Is it possible to experience withdrawal symptoms in between doses of Effexor XR?
Question posted by ZaxA on 31 July 2023
Last updated on 1 August 2023 by Skpierce
I take 75mg of Effexor XR every day in the morning. Towards the afternoon/evening I tend to experience hot flashes, dizziness, nausea, headaches, irritability, and flu-like sensations (I feel as if I’m sick). I looked up the symptoms online and discovered these are symptoms that one experiences when going through withdrawal. I take my medication regularly and as prescribed, is there any possibility or reason to why I’m going through withdrawal in between doses?
To specify, I don’t have these symptoms during the day, in the evening and nighttime is when I experience all of these symptoms.
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Answers
SK
Skpierce
31 July 2023
I’ve been on Effexor XR for almost 17 years now. Over the years I have noticed that once I have been on a certain dosage for a good length of time I can experience symptoms that feel like withdrawal symptoms such as you mentioned. If it gets bad enough I would mention it to my Dr. I started out with 75 mg. per day also. Now going on 18 years I am on 225mg. I’m a woman and I did notice through the years that my hormones would play a part in feeling these symptoms akin to withdrawal too. About once a month it sucked! But I would just wait it out. I also do better when I take my daily dose about mid morning. Hope this helps!
Votes: +1
WI
WildcatVet
31 July 2023
Hi, Zax! It should be more unusual with the slow release formulation you're taking but normally the effects of the drug's plasma levels peak at anywhere from about 5-9 hours before it starts to be eliminated from your system. It can vary greatly depending on several individual factors of your metabolism. If you haven't already, contact your doctor and let them know what's going on. This probably shouldn't be happening and you should get some professional advice about what to do about it. Best regards and I hope you can get this straightened out quickly.
