To make a long story short, my bf of almost 2 years has been on Effexor 150 for almost 2 months and has had a positive response to it. Just the other day, he told me that he wanted to stop effexor cold turkey b/c he says he has no sex drive. His parents have commented to me about how wonderful he is on Effexor. My bf is also autistic, has ADD and severe depression. How can I convince him to stay on Effexor b/c I know what will happen if he comes off of it and it won't be pretty? He is not violent, but he is very unstable if not on an anti-depressent. His maternal grandma has also responded very nicely on Effexor 150 (genetics). My bf has also stopped taking all of his meds, ADD ones included, he goes off the deep end and he becomes very unfocused, and is not as able to function w/o any of his meds.
Q: BF wants to stop Effexor cold turkey when his depression is much less when he's on it
Hi there
I think someone should definitely try to warn him that this is not a good idea for a number of reasons. He should absolutely not quit this medication cold turkey because one can experience severe withdrawal symptoms. If sexual side effects are an issue, a talk with his doctor could help...there are ways to help with this by adjusting dosage or even adding on another medication. But even if he wants to change medications completely...going cold turkey is not the way to do it. I would strongly advise him to talk with his doctor first...waiting to see the doctor will do no harm.
Let us know what happens. I wish you the best of luck.
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