Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Hi there! Just FYI, I gave myself as long as it took to super slowly taper off of 37.5 MG. It took about 18 months with minimal side effects, but I still had them! Mostly tremendous head spins when I least expected it. Like bad! I had been in that low but necessary dose for almost 20 years. But since my hormones have changed (if you get my drift) I thought I was ready to try. Please go slow. And using the Prozac as a bridge is perfect! Just go easy on yourself. Sadly, I think the worst thing is to listen to some doctors who think you can just split the dose the. Split it then split it. All in a short period of time. Let your body tell you. And oh, okay in the dirt! Ha ha! (I had brought up the benefits of soil before...)

@mmesco I was able to work, well didn’t have a choice really, but I did not function 100% and my mood swings were horrible! But I made it over the hump. It won’t be easy, but you can do it!

@falon
In my personal opinion I think your being to aggressive in your thinking about getting off Effexor in three months or less. I hope your tapering off Clonazepam slowly enough so your not having any side effects when you start on the Effexor.
Jake

@jakedduck1 I have already been tapering off the clonazepam with horrendous side effects and I am not even close to half way there. I just hoped that the Effexor would be easier. Maybe not. Do the side effects tend to last for the duration of the taper as well as afterward? I've never done this before and I feel like I'm dying most days! I feel terrified.

I was in 75 of Effexor and I took a year to go off of it, and still had bad withdrawal. Please go slow

That's a high dose and I strongly recommend taking it slow. This is a very powerful drug and it takes our bodies and brains a while to adjust -- and when I say ``a while,'' I'm talking months. I know how much we want to be free of the drug once we decide to quit, but what we want and what our body needs can be very different!

@falon
Most importantly, there is no guarantee someone won’t go through withdrawal even if they taper slowly. However the slower you taper the less likely you are to have withdrawal and they are much less severe and don’t last as long. Symptoms are often worse at the completion of the taper. Withdrawal can last for weeks to months and have lasted over a year. But it depends on your own physiology since people react so differently to medications. One person here is reducing her medication by less than one half of one percent. @falon, the half life of Klonopin is 30-40 hours whereas Effexor half life is about 5 hours. That should tell you which drug will be easier to discontinue. I wish you would post what your current dose is and what your dose decreases were. Really curious???
I really hope you have access to a Compounding Pharmacy to help with your taper.
Jake

Hi everyone, I am new to this group and basically am not planning to get off of my venlafaxine yet, but having been on it for about 5 years at a 75mg daily dose after a left thalamus brain hemorrhage and experiencing the immediate withdrawal affects after only 2 days scares the heck out of me.

I am Alaskan Native and have worked in rural Alaska health care for 35 years I never imagined having to suffer such withdrawals. Living in a rural location without a road system relying 100% on air transport to receive my medicines has placed me in situations where I run out and have no choice, no other options. My providers did not warn me of the withdrawals prior to starting the medication so I relied on information from the internet to help first identify then live thru those withdrawals. Honestly if I had known then what I know now, I would have asked for a different treatment medication.

But, since I now know that I get severe withdrawal sxs after only 2 days I have gained much insight from all of you on how to avoid triggers and decrease some of the worst symptoms.

The worst has been the absolute flood of emotional non stop crying, the uncomfortable random brain "glitches", the horrible nightmares, the twitching and skin itching is insane. My teens who act like teens startle me into tears accidentally, the agitation and instability in balance and coordination. My nausea and vomiting until I feel a tingling prickling sensation on my chest which I take a peek at to see what I felt only to find angry looking red itchy lines fanned out from a central location scares me so much. That's only after missing 2 days of this medication, for which my provider tells me that the medications effects outweigh the withdrawals.

Please people choose wisely when offered treatment. In retrospect I was not in any position to weigh in on my treatment options at the time of initial intervention, it was my providers decision as my psychological and physical health did not allow me to think clearly.

Since my brain Injury I have changed my employment status 7 times, I am so thankful to function as I am today and I know that the Venlafaxine has really helped but the withdrawal is the worst medical condition I have ever dealt with, even worse than the brain hemorrhage itself.

Living my entire 55 years in rural alaska depending on our subsistence lifestyle to make ends meet, providing healthcare services my whole adult life and knowing I depend on a medication like Venlafaxine is absolutely frightening.

I am blessed to read your posts, it allows me the security that I am not alone and before I ask my provider questions about this medication I like to read all of your experiences. This makes me feel like I can possibly live thru a tapering, with your ideas and recommendations. Quyana from this Inupiaq from Northwestern Alaska.

Just a side note, prior to the brain hemorrhage I had never taken medications other than for acute strep pharyngitis, or birth control, or pregnancy related medications so I believe my own medication use inexperience and my reliance on my own bodies ability to heal itself placed me at a higher risk for the withdrawal symptoms once the medication was introduced into my system. Just my thoughts.

@mmesco
Good Morning!
Welcome! I hope you have taken some time to read some of the posts about coming off of Effexor.
It's great that you are able to take time off of work to deal with the possible withdrawal.
We are here to support you, but it sounds like you are going to taper off quickly.
If there is one thing I think most of us can agree upon, SLOW, SLOW, SLOW tapering is the way to go.
There are some who reduced too quickly and wound up in the hospital very sick.

I am currently tapering off from the same dosage you are taking, 300 mg (2-75 mg in the morning and at night).
I began with my evening dosage. I reduce 1/4 of one pill at a time. First, I reduce 1/4 every other night for 3 weeks then I take the reduced dosage every night for 3 weeks. This week I am finishing the 3rd week of taking 1-1/4 pill every night. Next week I will be taking 1 pill every other night for 3 weeks, followed by taking 1 pill every night. (All this depends on how I feel. If I need to, I will extend each step). Once I am down to one 75 mg. pill at night, I will begin the same process with my monring pill.

Good luck to you! Please read about those who went down too quickly. You will see a response from @farmboy who tapered too quickly. Read the others.

Ronnie (GRANDMAr)