I’ve heard Effexor is tough.

Good luck if that’s what you need to do.

Some are worse than others. You can minimise effects by weaning off slowly but that also drags it out. I came off paroxetine cold turkey and that was a real **** for maybe four to six weeks. Brain fog, weird zaps in my head and flashing visual effects.

Did you have any problems when you started the medication?

I never knew you could have problems coming off it. Would have been nice to be warned.

I feel the withdrawal usually after 48 hours, evidenced by brain shivers and nausea mostly. I've quit cold turkey before and it really ****ed me up, never doing that again.

I recreationally did Prozac because I was a dumb teenager and for about a month after I stopped, I would randomly get lightheaded and pass out.

Just do heroin, kids.

I think I know what the brain shivers are. It feels almost like you're at the top of a roller-coaster and dropping down vertically I think? That's what happened to me off Sertraline anyway.

Sounds like this could be horrific and I need to speak to my gp about this. I was not told anything about coming off them. Is there anything doctors can do to help? Benzos can be used for alcohol withdrawal what about this?

What happened when you quit abruptly and how long were you on it?

Not going into detail, but it was an absolute last resort for me.

Around a year or so. I’m afraid antidepressants interfere with my art appreciation

What happened was the symptoms that were corrected started and continues to resurface.

At the worst it was near constant ocd like negative dark thoughts

Constant suicide ideation -

it’s painful to recall but like during a bath I would imagine how my corpse would look if I slit my wrists

driving - this vehicle would be a suitable place to shoot myself / easy clean up - just junk the car

like that all the time for considerable stretches - months

other times - horrific things running through my mind - lots of it having to do with ways my dog could get hurt or die which hurts me emotionally more than anything

Prozac made it so bad thoughts became just passing not chronic obsessive like

But I quit and I’m only depressed maybe like two days out of ten or so

Before it was years - I mean on those tests the dr gives you: Have you ever been sad for two weeks without reprieve?

I couldn’t believe that was considered depression. I went without reprieve from sorrow for years.

Thanks Hawk. Do you think if you had tapered off under the supervision of a doctor that you'd have no had those negative symptoms?

To be clear, I mentioned benzos out of curiosity and if they would help ssri withdrawal. They are virtually impossible to get hold of over here, even prescriptions are extremely rare.

Nope. You gotta pay the piper one way or another.