Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

I've been on Effexor 150xr for about two years, after many other drugs failed. Before taking it, I had pretty bad OCD, slept only a few hours a night, and had severe anger and anxiety. I am now so sensitive to this drug that if I'm off by a few hours taking it, I start reverting back to my old self (which is very unpleasant for everyone involved). I once went four days without it and after two days of vomiting and dizziness, I spent the next two days doing random things with no caring, empathy, or remorse. It was awful. I have almost no signs of OCD now and I can finally go to a store by myself without sweating profusely and being very irritable. I want off of this but I still want to function!

Hello, @lisajill12073. Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Sorry your experience tapering off the venlafaxine (Effexor XR) was so horrible.

What symptoms were you experiencing when you went on the venlafaxine (Effexor XR) years ago? What made you decide to look for a new medication recently?

I’ve talked to my doctor about reading about the difficulty and symptoms of this medicine. His feeling if it’s working for someone then they probably need it and it’s working for them. He said he’s had people quit cold turkey and have no problems. But I think some people (like us on this site) have a sensitive system and these are side effects.
I was on 20 mg of Lexapro that didn’t seems to be working for severe anxiety, fear of being alone, crying, panic attacks in the middle of the night, turning all of this into depression and difficultly getting out of the bed. I was so worried about changing medication but knew something had to happen in hopes of feeling better he put me on Xanax morning and night and taking 150mg of Effexor once a day for 2 weeks. After one week I felt so much better. It was a huge turn around for me and I was able to actually think about other things I could do to make changes. I have done CBT and regular therapy. Exercise makes an amazing difference in how I feel. No sugar makes a big difference as well. I think the Xanax helping me sleep initially was huge. If I don’t sleep I am very emotional the day after so now I know that sleep is very important which I didn’t realize before.

So in realizing that this medication definitely helped me in the beginning I’ve been taking it for eight years I would like to go off of it completely or at least reduce the dosage. I didn’t realize this medication is hard on the liver which I guess all medications are but my doctor said he doesn’t worry about this medication and it’s long-term use. I only started having severe anxiety after having children. This is not been a lifelong struggle for me. Only since my 30s.
My struggle is trying to figure out if I should switch to a different medication or just know that this one works and continue taking yet. But I have also had side effects when I do miss it one time I feel like I’m in a bubble. Even though I have made great strides and even though I have made great strides and learned a lot and that’s why feel like I could manage without medication but really wondering if it’s a brain change and I’ll need the medication like any other disorder or disease. No other health conditions at all. Opinions??

Hello @poisonivy & to the group as well! I am happy to say I am completely off of the poison drug effexor. It has been almost two weeks now from my last dosage of one half of a 25 mg prescribed by a psych MD which I took for one week then off and on for 7 more days until I quit. I have experienced ALL of what you have experienced and more. I was on Effexor 150 mg since 2008 when I, by the suggestion of my doctor, decided to take the addictive drug effexor.
I am still having a FEW physical side effects left over from the withdrawal such as some insomnia, hot sweats, muscle cramps etc. and also some defined and EXTREMELY uncomfortable gastro/indigestion issues.that arrive whenever they please, including middle of the night, gas pain. Emotionally I am stabilized now with only a bit of emotional crying and much less anger than when going through the tapers. So the withdrawal symptoms are sometimes there but much lighter and nothing like it has been during tapering down times.
I believe this med has messed with my ENTIRE central nervous system. I am here to help. Please do heed advice from actual humans who have experienced this drug....not from people who have never even ingested it.
The drug will not be on the market much longer. People are writing about it globally. I just pray for the ones who start it. God Bless.....hang in there. The jest of it is...I was tapered to 75 mg and began immediately having horrid withdrawals on every level in August of 2015. I just thought I was sick with a disease or flu due to all of the symptoms. Went back up to my dosage of 150 it was so bad. After experiencing this, I made up my mind at that time that the goal would be to get off of this bad drug completely. I began again with tapering with psych MD in December of 2015. I have journals of all of it. And I highly suggest you keep a journal of all including doses, dosages, doc visits, and all of the symptoms both physically and mentally you have experienced throughout. After several months of tapering, I got down to 37.5 mg in December of 2016 and stayed there until I began tapering about three months ago with psych md again....with each taper came to the same exact symptoms, imagine that. My doctor gave me a script for 25mg Ven/Effex and 10mg of Prozac in February of this year....Immediately with the new taper same withdrawal effects and more symptoms physically, emotionally and mentally. I never took the Prozac and I have been using lots of otc medicines to help me get through nausea and gastro/digestive issues. I was feeling so angry and agitated off and on for months and weeks especially during each beginning of each taper down. Pepto Bismol for nausea and gastric...also Gas X, Tums, Dramamine...these as needed....I am taking the supplement 5HTP as has been suggested on other websites, a B Complex, calcium, multivitamins, and am eating lots of healthy food, Gatorade (G2), coconut water and regular filtered water... I actually am off the couch and out of bed and want to socialize and exercise. I am now not on anything prescribed.
I made it through and so can you.

Glad to hear you are off of it and doing well @lalyfa

I had many or all of these symptoms.......hang in there, take your time, patience... : )

Same same.....I dreaded getting off of work because between the insomnia, strange scary thoughts, and detailed nightmares......I was afraid to go to bed.....admittedly I did take a .05 mg RX of Lorazepam every once in awhile.....mostly I am drinking warm Almond milk now w a little honey or some chamomile tea before bed....also I have been taking Valerian Root or melatonin with the 5htp in it...really helps....now that I actually want to physically move....I can walk/exercise at night just a bit after dinner......soon I hope to be exercising in the early am again.......I have also taken benadryl to help with anxiety to help during the day also. I would rather be a bit tired than anxious.

It is EXTREMELY difficult to get off of Effexor and any real knowledgeable psych doc will admit it to you.....I do not take any antidepressants now and do not plan on it again after being on them for almost 25 years.....Effexor is the worst......In about 07 prior to being prescribed Effexor, I tried Welbutrin.....I now put it on my list of "medicines I am allergic to". I had horrible panic attacks within the first few days of taking it and therefore stopped taking it. That was me and my personal reaction to it.

Thank you fior sharing. Wellbutrin was the one I was considering changing to if I thought I still needed something.

So did any of the ones you tried work for any amount of time?