How bad was your withdrawal?

raven100 · Unread post by **raven100** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:31 pm

By withdrawal I mean symptoms you suffered from during the first month post cessation of the SSRI that have since got better. I see a lot of people online talking about horrific SSRI withdrawals, but I never experienced that. I was wondering whether the withdrawal period could be the transition period necessary to get back to normal, that we for some reason didn't go through. This logic breaks down if a lot of you guys actually did have a withdrawal.

marybanana · Unread post by **marybanana** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:37 pm

I was on the drug for 16 months and came off in a month and hardly remember experiencing withdrawal symptoms (besides minor dizziness and anxiety) until a few months after quitting when my entire body started shaking and I had the worst anxiety than I had ever had in my life. That symptom (along with other symptoms) have been coming in waves and windows for the past 19.5 months. But surprisingly I don’t remember the acute withdrawal being that bad. Only after a few months did I start going through hell

Tenyears27 · Unread post by **Tenyears27** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:38 pm

The first time I went through withdrawal from effexor it lasted about 2 -4 weeks and was pretty horrible. Paralyzing fear, intrusive thoughts. Vivid nightmares. Constant crying. Extremely high libido. Then after a month or two it turned into a slightly numbing depression that lasted several years. Maybe 4 years

This last time I micro tapered (3 years ago). I didn't experience withdrawal. I kindof ended up in the terrible mind and body numbing hell. It persisted for two to three years. Now, I consider myself 95%recovered during windows. My waves feel like I can't sleep well. Body feels tense. I get migraines.I was actually in a wave the last two days. About an hour ago my symptoms turned down about 90% for no reason.

Gameclay · Unread post by **Gameclay** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 2:05 am

I've only taken 2 antidepressants, Prozac and effexor.

Prozac I've taken in one extensive 5 year period and again for 3 months. Both times I never had withdrawal probably because of the 2 week long half life. Depression returned though.

Effexor was a complete different fucking nightmare. I took that drug for 5 days at 37mg. I then stopped cold turkey... Well a few days later I wake up in the middle of the night to my first - what I later realized was - an excruciatingly horrifying psychotic panic attack. This panic attack lasted for 2 weeks until the Prozac I started taking again kicked in and killed it. I still have trouble describing what it felt like but it was pure mental torture and I've never been closer to commiting suicide in my life. It's a miracle I did not do that or end up in a psych ward. I'll never touch that evil shit again. I was very traumatized by that event for months but I've pretty much forgotten about it now.

magnilo · Unread post by **magnilo** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 3:53 am

ssri that started it all was prozac, and i quit after 8 months because i had the impression it was no longer working / i did not need it
had no withdrawal symptom apart from minor so called "brain zaps", that sounds much worse than it was tho

naiverat · Unread post by **naiverat** » Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:56 pm

I took fluoxetine/prozac as well, and experienced no withdrawal symptoms, not even brain zaps