Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

@shaker1956- So great to hear your news shaker!!!!! Wishing you and all your family a very Happy Healthy New Year!
Best wishes
Ainsleigh

@cwis I was on just 25mg for 18 years. Tapered off slowly and did fine for 6.5 weeks--then, kerbluey! That's when my body figured out it didn't have any more Effexor stored in nooks and crannies. At that point, it was too late to go back on any dose. It's been eight+ months since my last dose and although good days are outnumbering the bad, I'm still taking supplements to feel "normal"--Effexor is powerful stuff and if you're one of the ones to experience withdrawal symptoms, it can take a loooong time to get over.

@texasduchess

Keep in mind y’all have to remember the length you’ve been on it.
Good luck Tex,
Jake

@shaker1956- So great to hear your news shaker!!!!! Wishing you and all your family a very Happy Healthy New Year!
Best wishes
Ainsleigh

Hi everyone. I am currently on Venlafaxine anti depresant which i have been on for the past 6 week. I was on previously on it last year. But whenever i get a cold my antidepresants stop working and i am forced to try a new one. Although i have always been sensitive to antidepresants and they have always made me feel worse. I seem to have become really sensitive to how they make me feel. And to be honest i feel i would be better with out them. When i cut down on Venlafaxine i have the 37.5 tablets and take two then cut down a quarter of one tablet at a time. I can get down to approx 28mg with no bad effect but when i reduce to approx 19mg i get bad head tension, fatigue, unable to think clearly and the feeling of being spaced out. Im desparate to feel like myself. But i hate being on anything above 18mg because it makes me feel depressed and has effects on me that stop me leading a natural life. Is there anything i can do or take to counter this particular withdrawl reaction. Thank you

@cwis- Serotonin is one of many hormones that controls your appetite.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-antidepressant-diet/201007/reversing-antidepressant-weight-gain
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/expert-answers/antidepressants-and-weight-gain/faq-20058127
There are a lot of reasons that weight gain can take effect. When we are depressed some of us tend to eat more, move less. It's very common for me to say, "Oh what the hell" and eat everything in sight. The I get more depressed because I've gained weight. Also as we grow older our bodies change and we tend, especially after menopause, to gain weight because we have lost most of our estrogen.
So far there is not one cause yet accepted for weight gain while taking antidepressants. There are many theories but since the brain is so complicated it's yet a mystery.
Here's another site to help. Feel free to google more and please share with us your findings!

@jakedduck1 Yes, I would assume you'd reduce 5-10% (or less) from the current taper amount. Re length of time on Effexor--I didn't see very much mention of this (unless someone was just on Effexor for a few weeks, or days) re tapering--mostly it was dosage amount you were on and how to taper. The discovery that because I'd been on it for so long that it was stored in body fat came as a very unpleasant surprise as did finding out it messes with your brain chemistry. I didn't have to "ramp up" to the dose I was on and once I started taking it, I never felt any different than I had--except that it stopped my hot flashes from the first pill. At the time, I had had three surgeries in three weeks, then done six chemo treatments, started taking Tamoxifen and was undergoing daily radiation treatments--didn't have the bandwidth to even question, or look into Effexor--it eliminated one of the very annoying problems I was having from being treated for breast cancer and that was enough. I've said if I had known I would have the problems I've had because I quit Effexor, I would have stayed on it.