← Return to Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Discussion
Comment receiving replies
@coloradogirl

So, I just finished this process with Zoloft (sertraline) and here are some things that worked for me. Your mileage may vary, but hopefully these are low risk for you to try.

1) You may need to ask your doctor for a slower tapering program than other patients. Some people are just more sensitive to dosage changes. Be aware that symptoms will get better, then may reappear each time you taper. AAFMA (practice group of family physicians) says that the symptoms typically last 1-2 weeks and as long as 4 weeks, so I just kept reminding myself that it was temporary.
2) Be watchful for things that make your symptoms worse. For example, caffeine seems to trigger the brain zaps for me (still, even after being off for several weeks), so I cut back my caffeine intake. I didn't give it up completely (because I still need to function), but cut back on how much real coffee I was drinking, mixed decaf with regular, and switched to tea sometimes. In the end, I probably cut my daily caffeine intake in half, and it did help quite a lot.
3) Ibuprofen or other pain reliever can help with the flu-like body aches.
4) Benadryl helped with the brain zaps.
5) Exercise helped with both. Even if I wasn't up to a run, a few blocks of walking would settle down the symptoms for a while at least. (Then, when they come back, just take another walk. We took a lot of walks for a while there).
6) Get enough sleep. As I came down off the meds, my normal sleeping patterns returned, which was great, but it did mean that I needed to plan time to let my body rest.
7) Pay attention to your diet. Your brain uses carbs to make seratonin, so now is not the time to go on the Atkins diet. Eat well and make sure you're getting enough healthy carbs. You may crave sweets; I certainly did. I tried to counteract this by having bananas, graham crackers, and other healthy things I could snack on instead of sticking my head in a birthday cake like I seemed to want.

No lie - it's a painful process, but this did really help make it easier. Also, at a certain point, when I was down the below the normal starter dose, I just ripped off the bandaid and went to zero. At that point, it felt like each taper was just prolonging the suffering. Don't just go cold turkey from your current dose, though, as that can be dangerous. Also, don't add any supplements or substitutes for the SSRI without talking to your doctor first (also dangerous).

And of course, watch for the return of depression / anxiety type symptoms. For a while it was hard to tell whether I was tired because of the change in meds or because my depression was returning. I figured as long as I felt okay enough to function and wasn't thinking about being harmful to myself or anyone else, I could play it out and see. It turned out to be the meds and on the other side, I can see that I was more worried about it than I needed to be.

I wish you the best of luck and a healthy life.

Mardee

Jump to this post


Replies to "So, I just finished this process with Zoloft (sertraline) and here are some things that worked..."

@charleyxx
Effexor definitely helped me when I needed it but I don’t need it anymore. How much were you taking?

1 pill High dose Began with 150 mg I think I am tapering off I do NOT like feeling' addicted to anything !!

How long did it take to get off Effexor Most folks have very unpleasant side effects

Each of us has our own journey For me these meds are ; toxic ' to my system Also Xanax made me very sick after not taking for 2-3 days NO warnings for many of us . I Wound up in ER with 300 BP- vomiting and horrid headache MD thought I might have a stroke at age 75 Each persons brain is unique

@danalee5
Hi
May I ask HOW you know you no longer need the Effexor? My doctor said the same thing to me many years ago and she way wrong.
Ronnie (GRANDMAr)

I started taking it when I found out that my alcoholic husband was having an affair and completely ruined us financially. He got fired at the same time. I had to work so hard to get us out of debt and keep our house. It was a very rough time that got rougher when he died of cyrrhosis.
It is 7 years since then and I am married to a wonderful man and am retired. We have a great active life. I felt like I was ready to come off of it. If it turns out, I have to take something, then I will but it will be a much smaller dose and something other than Effexor.

I just joined this group......I was put on Effexor in November at 75 mg. I cut in half about three weeks ago and a horrible muscle tingling in legs and joint pain basically in my knees started. OF course I'm going to see my doctor but can't get an appointment for a few weeks. it comes and goes and especially bad today...does anyone know how long this will take? should I go back on and then taper slowly?

This site may help We are all different but these meds can be dangerous for some Some are helped by them I hate the withdrawal symptoms stopping Xanax Effexor made me very ill.....seems addictive

To dianrib....You learned an all to hard lesson didn’t you.

I wanted to add that ginger helped my nausea...i bought candied ginger chunks at Kroger and chewed them for stomach upset. It seemed to help.Ginger tea and ginger ale would probably work as well.