Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)?

Effexor is available in 25 and 50 mg tablets, and in 37.5 and 75 mg capsules. As you have discovered, taking the drug every other day does not work. If you are trying to decrease the dosage in order to successfully discontinue the medication, then what is recommended (according to my online research) is lowering the dosage no more than 5-10% at a time, and remaining at that dose until you feel "normal." Once you've been stable for a month or two or however long it takes at that dose, then the next step is to decrease another 5-10%, etc, etc, etc. Because the pharmaceutical companies do not make Effexor available to us here in the US in decreasing doses, one has to manage this oneself or seek the aid of a compounding pharmacy to do it for you. To do it yourself, you shave a bit off a tablet or remove beads from a capsule. It is not an easy process, and shame on pharmaceutical companies for creating a dependency on a drug with no easy way to discontinue it. Withdrawal is hell. It is tragic to see how many of us are suffering from side effects and withdrawal effects of Effexor.

Whole simple foods, no chemicals! Deep Darth Vader breathing. Water. A daily routine. Benzo withdrawal is the same. Horrible, horrendous. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Hope is on the other side. The saying is "The only way out is through" and that is true. You are a warrior. Stay strong. You have this! 🙏🏻💪🏻🫶🏻

Hi @kuma, You'll notice that I removed your email address. Connect is a public forum. We recommend sharing personal contact information using the secure private message function.

I might also add that by sharing here in the forum, you are connecting with several people where all can benefit from group support.

Thank you so much. 🙏🏻

So good to have this message from you. For some reason I thought you had retired. Glad to see you are still involved. You bring a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Namaste 🙏🏻

Glottis breathing. Amazing way to enervate the vagus nerve. Relaxes the whole body. Sounds like Darth Vader. 🙏🏻🌞

Were you ever successful in quitting?

I'm on Day 8 of going cold turkey after 20 years on that drug. I was taking Effexor and Abilify after a breakdown, and have still been suffering waves of depression and constant suicidal ideations, while feeling robbed of any good days. It has either been deathly depressed at worst, or emotionally flat at best. No joy. So I quit both drugs abruptly, partly out of anger, I'll admit. But more so because the prescriptions weren't working. Thus far I have not had much depression surface in the past few days. If anything I feel empowered. But the physical discomfort of quitting has been significant, especially the "brain zaps," which are deeply unpleasant and have left me wondering if I have caused long term changes in my brain chemistry by allowing myself to be put on Effexor in the first place. I'm feeling suspicious of this stuff despite the paucity of evidence about long term impacts. You shouldn't be able to "feel" your brain, but that's exactly what's happening. I don't want to go back on this drug after experiencing the withdrawal. So I'm wondering if others have been successful in pulling off of it, and if there are any hints. I know taper is what people say, but after more than a week off it, I'd rather try to ride this out. Any advice?

@depressedbutnotdead
You are very lucky. One lady here on Connect stopped Effexor abruptly and had a stroke. I stopped a seizure medication nearly 60 years ago and ended up in an 8-month-long induced coma with many complications. I took over 2 years to stop the seizure drug Klonopin and didn't have any withdrawal symptoms. You should only discontinue one medication at a time. Some people die stopping medication abruptly. We aren't here talking just to hear our heads rattle. I hope you never take a chance potentially endangering your life again. Your very lucky.
Jake

I could not find a documented case of death or even serious medical complications from quitting either drug, just serious discomfort with Effexor. The brain zaps, which researchers don't seem to have a confirmed explanation for, I find disturbing. If the mechanism causing them isn't understood, why isn't this a red flag on the drug? I am more concerned at this point by concerns about the physiological impact of having taken it for so long than I am about quitting it.

There is an enhanced suicide risk to abrupt withdrawal, but I was already dealing with that level of depression, and the drug combination was doing nothing to relieve it, it was only causing me to lose any joy in life. The bad days used to be balanced out by good ones. After treatment, the good days went away, but the bad ones didn't. The best I could hope for were flat days that I sleepwalked through. Five days after quitting the two drugs, I felt my sense of humor resurfacing after a long absence. Hopefully that's an indicator.

I just read this apologies for not reading the comments. I came on here because I can only take generic TEVA. Long story. To this
Person stopping Effexor on day idk 8 now. I hope you will succeed. When you hit in about a few weeks your withdrawals will quick in. And it’s not like withdrawing from alcohol where u need to be supervised (but for this drug I think everyone should be). This is like you will wake up with your heart pounding sweating just the worst feeling ever. Nauseated can’t eat, diarrhea, hurling, and panic attacks and your hyoerventilating . I’m sorry but someone here can vouch for this. ? I can go into detail. I can’t find my generic brand TEVA…that’s why I jumped on here. It was I believed the first generic for Effexor Dr. well I can’t get it anywhere. And if I can’t take the TEVA generic I go into withdrawals. And yes I’ve been in this drug for 20 years. Good luck sport guys I didn’t read comments. Im so mad my new mail order won’t request TEVA for me and they know my withdrawals. I’ve called 20 pharmacy’s in just fed up.