Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

I was given effexor xr one time and it made me vomit which wasn't good because I am trying to gain weight! I reported it and the next night they put me back on something else but I haven't recovered and can hardly eat anything now. Can't imagine if I was to taper it off what I'd be like now.

@effexormom
I'll start off by saying I am not a doctor. On this site, other posters and I have related our experiences in getting off Effexor and what we've learned. There's no tried and true formula for getting off Effexor; doctors and the rest of us here are just guessing. You can click on anyone's name and read their posts.

You don't mention how long you've been on Effexor, nor at 150mg. If you've only been off for four days, it is unlikely that you are all that far down the road to getting off the drug--for most, it takes a lot more time than this.

Suggestion 1–Since it has only been four days since you stopped, you will probably get relief from your troubling withdrawal effects pretty quickly by taking Effexor again at your last dose. Taking 31 beads is unlikely to be helpful. You mentioned that you want to quit, or at least reduce your dosage. The overall recommendation on this site is to go slow … very slow. You should stay at 150mg for a while (weeks) AND be sure your withdrawal symptoms have gone away before tapering down to not so big a drop (10%, or less reduction). All your tapers should be spaced out and each reduction small.

Suggestion 2–Can you contact your doctor and get a response quickly? If so, ask your doctor for Prozac. Some folks get relief by taking a single 20-milligram (mg) dose of Prozac. Your symptoms will likely go away within a few hours. And because of Prozac's long half-life, you won't have withdrawal symptoms after taking that one capsule. Some may need to take a second 20mg dose of Prozac. Google "Prozac bridge."

Other things to help with W/D effects
Ben*dryl (diphenhydramine), an over-the-counter allergy medication, for brain zaps and Dram*mine/Bon*ne, seasickness OTCs, for nausea, dizziness and light-headedness. Long-term, many find fish oil helpful (helps the brain heal).

If you want to taper Effexor
"To make drops in your dosage easier, get a liquid formulation of your antidepressant. If need be, demand your doctor specify a liquid prescription. Your local pharmacist can source a liquid form of almost any drug. Reduce by a comfortable amount in weekly steps. This may mean reducing as little as 1 mg per week and being prepared to stop and stabilize if things get too difficult."--Rxisk

A compounding pharmacy may be available in your area to help with making lower dosages. You need a prescription and this service may be costly.

@effexormom you should be fine to reinstate since it's been less than 10 days since your last full dosage. When you are stable and ready to decrease, it's not necessary to have a liquid, you can remove beads to get the dosage you want. I can only imagine how scary it was for you to realize that you were having withdrawal after running out of your meds. This happened to my sister and she decided that she would never taper, that she would just accept being on the medication for the rest of her life. It's an individual decision, but for me, I just can't be so dependent on a drug that I feel never did me any good anyway. You will find a lot of support here! Glad that you are here.

when i was tapering, i sometimes felt like i was disconnected from myself, especially from my body, and i felt like my mind was off in the ozone somewhere. the only loss of control i experienced was being really quick to anger -- rage, almost. much of the time i felt sort of loose, if that makes any sense -- kind of like i was fuzzy around the edges. one of my anxiety books describes depersonalization and derealization as symptoms of anxiety, which makes sense to me, since anxiety has lots of symptoms besides feeling anxious, so i guess i experienced anxiety, too. i just figured that any weirdness i felt -- physical or mental -- was due to the tapering because my body had tremendous adjustments to make, so i more or less just noted them and continued on.
several months after my taper, depression and anxiety came back. i hoped they were discontinuation symptoms, but they didn't go away -- in fact, they got stronger -- so my doctor put me back on medication, but not effexor this time. i'm on wellbutrin 150mg xr and so far -- 2 weeks -- it's helping, but it sure isn't perfect. i can increase the dose to 300mg if i want, but i'm going to give it a while longer before i do that -- if i do it. things are better, though, and when depression hits or i get into a spiral of anxiety-inducing thoughts, i can challenge them and work to move on past them.
hope this helps. you definitely are not alone! hang in there and good luck!

Thank you very much kbmayo. Things are getting better now. I'm down to 37.5mgs now. But having alot of nauseous feelings, stomach hurts and high anxiety. Thank you for sharing your information with me. Makes me feel not so alone. 😃

@farmboy I did for one day during the worst experience I had - a year ago I was without it for 3 days. Confusion is a mild way of putting it! Really thought I wasn't going to make it.

It's okay to be confused and anxious - dealing with withdrawal is scary and unpleasant. We gotta give ourselves a break.

From this and your more recent post, it almost sounds like you're getting hit with withdrawal and the flu. It is flu season so take care of yourself. While it would be neat, I don't think withdrawal is making any of us immune to the flu. It's hard to tell with flu-like symptoms vs the flu so stock up on soup and herbal tea and get some extra rest either way.

@notaround- Excellent point. Thank you for posting this. Not everything is withdrawal symptoms. When you take mind altering drugs it changes your brain's chemistry. But other parts of you can get ill too. I know that it might seem impossible to tell the difference but it's best to check with a doctor that all of your physical symptoms are being taken seriously.

@coloradogirl Thanks for the info. I was on 225 mg for many years and decided to try to taper off and was able to drop quickly to 75 mg with no issues. When I tried to cut that in half I started to experience symptoms like body pain, fogginess and impatience. I'm not sure if this is a brain zap but I hear what I describe as electronic claps in my head. I want to get off this drug if I am able to so I will take it very slowly. Reading your post has given me much hope for success. I'm almost at retirement age and would love to be free of the side effects of anti-depressants for the first time in 40+ years. I am taking "Mental Calmness" by Natural Factors to help with the slight elevation in anger I have been experiencing. Maybe this would be helpful to others. Cheers!

Thank you for your reply. Today has been a lot better. Less stomach aches and headaches. Pretty tired though.

I have been on Venlafaxine for 3 months now, initially moved onto it from Citalopram as I was feeling so low. Started on 37.5mg which was then increased to x2 37.5mg (one in the morning and one at night), I didn’t feel too bad but did have brain fog and now what I understand to be brain zaps! Then 2 weeks ago my doctor gave me a new prescription for one 75mg tablet a day and since then I have been like a zombie! Constant dizziness and feeling totally out of it! I finally plucked up the courage to speak to her again today to say I can’t carry on like this and she told me to just stop taking them! I asked if I should wean myself off them and she said there was no need and to try a holistic approach for my depression.
I’m in such a state and so worried about the withdrawal effects of this drug even though I’ve not been on it that long. Should I just stop taking it like she says? Is that safe!?