venlafaxine withdrawal

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Wild6Flower16
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2017 6:17 pm

venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by Wild6Flower16 »

I have been on Venlafaxine withdrawal since thanksgiving a month now. And one of the symptoms in restless leg.
I have secondary restless leg where they have to treat the problem of venlafaxine withdrawal than the restless leg and its been a month with no help. Since she prescribed Prozac this past wednesday the ease the withdrawal symptoms but no help yet from it.

I am seeing her next week well she is off for 2 weeks and they will put me in to see a on call doctor.
Im afraid they will not treat the restless leg and i will have to go through another month of this pain discomfort.

Everything is getting backed up at my house because my first priority is this pain which is always grabbing my attention.

No doctor wants to treat a patient who is on antidepresents I have to go to my psych doctor who if switching around my meds will take some time and I cannot deal with this another day .

The restless leg is 24 / 7 Nighttime i take doxepin for sleep and it helps a little at night but i cannot sit during the day or relax. Has anyone has this problem where it might take time to switch meds for any type relief.

Rustsmith
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Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by Rustsmith »

Almost all of the antidepressants are on the list of medications that will aggravate RLS, and that includes Prozac. Wellbutrin is an antidepressant that is reported to not cause RLS for most, but it also isn't supposed to be the strongest antidepressant.

If you are not currently taking anything for your RLS, you might ask if they could give you a dopamine agonist, such as Mirapex or Requip. These will treat the RLS symptoms. It is my understanding that these also do not interfere with the antidepressant.

Antidepressants and RLS is a frequent issue. The RLS experts all agree that it is necessary to treat the depression first and then the RLS. That said, there is a good chance that your psych doctor is not familiar with treating RLS. So, you may need to suggest that they consider adding either a dopamine agonist or a medication such as gabapentin to your mix to get everything under control and your life back on track.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

stjohnh
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Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2016 3:13 pm
Location: Palo Alto, California

Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by stjohnh »

I think Steve is correct. Ask one of your docs for a prescription for the lowest dose mirapex 0.125mg. Won't interfere with depression treatment.
Blessings,
Holland

Wild6Flower16
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2017 6:17 pm

Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by Wild6Flower16 »

I see the on call psychiatrist after new years on the 2nd . Im afraid she might say i have to wait to see if the prozac will work. But i don't think it will.
I did went to the ER many times but they say to follow up with doctor and psych doc.
I followed up with my doctor and cannot prescribe anything without talking to my psych doctor.
And i have to wait till the 2nd.

I can't believe they cannot help to relieve the pain. I think it is sooooo wrong to wait this out. Can they do THAT???

Polar Bear
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Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by Polar Bear »

Something to consider is that you should have your Ferritin Serum level checked.

It is a blood test that is not normally done with routine blood works and you need to ask for it. This tells the level of iron stored in your brain – and that is what is important to us sufferers of WED/RLS. We need a level of around 100, especially if we are taking a DA drug such as pramipezole or ropinerole. When getting the results of this test please ask your doctor for the actual level = do not accept ‘normal’ as an answer. Doctors and Labs may consider 20 to be normal… but it isn’t normal for us. Sometimes raising your Ferritin can be enough to help some.

Also, this book is wonderful, it is easy to read and can be used for discussion purposes with your doctor. If your doctor is willing to learn then this book is superb for guidance. Clinical Management of Restless Legs Syndrome by Lee, Buchfuhrer, Allen and Hening. Make sure to get the second edition. These Authors are at the top of the league when it comes to the treatment of WED/RLS. It can be found on Amazon and although it is not cheap it is well worth having. I mark it in pencil and using post-its where relevant.

One thing to remember, if you take such a book with you to your doctor don't overload the doctor with information. Prioritise and stick to a reasonable discussion time-wise.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

Wild6Flower16
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2017 6:17 pm

Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by Wild6Flower16 »

i think my doctor checked the levels when i saw her couple weeks ago and I am taking a Tab a vite(vitamin pill)
It is really hard trying to get to the doctor I have medicare and medicaid. But her nurse called me to say everything is fine except for vitamin d. I am low on Vitamin d.

My psychiatrist could of seen me earlier but my pdoc couldnt a hold o her but I did. I was waiting patiently for my pdoc to get a hold of psychiatrist. When all this time she ave me her nurse's extention and they always pick up.

No I have to wait till after new year's for any help

I hope he can prescribe me any restless leg medicine and not say "lets see what happens".

This is just like pain and needs to be treated like how pain needs to be treated with tylenol.
I know they don't say don't take tylenol but wait to see what happens.

