**Disclaimer: I'm not telling anyone that all psychiatrists are all bad or that you shouldn't see the psychiatrist. What I am trying to tell is that even professionals have fallacies. So always, ALWAYS ask for more detail concerning any changes to your treatment.**

I was diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder. I was taking Effexor XR 150mg along with Lamotrigine 50mg for about 9 months now and I was feeling pretty well and dandy.

A couple weeks before I was experiencing some symptoms like hypomania. I was feeling really energetic and my thoughts and ideas were racing. In the past, I had never felt as high as this even when I wasn't depressed, so this was a drastic and sudden change in my mood and actions.

I was a bit concerned so I contacted my psychiatrist through texts. He asked me the dosage I was taking as couple weeks before the hypomania I was feeling quite depressed so I was told to increase my dosage to 2 tablets of Effexor for 4 days. I told him I was taking 1 tablet and he told me to stop taking it for 3 days.

*Hindsight, I should've questioned his decisions regarding going cold turkey but at that time I was quite unstable and I am still young and naive so I didn't doubt his advice. That was my fault I guess as I could've prevented all of this had I simply questioned his advice.*

Apparently Effexor has a pretty short half-life compared to other antidepressants. So on the day I was supposed to take my medicine I skipped it. Around 5 hours later, I started to experience some withdrawal symptoms. It was also my Dad's birthday party so I didn't tell anyone as I didn't want to be a joy-kill and this wasn't so bad. 

Little did I know it was only going to get worse. MUCH. WORSE.

Day 2 and 3, I was experiencing the full force of withdrawal effects. 

I was so **dizzy** that even moving my eyes made my sick. I was **nauseous** all the time and I couldn't even muster the willpower to eat even though I was hungry. When I ate I would **vomit** it all out again to the point where my stomach was sore. I also had these **brain shivers** that felt like electricity. My vision and hearing were affected and everything felt like it was flashing and pulsating. My arms and finger were also going tingly and numb sometimes.

It was so awful that I was crying constantly from just the nausea alone and my emotions were so unstable to the point that I wanted to...

I immediately contacted the psychiatrist and told him my symptoms and asked what I can do to alleviate the withdrawal effects. He told me to take Diazepam which he prescribed to me beforehand in case of any moments of anxiety and panic.

And then when I asked why he told me to stop taking my antidepressant. He said that last time I mentioned about hypomania, that's why he wanted me to stop taking Effexor so mood would not be allowed to further escalate. 

He even said that now the withdrawal will make me suffer.

I asked him why he told me to go cold turkey in the first place. He responded saying that it is seldom for people to go cold turkey.

I asked why I wasn't told to taper off my medication gradually before stopping. He said that my 150mg capsule cannot be divided. I asked why I wasn't told beforehand about Effexor's withdrawal effects as from my own research online after, I have came upon many discussions about Effexor having one of the worst withdrawal effects compared to other antidepressants.

He said that he could of done better, but he didn't even officially apologise or admit his fault by saying he was sorry. 

I asked if it is true that Effexor has withdrawal effects that are worse than other antidepressants. He said that there were a lot of complaints about another medicine called Remeron but not Effexor.

**TL;DR My psychiatrist told me to go cold turkey from 150mg of Effexor XR when I had been taking it more about 9 months. He didn't tell me to slowly taper off before stopping. According to the internet, people say that Effexor withdrawal effects are worse than most antidepressants. I suffered greatly as a result of my actions. Nobody should ever go cold turkey.**