply forgetting my life. I honestly feel like an amnesiac at times. I just wish I didn’t have these problems, depression and now memory loss…it makes things so difficult. I am scared to death about forgetting my own child’s milestones!! Help!!!
Do you have medical insurance? I would serioulsy if you do see about seeing a neurologist — someone who specializes in changes to the brain and find someone who can get you off this medication right now. From my research this is the worst med for memory… how about Lexapro?
I am working on a regime right now of 150 day 1 75 day 2 adding lexapro to get totally off the Effexor ….
Are you aware of any scientific studies that reveal whether or not people have been able to regain memory lost after coming off Effexor?
no. have heard some discussion both ways however.
My memory loss has been of great concern for me for a while now. I’ve been on Effexor 225mg daily for a couple of years now but have really taken notice this year that my memory consistantly fails me. Also having conversations can be tiring and frustrating because i forget the words i want to say and end up not making much sense. I feel like my mind is just slowing down and the fact i can’t remember things from a day ago really scares me. Im married with two kids, i’m 30 and i feel scared i’m losing my mind.
However, i am well aware of the withdrawal effects of reducing my dosage – the zaps, nausea, stomach cramps etc so i feel like it’s a loose/ loose situation.
Overall i must say this drug has saved my life. After 2 suicide attempts i generally feel ‘happier’ not suicidal and not so negative. But lately have been cutting a few times in the last few months.
Atleast by reading this forum i’ve found comfort that i’m not the only one suffering from the memory loss…..
Wow. What an insightful thread. I had exactly the same issues when on Effexor. On one hand, it allowed me to pick my head up and start to live again. On the other hand, the mental blanks in my speech and thoughts were humiliating.
I’ve been off for 6 months now, but the anxiety is back in full force. When off it, I worked really hard at memorizing names, poetry, facts. I wasn’t great at it, but it was getting better, I think. That fuzzy blankness was gone.
But I’m heading back on Effexor. Having read this, I’ll try 75 mg/day instead of the 150 I was on before. I do NOT want to return to apologizing for not remembering meeting people! I wish there was another option! (Yes — CBT, yoga, exercise and meditation are fabulous tools in the toolbox. I’m doing them all every day. They just aren’t quite enough for me — yet.)
I want to edit my previous entry since I think it’s not a great idea to start messing around with dosage on a whim. I’m back onto 150 mg/day and feeling much better. I’ll work with a doctor to reduce it as I move forward with other approaches (mindfulness, meditation, etc.). But I don’t want to advocate making up your own dosage without some rationale for it.
Same issues with memory loss, word retrieval, cognitive thinking, work-related issues, etc. with Citalopram(Celexa). I wish there was some kind of recognized disability claim associated with the long-term effects of taking these kinds of medications…no doctor ever told me about these kinds of side effects.
Your not alone see effexorwithdrawaltopix
for a taper schedule so you can get off the meds.
OMG I’m soooo glad I found this!!!! I have all the same things you have talked about! I thought it was just me! I’m so glad I’m not alone! My memory sucks since I started taking the drugs. I’m off them now, and very glad that I am. However I feel like my memory impacted, even now. I can’t remember anything no matter how long I study! Its awful! Had I known about this side effect I never would have taken this medicine.
there are ways you can work on improving your memory … and retrieving memories via hypnotherapy, re-learning skill sets which involve those parts of the brain where ltm are stored … do some investigation …
I am seeeing a cognitive therapist as well, Matt. And it is really helping me. I also started working with a new body worker who does rolphing(sp) and he says this will help so much with cognitive issues. The focus in most of this work is to learn to be in the present moment, to regain the ability to focus — to teach our minds how to focus so that it becomes almost as automatized as our motor movements.
I will definitely email you directly and I would really like it very much if we created an ongoing support and informational network for everyone. Some people post here once and then I never hear again and I think about every story and wonder how things are going. I also showed this thread to my therapist, who has passed it on to numerous associates. Our goal here has to be to inform as many professinals as possible that this is not mere heresay…
Hey there, Boatsie! How are you?
