Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

I feel each situation may be different though

@lisabee

Have you read what other people have written about getting off Effexor? You'll find that no one should stop Effexor cold turkey unless they're masochistic. I urge you to talk with the pharmacist about how you can taper off it. It's a slow, extended process.

Jim

Some things I have tried and some suggestions I have read (on other sites) is to perhaps restart the 37.5 but split it over the day. I have found that taking 1/2 caplet at 8a and 1/2 caplet at 8p keeps the side effects at bay, but as @panewdayphyl stated every situation is different. I have read that some folks dose down by skipping a day (taking the pill every other day) and then very slowly increasing the days that you don't take it (take day 1, skip day 2 &3, take day 4, etc.). As every body is different, chemicals work differently for each of us. What one person does, may not work for you....hence so many suggestions out there. If there is any trend with this pill it's DON'T JUST STOP TAKING IT! You know your body and how you should feel. I cannot stress enough how important it is to talk with a professional who understands and can support your withdrawal from this drug and is open and supportive of adjusting the med so you can reduce the withdrawal from it. I hope this helps 🙂

Hi, @footballref2 -- just wanted to check in with you and see how your stopping the Effexor XR 450 mg went overall? Did any withdrawal symptoms ever start?

I wish I had an answer to your question. I was on Effexor 75mg. for at lest 10 years. My 1st attempt to stop this drug failed and the doctor put me back on them. (I should have changed doctor then) After studying and researching the side effects of this drug, I decided to try to stop again. I did not seek a doctor's advice. I reduced the amount taken daily very slowly. I started with 1 bead reduction every week. I took about 9 months to do this. You would think that this was enough time for my brain to rewire. It wasn't. I stopped taking Effexor completely November 24, 2017. I started taking 400 mgs of SAMe daily. I took this for 5 weeks and started having anxiety attacks. After checking the side effects of this drug, I stopped taking it cold turkey. I should have done more research on SAMe. Now I'm a bundle of emotions - crying over nearly everything, depressed and anxious and extreme fatigue. I don't know what to do. It is just awful. My research continues. Some doctors believe that depression is the result of brain inflammation. If you have an autoimmune disease, it is caused by inflammation. I have arthritis & psoriasis. I have been drinking a lot of tea echinacea plus & Tulsi Sleep. these teas help me to relax a bit. Exercise has not helped much. I have increased my omega 3, but haven't seen any improvement. I also take a small drop of melatonin under my tongue before I go to bed. I don't think I ever had a brain zap, but did experience dizziness. I also take a B-12 supplement and make sure I get other B supplements too.

I'm 70 years old. I've been taking Effexor (venlafaxine) since 2003. I tried going off of it a few times and ended up right back on it. I'm taking 150mg right now and today will be my first day trying to weaning myself off again. I plan to take it very slow. My doctor suggests decreasing the dosage by 37.5 for a few months to see how that goes. I feel like that may even be too much too fast. I'm truly scared to death to do this knowing full well what I'm in for. My husband and I have our own business and its going pretty well. I hope that my withdrawal doesn't interfere too much with my work day. I've been reading many of these posts and no one has expressed how the withdrawal affected their jobs. Would be very interested to hear about that aspect.

I found another website that is helpful. It is: forums.webmd.com. There is information regarding taking Omega 3, ginger and eliminating sugar from your diet. I don't know how Omega 3's help in the withdrawal of effexor. I had a prescription renewal for venlafaxine. The pharmacy told me they had it ready for me and the cost for a 3 month's supply was $141. I refused the prescription. I was surprised at the cost, so when I got home, I checked the formulary from the insurance company. Venlafaxine was moved to a tier 4 - non-preferred drug. This makes me wonder if some part of the medical world has finally become aware of how dangerous this drug really is. Continue to research this most serious problem. We must speak out about the dangers of anti-depressants and demand the medical community use effective alternative treatments in treating depression. More research needs to be done on this complex problem.

Ty

Good luck

I have been weaning off this med now for about 5 yrs. I too was on 150mg and I took it slow, slow, slow. if your not on the XR you should be able to cut your caplets into quarters. That worked for me to slowly wean down of over a longer period of time. As for it affecting my work, as I weaned so slowly, I didn't notice any negatives from the weaning. As I have stated before, everyone's body and needs differ, so only you can know how the dosing down is affecting your behavior, attitude, thoughts, memory, etc. I hope the best for you as you start this journey and hope you find more clarity and happiness 🙂