Get the Erowid "Words" T-shirt
Contribute $50 and show support for accurate drug information!
Venlafaxine is Highly Addictive!
Venlafaxine (Effexor XR)
Citation:   Fubus. "Venlafaxine is Highly Addictive!: An Experience with Venlafaxine (Effexor XR) (exp24673)". Erowid.org. Nov 16, 2004. erowid.org/exp/24673

 
DOSE:
150 mg oral Pharms - Venlafaxine (daily)
BODY WEIGHT: 55 kg
My Advice: Do Not Try This Drug Unless Death Is The Only Other Option!

I am gonna keep this short. Major depression and suicidal thoughts and plans ruled my life. I had actually acquired 2grams of heroin and syringes to shoot up an OD and end my life. I told this to my doctor and he gave me Effexor XR. I was to take 75mg the first 14 days, and then 150 mg each morning. So I did for 2 months.

Effexor XR removed depression in the blink of an eye, and I was cured...., or so it seemed. Along with my depression, all my feelings disappeared too and I was unable to feel anything. Actually that was great! At least for a period. From being in the extreme hell of major depression, it felt like arriving in heaven to have no feelings what so ever.

Anyway, after a while I started missing living, cause on Effexor you are not alive, you just exist. I was urging to feel something, I was desperate to feel life, sadness and joy. I missed crying, but I coudnt. After the first three weeks, I started getting serious adverse effects. It was hard to see the difference between dream and reality. I did not care for anything, nothing seemed to light my fuse. And I did not care if I was dead or alive, because infact I was already dead.., temporarly dead by effexor! I started getting suicidal thoughts and could not think straight, I decided it was time to quit!

So I did! I quit effexor! Not for loong though.., The same day I skipped my first dose I felt really bad! I was totally full of pain and discomfort. And I got som dizzy episodes, that I cannot explain better that similar to epilepsy. It was terrible. Day three I was totally unable to function, I had to lay down in the bed, coldsweating, shivering, nausea and all that! It also felt like I got electrical shocks all over my body, and that was hellish. I had to start on Efexor again. I took a pill and was totally normal within 4 hours!

I set up a plan for tappering the dose slowly:
75mg 6 days
50mg 14 days
25mg 14 days
12,5mg 14 days

I did it and followed the plan, and quit efexor. It was terrible and I did it with great difficulty, but I did it, it is possible! It's been 4 weeks since I stopped taking the last dose and I still have dizziness and epileptic-seizure-like episodes.

If you are going to try Effexor, search for 'Effexor widthdrawal' and 'Venlafaxine withdrawal' on google.com or another search engine, and I can guarantee you that you will change your mind! 99% of all matches brings out 1000s on 1000s of reports of people being addicted to this horrible drug and struggling to get off it.

Also go to rxlist.com and see all the reported side effects. And with this drug you will probably experience a whole lot of them!

Trust me! Stay off Effexor, its just not worth it!

Exp Year: 2003ExpID: 24673
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Nov 16, 2004Views: 41,348
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
Pharms - Venlafaxine (191) : Various (28), Post Trip Problems (8), Depression (15), Addiction & Habituation (10), Health Problems (27), Retrospective / Summary (11)

COPYRIGHTS: All reports copyright Erowid.
No AI Training use allowed without written permission.
TERMS OF USE: By accessing this page, you agree not to download, analyze, distill, reuse, digest, or feed into any AI-type system the report data without first contacting Erowid Center and receiving written permission.

Experience Reports are the writings and opinions of the authors who submit them. Some of the activities described are dangerous and/or illegal and none are recommended by Erowid Center.


Experience Vaults Index Full List of Substances Search Submit Report User Settings About Main Psychoactive Vaults