Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Hi everybody. I'm happy to have found this forum. I'm also weaning off Effexor and I heard the horror stories about the process. I was feeling pretty confident when I went from 300mg to 225mg to 150mg. I have been doing this under my doctor's care and was surprised how easy it has been. Until now. I'm now at the 75mg mark and it has been horrendous. The third day in I started to feel a lot of vertigo, weird brain zaps and lack of coordination. It got so uncomfortable I started taking 150mg again for a couple days. I wanted to try it again so have stuck out the 75mg for about 2 weeks. I thought I had the flu last week when I started having a nauseous "car sick" feeling that kept me pretty home bound. This feeling has only gotten worse over the last week. Horrible headaches, diarrhea, I feel like I'm in slow motion if that makes sense. I feel edgy like I want to jump out of my own skin. It's extremely unsettling and quite honestly, I'm scared. I feel like I may lose control. I'm not sure how to describe it properly, almost like I'm fearful the withdrawals will get so bad it will overcome me. I'm near tears writing this because I really must get off this med since it's been 15 years and doctors have told me this is basically ineffective in mood disorders (bipolar 2).

I did call the doctor today who was not in. Hoping to hear tomorrow. Anyone have any wisdom on a time frame or coping methods to get through this?

I'm curious why such a drastic shift from the 150mg to 75mg. Has anyone alternated 150mg and 75mg for awhile? I'm willing to push through this if there's hope here. I don't want to have to take this med the rest of my life just to avoid the withdrawals.

Anyone successfully off completely that can send a bit of motivation my way? This is horrible. Not sure if I can pull this off. I'm trying!

Hi everybody. I'm happy to have found this forum. I'm also weaning off Effexor and I heard the horror stories about the process. I was feeling pretty confident when I went from 300mg to 225mg to 150mg. I have been doing this under my doctor's care and was surprised how easy it has been. Until now. I'm now at the 75mg mark and it has been horrendous. The third day in I started to feel a lot of vertigo, weird brain zaps and lack of coordination. It got so uncomfortable I started taking 150mg again for a couple days. I wanted to try it again so have stuck out the 75mg for about 2 weeks. I thought I had the flu last week when I started having a nauseous "car sick" feeling that kept me pretty home bound. This feeling has only gotten worse over the last week. Horrible headaches, diarrhea, I feel like I'm in slow motion if that makes sense. I feel edgy like I want to jump out of my own skin. It's extremely unsettling and quite honestly, I'm scared. I feel like I may lose control. I'm not sure how to describe it properly, almost like I'm fearful the withdrawals will get so bad it will overcome me. I'm near tears writing this because I really must get off this med since it's been 15 years and doctors have told me this is basically ineffective in mood disorders (bipolar 2).

I did call the doctor today who was not in. Hoping to hear tomorrow. Anyone have any wisdom on a time frame or coping methods to get through this?

I'm curious why such a drastic shift from the 150mg to 75mg. Has anyone alternated 150mg and 75mg for awhile? I'm willing to push through this if there's hope here. I don't want to have to take this med the rest of my life just to avoid the withdrawals.

Anyone successfully off completely that can send a bit of motivation my way? This is horrible. Not sure if I can pull this off. I'm trying!

I have reduced from 150mg to 75 mg about 6-7 weeks ago and are still having withdrawals. My Nurse Practioner wants me to be withdrawal free before reducing to 37.5 mg.
I read that it takes 2-4 weeks to get through the symptoms. Has anyone else had symptoms this long? Sometimes I feel very confused and can’t concentrate.

I have reduced from 150mg to 75 mg about 6-7 weeks ago and are still having withdrawals. My Nurse Practioner wants me to be withdrawal free before reducing to 37.5 mg.
I read that it takes 2-4 weeks to get through the symptoms. Has anyone else had symptoms this long? Sometimes I feel very confused and can’t concentrate.

