My experience tapering and coming off antidepressants: Effexor Venlafaxine withdrawal symptoms, side effects & experience.
Hey guys welcome back to my channel if you’re new here i’m alex it’s nice to meet you this isn’t my typical video but i think it’s something that’s really important i’m currently taking medications to help my mental health i’m on antidepressants and i’ve been on a couple i’ve gone on a journey to be on the meds i’m on right now but i’ve decided that i no longer
Want to be on them anymore i totally support medications for other people and if that’s what you want to do do it like it really helps people but for me right now i don’t want that anymore so today is kind of the beginning of that journey i have a doctor’s appointment it’s a virtual phone call in five minutes and i’m gonna be talking to my doctor about getting
Off my antidepressants i called her like two weeks ago with the same intent and by the end of the call she ended up doubling my prescription and i was like this is not what i wanted and i was like how did i let that happen so this time i’m gonna be adamant i’m like this is the plan hello i know it’s different from the last call we had but i was thinking and i
Yeah i no longer want to be on them anymore wow that was so quick so i told her that i didn’t want to be on them anymore and that i didn’t want to switch to something else she asked if i still wanted to be on my sleeping medications and i said yes because i don’t want to drop everything at once like we’ll deal with that later she just told me to take one pill for
Seven days and then totally go off of them that terrifies me i feel like seven days is a very short period of time she said the dose i’m on right now isn’t a lot so it shouldn’t be a problem like i asked would there be evident withdrawal and she said no because i’m not on much right now obviously she’s a doctor from what i’ve heard and formula i’ve read that will
Not be the case but we’ll see that’s the update for right now i’ll keep you guys in the loop with how i’m feeling with everything yesterday i was feeling really really emotional and just like on edge like i was about to cry all day my dad seemed like a bit not in the best mood and he told me to do something and then i just left the room and went to my bedroom
And started balling my eyes and crying which normally i’m not that emotional like he didn’t yell at me or anything like that it was just really i was just feeling so upset and couldn’t keep it together like i was explaining to my stepmom why i was upset and i just kept crying like i couldn’t even talk so that happened which was really odd and today i’m feeling
Very shaky like i’m sitting here trying to finish my essay and i’m just like like i feel out of my body and just like not myself it’s really hard to describe it just feels weird and i know it’s not very it doesn’t really tell you guys how i’m feeling but i just feel shaky that’s how i can describe it i just feel really shaky like my jaw and my whole body i’m just
Like sitting here but i’m like it’s really odd and uncomfortable since i’m already feeling weird withdrawals i’m just going to finish up this paper and then i want to go downstairs and eat so that i can take my pill i have to take my pills every day but i need food in my tummy first on the bottom here it literally says don’t stop treatment of these without medical
Supervision i’m obviously just in bed right now i was on youtube looking at people’s experience on effectsor which is the antidepressant i’m on right now that i’m getting off of fingers crossed and i was looking at people’s withdrawal experience and their experience getting off of effects work there’s a couple from like doctors and physicians who basically list off
The same list of possible withdrawals but it’s like which ones are you gonna get so i’m watching a couple of dudes who actually got off of xor these are super old videos one was 2014. this one’s more recent that i’m watching right now i’m going to show you guys some clips of what he’s saying in his experience it doesn’t sound good essentially my brain exploded i
Just became a crazed idiot and coming to the end of taking one pill a day then i’ll be totally off of them which is very exciting honestly i’m really excited for that um but also scared very scared last night like you guys saw i was researching and looking at other people’s experiences withdrawals and coming off of the pose i’m on effects or i’m really fortunate
To not be having crazy side effects like some of the people were explaining i was hearing about scary nightmares which is terrifying i don’t really remember any of my dreams so i’m glad that i’m not having nightmares or horrible paranoia like some other people are obviously i’m still on the medication so we’ll see if anything changes once i’m actually off of them
And i’m not taking any pills i’m taking my pill today a little bit later than i normally have been usually it’s been like around noon or one right now it’s almost five it was because i just like hadn’t eaten yet so i didn’t have food and with these like i mentioned i have to take them with food or else you kind of like get nauseous and dizzy and it’s too hard
