Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

The major symptom is anxiety. I do have Xanax, but VERY RARELY take it. Too scared of it.

@doorman - did you have a negative experience before with taking alprazolam (Xanax)?

Not really. It just seems that at the dosage prescribed (0.5mg. 2 times /day), it doesn’t help . And I’m afraid to go hIgher in dose. And it seems that after it’s done, the anxiety can come back worse. Sigh.

It has been 8 months since I began reading this thread due to the side effects I was having with Effexor XR. In that time I counted beads and reduced slowly. I would go back to a higher dose if the brain zaps, dizziness, nausea were too bad. I started at 150 mg and finally will be off of it completely as of January. I can handle the minor brain zaps that are worse in the morning for as long as they continue. Just glad to be finally off of this drug. My anxiety is very situational and now that I am no longer working and the stresses of a divorce have lessened, I don't think I will need anything for anxiety. A word of caution though: be sure to read the fine print on medications. I never should have been on this particular medication in the first place since I have glaucoma. Although the glaucoma specialist wanted me off of it as soon as possible, I had to educate him that it would take months after I discovered that lowering the dosage too quickly made me ill. My best to everyone here.

Perhaps you weened off too quickly. There no prize for torturing yourself. I had terrible anxiety once I weened off entirely and now I’m on Seroquel and zoloft. Seroquel is a mood stabilizer that works wonders for anxiety. I had lost 19 pounds all due to anxiety. Please see your doctor. Or find a new one. Again, anxiety is so rough on you, your life and your family. There is a light at the end and, possibly, you may need to supplement with medicine. I have a bottle of expired Xanax myself. I completely understand not wanting to take it. (I want to be entirely Med-free! But I do best on a low dose of my aforementioned meds. But I DID successfully ween off Effexor. Perhaps go up a bit in your dose, stay there, then ever so slowly ween down again.

People do care. 🙂

I have been weaning myself off of Effexor for the last six weeks. I have been taking it for 24 years. I had no idea how hard this would be. I decreased my dose every seven days and had headaches, dizziness, and zaps for a few days each time I decreased. I took my last dose on Saturday. I thought I would have only a few days of symptoms. I have had constant headaches, dizziness, and the zaps are almost constant. This is the first day I am going to try to get out. I am so glad I found this thread, just to know I’m not alone. I am very active and people have no idea what we go through when we try to gain some control over our lives. I had no idea how much this drug was controlling how I think, feel, and how numb I was to normal emotions. I normally don’t post on any sites, but the support each of you are giving others in sharing your most personal experiences is something I want to be a part of. So glad not to be as alone as I thought!

You are NOT alone.

You may be going way too fast. What was your original dosage?

My original dosage was 150mgs.

Thank you!