So I ended up making the decision to come of the Venafalaxine! Best decision ever! I have been constantly taking my CBD oil and I have never felt better! I have not taking any meds for 2 whole days and this is the first time in over a year! I am feeling fantastic right now because of it! I highly recommend trying! To everyone struggling stay strong and don’t let anxiety get the best of you. Be open about it even if people don’t understand. It has been the best form of therapy for me plus the CBD oil ❤️

So I ended up making the decision to come of the Venafalaxine! Best decision ever! I have been constantly taking my CBD oil and I have never felt better! I have not taking any meds for 2 whole days and this is the first time in over a year! I am feeling fantastic right now because of it! I highly recommend trying! To everyone struggling stay strong and don’t let anxiety get the best of you. Be open about it even if people don’t understand. It has been the best form of therapy for me plus the CBD oil ❤️

Hi .... I've been taking Effexor for about 2 years now, and I'm usually very conscientious about taking all my meds. daily. Well, last Saturday I ran out, and because of the date of the month, I had only $1.00. I have not had any since last Saturday. Today was the first day I noticed anything at all ..... I felt dizzy and didn't feel I should be driving anywhere. My dear daughter went and picked them up for me, so about an hour ago I took one. I'm wondering why I didn't notice anything sooner ..... I sure expected to.
abby

So I ended up making the decision to come of the Venafalaxine! Best decision ever! I have been constantly taking my CBD oil and I have never felt better! I have not taking any meds for 2 whole days and this is the first time in over a year! I am feeling fantastic right now because of it! I highly recommend trying! To everyone struggling stay strong and don’t let anxiety get the best of you. Be open about it even if people don’t understand. It has been the best form of therapy for me plus the CBD oil ❤️

I wanted to pop into this community for personal support and to help others that are tapering off of effexor xr or venelafaxine.

I follow a strict Paleo diet and have eliminated or reversed 5 chronic, autoimmune diseases. Effexor is my final (12th) drug to get off of. It’s been a 3 year process and I’m thrilled to report I no longer have ulcerative colitis, ADHD, eczema, hypothyroidism and anxiety/depression. Most of the medications were easy to eliminate, but effexor has taken more planning and self care.

Last July (2017), I decided it was time to begin the tapering process. I was only taking 75 mg., but knew from the experience of accidentally skipping a dose, that I should not follow my doctor’s orders of getting off it in one month. After all, I had been taking it for nearly 18 years! So instead, I began by taking 10 beads out of the capsule.

I did ok, but it was a rough start. Thankfully it was summer and I didn’t need to be near my fifth grade students. I continued with the taper and got to 37.5 mg and settled there for a few months while preparing for my son’s wedding.

Since January 2018, I’ve been decreasing the dose by about 2 beads every other week. For the most part, this has been manageable, but I’ve had days where I’ve felt nauseated, dizzy and agitated. I’ve needed to be so careful in my job as 10 year olds do not deserve to be treated unfairly. So, that’s a big reason why I’ve taken this slowly.

Now it’s the following summer and just last week I went from 15 beads to 10 beads. I had a fairly good week until day 6, which was yesterday. I experienced hot flashes (not typical on a Paleo diet despite my age ~ 53 years), apathy, fatigue and the occasional brain zap. Today I do not want to function, but I don’t feel depressed or anxious ~ just unmotivated.

I’m slightly nervous about these last 10 beads. I intend to drop to 5 beads in 6 days, and then down to two and hopefully in a month, I’ll call it quits. But, I’m nervous about the final dose. The few dreadful experiences I’ve encountered are enough to make me nervous about the whole thing.

Anyhow, this endeavor will have taken me a solid year. But I feel the slow tapering was worth it for me. I am such a sensitive person and I don’t handle physical symptoms well. I know that my diet (no grains, sugar, pasteurized dairy, starches or legumes), has been a positive in all this and has probably made this transition easier than for some people. Nonetheless, my brain wants to be off this junk.

Definitely Omega 3 fats and high quality fish oil have proven to be helpful. These are part of my diet anyhow, so just upping the dose has proven beneficial. Hoping to rely on this during the final stretch.

I’ll write again when I totally get off it. Each time I dropped a few beads, my brain reminded me it was time for the next dose. Unsure what will happen when I eliminate it entirely. Would love any advice that anyone is willing to share.

So I ended up making the decision to come of the Venafalaxine! Best decision ever! I have been constantly taking my CBD oil and I have never felt better! I have not taking any meds for 2 whole days and this is the first time in over a year! I am feeling fantastic right now because of it! I highly recommend trying! To everyone struggling stay strong and don’t let anxiety get the best of you. Be open about it even if people don’t understand. It has been the best form of therapy for me plus the CBD oil ❤️