Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

It may be a long time. Lots of threads in here about short and long term and I don’t think there is a golden rule of thumb with this drug.

It’s hard to know what neurochemistry has changed or changed permanently and how any underlying condition might resurface.

I’ve been tapering for over a year and know some things have definitely changed. But I also take a mood stabilizer for bipolar and discovered cognitive based therapy that gave me tools to identify and stop negative thinking.

You’ll find that people here have common symptoms and some that vary like flash anger. That goes to show the variation of how brains are dealing with the changes.

I’ve seen some postings about taking other meds or over the counters to counteract but that’s not something I get into because it’s pharmacology we’re talking about and that is the training of the psychiatrist. I would make a list of concerns, short and long term and present that to who is guiding your withdrawal and see if that makes better sense.

Stopped Effexor 150 cold turkey 5 days ago...this is unreal...but I know I'm not alone

Holy shit man....ya need to taper off it...be very careful with this process

Wow. Just wow. When I ran out of my 150 mg Effexor because I didn't renew my scrip in time, I was suicidal after 5 days. I sat on the floor of my house hunched up against the wall and wanted to die. When I finally 'fessed up to my boyfriend, he insisted I go immediately to my GP's office and get some samples from them. I did, and took one immediately when I got back to my car. BTW I'm pretty strong-willed, so for me to have gotten to that state in such a short time was very significant. Please be careful and do not be alone -- tell someone what you've done and what you're going through -- PLEASE!!

Yea please listen...dont do that to yourself...taper down....this is very dangerous for some of us. Tell someone for sure so they can keep a eye on ya

And remember it only takes a few hrs to get a dose going into effect if it gets too bad...but make sure you have them please

We need to ban together and sue Pfizer Corporation for this drug and the withdrawal. How many people have suffered because of this drug? It effected me 3wks after being given while in the hospital. 3wks and I almost committed suicide. I have been under doctors instructions to taper down...that was 6 months ago, I can say I'm effect free for 6 days and I'm making it. Minute by minute,second by second. It breaks my heart to see other people going through this. All because of a pill. A false hope. May your journey be a safe one and stay 💪

How long after your taper ended were you able to have the six days effect-free? Today was the last day of my taper and I'm wondering what I might expect. I've had very mild -- and tolerable -- zaps for the last few weeks of the taper and if they continue for a while, I think I can handle it, but I don't know what else might be coming. I anticipate that I may still be very tired, needing to sleep a lot, yet still needing a small dose of melatonin to fall asleep at night, and some of the irritability may continue. The reasons for the irritability are rather hard to diagnose, to be honest -- unfortunately for me, I follow politics far too avidly and the last few days -- Friday, especially -- have been some of the worst. They've also brought up strong memories that enrage me. At this point, everything is intertwined.

I still have the effects, I avoid all that stuff to only focus on myself,not the whole world right now. It's me time..ya know

I agree completely, but I'm a retired journalist and I haven't had the will power to detach, even though I know it would be far healthier for me, especially right now. I'm also involved in registering voters -- with a focus on high school seniors -- and that makes it harder to ignore. Currently I'm reading detective fiction set in Nazi and post-Nazi Germany and in North Korea, which helps to put things in perspective. When that doesn't help, I read about climate change, which makes all of this crap moot anyway!