1. < Depression & Anxiety

Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Posted by richyrich @richyrich, Nov 2, 2016

I have been taking Effexor/Venlafaxine for years and tried to get off it a few times but each time I try to give up the chemical withdrawal symptoms are a horror story and I give up giving up. Anyone got any tips or tried and tested strategies? Thank you

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sandij (Sandi James) | @sandij | Apr 10, 2019
In reply to @sharonlou "@sandij I worry about psych medications in our water supply. I intend to put any leftover..." + (show)
@sharonlou

@sandij I worry about psych medications in our water supply. I intend to put any leftover beads in a med container and hand it in at one of our prescription med disposal days in our city. Just a thought.

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Good idea, even though it's just a few beads!

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secretwhitepop | @secretwhitepop | Apr 10, 2019
In reply to @searchgirl "Wow, just found this place as I have decided today to finally wean myself off Effexor/venlafaxine...." + (show)
@searchgirl

Wow, just found this place as I have decided today to finally wean myself off Effexor/venlafaxine. Taking 75 mg for over 10 years and now that I’m retired, I feel strongly that this doctor I had then pushed them on me without any questions or background of depression. I was going thru menopause and hormones were bouncing around me like a teenager. Fast forward to now at 64 I’m experiencing some ptsd from childhood trauma and I’m still on meds. I feel like my meds are not working anymore and expect my doc to recommend increasing the dosage but I can’t do this anymore. I’m in counselling for ptsd, trauma right now and I’m working of living thru it.

I understand weaning is long process and I’m here to learn real experiences from this group. I will be contacting my current new doctor to let her know I will be weaning myself off ASAP.

I read several posts here talking about weaning thru reducing the bits in the pill itself. Wondering what you would use to perform this daunting task! Or do pharmacists create lower dosage pills to essentially wean me off thru my drs prescriptions. Wish it was that easy.

I’ve lived reasonably well without meds until menopause so I feel strongly I was misdiagnosed and want my own creative life back. Tired of the zings in my head, ear ringing, vivid disturbing dreams, and gastro issues, etc etc... My goal is to finally “BE” without these meds.

Your help is greatly appreciated! ❤️

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What you want to be is successful with your weening, and so I highly recommend NOT doing anything until you inform your doctor. Then, yes, if everyone is on the same page, do NOT rush this process. I was on 75 for over 20 years and then 37.5 for a year and a half for weening. Take your time. Open the capsules. Meditate and learn mindfulness. Get enough sleep and ban stress from your life. You definitely Italy can do this. It has been done. The trick is do NOT rush. But also, that’s what worked for me. Don’t get discouraged if your doctor recommends Zoloft or Prozac as a bridge. Read these posts. Some people do better with a bridge. Lastly, I’m glad you got yourself counseling. I hope they are good! But just remember to go easy on yourself. You’re smart and know your body. I have a good feeling about you!

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2 replies
searchgirl | @searchgirl | Apr 10, 2019
In reply to @secretwhitepop "Each time I pulled out more little beads (aka tapered my dose) I’d take that dose..." + (show)
@secretwhitepop

Each time I pulled out more little beads (aka tapered my dose) I’d take that dose for three to four weeks. If I accidentally went a bit longer, that’s ok. If I got dizzy spells I made sure to take them at about the same time each day. This is also not the time to be pushing yourself. Stay as healthy as possible for best results. Get rest, exercise and watch your sugar and otherwise junk foods 🙂

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Thanks for replying and I feel ready for this despite what I need to go thru. I’m already healthy wise so now it’s time for my brain to be healthy too.

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mommapsych | @mommapsych | Apr 10, 2019
In reply to @searchgirl "Wow, just found this place as I have decided today to finally wean myself off Effexor/venlafaxine...." + (show)
@searchgirl

Wow, just found this place as I have decided today to finally wean myself off Effexor/venlafaxine. Taking 75 mg for over 10 years and now that I’m retired, I feel strongly that this doctor I had then pushed them on me without any questions or background of depression. I was going thru menopause and hormones were bouncing around me like a teenager. Fast forward to now at 64 I’m experiencing some ptsd from childhood trauma and I’m still on meds. I feel like my meds are not working anymore and expect my doc to recommend increasing the dosage but I can’t do this anymore. I’m in counselling for ptsd, trauma right now and I’m working of living thru it.

I understand weaning is long process and I’m here to learn real experiences from this group. I will be contacting my current new doctor to let her know I will be weaning myself off ASAP.

I read several posts here talking about weaning thru reducing the bits in the pill itself. Wondering what you would use to perform this daunting task! Or do pharmacists create lower dosage pills to essentially wean me off thru my drs prescriptions. Wish it was that easy.

I’ve lived reasonably well without meds until menopause so I feel strongly I was misdiagnosed and want my own creative life back. Tired of the zings in my head, ear ringing, vivid disturbing dreams, and gastro issues, etc etc... My goal is to finally “BE” without these meds.

Your help is greatly appreciated! ❤️

Jump to this post

@searchgirl welcome! We just open up the capsules and take out the little balls...our pediatrician prescribes and nominally supervises the process but generally speaking we're on our own. My best advice to you is to take it SLOW! Docs will recommend big drops in dosage but we've had success going down 1-5 mg every few weeks. Yes, it takes longer but there have been virtually no withdrawl symptoms. It's taken almost a year to go from 150 down to 50 but we're ok with that😊

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mommapsych | @mommapsych | Apr 10, 2019
In reply to @sharonlou "@mommapsych Thanks so much for your replies! I copied them as I tend to forget details..." + (show)
@sharonlou

@mommapsych Thanks so much for your replies! I copied them as I tend to forget details and also I may show them to my new psychiatrist whom I'm hoping will be supportive in my efforts. I have read in other comments that some people are helped by an additional medication as they are weaning off of Effexor and I would need him to prescribe that. I'm also going to check with my pharmacist to see if he has any knowledge in this area with the hopes of having backup in case the PDr is resistant. I am so sensitive to even a short delay in taking this med that I'm pretty certain it will be a difficult process getting off of it. But I've learned so much here that I'm sure I can do it. So helpful to hear success stories such as yours.