I consider it the same thing

Polar Bear
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Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by Polar Bear »

Wild6Flower16 - you say you think your doctor checked your levels. You need to be sure that she checked your Ferritin Serum level.
This is important and not usually done unless you have specifically requested it. I would suggest that you ask your doctor if this Ferritin test was performed. It is not good enough to have an ordinary blood test to check for iron levels. If your doctor says that your ordinary iron is ok you need to reinforce to him that it is Ferritin test that you need.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

Wild6Flower16
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2017 6:17 pm

Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by Wild6Flower16 »

Yes I will ask but she did do some blood work because i was complaining about my legs.

Yesterday I went to the ER it was too unbearable to relax they said that its
Dysphoria and gave me Lorazpam.

Is ferritin in the normal blood work?

Tomorrow i see my psyph doctor i hope he sees it as restless leg. my legs are unbearable and don't know how to explain further.

Polar Bear
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Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by Polar Bear »

The Ferritin Serum levels are not usually done in normal blood works, that's why you need to check with your doctor and if necessary, request that it is done.

So ER told you it was dysphoria !! what do you think of their diagnosis of dysphoria ??

You hope that your doctor tomorrow will see your symptoms as RLS. Do you have any documentation printed out to take with you to show how your symptoms are as described for RLS?

https://www.aafp.org/afp/2000/0701/p108.html

This link provides good general information. If you printed it out you could highlight relevant sections that you would like to be considered.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation

Wild6Flower16
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2017 6:17 pm

Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by Wild6Flower16 »

well they gave me lorazpam which is helping a little

I sort of feel dysphoric. But He also said that my symptoms were not restless leg. he said its sopposed to be moving.
I told him i do move my feet but of course it does not help. I told him its uncomfortable and that i can't do anything normaly.

But that was it and at least i am going to see psych doctor tomorrow who will take me seriouslly.

badnights
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Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by badnights »

Hey there wildflower
doxepin is a tricyclic anti-depressant, probably the worst class of ADs in terms of causing WED/RLS. The Prozac might not be as bad, but it really depends on the individual.

So you might be getting a double whammy - venlafaxine withdrawal and RLS/WED symptoms caused by the Doxepin.

Also, vitamin D and iron are the only vitamins/minerals/nutritional supplements known to have an effect on WED/RLS. Your low D might be making your symptoms worse. I take 4000 IU D daily. If I lower it, my symptoms get worse but it takes a month or so to happen. I also take 3 tablets of 65 mg iron iron daily, and if I lower that, I feel it within 2 weeks. If I stop it, I feel it within days.

So - start taking D, it might improve your symptoms.
And get your ferritin number from the doctor, if they even measured it. If they've done iron work but haven't done ferritin, try to get blood drawn again and get that ferritin number (don't do it when you have an infection, though, that will affect the number). As Betty said, you want the level of ferritin in your blood, the actual number, not just "it's normal". For people without WED/RLS, levels as low as 20 are normal, so the labs will say "normal" if it's 20 or 30. But for people like us with WED/RLS, we need much higher levels because we have problems moving it from our blood into our brain. We need to have at least 75 and preferably 100 nanograms per millilitre.

And of course you're dysphoric, your life sucks right now. He didn't tell you anything you don't already know! Most doctors don't know enough about WED/RLS to diagnose it.

Do you have trouble sleeping from the WED/RLS symptoms?
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

Wild6Flower16
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2017 6:17 pm

Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by Wild6Flower16 »

I do have trouble sleeping.i think the doxepin is a nerve helper. So during the night it isnt bad but i am not sleeping well. I doesn't feel like
I am sleeping well. my rest less legs is from when i get up to when i sleep.

Its hard to explain since i don't have the leg jerking. and because of that they don't want to make restless leg diagnosis.

badnights
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Location: Northwest Territories, Canada

Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by badnights »

There';s no need for legs to jerk to diagnose RLS/WED. You need to meet all of the following:
- you feel bad sensations (pain, creepy, electrical, whatever) accompanied by an urge to move
- moving (walking) reduces the sensations and the urge
- the symptoms come when you sit or lie down and relax
- the symptoms are worse in the evening and better in morning
- the symptoms can't be explained by another condition

You might not have the circadian component (worse in the evening) which is essential to diagnosis. They also might not think you meet the 5th criterion if they think your symptoms are Venlafaxine withdrawal, though I don't know if they'd be right to do so. Also, they might not be aware of these diagnostic criteria. I had a doctor tell me I couldn't get symptoms in my arms and couldn't get them in the daytime.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

Wild6Flower16
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2017 6:17 pm

Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by Wild6Flower16 »

the er doctor told me i couldnt get it in my arms. Which i told him it was in my arm also. Symptoms for me is better in the morning and worst
in the evening. he noticed i wasnt moving my feet and said i was supposed to it i were to have restless legs.

Wild6Flower16
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Dec 28, 2017 6:17 pm

Re: venlafaxine withdrawal

Post by Wild6Flower16 »

I hope they don't say wait a week and see what happens i mean this is torture. what will they do after the week,
I see them tomorrow the psych doctor i will update. wish me luck

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