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Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)
Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: 3 days ago | Replies (6419)Comment receiving replies
Thank you for posting @Sabrina
The idea of a compounding pharmacy is really a great one. It sounds like you're doing a lot to make sure that you're taking care of yourself. Sometimes feeling really sleepy is part of the taper process, as well as feeling down, and I think that going to bed was a really good choice you made. Sometimes sleeping through a lot of the hard stuff might not seem like it looks heroic to others, but it's not about how it looks, it's how you cope to make it through to the other side - and it sounds like you know yourself well enough to take care.
I think everyone's really different because the last dose I took was 37.5 on Aug 26 which is 17 days ago and I didn't have any withdrawal symptoms until Aug 28/29. I've been able to leave the house for a handful of hours each day but otherwise the nausea and brain flashes have kept me in bed / on the sofa. I can't even watch tv or netflix because the screen and movement makes the flashes worse. Some people have mentioned that exercise helps them but I feel more nauseous & get more brain flashes when I'm out walking and trying to get my body moving.
I've done much better by letting myself sleep a long time and when I feel tired, not forcing myself to stay away. Also soaking in warm baths, especially with a nice hot cloth over my eyes/forehead is really nice and keeps the brain flashes at bay for awhile. I haven't been hungry / able to stomach food until about 3pm in the afternoon, but I've tried to force myself to have a few crackers just to put something in my stomach earlier in the day if I'm up. Sugar has been really appealing (which is weird because I don't like sweets normally), so I've given into that a few times but the result is short term bliss and feeling more brain flashes later.
I took venlafaxine/effexor for 8 years for depression/anxiety. My whole taper schedule was not too well informed because my doctor basically just wanted to get me off it ASAP because my partner and I are trying to get pregnant, but if anyone cares to know:
225
187.5 (1 week)
150 (1 week)
112.5 (1 week)
75 (1 week)
37.5 (1 week)
0 (16 days so far. W symptoms started 2-3 days into 0)
Wishing you luck Sabrina. You can do this. 🙂
Replies to "Thank you for posting @Sabrina The idea of a compounding pharmacy is really a great one...."
@rockiesgirl9
Wow! That was a very aggressive tapering schedule. I took 2.5 months to taper off 25mg and am still having issues more than 4 months after my last dose. It's only the multiple supplements I am taking that have kept me together (you can click on my name and see past posts to read what I'm taking if interested). You can take fish oil, Ben*dryl and Dram*mine for your most distressing withdrawal symptoms. P*pto Bismol tablets are wonderful to suck on and let dissolve in your mouth to settle the nausea. Resting and the soothing soaks sound great, too.
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Thanks for replying rockiesgirl9. I’m fortunate that I’m retired so that I can nap anytime. I feel for those that have to cope with work and trying to get off these awful pills. How were you able to do it so fast? Did you suffer any depression? That’s what scares me the most. Since I’m not able to tolerate 90mg at the moment, I was told by the pharmacist to go back to 97.5 for another month. I’ve read that if you are having a difficult time at the start of the tapering, it means that you are having a relapse and may have to stay on the drugs forever. This really scares me.