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Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)
Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: 4 days ago | Replies (6299)Comment receiving replies
I'm wondering where you found the information on the "change the extended nature" of the XR when the capsule is opened. In capsule forms the extended release is usually built into the bead coating -- the capsule disintegrates quickly. In tablets, where the extended release is built as a combination of coating and/or structures to the tablet (laser drilled holes or a gel matrix) - then one definitely changes the absorption rate if the tablet is broken in half or crushed. It's one of the reasons why there has been such a push to make opioids "tamper proof" - can't crush em and smoke/snort or inject them.
It's a minor point - and I agree that a bridge is an option for people...and bead counting is tedious - and difficult to do correctly every time.
Replies to "I'm wondering where you found the information on the "change the extended nature" of the XR..."
@youngsally
Whether the extended nature of the drug is in the gelatin capsule, or in the beads within--
Saw this at drugs.com re how to take Effexor XR capsules--"Swallow whole. Do not chew, break, or crush. You may sprinkle contents of long-acting product on spoonful of applesauce. Do not chew. Swallow the mixture right away. Do not store for use at a later time." This sounds to me as though the capsule is not important; what is important is that you let the beads dissolve in your digestive system.
Re bead-counting and why it is not a reliable tapering method and difficult to do--
From a Reddit post by u/tacomaprime and 37.5mg capsules--"I emptied the beads out of 7 capsules, 1 at a time and counted them. They were between 93 and 106 beads in each capsule." And this on survivingantidepressants.org by FeralUrban--"Effexor capsules do not contain the same amount of medication by weight in each capsule. The beads are all different sizes, as noted by others on this site and therefore inherently impossible to accurately reduce by 10% since you could be removing a bead that weighs three times as much as another bead, etc. [The] Pfizer Medication Help line [told him,] 'The capsules are filled by weight, not by volume. Ranges are validated with in an allowable variance.' The actual weight variability of each 37.5mg dosage of brand name Effexor is at least 3.5%, meaning if you take out 10% you could actually be taking out 13.5% or 6.5% and be bouncing your dose all over the place."
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I did read this somewhere and felt that it was unusual also. I read that the physical container for all the little capsules had the time release properties not the individual capsules themself. If someone on this forum would provide accurate information that would be great!