Hello. It seems this discussion will help me with getting off effexor. It was prescribed 18 yrs ago and increased over time up to 300mg. The last 2 years have been horrible and the doctor responded to my questions about trying something different with her concerns about my high blood pressure. That would be dealt with first before looking at other meds. She was following a protocol, I assume, and that was the order she felt she had to follow. Her response to my concern that the effexor was raising blood pressure was "it shouldn't". Finally she agreed to begin a taper set up to decrease 37.5 mg/week. Per week. After 2 weeks I saw her, described my symptoms and wished I could have puked, levitated, or stabbed her with something not even sharp as she said the withdrawal "shouldn't" be causing any discomfort. Carry on.
I got through the first 4 weeks, and was taking 4 instead of 8 capsules. I crashed, badly. My son described what was happening to his dr and Jan 2 I saw this new dr. for the first time. We don't know why the dr. I was seeing wasn't aware of what could happen with that fast a drop, or why the pharmacists didn't pick up on it. I had to to back up to 5 capsules and in a week will drop down to 4. The plan is to drop 37.5 every 4 weeks. Struggling with the idea of that much time being miserable but reading posts here makes me see it could take much longer than to the end of June to be off this.

I am worried about many things. Is the next drop going to cause another crash?

What supplements should I be taking, as in vitamins or fish oil or something that could make this more tolerable?? Who gives me that info? Who do I trust other than the ones selling the products?

Getting off effexor is going to make things better in itself, but the depression and anxiety will still be there. All of the other issues will still be there. How will I manage that?

I don't want to add anything else to the drug soup (also on clonidine, irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide, plus good old crestor) but am reading about adding another antidepressant as the effexor dose lowers. Can I do this without taking something else, another drug, meant to help?

I was half way there and wanted to keep going, to tough it out, but that option was not there. I have not been able to work (teach jr high) and am still coming to terms with the reality that this is happening. I went home too upset to handle the day, that one day, and it became the end of a 25 yr career. Will I be able to function again, to be who i was?
This is already a long read and I could go on for pages. I struggle with explaining this to others - most people have no clue, or assume there is something else wrong with me. I want to say its not my fault and that its unbearable. Gaining empathy for addicts who will do anything to keep this pain away, and for people who use suicide to shut it down for good, has been intense and I don't know what to do with that feeling either.

Let me know if anything happens with the class action suit, please. I think there are 2 parts at fault, or 3. The makers of the drug, the drs who are in over their heads and prescribe it, the medical system that puts us/me at the mercy of such drs, and the pharmacists who go ahead handing out drugs in amounts that hurt people. I guess they are victims of the system also in that they can't question prescriptions, or can they? I live in Canada, in a rather isolated northern community with very few drs, and often don't see the same dr more than once or twice in a row.

If you've read this far, thank you. Having a place to defend yourself and ask questions is good.