Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

I’m new on this site, and have been reading the symptoms. I am now 7 days out with no Effexor and my symptoms seem to be getting worse instead of better. I do not want to go back on Effexor as I had no emotions at all when taking it. I was at 225mg for 10 years. I tapered down slowly. But these symptoms are horrible. When will they subside?! I’m experiencing brain zaps, anxiety when trying to sleep, sweats then freezing and now flu like symptoms with no energy.

@babydoll
My guess and it’s only a guess but sounds like you may not have tapered slowly enough. It sounds like typical withdrawal symptoms to me based on many people’s accounts I’ve read over the past year. Since everyone seems to react differently there is no telling how long it will last. Sometimes weeks sometimes months. Doctors frequently have patients cut their dose by 50% which is to large a cut in most people. If you want the symptoms to stop you’ll need to ask your doctor about going back on it and restart your taper at a much slower rate or maybe the doctor will put you on another medication to help. There are also some vitamin supplements that have helped others. Other members know more about that than I do and hopefully they will be along to offer their experiences.
Getting of these medications is not easy or quick.
Wishing you the best of luck.
Blessings,
Jake

@babydoll- I agree with jake. I think that you have not tapered slowly enough to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Did you see this article? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/health/depression-withdrawal-drugs.html.
I know what you mean about no emotions. I felt like that for over a year when my dr. put me on Prozac. I use to sit on the couch an just stare! However, if you don't want to deal with your symptoms right now you will have to make a choice, put up with the Zaps or go back on effexor until you can get off of it safely. Please let us know how you do!

@jakedduck1 @merpreb
Thank you for responding. I have talked to my doctor about Prozac to help relieve my symptoms. I just cannot go back on Effexor. Brain Zaps I can handle, the anxiety and mood swings and flu like symptoms with no sleep is hard for me. I will let you know what happens. Thank you for the encouragement. I really thought symptoms would have eased by now.

@babydoll- When this group first began in 2016 @coloradogirl posted many suggestions to help withdrawal. These might help you, or give suggestions to others:

Posted by coloradogirl @coloradogirl, Wed, Nov 2, 2016 3:34pm

So, I just finished this process with Zoloft (sertraline) and here are some things that worked for me. Your mileage may vary, but hopefully these are low risk for you to try.

1) You may need to ask your doctor for a slower tapering program than other patients. Some people are just more sensitive to dosage changes. Be aware that symptoms will get better, then may reappear each time you taper. AAFMA (practice group of family physicians) says that the symptoms typically last 1-2 weeks and as long as 4 weeks, so I just kept reminding myself that it was temporary.
2) Be watchful for things that make your symptoms worse. For example, caffeine seems to trigger the brain zaps for me (still, even after being off for several weeks), so I cut back my caffeine intake. I didn’t give it up completely (because I still need to function), but cut back on how much real coffee I was drinking, mixed decaf with regular, and switched to tea sometimes. In the end, I probably cut my daily caffeine intake in half, and it did help quite a lot.
3) Ibuprofen or other pain reliever can help with the flu-like body aches.
4) Benadryl helped with the brain zaps.
5) Exercise helped with both. Even if I wasn’t up to a run, a few blocks of walking would settle down the symptoms for a while at least. (Then, when they come back, just take another walk. We took a lot of walks for a while there).
6) Get enough sleep. As I came down off the meds, my normal sleeping patterns returned, which was great, but it did mean that I needed to plan time to let my body rest.
7) Pay attention to your diet. Your brain uses carbs to make seratonin, so now is not the time to go on the Atkins diet. Eat well and make sure you’re getting enough healthy carbs. You may crave sweets; I certainly did. I tried to counteract this by having bananas, graham crackers, and other healthy things I could snack on instead of sticking my head in a birthday cake like I seemed to want.

babydoll I was going through the exact same thing the past two weeks. Try to listen to everyone's advice on here. They really know what they are talking about!! Trust me they literally saved my life this past week. The people on here are very carrying and understanding. I was going through the same thing as you, tapering down way to fast. It took the people on here awhile to convince me I was better off to go back on to the effexor and start over again later. I know it's not what you want to do but at least think about it.

@farmboy and everyone else, I am so glad you are doing well and coming with going back on effexor. It is challenging to go back on any med you 'wanted' to get off of, and I think you and that er doc are doing the right thing for you in restarting! As we have all seen here, mileage may vary, and everyone has a different response and experience, so I am happy for you that you are able to begin a better way for you to manage your dosing/taper. It was very very hard for me, emotionally, to go back on effexor after my withdrawal reactions years ago, I just had to manage my conditions and my meds in a way that made sense (and safety) for my family And for me. I am so very happy I have found this group before I begin my tapering to get off of this drug for good, I knew I couldn't handle large dose drops, and I was told that I must be the one reacting 'strongly' or weirdly, and now I KNOW not to let any doc to downplay any symptoms I may be having. Once I start, I will be the one in charge of the tapering, and I also will be showing my doctor's all of the evidence about withdrawal problems. Thank you again everybody. I feel so much more prepared to begin this next chapter, as the toll of this medication on my body is beginning to be too difficult for me to handle, and my other condition (MS) needs to be prioritized. I am not going into this next phase uneducated, and I will NOT allow myself to be intimidated!

So you may remember I posted last week re coming off Venlafaxine having been on a relatively low dose since end of Dec (37.5 then upto 75). I didn’t react well at all to the 75mg dose and my doctor told me to simply stop taking them! I had enough of my 37.5s to drop down for a few days but ran out on Weds so have been off them since then. I have been SO Sick since stopping!! Constant dizziness and brain zaps,nausea and sweating along with lots of crying. Spoke to the doc again Fri and she prescribed Stemetil for Virtigo which hasn’t helped at all and just made me sleepy! I can’t carry on like this....how long will this dizziness last!? I’m scared to drive and I’m due back at work tomorrow looking after preschoolers. My doc won’t prescribe any more tablets and if I’m honest I’d be too scared to take them anyway. Is there anything I can do to help me feel normal again!?!?!

@mimid0506
Im sorry to hear about your symptoms. Withdrawals can last from days (haven’t heard of that with Effexor) to weeks and over a year although probably rare. Some use Prozac to help.
If money is no object or you have insurance then maybe go to the ER or an acute or urgent care facility.
Good luck,
Jake

Thanks Jake, I’m in the UK so have the benefit of the NHS just seem to have a very dismissive doctor.