I think I am at the tail end of the withdrawal. Now with only occasional dizzy spells, nausea or nightmares. Starting to feel like myself again but emotional a lot yet. That’s different than “my” depression. Regardless, I’ve made sure anyone I care about refuse to EVER take Effexor and state they are allergic to it. This needs removed from the shelves and is detrimental to the health of Americans. BAN EFFEXOR.

Hi, @fussellp -- welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I think you will find quite a few members have had experiences like yours with getting very ill when coming off of venlafaxine (Effexor), like @mkmenge, @lukekee, @lager09. .

Sounds like @nancy3756 is almost off of the venlafaxine at this point, and @carmel0corn @nanke99 @efexnot have completed their tapers, to the best of my knowledge.

Hoping these members who have experienced difficult side effects when tapering and/or who have completed their tapering processes may have some input on how to ease the symptoms. @gailb may also have some thoughts.

What side effects are the most bothersome to you right now, @fussellp?

@fussellp - Hello! I am day 3 post-venlafaxine (but who is counting, right!!? 🙂

Thanks so much for sharing and I am so sorry that you are going through this. I am not only an ex-venlafaxine-user, but also a prescriber. Mea culpa for prescribing venlafaxine for hot flashes, too. The literature (scientific studies) are very positive about using venlafaxine for this purpose, and I remember feeling excited for having found an alternative to hormone therapy for hot flashes and perimenopausal symptoms. It is true, as you have noted that venlafaxine does work in this regard, HOWEVER, and this is a really big HOWEVER, venlafaxine therapy does have its consequences that I personally know about all too well. In the future, I will rarely prescribe it for this purpose anymore, and now only after very carefully screening the patient and after thoroughly educating them on the consequences. I am uniquely qualified to provide this education now...

With respect to easing the symptoms of withdrawal, I posted some proposed pharamacotherapeutic options you may wish to discuss with your prescriber - that post is currently on page 39 [someone please tell me how to make those cool short Mayo links...] (https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment-redirect/100402) The options I mention come with their own consequences, so be very careful. For non-pharmaceutical relief, I encourage you to talk sincerely with loved ones about what you are going through, and try to stay very busy with positive activities. e.g. I am currently distracting myself by building and caring for a garden, The best thing for this, I think is simply time. Every day is another day closer to your goal.

Hang in there, and thanks again so much for sharing!

Hi, @efexnot -- thanks for this helpful info for @fussellp.

I'd you'd like to copy the link for a specific post on Mayo Clinic Connect, click on the bookmark symbol under the post (by "Manage" and the heart, for "like"). You will note that one option is to copy the link address. Choose that option and you'll be able to refer members right to that exact post.

If you wish to have a shorter, less ungainly link address, go to bitly.com (or other similar online tool) and use its link shortener. We shorten our links often.

Hi @lisalucier, ohhhhhh! I figured out what I was trying to do - it is actually billy.com that generates the sexy https://mayocl.in/blahblah style links. I would delete this post, but unfortunately, my only option is to 'edit' it. So... I'll leave it at that. Thanks so much for your help.

No worries, @efexnot. I would add that you do have the option of editing your Connect posts for 30 minutes after you write them. So, if you ever feel the need to do that, you can.

Your suggestion for venlafaxine (Effexor) withdrawal of talking sincerely with loved ones about what you are going through (especially if you feel confident they'll be understanding) is a good one. A challenging withdrawal without people pulling for you and looking out for you would indeed be much harder.

Guessing you set up some sort of support system for yourself, or just alerted a couple people close to you, when you started your withdrawal? If so, how did that go?