Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Thank you so much!

I started Venlafaxine 75mg about 4 years ago. Prior to that I had been on Citalapram for a number of years but felt that it was no longer working for me so took doctor’s advice and went onto Venlafaxine. My issues were around social anxiety and and stress of being a working mother with two young children and all the issues that go with that re childcare, guilt and no longer having ‘me’ time! Having now got to a more easier time of life and not liking the side affects of Venlafaxine eg weight gain, excessive sweating and always feeling tired, I went to my doctor to suggest weaning off the drug. I was disappointed to find my regular doctor was away so saw a locum....best thing ever! He had taken antidepressants and gave me a regime for coming off it! It has taken four months to be completely off Venlafaxine and that was only 75mg! His recommendation for me was to take one 37.5mg in the morning and another at night for a month then drop to one 37.5mg for a month then stop completely. I stopped completely 7 days ago. It didn’t take long for the withdrawal to kick in. With me it was the brain zaps, lightheadedness and heart beat irregularity that are the worst symptoms but have had slight nausea and diarrhoea but nothing too bad. Today is the first day I have felt energised and not fatigued. Still getting the brain zaps which for me are not shocks but dull swooshing noise when I move my eyes or head suddenly but getting better each day. Listening to iPod through ear buds seems to have helped take my mind off them and don’t notice the zaps! Having read other people’s accounts of coming of this drug has been frightening and had I known how hard it would be to come off it I probably wouldn’t have started with it but it has helped when I needed it at the time and if you have the patience to do the withdrawal slowly, it can be managed! Hopefully I am through the worst and won’t have a relapse of withdrawal symptoms. Do not go cold turkey! Take your time and let your body adjust!

Thank you so much! Now I have some kind of guide to go by. I appreciate it and I’m soooo glad I’ve only been on this med for a couple months and praying that that will make it a little easier to get off of it; at least I hope so. Thanks again

Not sure that taking one every other day will work so well as it only took me four hours from missing a dose for the withdrawal to kick in. Better to reduce amount daily as you are trying to lower your dependence on it....not stop then give it a feed as it were! I too wondered how much the symptoms have to do with menopause so it is hard to judge what are meds and what is menopause! Good luck!

I take a relatively high dosage, and when I started, my doc had me step up 37.5mg every 2 weeks. Perhaps that's a good rate at which to step down as well.

Also, it IS possible to split capsules. I've done it many times with various meds. Hold the capsule up to the light and you will see which side is the "bottom" (its walls extend the length of the capsule) and which is the "top" (which only extends half the length of the capsule). Hold capsule by the bottom and gently twist off the top. Carefully tip half of the powder into the top half of the capsule (which will mean you're talking half the dose), leaving the other half in the bottom. Pour out the top half into a spoon to mix w/food or drink -- or you can just pour it into your mouth and wash it down. Put the now-empty top back onto the bottom of the capsule and press both ends to tighten the seal. Keep your half-empty capsules in a different container than your full ones so you don't mix them up.

Thank for for that advice but I was prescribed 37.5 to begin with and only took them a couple weeks so I still have a lot of refills on that dose so that what I’m going to try. Thank you again

No problem. I hope you feel better.

A nurse practitioner put me on 150 of Effexor XR for "Generalized Anxiety disorder" 6 months ago. I was never seen a mental health Dr. Fast forward after physical therapy x-rays and 3 MRI's I have been diagnosed with 5 bulging discs, arthritis in my spine and spondylosis. Last week I had a nerve block to try to postpone surgery. I have a vacation coming up that I planned over a year ago. The nerve block seems to be working. I'm disgusted with the practice that put me on Effexor. I made an appointment with my old PCP for the 31st of January. Two days ago I decided I no longer wanted take the Effexor. I stopped cold turkey. I guess I should have read about the dangers prior to doing so but I'm so disgusted. Now I fee like I have a mild stomach bug. I will call my PCP tomorrow. I have never been diagnosed with any sort of mental illness in the past. I am 58 years old. I've endured a lot of loss in my life but never felt I couldn't put one foot in front of the other. I have a high pain threshold. The Effexor was prescribed for sleep. I believe strongly the reason I wasn't sleeping had much more to do with physical pain than mental state. My husband said I had a couple of sleep disturbances last night. I feel fine mentally just a a little queasy and foolish. Is there any significant danger physically of waiting until tomorrow to call my pcp? I am not alone my husband is here. There is a hospital within a mile of our home I pushing fluids (sport drinks) to stay hydrated and keep my electrolytes in check.

Welcome to Connect @asil1021 and @dhoward1. Thank you for reaching out and sharing your information; as @AgentDarien said, "We all can learn from it!"

You may notice that I moved your discussions and combined it with this existing discussion on Effexor. I did this because I thought it would be beneficial for you to be introduced to the many members who have discussed much of what you are experiencing.
If you are replying by email, I suggest clicking on VIEW & REPLY so that you can read through some of the earlier messages and meet some of our other members talking about their or their or their loved ones' experiences.

Here's another discussion you might also wish to view:
– venlafaxine xr withdrawal Please help https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/venlafaxine-xr-withdrawal-please-help/

@asil1021, nausea and queasiness seems to be one of the early signs of abruptly stopping the drug, and I'm glad to know you are aware and taking steps to hopefully minimize the effects. As with any medication, it is always best to consult with your physician about weaning or tapering off.

@dhoward1, it is a bit surprising that your doctor advised you to stop taking Effexor without a tapering protocol! Did he/she give an explanation? Even if you are on another medication, as you stated, it is not advisable to completely stop taking this drug. May I ask for how long you've been taking Effexor?

@dhoward1

I'm very surprised that your doctor told you to stop cold turkey. In my non-medical and humble opinion, you should consider taking it until you have that strongly worded conversation. Maybe it's not a medication he works with as a rule, so doesn't know the protocol for tapering off. If he insists that you stop, my recommendation would surely be to speak with another doctor or the pharmacist.

Good luck.

Jim