I have been taking 75mg Effexor to counteract the side effects of Arimidex for last 5 years. Now?

Question posted by wag1952 on 13 May 2013

Last updated on 7 January 2015

... stopped taking as at end of my Breast Cancer Treatment and starting to feel terrible. Sickness, aching, light headed etc. Anyone know if this is normal and how long it will last?

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5 Answers

maybemeno 14 May 2013

I am taking the same, Effexor and Arimidex, still have several yrs to go to reach my 5 yrs, but good to know to come off slowly and with drs care. thanks.

Kitty 13 May 2013

I agree, you need to come off slowly and over a period of time. I think
riding it out might be a big mistake. Please contact your doctor.

wag1952 13 May 2013

Thanks Kitty. I will call my Doc tomorrow. Will let you know what he says.

kaismama 13 May 2013

And call your oncologist and tell him before he prescribes it again he better read up on it. Any dr with a reference can find out it causes withdrawal if stopped abruptly.

kaismama 13 May 2013

You can't just stop it. You have to taper off of it with the help of your dr. I'd go back to taking it until I could see my dr.

kathyhanson 13 May 2013

wag1952,
Did you just stop the Effexor altogether or did your doctor wean you off of it slowly? These antidepressants cannot be stopped suddenly and your doctor knows that. You're are going through withdrawals. Call your doctor and ask him to help you wean off of the medicine. If you still have some Effexor left, take one. I feel certain that you will start feeling better and that will tell you if your symptoms are from stopping the Effexor.
Kathy

Pansy404 13 May 2013

I hope you didn't stop taking the Effexor abruptly. This is a notoriously difficult drug to withdraw from. You will get awful symptoms is you do not withdraw from it slowly. My doctor is asking me to take a year over withdrawal. I was on 150mg and it is now four months, and I am now on 75mg daily. Estimated it could take an other few months before withdrawal complete.

Withdrawal symptoms can last a long time.

wag1952 13 May 2013

Hi Pansy 404, thanks for responding to my post. My Oncologist told me to stop taking all medication immediately so I have!
Took my last Effexor tablet a week ago. Spent most of today being sick and on loo!!
Now that I have stopped I feel like just riding the storm, can't take too long to get through this can it? What do you mean by a long time?

Pansy404 14 May 2013

I have been on other sites where people have withdrawals for a long time. I did stop 150mg Effexor once, cold turkey. I was very poorly for 2 weeks, but OK after that. However, what felt like depression came back after a year (I take Effexor for Depression), but my doctor says it could have been withdrawal symptoms after all that time. Anyway, here I am again withdrawing, but this time slowly. I find it hard to believe a doctor does not know of the bad withdrawal symptoms from Effexor. It is very well published in lots of medical sites. On one site I am on there are 900 responses to the difficulty of coming off Effexor.

Take care, and ride it out if you feel that is right for you. By the way, why is Effexor prescribed with the breast cancer drug you are taking? What is it supposed to do?

Rowe6520 7 Jan 2015

I too took Effexor to eliminate the hot flashes from chemotherapy and Arimadex. I was prescribed 35mg of Effexor and when I tried to get off of the Effexor with the Arimidex, I got dizzy and nauseous. I felt really sick. So I went back on Effexor to lead my normal life. I still haven't found the time to get off of it.

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