We are in the process of weaning our son off of Effexor. His doctor doesn't feel he needs it anymore, and also because of possible side effects. We just discovered that our son has high cholesterol (at age 10!), and the Effexor might be to blame. We are in the second week of what's supposed to be a 3 week process of decreasing the dose slightly each week until he's totally weaned off. Effexor is known to be a very hard drug to come off of. The first week we didn't notice anything. This week he seems a little subdued, but it's also the first week of school, so it's hard to tell why. I wouldn't have picked this timing if it weren't for the high cholesterol. We have to get moving on figuring out what's causing that and then getting it down. I need to watch my son closely this week and talk to him about how he's feeling. I hate putting him through a difficult time, but in the long run it's better for him.
Hi there
I had not known this about Effexor...about the cholesterol. Is the doc giving him anything to substitute for the effexor? What our doctor proposed was addiing a low dose of a new antidepressant onto his Prozac and then slowly weaning from the Prozac as we added the new medication to eliminate withdrawals.
Effexor is noted for the bad withdrawals...I hope your son does not experience anything too bad.
Here is a wealth of information about Effexor withdrawals and how to cope with them from My Depression Connection.
I would write everything down...any strange symptoms...just in case.
I truly wish you and your son the best of luck with this change. I know it is hard.
Let us know what happens okay? Thank you so much for your comment.
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I cannot imagine what you guys have had to go through, are going through.
It must have been very hard to decide on giving him the Prozac to begin with. There are so many side effects for each drug, when we read them all it is enough to make you want to run. The fact that they may affect only a small percentage doesn't help much when you have to make the decision for your child. Someone has to make up that small percentage, but there is hardly a way of knowing, except trying.
It 's like negotiating a maze of age, physical problems, hormones, and even the fact that like all of us, he can sometimes get mad about some thing which may not have anything to do with a drug. How to sort out the cause for the changes? I can imagine the worry you must be going through. I am looking forward to hearing more about how the drug change is helping, if at all. What you think about it, and how he is doing.
I do wish you all the best in helping him.
Hello Paul!
Good to see you. It has been quite the journey so far. It is very hard because you are always wondering...Is this the right thing? Will it help? Will the change cause harm? It is a lot of walking on eggshells and waiting for things to even out.
In my next post I am going to answer a lot of your questions hopefully. Like I said...I feel for any parent or individual going through this. It is always a huge decision to use medications and also to change them.
Thank you for all your support...it is much appreciated!