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Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)
Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: 16 hours ago | Replies (6411)Comment receiving replies
HI, I just received IV ketamine Infusions for chronic daily migraine pain and depression. I'm on Effexor ER 75 mg. twice a day. I started taking it once a day after the ketamine. I'm having frequent weird headaches that don't feel at all like my usual migraine, and lots of low grade annoying nausea that Zofran isn't really helping. The pain doc said he thought it was from the Ketamine on the phone. In his office he said I could come off Effexor now. I don't think he knows how hard that would be....So I came to this site to read other people's experiences. Your advice sounds logical. What do you mean by overlapping the last Effexor? I don't have Prozac in the house, but I do have Trintellix which is also a SSRI and works I believe on norepinephrine too. What do you think I should do? I also have ketamine lozenges which I've been blaming for the nausea, but it definitely could be from cutting the effexor dose in half. Help!
Replies to "HI, I just received IV ketamine Infusions for chronic daily migraine pain and depression. I'm on..."
@rainswuth
Please contact your doctor again.
Even though you have Trintellix on hand, mixing drugs willy-nilly is not a good idea. A quick web search showed that taking Trintellix with other medications can cause serotonin syndrome (I experienced that while on Effexor; not fun!) and a common Trintellix side effect is nausea (you've already got that).
It's not clear from your story just how long you've been taking Effexor; if you've been on Effexor some weeks, or months and just cut your daily dose in half, you definitely could be having headaches and nausea from such a drastic drop. I was only ever on 25mg regular release and if I forgot to take it, I KNEW it the next day because of the headache.
If you've been on Effexor for weeks, or months--
1) You would be well-advised to take it slow when discontinuing. A lot of us posting here have found out the hard way that you should taper off Effexor slooowwwly. When a taper is too fast (i.e., you experience withdrawal symptoms), the recommendation is to go back to the dose where you did NOT have the WD symptoms, stay there for weeks/months before attempting to taper again and when you do taper, to reduce your dose by a very small amount and take your time before reducing again.
2) Ask your doctor about a "Prozac bridge"--"The only way doctors know to soften the blow when withdrawing from short half-life drugs [Effexor is such] is to add fluoxetine (Prozac). You can add 20mg of Prozac to any other antidepressant and then get off the [original drug]. Once the [original drug] is gone, you can taper off the Prozac. This works because fluoxetine (Prozac) has a long half-life making it much easier to get off of than drugs like [Effexor].–https://natashatracy.com/treatment-issues/withdrawal/antidepressants-effexorpristiq-venlafaxinedesvenlafaxine/
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@rainswuth
Yup, the nausea and other symptoms sound like withdrawal to me.
CBD will cut the nausea. And help the withdrawal symptoms. Anxiety, fear depression....
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I can't tell you how to cut down cuz I went cold turkey...hard headed, dangerous way to get off the Effexor but I didn't find this site until months after my last dose.
Do not do what I did!!!!
Count the beads inside to reduce your intake of Effexor.
Get to reading here, no need to reinvent the wheel. Then see what you identify with and take that route. Trust your gut...
Peace to you, Bright Wings