Boy was I glad to read your email. I am now 5th day off of Effexor XR by going cold turkey. I tried calling my doctor to get my prescription dose lowered last Thursday (before having to refill on Friday) but no one from my Dr.\'s office followed up with my request. They failed to tell me at the time that she was out of the office last week. So, I just quit taking the horrible stuff!! I do agree, the medicine did help even out my mood swings. The reason I went on the drug is because I\'ve been dealing with the loss of my sweet Daddy to a year battle with cancer and adjusting to a move to new town and financial woes (my husband started a new realestate career and we\'ve had no income from him for almost 3 years. I admit , I have been very angry at everything. But, the side effects of the Effexor XR which I was NEVER told about are far worse than my normal non-medicated self. In particular, the electric shocks, itching all over, feeling out-of-it, and tears have almost been too much to bear. I feel as though I should have maybe had a medically supervised detoxification program! If I had been properly warned of these symptoms-I wouldn\'t have ever put one pill into my system. My question to you is: approx. how long does it take to get completely out of my system. I have a fairly high metabolism and only took the drug for about 5 months. I hope you can help shed al little more light for me.

Thanks and I hope you are feeling better by now?

Sincerely,

Laura