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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Leonard | @jakedduck1 | Aug 12, 2019
In reply to @babydoll "My mother and my work are the two biggest stressors. I have always been quiet and..." + (show)
@babydoll

My mother and my work are the two biggest stressors. I have always been quiet and backward, so social anxiety is horrible, my mother is a compulsive gambler and is being evicted for not paying her rent. She blames everyone else but herself. Meaning, she blames her kids for not helping her and the landlord for not letting her make payments to catch up her back rent. And the already gave her two payment plans that she didn’t keep. So exhausting.

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@babydoll
I know absolutely nothing about compulsive gambling other than to not give them money. If my mom were doing that I’d try and get her conserved if she refused help. Any money she got would be money left over after all her expenses were paid. At least she would have a place to live, food and be safe. If my mom was unwilling to help her stud feel responsible to help her.
Just because something is difficult doesn’t mean you should avoid it. Often times anxiety is caused by the way we look at a situation. People with anxiety often look at it in a negative way. Try looking at things more positively. Yes I know, easy for me to say. But sometimes the most difficult situations have the greatest rewards.
You didn’t say why your job was so stressful.
Good luck,
Jake

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gapatsi | @gapatsi | Aug 12, 2019
In reply to @coloradogirl "So, I just finished this process with Zoloft (sertraline) and here are some things that worked..." + (show)
@coloradogirl

So, I just finished this process with Zoloft (sertraline) and here are some things that worked for me. Your mileage may vary, but hopefully these are low risk for you to try.

1) You may need to ask your doctor for a slower tapering program than other patients. Some people are just more sensitive to dosage changes. Be aware that symptoms will get better, then may reappear each time you taper. AAFMA (practice group of family physicians) says that the symptoms typically last 1-2 weeks and as long as 4 weeks, so I just kept reminding myself that it was temporary.
2) Be watchful for things that make your symptoms worse. For example, caffeine seems to trigger the brain zaps for me (still, even after being off for several weeks), so I cut back my caffeine intake. I didn't give it up completely (because I still need to function), but cut back on how much real coffee I was drinking, mixed decaf with regular, and switched to tea sometimes. In the end, I probably cut my daily caffeine intake in half, and it did help quite a lot.
3) Ibuprofen or other pain reliever can help with the flu-like body aches.
4) Benadryl helped with the brain zaps.
5) Exercise helped with both. Even if I wasn't up to a run, a few blocks of walking would settle down the symptoms for a while at least. (Then, when they come back, just take another walk. We took a lot of walks for a while there).
6) Get enough sleep. As I came down off the meds, my normal sleeping patterns returned, which was great, but it did mean that I needed to plan time to let my body rest.
7) Pay attention to your diet. Your brain uses carbs to make seratonin, so now is not the time to go on the Atkins diet. Eat well and make sure you're getting enough healthy carbs. You may crave sweets; I certainly did. I tried to counteract this by having bananas, graham crackers, and other healthy things I could snack on instead of sticking my head in a birthday cake like I seemed to want.

No lie - it's a painful process, but this did really help make it easier. Also, at a certain point, when I was down the below the normal starter dose, I just ripped off the bandaid and went to zero. At that point, it felt like each taper was just prolonging the suffering. Don't just go cold turkey from your current dose, though, as that can be dangerous. Also, don't add any supplements or substitutes for the SSRI without talking to your doctor first (also dangerous).

And of course, watch for the return of depression / anxiety type symptoms. For a while it was hard to tell whether I was tired because of the change in meds or because my depression was returning. I figured as long as I felt okay enough to function and wasn't thinking about being harmful to myself or anyone else, I could play it out and see. It turned out to be the meds and on the other side, I can see that I was more worried about it than I needed to be.

I wish you the best of luck and a healthy life.

Mardee

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Mardee, 5 yrs ago you wrote this but you helped me tons today in 2019! Thank you!!!!

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motormouth79 | @motormouth79 | Aug 12, 2019

Mom has zero appetite now that she’s on a low dose of remeron (15 mg) and 150 of Zoloft. Any suggestions?

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mhmann | @mhmann | Aug 20, 2019

Don't give up!!! My GP cut me off of effexor 225mg a year ago. It is without a doubt the worst withdrawal post effexor. I started seeing a psychiatrist and with her help my life has finally returned to normal. It's hell going thru effexor withdrawal but there is help available.

