25 Mar Common Symptoms of Effexor Withdrawal and How to Cope
If you or a loved one struggles with depression or other mental health-related illnesses, there’s a good chance your doctor prescribed you Effexor to cope with your condition. Effexor is a popular anti-depressant, a long-releasing drug helping millions worldwide.
While Effexor has done a lot of good, it’s also a very powerful drug that’s easy to get addicted to. Typically, people prescribed Effexor must take it for years at a time, and it’s easy to develop a dependency. If you or a loved one has been taking Effexor for a while and has developed an addiction, it’s important to go through withdrawal and stop using this drug.
Withdrawal is a painful and uncomfortable process, but it’s a necessary step to overcome your addiction. This article will detail what symptoms you should expect during withdrawal and how to cope and make a lasting recovery.
Table of Contents:
Physical symptoms of Effexor withdrawal
Effexor, also known as Venlafaxine, is a potent and popular anti-depressant prescription drug. Like all drugs, it’s possible to get addicted to Effexor if you take it for long enough. When this happens, and you choose to stop taking the drug, you’ll go through withdrawal.
On average, the Effexor withdrawal process will take between one and two weeks, and your symptoms will start within 12 hours of missing your last dose, sometimes even sooner. Here are some physical symptoms you’ll experience through Effexor withdrawal.
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Body aches and pains
- Intermittent fevers
- Excessive sweating
- Body shivers and chills
- Brain zaps that feel like an electrical shock to your brain
- Dizziness
- Vertigo
- A shocking sensation in the hands and feet
- Other flu-like symptoms
The physical symptoms you experience during Effexor withdrawal happen because your body has gotten used to having the drug chemicals in your system. When you suddenly take those chemicals away, your body doesn’t know how to cope and lashes out against you. Symptoms will vary from person to person depending on how dependent they are on Effexor and how quickly they try to withdraw.
Psychological symptoms of Effexor withdrawal
While the physical symptoms of Effexor withdrawal are painful and uncomfortable, the psychological and cognitive symptoms are just as bad. Effexor affects your brain and body, which means the signals and impulses your brain normally sends to your body will be inhibited.
Here are some of the psychological symptoms of Effexor withdrawal you’ll likely experience.
- Nightmares and night terrors
- Periods of confusion
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Being impulsive or erratic
- Irritability
- Panic attacks
- Insomnia
- Loss of coordination
Because of the dangerous psychological side effects of Effexor withdrawal, it’s important to be in a safe place during the process. You should also avoid certain activities, such as driving or operating heavy machinery during withdrawal. While you may feel fine at times, symptoms of confusion, loss of coordination, and impulsiveness can happen at a moment’s notice.
How to cope with Effexor withdrawal symptoms
No matter how you choose to withdraw from Effexor, you’ll experience some variation of the symptoms listed above. However, there are certain things you can do to cope with and ease withdrawal symptoms.
Don't quit cold turkey
One of the worst decisions that people make when deciding to stop using Effexor is to quit cold turkey. While possible, quitting cold turkey will make your withdrawal symptoms much worse than they would otherwise be.
Instead, it’s better to wean yourself off of Effexor slowly over the process of several weeks.
Medications can help
The physical symptoms of Effexor withdrawal are some of the worst you’ll ever experience. Therefore, certain over-the-counter medications like Advil and Ibuprofen can help with headaches and body aches.
Other medications, such as Benadryl, can lessen the severity of brain zaps and shivers and help you fall asleep.
Exercise is crucial
Although exercising is the last thing you’ll feel like doing, it’s one of the best ways to cope with withdrawal symptoms. Not only will exercise help you get your mind off of what you’re going through, but it will also release endorphins in your brain. These endorphins relieve pain, stress, and anxiety, making you want to start taking Effexor again. Exercise is also important for preventing relapse.
Eat lots of carbs
Serotonin will be one of your best friends as you attempt to withdraw from Effexor. It’s crucial for helping you fall and stay asleep and reforming healthy sleep patterns.
Your body produces serotonin on its own, and it does so by using carbs. Therefore, while cutting carbs is a popular way to lose weight, you don’t want to cut carbs while going through Effexor withdrawal.
Sleep is crucial
Sleep will be tough to come by during the first few days of withdrawal. However, if you want to make a lasting and effective recovery, you’ll need to get as much sleep as possible.
It may be necessary to consult a doctor and get a prescription for sleep medication if you’re experiencing insomnia symptoms.
What’s the most effective way to overcome drug addiction
If you’re serious about overcoming your Effexor addiction, the best way to do so is with professional assistance.
Professional detox means you’ll have a team of healthcare professionals nearby to assist and guide you through withdrawal. Traditionally, the only option for professional detox was to go to an inpatient or outpatient rehab facility.
Nowadays, however, you can receive professional detox assistance in the comfort of your home, surrounded by friends and family. Your team of professionals will devise a plan to wean you off of Effexor and will help manage the physical and psychological symptoms you’re sure to experience.
How to manage addiction to avoid relapse
Going through withdrawal is the first step in overcoming Effexor addition, but it certainly isn’t the last. While your desire for drugs won’t be as strong after withdrawal, you’re prone to relapse if you aren’t careful. Effexor relapse is fairly common, especially when you don’t receive professional detox assistance.
In addition to helping you make it safely through the withdrawal process, professional detox also helps you manage your addiction to avoid relapsing. It does this by providing professional counseling, psychotherapy, companionship, and other treatments essential for addiction management. Therefore, if you’re serious about recovering from your Effexor addiction, you should seek professional detox assistance.
Detox Safely At Home With Elite Home Detox
With Elite Home Detox, you will be assigned a care coordinator to help keep you on-track to support your recovery. Once a custom rehabilitation plan has been developed between you and your expert team, one of our team members will come to your home and stay with you as you detox discreetly in the comfort of your own home.
Once detox is complete, we will work with you to create a practical and effective aftercare plan complete with ongoing recovery support. We can also help counsel friends and family on how they can best support you in taking this next step. We’re here and ready to help. Reach out to us for a custom consultation today!