Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

@lisalucier thank you so much for this resource!

@searchgirl
I would ask the doctor how much success he’s had discontinuing Effexor that way. I never would discontinue a medication like Effexor on an every other day basis but that’s not to say it won’t work. I do know your chances of withdrawals will be less the slower your taper. You also need to keep in mind how long you’ve been taking it. You shouldn’t expect to get off it as quickly as someone whose been on it a short time. After 10 years what’s the rush? Slow and steady will be your best friends.
Wishing you luck on your taper.
Jake

I’m not in a rush at all. I did have to let my dr know what I was doing, but as far as my strategy, I’m still unsure of my plans. This is why I came here to get real life experience on this especially if it’s your first time. I’m weighing out how to approach it but it’s the sick part that’s a bit of a hurdle. I have time to be slow but if it doesn’t work, I need plan 2 yikes!

@searchgirl
Good Morning,
I have also been on various dosages of Effexor for more than 10 years.
This past November I decided it was time to reduce the amount I have been taking for the last 4 or 5 years.
Effexor has been the one med that has worked for me, so I have no intention of going off completely, I just want to be on what I consider to be a reasonable amount.
I was on 75 mg tablets, 2 in the am and 2 in the pm (total of 300 mg at day).
Now, I do take tablets.
I no longer take capsules.
As I said, I began in November and based on what I read about weaning, I came up with the following method.
So far, so good.

I started with the pm dosage:

I cut one pill into 1/4s and took away only one of those 1/4s.
(PM dose was 1-3/4 pills)
I took the reduced amount every other day for 3 weeks.
I felt fine so I went on to take the new dosage (1-3/4 pills) every evening for 3 weeks.

Next, I took away another 1/4 of the pill.
(PM dose went to 1-1/2 pills)
I took the new reduced dosage every other night for 3 weeks.
(1-3/4 pills and 1-1/2 pills)
I felt fine so I took the new dosage for 3 weeks (1-1/2 pills).

Next, took away another 1/4 pill.
(PM dose went to 1-1/4 pills)
I took the new reduced dosage every other night for 3 weeks.
(1-1/2 pills and 1-1/4 pills)
I felt fine so I took the new dosage for 4 weeks.
Although I wasn't getting any withdrawal, I did feel a little different, so I stayed on this dosage a little longer.

I am now on 1 pill in the evening.
This was my first goal.
I've been on this dosage for several weeks.
I will probably NOT start to reduce my PM dosage until after the summer, although I am not 100% sure.
I have hopes to do several things while my grands are off from school and I don't want to take a chance of not feeling well.

So, if I was confusing (after all it is around 3am) I will summarize what I am doing:
I reduce one pill 25%.
I alternate the older dosage with the newer reduced dosage every other day for 3 weeks.
If I feel fine, I take the newer reduced dosage every day for 3 weeks.
If I feel fine, I take away another 25% and follow the same pattern.

I hope this helps....
Good luck!
Ronnie (GRANDMAr)

Wow, impressive Ronnie! I like your system and determination. You said you were fine at each level but did you not get the zaps in your head? Did you have buzzing in your ears and did that reduce too. I’m trying to set a date to start and want to be prepared in case things don’t go well. I’m normally not afraid of stuff but this scares the bejeesus out of me.

How did you all feel when you finally came off the meds? Did it wow you? Are you more productive? Hopefully it’ll make a difference in my life.

@searchgirl
I've had ZERO side effects. My sleep, or lack of, is the only thing but it could be for 100 other reasons. I don't know if you realized it, but it took me since November to reduce my dosage 25%. VERY SLOW and STEADY, I allow myself to take extra time if I feel the 3 weeks is not long enough.
GO SLOW!!!!!
Ronnie (GRANDMAr)

@searchgirl I'm not out of the woods yet, but I can say that one thing I have noticed since tapering down from 225 mg, at 150 mg and then 75 I have had less fatigue. This makes me wonder if effexor was causing the fatigue. I guess time will tell. When i have my windows i feel great.

Hi, I was on Effexor for about 10 years and I don't really think it helps me. So I decided on my own to quit taking it. I was on 375 mg. I tapered down each week by 75 mg. So the first week I went down to 300 mg, the next week, I went down to 225, and so on until the last two weeks when I went down from 75 mg to 37.5 mg and took 37.5 mg for two weeks. My last pill was 4 days ago. In the last couple of days I've started having really weird feelings. My head feels really foggy, fuzzy, and I'm dizzy, can't think clearly. But the worst thing is that I'm having feelings of dereality and depersonalization. I don't know if they're withdrawal symptoms or if they're symptoms of my anxiety. I do get them from my anxiety attacks every now and then. But why did they start now? And why would I have them when I tapered off so slowly and over such a long period? (about a month and a half). I've searched the comments and I can't find one person who lists depersonalization as one of their withdrawal symptoms so why am I having them? It's really scary and I fear that I"m always gonna feel like this now. I feel like I'm in another world, another realm, a different state of reality. Can anyone tell me if they've had this symptom?

First of all, no, I do believe you will feel better eventually, but that was an extremely fast taper. As folks already know, I was on a comparatively very low dose of 75 mg. When I tried to ween off the way my doc said, it was too fast, but she didn’t think there’d be a problem since I was on a “pediatric dose.” Anyway, for the next ten years or so, I took 37.5 mg. When I decided to ween off for good, I counted the little beads inside and tapered over a period of 18 months. And, strangely, after my last done in February of this year, I’m still having some withdrawal symptoms. Dizziness, odd smells, vertigo, anxiety and crying jags. All of which are getting better, but they’re still there. Mostly the anxiety.

Effexor is a weird drug. It changes your brain from what I’ve read. I don’t know what to recommend you do since I’m not a doctor, but maybe if you can get yourself back to a tolerable dose where your withdrawal is at bay, then go ridiculously slowly, that might help.

Good news is there is a light at the end of this Effexor tunnel!