anyone else get vivid dreams/sleep issues after stopping effexor?
i started effexor xr in december and at first it helped my mood a lot. i genuinely felt happier and less irritable than i had in years.
after a while though, the sleep side effects became too much. i was having extremely vivid dreams every night and sleeping 12-14+ hours at a time. my roommate told me i would turn off alarms, text people, and even have conversations while still asleep. i started missing classes and work because waking up became so difficult.
eventually i tapered off because although my mood improved, my motivation disappeared. i stopped going to class regularly, stopped working out, and really struggled during finals season.
the withdrawal hit a few days after stopping. i had no appetite, couldn’t sleep properly, and felt emotionally overwhelmed for a couple weeks. now that i’m about a month off of it, i’m mentally doing better overall, but i’ve started having really strange sleep experiences.
right as i’m falling asleep, i get extremely vivid dream-like states where i can see/hear/feel things very realistically. it almost feels like dreaming before fully being asleep. the last few days i’ve also had episodes of sleep paralysis and intense nightmares where i feel someone in my bed with their arms around me.
has anyone else experienced this after stopping effexor? especially weeks later? did it eventually calm down, and did anything help?