Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Not quite 18 years at 25mg daily regular release for hot flashes.

Hi Sandi, I am 62 years old and had been on Effexor for too many years to count. I started at 75mg, then 150mg and in the end was taking 300 mg and tried many times getting off it on my own. Well, guess what?? I did it finally. I started hearing so much about CBD oil that I decided to try it. I went from 300mg to just taking 150mg by taking a few drops of CBD oil under my tongue in the morning and then before bed. There were days that I would get that sicky feeling(mostly by the afternoon) from withdrawel and would take 2 tylenol. I stuck with this for about 3 weeks and then went down to 75mg effexor and the CBD oil for another month. I then went to my doctor and he couldn't believe it and reccomend I then go to the 37.5mg for 2 days 75mg for 2 days, etc. Did this along with the CBD and all was good. I'm a little scared to stop the effexor completely so I'm still just taking the 37.5mg but now I have stopped the CBD. I could never have got this far without the Cbd oil. I feel great getting the Effexor out of my system(almost anyway). I'm not going to give up though until I can be free of it!!
Never give up! I hope you are feeling better.
Shelley

I have been on Effexor XR 150 mg daily for approximately 20 years for depression. Due to episodes of severe Hypertension my Cardiologist has recommended I come off Effexor and start a new antidepressant. On 9/20/2019 my MD started me on Wellbutrin 300 mg and then Effexor 75 mg x 2 weeks. After the 2 weeks of Effexor was completed I began to show severe withdrawal symptoms,e.g. headaches, irritability, nausea/vomiting, etc. At that time he prescribed Effexor 37.5 to again to try to wean. I have gotten to where I had taken it every 2-3 day. On 10/28/ 2019, I had to be rushed to the ER due to chest pain, dyspnea, severe headache with nausea/vomiting and severe vertigo. Is this normal or should we extend the weaning process? I have read in medical journals that weaning at times can take up to 10 months?

Getting off Effexor is not easy. I used CBD oil in order to withstand the side effects. It worked! Don't give up. There is always a way.

Good evening, @shelleee, it sounds like your experience with CBD oil was a game-changer for you. And it is great that you have a positive story to share with others.

Right now, I am working on reducing my dependence on an anti-depressant that I have taken every night for 3 years. I think I am a happy person now but I am afraid my body will think I still need the medication.

So I am using CBD also. In fact, I am trying to figure out the best times to use it. My normal day would be 3 droppers with the last one at bedtime. Would you mind sharing with me what brand you are using the dosage? I use Care by Design 2:1 CBD/THC. May you be free of suffering......and the causes of suffering. Chris

Very few, if any doctors have any idea how to get a patient off Effexor and usually recommend far too quick tapers. If you read all the posts on this forum, the most successful way to get off Effexor is to go very slowly--which means tapering by very small reductions (5-10%, or even less) and staying at each new level for quite a while (weeks, or months) before tapering again. The longer you have taken Effexor and the higher your dose, the longer your taper should take. Ping-ponging on and off Effexor every few days just puts you into withdrawal over and over again. Reducing SLOOWWWLY significantly minimizes the unpleasant (and sometimes debilitating) withdrawal effects. Tapering in just weeks can be very uncomfortable and often unsuccessful. Read why and how better to get off Effexor here–
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/health/depression-withdrawal-drugs.html.
OTC medications and supplements can help with some of the withdrawal symptoms (click on my name and read my past posts for some). Here's a good article re how to mitigate withdrawal effects with supplements (fish oil may be more helpful than krill oil; I also take GABA; do not take L-tryptophan while still on Effexor)–https://www.4mind4life.com/effexor-withdrawal-symptoms.

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). The half-life of Effexor is 5 hours and 99% of it is out of your body in one day. Prozac's half-life is 4 to 6 days and it takes 25 days for 99% of it to be out of your body. Essentially, the Prozac cushions the effect of no Effexor and lets you "ride out" the withdrawal process. 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/. See also https://www.depressionforums.org/forums/topic/107532-coming-off-of-effexor-with-prozac-bridge/.

Granted Effexor is a short half-life drug in the tablet form, but I take the XR form. Doesn’t this extend the half-life? I’m confused. I’m tapering of Effexor XR as we speak. I’m doing it by counting beads. I’ve only been on it since Aug. And I’m doing it slowly. 10% every 2-3 weeks. Does this sound OK?

I'm tapering too and I need help!! Been on Effexor for 15 years or more. Was on 37.5 for most of the time then got upped to 150mg. Tried weaning but couldn't stand the withdrawal symptoms. I was at 150mg for the last 6 years or so. I started weaning a few months ago. I was able to go from 150mg to 112.5mg (take a 75 and a 37.5mg). Did that for several weeks then went to 75mg only (did every other day 112.5 then 75 then 112.5 etc.). I'm now down to 37.5 but can't get past that without feeling terrible. This has been rough - dizzy, can't concentrate, diahrrhea, crazy mood swings from tears to irritability in a second, headaches, etc! Going with out anything (37.5 one day, nothing the next, 37.5 one day, nothing the next) felt awful. Tried that for 6 days. Then I tried taking the pill every 36 hours instead of going every 48 hours. Still very bad side effects. QUESTION: How do I taper from 37.5 with the capsule? Do you actually open it and take out the little beads? How many at a time? @texasduchess how do you reduce by 10%? Anyone - does the every other day without anything work? I would really appreciate any help you can offer. Thank you!

Also, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone on this post. I was beginning to think I was over-reacting or psycho-somatic. Surely it couldn't be this bad! You have all affirmed that my experience is real! I really want to get off this drug!

Yes, you count the beads when you taper slowly. From 37.5 it should be an extremely slow taper, like less than 5%. Don't take it every other day because you'll be in constant ping ponging withdrawals. You count the beads in 3 capsules to get an average of how many beads are in each capsule then divide by the percentage to see how many beads to take out so that the remaining beads are 5% less than your dosage. But right now I would recommend staying at 37.5 until you are absolutely stable before trying to taper at all.