Would you happen to know the email address to request the removal of my previous post? Thank you very much!
that’d be me and I just removed it for you.
.
Hi, I’m a 36 year old woman who has suffered from depression from my late teens. I have been taking venlafaxine for about 12 years. Mainly on 300mg per day.
I have the worst memory of anybody I know. It’s literally in one ear and out the other!
It causes lots of problems for me in life and in personal relationships.
I can be distracted in an instant and forget things no matter how important. I would not have started on this drug if I had any idea how it would affect my life.
However it also saved my life at the time as I suffer chronic, depression.
I am a pharmacist and also have been taking Effexor for several years. I have also noticed a memory issue. I am going to start working on memory…yoga, memory exercises, learining a new language, etc. If anyone has any info on reversibility of the memory issues…please let us all know. In the meantime, I will be tapering off the medication slowly and read about healing the brain.
I am in Day 3 of taper down from 150 to 112.5 …. headaches, depression. Found out last week that I have the beginnings of Glaucoma which Effexor XR is one of the primary drugs implicated in possible onset of. Still, the optometrist knows nothing about why the burning, stinging, why the interaction between Glaucoma and Effexor… I had read about Macular Degeneration and never expected Glaucoma….
Yoga. Exercise. Aminos. Moving forward.
I am now down to 75 mg of Effexor XR. It has been a little over a week at this dosage. Some days are worse than others but overall Im doing well. Sleeping is a problem at times but I listen to music to work on creating D waves .. that truly does wonders.
I was on effexor for 7 years. I felt that I would die if I stayed on it as my heart was racing beyond control all the time. Every time I went to refill my prescription the pharmacist would call my doctor to make sure it was right. It was absurdly high. I cant remember the dosage as I cant remember quite a bit from those years nor the 4 or so before. This memory loss happened while on it and has not improved. I was able to come off of it however when I joined a brain nutrition program that helped me ween myself off while supporting the side effects with supplements. Once I was off the effexor the side effects were still very noticable. I went through a couple of years of crazy 3 week headaches that were the intensity of migraines. Luckilly these are gone but the memory still sucks but I have been able to start exercising and working again. Even ran 2 marathons since. Ive been off the effexor 4 years now and it feels good to be myself again. now if I could only regain my memory.
Are you trying any cognitive training programs? I do Luminoisty online training every morning now and they have quite a range of exercises for memory…. I am going the ‘brain food’ way as well on my descent from Effexor … right now I am down to 37.5 and using samE, throzine, lithate, 5000 mgs of super powered omegas, DHEA, pregnenalone …. magnesium ALONG with seeing an Osteopath, yoga and exercise. Managing to keep the side effects relatively in control in my 4th day (we’re doing 37.5, 75, 37.5, 75… until Wednesday, then 37.5 every day until next taper down)….
Meditation and specifically mindful meditation also key parts of my program. I am into my third month now and am off one drug totally.
Great success story. Any other info you could share about your ‘revovery’ from this med and what you recall about getting off would be fabulous.
hello- I am going to look up Luminosity- thanks for the tip. You know a really weird thing that help me with the withdrawls everytime i reduced the dosage was going to the ionic footbath place. dont know how it works or why it would but it did. another thing that i did was the braverman tests, they helped me figure out where my brain chemistry stood from one week to the next. i then balanced it off with the various supplements. I started working with a man Juan Pablo Girardi, he was a huge help in this process, it was really a scary tapering off period though but it is definitely worth it. please let me know if there is anything i can do to help.
great ideas. do you recall which cut back was the worst? And how long a period there was between 37.5 and 0.. did you go on Prozac for the end? AND what do YOU think causes the headaches?