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brownikl1 | @brownikl1 | Aug 21, 2019

I've posted before. Was only on lowest dose effexor for a year for hot flashes. Off now for 3 months, and feel way better in terms of anxiety and nausea. In hindsight it was causing those things. But the "boathead" dizziness is still frequent and sometimes I feel like my head is throbbing. Not the brainzaps from earlier but now weird pulsing. Anyone experience this?

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secretwhitepop | @secretwhitepop | Aug 22, 2019

Is it like you can hear your blood pulsing? If so, I got that too. It’s called “pulsatile tinnitus”. And yeah, I was off Effexor for a total of 6 months and that was one of my symptoms too. Since I was on Effexor for anxiety and depression and, it came back, I’m now taking Zoloft and Seroquel. The pulsing has stopped. I’m sorry you were prescribed Effexor for hot flashes. Seems strange to me because it’s such a strong drug. But then again, I had a doc prescribe me Depakote and my psychiatrist said “OmG! Don’t take that!” Ever since then, I question the medicine and the dosage before I take anything!

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brownikl1 | @brownikl1 | Aug 22, 2019
In reply to @secretwhitepop "Is it like you can hear your blood pulsing? If so, I got that too. It’s..." + (show)
@secretwhitepop

Is it like you can hear your blood pulsing? If so, I got that too. It’s called “pulsatile tinnitus”. And yeah, I was off Effexor for a total of 6 months and that was one of my symptoms too. Since I was on Effexor for anxiety and depression and, it came back, I’m now taking Zoloft and Seroquel. The pulsing has stopped. I’m sorry you were prescribed Effexor for hot flashes. Seems strange to me because it’s such a strong drug. But then again, I had a doc prescribe me Depakote and my psychiatrist said “OmG! Don’t take that!” Ever since then, I question the medicine and the dosage before I take anything!

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Thank you so much for sharing!!! That is absolutely the best description of this pulsating in my head! But it's so great to know I'm not about to have a stroke! Seriously. THANK YOU!!!

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secretwhitepop | @secretwhitepop | Aug 22, 2019
In reply to @brownikl1 "Thank you so much for sharing!!! That is absolutely the best description of this pulsating in..." + (show)
@brownikl1

Thank you so much for sharing!!! That is absolutely the best description of this pulsating in my head! But it's so great to know I'm not about to have a stroke! Seriously. THANK YOU!!!

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That must be a relief :). Yes, it’s something that happens. What I also had happen is smelling cigarette smoke and other bad smells that no one else smelled. That’s done too. That was really crazy! Hope you don’t get that. Take care and be as healthy as you can. Drink lots of water and keep positivity around you 🙂

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daver | @daver | Aug 26, 2019

I posted a few times last month as I ran out of 37.5mg ER. I had been taking them for several months. Kaiser wanted me to visit an NP or they wouldn't renew. I started weaning by taking 37.5mg every other day. Then I ran out.

2 days later my brain noise and attitude became annoying. I divided a 75mg into 4 gelatin capsules, 18.75mg each. 1 every 2 or 3 days, to keep the sideFX tolerable. 8 doses of 18.75mg over a couple weeks and I jumped off for good. Mild physical FX returned for a while, but the anxiety and depression didn't return.

I hear that below 25mg/day the effect is totally SSRI. You are already halfway weaned once you get comfortable taking 37.5mg every other day. This knowledge helped.

I vape CBD oil a lot. During this extended session I also ate 25mg of CBD oil every day. Props to AV and TryTheCBD.

My GAD is not coming back as an impairment. I'd rather deal with symptoms as needed than use crude chemicals with "therapeutic side effects" to anesthetize my lizard brain 24/7/365. I've seen both sides now. Those reuptake inhibitors are a scattergun solution to a tweezers problem. YMMV.

I will not be back. I love you all. Don't bother congratulating me, I will not be back. If any honor is due anyone, it is Charlotte. (x)Dave.

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https://patents.google.com/patent/US6630507B1/en
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mkm | @mkm | Sep 1, 2019

Hello,
With my Doctor’s help I’m completely withdrawing from Effexor. This is my second day completely off it. I’m achey like the flu, dizzy. I’m taking omega fish oil, ginger, vitamin B complex and allergy medicine as I read that could help. Anyone else have any advice?

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