Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

I've long thought there must be other ``friends of Bill'' on this site. Thanks for sharing and I certainly agree with your comparison!!

Thanks for the link @texasduchess.!

Ok, I have been off and on anti-depressants for years. I am 40 with two kids, probably started first anti-depressant in college but didnt' take it long and then more so the last 6-7 years or so. I accidentally quit cold turkey off Effexor several years ago, let me tell you the first few days when I didn't realized what I'd done were a little nutty. Once I got through it, I swore I would never go on Effexor again. Long story short, I inadvertently did. A few months ago (around the time I switched from Zoloft to Effexor) I finally convinced my family doc to refer me to ADHD testing. I'd never noticed anti-depressants making much of a difference for me and my counselor did confirm that if I was really ADHD and mis-diagnosed as depression/anxiety, then the anti-depressants probably wouldn't have made a difference. I did receive an ADHD diagnosis and medication (Concerta) and I asked my family doc if I could stop taking the anti-depressant. He literally blew me off and said "nope, you still have anxiety" and went back to typing on his laptop. Needless to say, I am now switching to a new family doctor, this was the last straw of several. I decided to stop taking the Effexor when my script ran out, I was only on 75 mg (had been on Zoloft 100 for about 7 months before this). The last pill I took was Saturday, 3/30/19. It's been a rough week..I've never experience brain zaps or anything but the fatigue, nausea and flu-like symptoms are not fun. Seems like this only lasted MAYBE a week last time..I'm on day 5 and ready to be over it. Any suggestions? I'm in the process of getting a new doctor but that process is having some pitfalls..

I am so happy I found this board, I have been on Zoloft for about 18 years, it seemed to stop working. the Dr put me on Effexor about 6 months ago.

I want to get off all meds, I think back to the person i use to be over 19 years ago, and know and LIKED the other person.

has anyone tapered themselves off of Effexor ..right now i am on 3 pills a day, would it be ok to go down to 2 pills for a month then take it down from there

ANY advice would help thank you

Hello, @dyan – welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. We have many members here who have talked about wanting to taper off venlafaxine (Effexor) and who were also seeking help, just like you. Some have also talked about getting back to a former "version" of themselves.

You'll notice I have moved your message to this existing discussion, "Tips on minimising withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)" in the Depression & Anxiety group. I did this so that you could talk with the members in this conversation already talking about this journey and who are familiar with what you've inquired about, tips on the taper of this medication. If you click VIEW & REPLY in the email notification, you can scroll back through the past and recent posts.

Hoping other members in this thread like @twoboysmom @kbmayo @sandij @texasduchess @sharonlou will have some input for you and will offer their support.

@dyan - did your prescribing doctor have a schedule he or she wanted you to follow with this taper?

thank you so much ...any help would be wonderful, No I thought I would just taper myself off it it. I do not like the new dr i am seeing.

I have been working with my 16 year old over the past year to taper off. What has worked for us is a VERY slow process. We get the capsules and literally count them out and take her down a couple every week. We started at 150 mg about a year ago and we are now at 50 mg. It's slow and tedious but when we tried to make a significant decrease it didn't go well. We've just kind of resigned ourselves to "slow and steady wins the race." She does not have a psychiatrist. Her pediatrician prescribes and we keep her informed as to how it's going. The only side effect so far is a headache the day after we do a decrease. Hope this helps!

Oh, I take it every day, just alternate the dose. This method of stepping down incriminately has worked well for my situation. I've been working on it for 8 months.

I actually did go from 225 mg to 150 mg in one shot, stayed there for about six weeks, then from 150 to 75 about six weeks later. I started decreasing my dosage in September 2018. Its not recommended to go that fast. The wd symptoms can come and go for up to two years really no matter how slowly you go, in my opinion, and they are worse when you get down less than 75, in my experience.

Good Morning!
Just an update.
I met my first goal!
I am down from 150 mg to 75 mg for my evening dosage of Effexor.
I started the decrease in November and I will probably remain at this evening dosage permanently.
I a couple of months I will begin to decrease my morning dosage from 150 mg to 75 mg, too.
I am not pushing it. I want to remain on this dosage to make sure my body is OK with it.

Ronnie (GRANDMAr)