i want to say i did 37.5 for 2 weeks then half dose, 2 weeks but im not certain, you could talk to juan pablo girardi though and ask his suggestion. I didnt do Prozac after, I just wanted to be off anything drug like but i did continue with higher amounts of a formula called Brain Mood, another Brain Energy, and Brain Memory. Once completely off I also moved onto Rodeola Rosea. That one I waited to start as it would be too much with the effexor. Rodeola is great though and keeps the spirits up without the crazy speed high of the pharma route.
i want to say i did 37.5 for 2 weeks then half dose, 2 weeks but im not certain, you could talk to juan pablo girardi though and ask his suggestion. I didnt do Prozac after, I just wanted to be off anything drug like but i did continue with higher amounts of a formula called Brain Mood, another Brain Energy, and Brain Memory. Once completely off I also moved onto Rodeola Rosea. That one I waited to start as it would be too much with the effexor. Rodeola is great though and keeps the spirits up without the crazy speed high of the pharma route.
Ah yes i have heard about the Rodeola. Great idea. Today is a bad one, first since this cut back. Will look into brain mood and brain energy. .Don’t know who juan pablo girardi is but will google him. i can’t tell you how much i appreciate this feedback.
Hi there, I’ll get the new contact info for you and post it for you. Also look up an ionic foot detox in our area, you could feel so much better in 20 min or so. feel better.
310-455-6815
jpgirardi@brainoptimization.com
I have been trying to withdrawal from Effexor for a few weeks now. I should look for a detox program as I have been suffering greatly.
i am there with you. i am on day 4 of 37.5 and let me tell you it is so horrible. I talk to other people who say they had to check themselves into hospital. What I am doing:
Supplements:
5000 mg Omega 3
samE 3xdaily
Pregnenalone
DHEA
FolicAcid
Lithate
Gaba
Yoga 3-4x a week. Mindful Meditation. try to do daily. Agility and balance work. Cardio 3 x a week. Reading mysteries.Taking advil. Having trouble finding foods to eat that don’t disturb my stomache.
Somedays I feel like dying. But I make myself get up. Get out. Engage. And look to have a day where the positives have more weight than the negatives. I try to redefine my place in my universe every day. And somedays I can’t even get off the couch. Somedays I spend many hours sick in the bathroom. It feels like that train from HUGO is running through my head rather than through the train station….
Good luck
Hey, I would like to share with my story. one while I was working night shift ( for almost 3 months with no one day off) I thought of having nap at least for one hour. out of a sudden I woke up feeling dizzy and fainting and felt like I’m dying. my heart beats was like going to throw my heart out of my chest. I ran to hospital I felt hard to explain what I’m having and they rushed me to ICU with all Cardio equipment on my chest. all tests were taken and the result ” Nothing “, and they gave me Valium ( its like a drug to sleep ) and discharged same day. next day I was feeling ok and thinking that what happend is basically due to stress and lack of sleep.
guess what? it attcked me again but this time not alone, it was accompained with depression thinking all the time that I m having serious issue that will kill me. went to hospital again and they transferred me to Psychaitrist. she precribed me with Effexor XR 75ml for 8 months. it was a great solution for me, yes at the begining I experinced some bran zaps and nausea but it didnt last more than one week. I continued with this med for 8 months and then decided to wean off. it wasnt cold turky, rather is was under my doc supervision. it took me like two months to wean off. it was horrible but wasnt so bad or sever. after that, three months later I started having issue with my body ( fatigue, fainting, palpitation and mid depression) I did check up with my doc and found that Vitamin D was so low 6.4 where normal should be 77 or somthing, and then found calcuim a little bit low but other things where found to be ok and perfect.
now, I m in the fourth month and still having some effects that I would say its all becoz of effexor. it messes up your brain neurotransmitters checmical that let you feel things that doesnt make sense at all.
I m thinking to make a video to WARN people about this med, I m doing my research to link the drop on some Vitamins and this med which I think is the main cause behind the severity of the withdrawl side effects.
the good part is that I m feeling much better now than the begining days of the withdrawl but not 100%.
and I m just 26 old!!
wish all the best..