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Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)
Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: 5 hours ago | Replies (6413)Comment receiving replies
I’m new here. Have read almost every post trying to get help getting off Effexor ER.
It was prescribed to me for hot flashes and other menopause symptoms.
I started at 37.5 mg for 2 weeks with no relieve so dr upped my dose to 75 mg and that actually helped a lot and my life felt great for about 1month then slowly quit working and now the only thing I get from it are side effects which include worse sweating, nausea, so tired I can barely function and just don’t feel like doing anything. It is all I can do to get ready for work and all I think about all day is coming home and laying down. I have zero energy and zero quality of life.
At first I thought it was menopause symptoms just getting worse but after researching I now think the Effexor is contributing to some of it.
I have only been on this med for about 8-10 weeks so hoping getting off it won’t be so bad.
My plan i started today is didn’t take one today but plan to take 37.5 every other day for a week then one every 3-4 days for a week then one a week then stop.
Does this sound reasonable?
My dr put me on a HRT today and acted like stopping the Effexor was no big deal when she saw how long I’d been on it.
Any advice is truly welcome!
Thanks for reading this. I know it’s lomg.
Lukekee
Replies to "I’m new here. Have read almost every post trying to get help getting off Effexor ER...."
They only come in capsules at my pharmacy so I don’t know any other way to do it except go to the smaller dose.
Thank you so much for responding. I really appreciate it.
@lukekee that does present a dilemma. Have you asked your doctor about the best way to wean off of this? Does it perhaps come in a smaller dosage capsules? I hope you can find a solution to getting off of Effexor as painlessly as possible.
JK
After reading all the posts of horror stories I have decided I am going to try taking 75mg every other day for a few days then go down to 37.5 daily for a few days then every other day so the whole process will take about 2 weeks and hopefully that will work.
Thank you
My son had a compounding chemist make up half strength again to 19mg. He explained also that it isn’t just the withdrawal but your brain learning to make its own chemicals again which will vary. My son needed some help for a while with another medication and has found he is best on his old antidepressent Zoloft. And that’s fine, quality of life is important and we are fortunate to live in countries where we can get help. Best wishes.
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@lukelee I probably have no business responding to this since I am not experienced in this type of problem, but if those pills can be split I would think it would be better to take them daily but in increasingly smaller doses. I was on dilaudid and tramadol after a knee replacement and my doctor suggested that I split the pills and then that I split the again into quarters. Maybe this is not the same as with drugs like Effexor but unless these pills cannot be split I would think it would work best that way.
JK