← Return to Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Discussion
Comment receiving replies
@texasduchess

@notaround Don't beat yourself up! You are not a failure--this is a tough drug to get off of. You've just gone too fast: two weeks at 37.5mg is not that long and dropping from there to zero is a STEEP drop. Call your doctor NOW for a refill without waiting for an appointment. Ben*dryl and Dram*mine can help your withdrawal symptoms.

If you get more pills, you can try this method to taper from 37.5mg--you dissolve your dose in juice and not drink all of it. "Venlafaxine (Effexor) can be tapered … with approximately 1% dosage reduction every 3 days. Stahl (a prescriber’s guide–Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology) recommends dissolving the tablet in 100 mL of juice, discarding 1 mL and drinking the rest. After 3 days, 2 mL can be discarded, etc."–https://www.mdedge.com/psychiatry/article/103869/depression/venlafaxine-discontinuation-syndrome-prevention-and-management

The dissolve-in-juice method mentions reducing by 1mL, but you can control the taper as you wish by discarding a different amount and reducing at a different interval. Just don't bounce around all over the place–slow and steady wins this race.

Jump to this post


Replies to "@notaround Don't beat yourself up! You are not a failure--this is a tough drug to get..."

@texasduchess has a good tapering suggestion.
Her post, I believe is on page 197.
Atta girl Tex,
Jake

Definitely going to go the dissolving route if I can't get a proper taper. Made a doctor's appointment. Thankfully I have enough pills to last me till then (not skipping a day). I only tried that because I felt ready to step down again. Two weeks seemed to have been enough to step down to 37.5mg. I just got new insurance so I'll ask them about compounding pharmacies.

It was the drop to nothing that did it. I guess juice will go on my shopping list, along with a graduated cylinder. Feels a little bit like I'm planning to make drugs lol. Hopefully it dissolves nice and evenly so I don't have to try to swallow a paste. It's why I find vitamin powders gross - the gritty stuff at the bottom of the glass that is important but hard to get it all.