Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to stop taking Effexor, and I'll be honest, I'm angry. I was on 75mg, which doesn't seem like a lot learning what other people have been taking. I went down half a dose a couple of weeks ago, eased into by taking 75mg one day and 37.5mg the next for a few days (longer?). Then I stayed on 37.5mg for a few days and then I stopped. And my body aches, like my organs are being squeezed, and my brain is zapping and I'm shivering and sweating. And I'm angry. Because I went on Effexor after 11 years clean and sober because I was diagnosed with postpartum anxiety, and now it's like I'm an addict getting off a hard drug. How is this shit legal?!

I utterly refuse to take anymore because there is absolutely no way that I'm going through this a third time. This is more intense than the first change, but I'm stubborn. Have others done this? Will this truly take 1-2 weeks to pass? Longer? The physical symptoms the first time seemed to take about a week. I'm trying to work at the same time, though I went home early yesterday and stayed home today. I'm hoping that they will lessen by Monday (today is Friday).

I think I also need to stay away from sugar as that sees to make the zaps worse. I'm also finding it hard to keep a thought in my head. I'm also feeling out of control, so I'm hiding in my basement watching tv and eating. My kid is at school today so that is possible. Tomorrow will be different which I think is good. I think I might need to be more active with no stress (so no work). It would really be helpful to hear from others about their experience.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to stop taking Effexor, and I'll be honest, I'm angry. I was on 75mg, which doesn't seem like a lot learning what other people have been taking. I went down half a dose a couple of weeks ago, eased into by taking 75mg one day and 37.5mg the next for a few days (longer?). Then I stayed on 37.5mg for a few days and then I stopped. And my body aches, like my organs are being squeezed, and my brain is zapping and I'm shivering and sweating. And I'm angry. Because I went on Effexor after 11 years clean and sober because I was diagnosed with postpartum anxiety, and now it's like I'm an addict getting off a hard drug. How is this shit legal?!

I utterly refuse to take anymore because there is absolutely no way that I'm going through this a third time. This is more intense than the first change, but I'm stubborn. Have others done this? Will this truly take 1-2 weeks to pass? Longer? The physical symptoms the first time seemed to take about a week. I'm trying to work at the same time, though I went home early yesterday and stayed home today. I'm hoping that they will lessen by Monday (today is Friday).

I think I also need to stay away from sugar as that sees to make the zaps worse. I'm also finding it hard to keep a thought in my head. I'm also feeling out of control, so I'm hiding in my basement watching tv and eating. My kid is at school today so that is possible. Tomorrow will be different which I think is good. I think I might need to be more active with no stress (so no work). It would really be helpful to hear from others about their experience.

Thanks!

I'm replying only because of your reference to being clean and sober, which I was when I went on Effexor 25 years ago for depression. I don't remember what my initial dosage was, but I'd been at 150XR daily for quite a few years when I decided to taper off. Your taper was far, far faster than mine!! Mine took several months and I set up a schedule before I began. I counted the beads -- which a lot of posters on this site don't agree with, so I don't post about my experience anymore. It was extremely tedious -- but it worked!! My final dose was 5 beads/day for a week, so that tells you how tiny my final dose was, and I still had some effects during the process. I've been off since Oct. 1 and it's the best thing I've ever done except for getting clean and sober. During the taper I had some zaps, I slept hours and hours (or had insomnia!), I had bouts of rage, I felt like I was losing my mind -- but none of this was overwhelming because I was tapering slowly. (And I do think that for those of us who've had alcohol and/or drug problems, staying away from sugar is a very good idea. We don't process it well.) I also knew that what I was experiencing was withdrawal from a very powerful drug and I knew from my previous experience that whatever I was going through would be worth it. And it is! One day at a time you can and will get through this!!

Probably a couple of weeks (and they weren't major), with flashes every so often after that as my body continued to adjust. I kept reminding myself that my brain had been completely wired to that stuff and would take a while to re-wire itself. However, since my taper was a lot more gradual than yours, your side effects might be more intense for a while. I just kept reminding myself that it was ok -- normal, in fact -- to be experiencing what I was experiencing and that it would pass. Which it has. Hang in there!

@ainsleigh
How long after you reached zero did you continue to have side effects?

Hi danalee
I have never taken Effexor (thank goodness)-think you have me mixed up with someone else.
Good luck!
Aainsleigh

@kbmayo
It’s been 3 weeks and I’m feeling irritability, depression and anxiety (complete with the physical symptoms of anxiety). My husband is my best friend but I’m afraid of ruining my marriage. Every day I wake up thinking today will be a good day. Unfortunately I’m usually wrong.

I'm so sorry you're having such a rough time. The only suggestion I have is that you google something to the effect of vitamins/minerals/natural aids to help detox from venlafaxine. I did that, and took Vitamin D3, Vitamins B6 and B12 and folic acid, turmeric, zinc, magnesium and my regular calcium. I took time-release melatonin to help me sleep. I mixed 1 cup of club soda with one tbsp of natural apple cider vinegar and one tbsp of honey to help flush out my system. I drank turmeric tea, I added fresh ginger -- grated -- to as many things as I could. I've read posts by other people who used other natural supplements that help with anxiety and depression. I tried to walk 20-30 minutes a day. I watched movie comedies and reruns of TV comedies -- anything that would make me laugh (the physical act of laughing releases good compounds in the body) plus it got me at least temporarily out of a funk. I watched my caffeine and sugar intake pretty carefully. I ate lots of yogurt to help keep my blood sugar from plummeting. And I took epsom salts baths, especially with lavender epsom bath salts. They relaxed me and helped my muscles relax. It's a bitch that we need to create a whole self-care regimen for ourselves to get through this, but I had to do it -- and it did help. As far as worrying that you're ruining your marriage by going through this and the process taking longer and being harder than you'd hoped, flip it around: if your husband were going through something like this, would you be hanging in there with him and having extra patience and tolerance? I'm guessing the answer is yes.