Current Events > I want to stop taking my anti anxiety medication...help!

(+) Yeah! (+)

I started taking effexor 9 days ago and now I want to stop.its not bad or anything but I'd rather try a natural method to deal with my anxiety. Is it ok to stop cold turkey at this point? I've only been taking 37.5 mg.

Ask a doctor.
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Webmaster4531 posted...

Ask a doctor.

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Ask your doctor and have him put you on a plan to gradually take you off of them. Never quit instantly.

Ask a doctor, the last time I stopped taking my medication I freaked out and went on a bender that lead to me being suspended.
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Damn but it's Friday....

then just keep taking them until you can consult your doctor

just quitting is dangerous
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You're supposed to take these kind of pills for 6-8 weeks before deciding if it's right for you. Don't stop after just 9 days.
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The Eternal Flame posted...

You're supposed to take these kind of pills for 6-8 weeks before deciding if it's right for you. Don't stop after just 9 days.

This. And don't be a fucking hippy. "Natural" doesn't mean anything.
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I really dont understand people who quit medications immediately or just after 1 or 2 weeks.

do you have any obvious really bad side effects?

I tried dozens of meds at max dosages for years before I tried natural stuff (wish I tried the natural stuff earlier lol).

regardless give it a few weeks 3-4 at least.
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Ive read the side effects of this stuff and I just don't want to deal with them down the road. I'd rather just keep dealing with it the way I have been.

Has anyone had success with anti depressants? I've stopped drinking for 4 months and I kind of wanted to start again (just drinking 1 or 2 beers max)

Bleh, fuck Effexor...

I was on that for a week or two last month and it made my jaw clench all the time, making me get headaches. I was biting my tongue/cheek in my sleep and having tremors while falling asleep.

I called my doctor and he had me stop taking it. The withdraw for the next three nights made it impossible to sleep through the night and gave me some really weird dreams and nightmares.

You have to taper off all SSRIs except Prozac (it has a four day half-life) or you can have rebound panic.

Also the side effects of SSRIs are most definitely not as severe as drinking.

The question is do you have generalized anxiety or panic attacks? Or both?

If you have Generalized or Generalized + Panic, you should stay on an SSRI. If you only have intermittent panic attacks, try hydroxyzine only as needed.
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Vertania posted...

Bleh, fuck Effexor...

I was on that for a week or two last month and it made my jaw clench all the time, making me get headaches. I was biting my tongue/cheek in my sleep and having tremors while falling asleep.

I called my doctor and he had me stop taking it. The withdraw for the next three nights made it impossible to sleep through the night and gave me some really weird dreams and nightmares.

I haven't had any of those problems I honestly just feel calm and like mind isn't running in circles anymore. But I feel like I'm boring now....

I stopped drinking too awhile and I just feel less personable than I did then when I was drinking

And those side effects are what I want to try and minamize

alimajor posted...

I've read the side effects

You aren't a doctor. Just take the meds until you see your doctor. Anything else is a hasty, uneducated decision made out of fear.
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well effexor is an SNRI and it has more side effects than most antidepressants.
but the bad stuff and really bad stuff is rare to ultra rare.

try an SSRI or two first.
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alimajor posted...

Has anyone had success with anti depressants? I've stopped drinking for 4 months and I kind of wanted to start again (just drinking 1 or 2 beers max)

Yeah, I had one that was really good with the only side effect being that it made me tired. That was easy to fix by just taking it at night. I think it was Buproprion (aka Wellbutrin).

You don't really have to stop drinking on them, but you have to be careful because they can make your tolerance go way down. I was having blackouts a lot more frequently on them.

Coffeebeanz posted...

You have to taper off all SSRIs except Prozac (it has a four day half-life) or you can have rebound panic.

Also the side effects of SSRIs are most definitely not as severe as drinking.

The question is do you have generalized anxiety or panic attacks? Or both?

If you have Generalized or Generalized + Panic, you should stay on an SSRI. If you only have intermittent panic attacks, try hydroxyzine only as needed.

I have generalized anxiety. I've had panic attacks but that's usually if I'm messing around with drinking too much or doing other drugs. Which ive quit cold turkey.

I just don't want to have to continually increase how much I'm taking year after year and switching medications. That sounds like a pain and I'd rather just deal with it on my own at this point

Vertania posted...

alimajor posted...

Has anyone had success with anti depressants? I've stopped drinking for 4 months and I kind of wanted to start again (just drinking 1 or 2 beers max)

Yeah, I had one that was really good with the only side effect being that it made me tired. That was easy to fix by just taking it at night. I think it was Buproprion (aka Wellbutrin).

