@mmsm, I know this is an old post, but I’m going through the Effexor withdrawal process now—and this forum seems very helpful to hear others have a hard time with this too. If anyone out there is still getting notifications from this thread—I’d love some more insight.
I’ve been on Effexor on & off for over 16 years. I have tried several other psych meds, and Effexor always worked the best for me with the most tolerable side effect trade-offs, so I kept getting put back on it. I was hospitalized a few years ago when my depression hit a scary low. I expressed while there that environment would’ve been a good setting to finally come off of Effexor (since the weaning process is SO challenging) & try something else, but my psych MD chose to increase my dose & add Buspar instead (the latter didn’t help, but the increased dose stabilized me enough to be discharged a week later). Fast-forward to 2025: I have since been on 225mg Effexor since, and recently encountered a huge shift in depression & anxiety following my gyno taking me off of birth control when I started experiencing perimenopause symptoms a few months ago. The change in hormones did not resolve my hot flashes, mood swings, night sweats, or weight gain (all that’s still there)—but it did shatter my mental health. I found a new PCP who has decided to wean me off of Effexor while simultaneously introducing Prozac and I’m feeling pretty awful. It’s a slow taper: I’m taking 187.5 mg this week while adding 10mg of Prozac, then am supposed to reduce to 150mg next week +prozac, then eventually go up to 20mg on Prozac while I keep lowering Effexor. I feel truly awful, despite this gradual change. I haven’t had the brain zaps yet (maybe bc of the Prozac offset)-but my mood swings, near-constant crying, severe headaches, and generally feeling like I have the flu every day has made it too challenging to keep one of my jobs. I am hoping to avoid hospitalization again because it will be pretty costly under my current insurance, but I also can’t just remain out of work for several more weeks or more—-I’m reading some of you say it took months to feel better/baseline again, and that scares me. Any tips for what I can do to keep from losing my mind and fully falling apart? Has anyone gone on disability to accommodate this very difficult medication change? I know I’m not alone here, and that’s somewhat comforting—but I don’t want to feel this way for several more months…I don’t think
I will make it without a higher level of support. Would super appreciate a response from anyone else who’s been through this. Sending hugs to you all. ❤️