Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Wish me luck .. been on ssri and snri for 20+ years currently down to 37.5 Effexor Xr. Rage irritability anxiety and feeling of disconnectedness surrealism extremely difficult..I will post my backstory another time but I have a history of ocd pure o and anxiety..and they have kind of stopped working.. I’m now on thyroid armour and trt and exercise etc hope this helps with the transition .. will I ever feel normal again?

Thank you

I’m in the same boat. Down to almost 37.5. How did you do it? I’m removing beads from Effexor xr.

@doorman , well based on my research I kept just splitting the dosages in half months in between. Everything was ok from 150 to 112 the I noticed a little derealism zombieness from 112 down to 75 but managed to get through that..but I think 75 to 37.5 may have been too much especially with you kids at home who are at their prime at testing your limits.. I feel little more stable now thought

So you’re taking Effexor xr? Capsules? They have beads inside. Are you counting beads?.

Over the course of a week, yes, I lowered the amount of beads gradually but I was winging it taking out roughly the same amount each time but after a week it got old and I just figured what the hell

Hi, @cp6401 - how has it gone today with the side effects of the venlafaxine (Effexor) taper? Are you still experiencing the derealism zombieness like in your previous step down to a lower dose?

@brownikl1 - did you come to any conclusions about whether you have been experiencing vertigo?

Hi and thanks for inquiring..yes I’m much better.. obviously with ocd, I’m surrounded by triggers so it’s sometimes difficult. But overall better. The zombieness and dereaslism are the main reasons why I wanted to taper. Like watching a movie that’s happening 3feet in front of you.. I want to say also for the record (and this is possibly the wrong thread) feel like the trt helps with overall concentration and focus, not to mention recovery from anxiety induced post disthymia/depression. It’s been a long road (decided 3years ago that I had had it when celexa stopped working..) so I feel like trt is a part of the puzzle for sure.. to make a long story short lowering my dose of anti depressant this low is the almost the culminating point of a 3 year battle (been on antidepressants since my teens) .. is my plan going to work? I have no idea, but I’ll be damned if I don’t give it my best shot....

sorry for the long rant, I guess I had more to say than I thought..

Hi, @cp6401 - good to hear you are much better.

A couple of other Connect threads you might want to check out include:

- Long-term depression https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/long-term-depression

- Best antidepressants for anxiety https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/antidepressants-and-benzo-taper

- Going off citalopram (Celexa) https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/going-off-citalopram

When you mention TRT, are you referring to testosterone therapy like that described in this Mayo Clinic article https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/sexual-health/in-depth/testosterone-therapy/art-20045728?

Update, if anyone cares. Down to 24 mg. (beads) from 75mg. Anxiety is horrible. Should I just cut this short, and get off immediately? Suggestions welcome.

Have you thought about taking anything else for the anxiety? Are you having any other withdrawal symptoms?