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@sharonlou my daughter is really sensitive too. She forgot one dose one time and we ended up in the ER with some scary neurological wierdness before we realized what was happening! Good luck to you!

REPLY
searchgirl | @searchgirl | Apr 10, 2019
In reply to @secretwhitepop "What you want to be is successful with your weening, and so I highly recommend NOT..." + (show)
@secretwhitepop

What you want to be is successful with your weening, and so I highly recommend NOT doing anything until you inform your doctor. Then, yes, if everyone is on the same page, do NOT rush this process. I was on 75 for over 20 years and then 37.5 for a year and a half for weening. Take your time. Open the capsules. Meditate and learn mindfulness. Get enough sleep and ban stress from your life. You definitely Italy can do this. It has been done. The trick is do NOT rush. But also, that’s what worked for me. Don’t get discouraged if your doctor recommends Zoloft or Prozac as a bridge. Read these posts. Some people do better with a bridge. Lastly, I’m glad you got yourself counseling. I hope they are good! But just remember to go easy on yourself. You’re smart and know your body. I have a good feeling about you!

Jump to this post

Thanks so much for the encouragement and support. I’ll be journaling my process so maybe I can help others after this journey! 💕

REPLY
Leonard | @jakedduck1 | Apr 10, 2019
In reply to @secretwhitepop "What you want to be is successful with your weening, and so I highly recommend NOT..." + (show)
@secretwhitepop

What you want to be is successful with your weening, and so I highly recommend NOT doing anything until you inform your doctor. Then, yes, if everyone is on the same page, do NOT rush this process. I was on 75 for over 20 years and then 37.5 for a year and a half for weening. Take your time. Open the capsules. Meditate and learn mindfulness. Get enough sleep and ban stress from your life. You definitely Italy can do this. It has been done. The trick is do NOT rush. But also, that’s what worked for me. Don’t get discouraged if your doctor recommends Zoloft or Prozac as a bridge. Read these posts. Some people do better with a bridge. Lastly, I’m glad you got yourself counseling. I hope they are good! But just remember to go easy on yourself. You’re smart and know your body. I have a good feeling about you!

Jump to this post

@secretwhitepop
@mommapsych
@searchgirl
Are you still on 37.5mg? If your planning to come off completely please go much slower. Often it is more important to go even slower at the end especially when you have taken it for so long. Never cut x mg from start to finish. When lowering that way your percentage of titration varies considerably. SLOW AND CONSISTENT is always best. I’m not talking slow here, I’m talking VERY SLOW, SLLLOOOOOOWWWWW.
It may be a pain to go so slow but believe me the the reward couldn’t be greater! Usually withdrawal symptom free.
Remember, SLOW
Jake

REPLY
sandij (Sandi James) | @sandij | Apr 10, 2019

Remember also that there are waves and windows. So if you feel like crap for a few days, it may pass. My waves can last for up to a week sometimes and it can be discouraging, so try to stay mindful of that.

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notaround | @notaround | Apr 12, 2019
In reply to @notaround "Thanks for the sympathy, everyone. I'm doing my best to be patient with myself. Hope you..." + (show)
@notaround

Thanks for the sympathy, everyone. I'm doing my best to be patient with myself.

Hope you all have as good a day as you can right now. Even if it's just making it to tomorrow.

One of the things that gets me through sometimes is knowing that any single episode can't last forever. Feelings and symptoms change. And over time, more treatments get approved. So I do what I can to nudge things towards a change I want and then wait. While it can be a little scary to think about, the idea of impermanence helps me.

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Checking in here to say so far so good being a month off venlafaxine.

My old fainting problem has been a little more common recently (orthostatic syncope, or faint if I stand up too fast) but I don't think that's withdrawal. Feels slightly different.

In good news, being off Prozac for a few weeks has fixed the chronic runs.

Bad news is Depression has been hitting me like a baseball bat. Hanging in there but not functional enough. Today I did dishes for the first time in like two weeks.

Going to check on clinical trials at my next followup in early May.

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2 replies
secretwhitepop | @secretwhitepop | Apr 12, 2019
In reply to @notaround "Checking in here to say so far so good being a month off venlafaxine. My old..." + (show)
@notaround

Checking in here to say so far so good being a month off venlafaxine.

My old fainting problem has been a little more common recently (orthostatic syncope, or faint if I stand up too fast) but I don't think that's withdrawal. Feels slightly different.

In good news, being off Prozac for a few weeks has fixed the chronic runs.

Bad news is Depression has been hitting me like a baseball bat. Hanging in there but not functional enough. Today I did dishes for the first time in like two weeks.

Going to check on clinical trials at my next followup in early May.

Jump to this post

Hi. You say “your old fainting problem”. That caught my eye, you see, because I’m making an appointment to see the doctor today due to vertigo. Sure, you get head spins when weening off Effexor, but I’ve been completely off since February 1, this year. Had some head spins. Now, crazy vertigo. Happens while sitting! I’m going to see what my doctor thinks, but I’m very concerned. I was in the middle of a staff meeting and just sort of listed off to the right. It was all I could do to “maintain”. Covered with sweat and thought I was going to throw up.

Kind of hoping it’s a sinus or ear thing, but who knows.

I wonder if it’s a withdrawal issue?

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