Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Hi all,
Look what I got about meds. They talk about with drawing.
https://www.healthline.com/health/mdd/switching-antidepressants
Ronnie

@jaev69 Quitting Effexor (venlafaxine) cold turkey is not a good idea. Read article posted by grandmaR about changing/withdrawing from antidepressants — https://www.healthline.com/health/mdd/switching-antidepressants

@jaev69 do not try cold turkey! I accidentally did last Xmas. I was at a friend's house and stayed over longer than planned. So after two days without my meds, I thought I was dying. I had to beg my friend to drive me home on Xmas day because I could barely move. I didn't even quite realize it was withdrawal - I just wanted to die in my own place. Cold turkey should not be considered an option unless you're down to at a tiny dose, certainly not at 150mg.

Save yourself a lot of suffering and taper down slowly.

Hi all!
Well, it is my turn. I am going to start weaning off Effexor beginning tomorrow.
I currently take 2-75 mg in the morning and evening. I cut one pm in half. I will take 1-1/2 at night, every other night. I take the regular dosage alternate night and every morning. I will do thia AT LEAST 2 weeks, but probably longer. If I have a horrible time with that half of one pill, I will cut only 1/4.
It is NOT my goal to go off Effexor totally. It's my goal to get down to either 75 twice in the am and pm. I plan to stay steady at that level. I might possibly go to 37.5 if I feel I am doing well.
Please wish me luck and keep me in your prayers. I will keep you up to date.
Ronnie (GRANDMAr)

@grandmar
Hi Ronnie,
I’m wishing you the best of luck reducing your dose Ronnie. Personally I wouldn’t cut your dose by so much at a time but hopefully all will go smoothly.
Counting on hearing good news from you.

@shaker1956
Hi Shaker
How goes the battle? I suspect not all that well cause you have not been on line posting words of wisdom! Just wanted you to know that the good thoughts are still coming across the ether (is that a word? or is it the cloud? I am not a techie- can you tell?) to you and I am hoping you are hanging in there and not feeling too rotten! Let us know when you are up to it,
Best wishes
Ainsleigh

Hi Ainsleigh. How are things. Yes its a little rough going through this. Seems you talk about it a lot. You run into people you know and they ask how ur feeling. Its all part of life I guess. I have been doing the CBD thing as well as having the odd puffof the medicinal junk. It does help with a variety of things. Especially appetite. I go for my third infusion next tuesday and wed. Three more to go after that. I’ll know more on monday when I go in for my consult. Fingers crossed!!!!! Have a great evening.

Just a note for everybody regarding Effexor - I've discovered that I can get a compounding pharmacy to turn 30mg caplets into 15 or less mgs.
The crappy thing is that I have to pay for it (about 100.00 for 30 pills) but it's totally worth it considering the shit storm it is getting off this stuff. Some people here had referenced getting a pill form to cut up but it isn't available according to my pharmacy (in Canada). I also discovered that very few compounding pharmacies will do this type of work but I did find one. It will be well worth it.

@jaev69
Hi,
You mentioned “how bad could going cold turkey be.” VERY BAD, you definitely don’t want to find out. Stopping Effexor cold turkey has caused seizures, hospitalizations, permanent disabilities and even death. I wish I never found out how bad going cold turkey could be. At 15 I was having so many seizures daily I stupidly felt why not stop my anti-convulsants since the’re obviously not helping, how wrong I was. I quit all my seizure medication. I ended up in the hospital in Status Epilepticus and was put into an induced coma for over 2 months. When the doctors woke me up, every second of those 15 years was gone and those memories never came back.
If there is an expert on getting off Effexor they are hiding very well. A couple researchers have mentioned decreasing Effexor by 5-10% every 2-6 weeks. Also, you have been on this a long time and the longer you’ve been taking it the slower you should take to reduce it. The manufacturer never studied going off it so no one has any dose reduction charts. Do you really believe it’s worth the potential risks involved. I don’t think you do, I believe your smarter than that. There are many people on this thread who went cold turkey and who regretted doing it, others went back on on their meds to get some relief. When did you start feeling bad? Didn’t you ask your doctor why s/he felt a 100 percent increase in your medication was necessary instead of titrating it up slowly?
Please decrease your medication very slowly. I want to read another success story.
Best of luck,
Jake

@jakedduck1 "If there is an expert on getting off Effexor, they are hiding very well."--No kidding. I live in the DFW Metroplex and have not found one. My husband's company has a service called Best Doctors that I approached for a referral and help with Effexor withdrawal symptoms BACK IN JULY--still waiting.