Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Hi
I am not sure. If you read through some of the posts you might get an idea or I am pretty sure someone will read this and give you some advice.
Just to be up front, I pnly tried to come off about 7 years ago but went back on. Ihave some heavy duty things going on so I won't try to come off now. When things calm down, it will be my turn. O will talk with my psychiatric doctor who monitors my meds. One thing O learned from before is to take it VERY slowly. My plan, is to take even a year or more, if needed.
Best of luck!

This sucks! I was put on Venlafaxine for menopause issues/symptoms (I resisted for a long time but finally gave in). The memory issues, weight gain, and horrible feeling if I missed a dose has made me determined to now be off the meds. I've been tapering very slowly for 5 months (-1 to -2 mg per day). Once I hit about 15mg/day the withdrawal symptoms were so bad that I've been staying at that dose - I"ve been in really bad shape for about a month now - sometimes get an hour or two a day where I feel OK, but the rest of the time miserable in bed (vertigo, nausea, dry heaves, exhaustion, body aches, agitation, moving around is super slow motion, etc). My doc is not helpful at all - tells me there is nothing to help, and looked at me like I had 5 heads when I told him how slowly I was tapering (he would have tapered me off in 3 weeks). I've been following some of the tips on this forum (fresh air, fresh ginger, lots of water, Benadryl & have been using CBD oil to no avail). I'm now wondering if I should go back to my doc and request a prescription for Prozac to help, or if there is something else more natural that might work - I want my life back!

Hi, @taylorwatkins13 -- just wanted to let you know that I've had the experience before personally of tapering off of an antidepressant with a schedule given to me by the doctor years ago, and it turned out to be too fast. I ended up feeling super awful and knew I was in a bad place, and I had my husband take me to urgent care. I was given an anti-anxiety medication to take for the short-term over the weekend, and my tapering schedule was adjusted.

I think that my experience was no one's fault, as it was a common tapering schedule (adjusted for my dosage, height, weight, etc.), but I think that it just speaks to the differences in people's bodies and their metabolisms, etc.

So, your doctor could adjust your tapering schedule or add another medication for a bit, or perhaps another strategy. I'd certainly advise talking to him or her, as they would want to provide help if the tapering is not going well.

My Dr only gave me 6 days to ween off effexor er and then start 40 MG of Cymbalta because I have a lot of pain and this antidepressant is know to help pain by day 2 of no effexor I was so very sick physically and mentally my head was spinning nausea pressure on my ears sedative to certain sounds just not a good feeling at all so I called him he took me off Cymbalta and put me on 10 MG Lexapro that was June 8th I have had so many things and feelings since this getting less but still a struggle of course everyone is different but as many have said take as much time to ween as your body and mind feel fit in my personal opinion my anxiety is worse then it's ever been good luck thinking of you all

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You mentioned having multiple spells yesterday. How are you feeling today?

I started the tapering months ago. It was going pretty well. Any time I would go down in dosage I would feel pretty tired the first two days but it would level out and I’d feel fine. But for some crazy reason, going from 12.5 mg to nothing is messing me up so bad. I guess my body is in shock from not having anything in my system for the first time in several years? I don’t want to go back on it. I want to tough it out and be done with it forever. I just don’t want these withdrawals to last months. I can’t do months of this. I have decided to have a friend drive me to urgent care later. My doctor can’t see me today. I hope they can do something for me. I live on a military base and go to a naval hospital for care and they are quite passive.

@taylorwatkins13 -- I think that's a good plan to have your friend take you to urgent care. Good to also have a friend in the loop and looking out for you during a tapering process, since it can be a bumpy road.

Will you post an update on how it goes?

@jbf15324

Yes, since you've been struggling with the nausea, dry heaves, etc. for a month, you should see your doctor. Others have been put on Prozac to help their withdrawal symptoms. They have said the Prozac is much easier to withdraw from when they're ready. Sorry to hear that despite your long withdrawal time, you're still struggling. Doctors just don't understand how long it takes to get off any drugs they haven't taken themselves. Pharmacists are far better at helping withdraw as drugs are their area of expertise. You might want to ask your pharmacist if Prozac or some other medication would be helpful to take while you're getting off Effexor, and then let your doctor know. I'm hoping the best for you. Please keep in touch with us and let us know how you're doing and what's working or not for you.

Gail
Volunteer Mentor

I just wanted to give my update. First of all, thank you very much for the support!! I was so grateful that I have so many people out there who could understand what I was going through. Anyway so I spent that weekend in my bed fighting with nausea, headache, and dizziness. As many of you mentioned that it was too fast for me to quit taking Effexor and I agree..but I just did not want to take this med in my system anymore. By the middle of following week my nausea got much better and headache stopped. Right now my only issue is having light headed feeling here and there. My hot flashes and night sweats are back but I think I will find natural way to deal with it. I am planning to back to my exercise routine and better diet! Thank you very much for the support! And if you are going through withdrawal good luck. I hope you can beat it!!! Thank you!!

FYI Effexor is not the only drug that causes withdrawal For me Xanax was horrible when I missed 3 days MD had NOT warned me about that