You don't really have to stop drinking on them, but you have to be careful because they can make your tolerance go way down. I was having blackouts a lot more frequently on them.

Never had anyone tell me Wellbutrin made them tired. I suppose it could in people with ADHD, because it's actually a relative of the amphetamines.
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alimajor posted...

Coffeebeanz posted...

You have to taper off all SSRIs except Prozac (it has a four day half-life) or you can have rebound panic.

Also the side effects of SSRIs are most definitely not as severe as drinking.

The question is do you have generalized anxiety or panic attacks? Or both?

If you have Generalized or Generalized + Panic, you should stay on an SSRI. If you only have intermittent panic attacks, try hydroxyzine only as needed.

I have generalized anxiety. I've had panic attacks but that's usually if I'm messing around with drinking too much or doing other drugs. Which ive quit cold turkey.

I just don't want to have to continually increase how much I'm taking year after year and switching medications. That sounds like a pain and I'd rather just deal with it on my own at this point

That's not what you do with antidepressants. The goal is to be on them until your symptoms improve and then after 6 months or so, taper off. If you have to take them long term, you don't develop a tolerance to them like you do with benzodiazepines.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

alimajor posted...

Coffeebeanz posted...

You have to taper off all SSRIs except Prozac (it has a four day half-life) or you can have rebound panic.

Also the side effects of SSRIs are most definitely not as severe as drinking.

The question is do you have generalized anxiety or panic attacks? Or both?

If you have Generalized or Generalized + Panic, you should stay on an SSRI. If you only have intermittent panic attacks, try hydroxyzine only as needed.

I have generalized anxiety. I've had panic attacks but that's usually if I'm messing around with drinking too much or doing other drugs. Which ive quit cold turkey.

I just don't want to have to continually increase how much I'm taking year after year and switching medications. That sounds like a pain and I'd rather just deal with it on my own at this point

That's not what you do with antidepressants. The goal is to be on them until your symptoms improve and then after 6 months or so, taper off. If you have to take them long term, you don't develop a tolerance to them like you do with benzodiazepines.

Ok... Maybe I should just stick with this then for a little while. Has anyone tried drinking on antidepressants like would just having one beer be too much?

You shouldn't drink on any psychiatric medication. That said, it's not critically unsafe like the benzodiazepines are with alcohol. Alcohol takes up your liver's metabolism queue, which means a lot of meds become more potent when you're drunk.
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scoobydoobydont posted...

The Eternal Flame posted...

You're supposed to take these kind of pills for 6-8 weeks before deciding if it's right for you. Don't stop after just 9 days.

This. And don't be a fucking hippy. "Natural" doesn't mean anything.

He's talking about weed.

Coffeebeanz posted...

Never had anyone tell me Wellbutrin made them tired. I suppose it could in people with ADHD, because it's actually a relative of the amphetamines.

Yeah, I am diagnosed with ADHD too. I was taking Methylphenidate along with it.

It may not have actually been Wellbutrin though. I went through at least 3 different anxiety medications before finding the one that worked and it was about two years ago, so it's hard to remember and I get them mixed up.

Damn well I guess I'm stuck then, I guess I'll have to learn to be more interesting without alcohol lol

Thanks for the help guys

gafemaqs posted...

scoobydoobydont posted...

The Eternal Flame posted...

You're supposed to take these kind of pills for 6-8 weeks before deciding if it's right for you. Don't stop after just 9 days.

This. And don't be a fucking hippy. "Natural" doesn't mean anything.

He's talking about weed.

I was talking about exercise and meditation lol I gave up smoking weed last month because it made my anxiety worse and it made me paranoid.

If I lived in a state that allowed you to pick out a strain that dealt with anxiety I absolutely would though

Alcohol is never a good solution for anything related to psychiatric problems.

Medication is best used to help you view your life more rationally - to get out of a self defeating funk. Then you can consider getting off and seeing how you do.

But definitely don't assume you can manage your medications on your own. It's good to have an objective, rational third party help make decisions.
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I still drank a lot when I was on meds in the past (even though I shouldn't have). As I said, I was blacking out a lot more frequently and faster than usual. I was used to doing 10+ shots a night before them and would generally remember what happened. With the meds, I'd be blacking out when I got around 7 or 8. Never really regained my tolerance after stopping the meds either, but I have greatly reduced my drinking over the last year.

My doctor had me stop effexor cold turkey after two weeks. That was 3 days ago and it didn't bother me at all, except the side effects I was having went away. I was on 75mg.
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