On your stomach basically today i haven’t been feeling very good like just like an overall sluggishness and very non-productive and i i don’t really have like a clear mind i’m like what what am i supposed to be doing like just very like my mind is scattered basically and unmotivated i was starting to feel really dizzy and like ooh like i explained earlier
I’m not sure if that was because i’m taking my pill later than usual or because the lack of food in my system and you know i hadn’t eaten for a while i’m also feeling my brain zaps which i haven’t really felt recently like i’ve only been feeling that oh it must be because i’ve been taking in the morning and now i’m taking it night time if you don’t know what
Brainstorms are i guess it sounds kind of like odd it basically feels like electric shocks like in your head just out of nowhere um and like i was saying it’s also like just through my body i’ll just be sitting there and i’ll stand and i’m like it’s just very very uncomfortable and i’m like oh my god like i need to take my pill like one is just gonna kick in i
Ordered myself some food just in case that’s the reason i was feeling lightheaded and dizzy after i had my bath i was gonna go and shower but i was feeling like really lightheaded and not good like sometimes when i have the zaps like i need to sit down because when i’m standing it’s just like too much like i feel unstable and dizzy so i like took a chill before
Taking a shower because i was genuinely worried that i wouldn’t be able to stand up straight in the shower now i’m out of the shower i got some sushi i got some food just in case the reason i was feeling weird was because i hadn’t eaten enough tonight i’ve been feeling a ton of things while i was taking my bath i was really really emotional like i was tearing
Up just like laying there by myself in silence like i’ve just been feeling really emotional like i’m constantly gonna have like an outbreak and cry um and i have no motivation to do my schoolwork and it’s not me being like i’m i’m just procrastinating which i do procrastinate but when i procrastinate i’ll usually do like this stuff the night before um it is
9 30 and i have an essay due at 11 50 tonight a final paper that’s seven pages and i haven’t started and i’m not going to like i’m just not gonna do it i’m going to bed after i film this clip because i just like i can’t get myself to do it and i kind of just like like i don’t really feel anything i feel like a little bit numb honestly while also emotional so
That’s kind of weird i’ve cried three times already this morning it’s december 12th it’s 10 45 this morning i’m feeling like really not good i just want to stay in bed all day last night my final paper for a class was due and i didn’t start it i just like couldn’t do it and today i’m like ugh like i don’t even care i i just can’t do work some of my family was
Like just go do your paper i got so upset i got so emotional and i came up here and was like tearing up and feeling like i was gonna have a breakdown falling my eyes out i feel like i don’t care like about my school stuff i’m like i’m just like not gonna do this essay like it’s causing me too much stress like i i don’t want to do it but then i’m also just like
So emotional so it’s been interesting i’m only taking these pills for two more days and then i’ll be off of them so my doctor obviously like you guys know told me to just be on half of my dose one pill for seven days the week that i was supposed to be totally off medication was actually my university finals week and i just didn’t think it would be a good idea
To be going through potentially crazy withdrawals while i had you know essays due that were worth 40 of my grade and i in my mind i didn’t think it would hurt to be on the medication for a bit longer in the end i was at half my dose 37.5 milligrams for a total of just over two weeks i went totally off the medications on december 23rd right before christmas time
Let’s just say it was a roller coaster truly i went through so many emotions i had originally planned to go off the medications during my christmas break because you know i wouldn’t be doing schoolwork and i could have the time to just like lay in bed and chill and be upset if i need to be upset but i didn’t really take into account that christmas time was when
I’d be spending the most time with my family in order for this video not to be you know 25 minutes long because i know the vlogs have made it quite long i’m gonna do a part two where i talk about the withdrawal experiences i had when i was totally off the medication this is obviously my journey going off and i’m gonna sit down and talk about what i actually went
Through when i was totally off the meds how long it lasted how i’m feeling now is there any residual things so stay tuned for that video thank you so much if you watch this journey and all the vlogs throughout this time i really appreciate it i’ll see you guys in my next video
Transcribed from video
coming off my antidepressants | Venlafaxine tapering, side effects & withdrawal symptoms By Alexandra Stott
