zings

A strange, pins-and-needles sensation in your body, accentuated by moving your eyes back and forth fast or turning your head fast. This feeling is well known to most people who are stopping taking the antidepressant Effexor (venlafaxine). Some people get it/them in their arms and legs and get them so bad they have difficulty walking and concentrating. It has been described also as "You turn your head and it takes the rest of the world a second to catch up." If you are unlucky enough to be vulnerable to the zings, it can take you months to stop Effexor--you have to cut down tiny bit by tiny bit. For others, it's just a minor annoyance. The sensation can occur with other psych drugs (especially the other SNRI (serotonin-norepinepherine reuptake inhibitor, Cymbalta) but Effexor is the major offender.

Basically, this is withdrawal, but Lilly, the company that makes Effexor, made up the term discontinuation syndrome as a euphemism.

"You better drive. I'm stopping Effexor and I know whenever I look in the rear-view mirror my head is gonna zing bad."
"Yes, I want to dance. I'd love to dance! But stopping this drug is giving me the zings so bad I'm just gonna sit here and drink. Man, I wish I never started that stuff. No, marijuana will NOT make it feel better!"

2👍 11👎