Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Your doctor can prescribe a different formulation–changing from extended-release capsules to regular-release tablets (I was on 25mg regular-release tablets that could be cut), or specifying a certain brand of capsules (@farm_mom found Teva had the most consistent size and number of beads within a capsule–helpful to those counting and throwing out beads to taper–see @sandij, or @doorman on how to do this). Or your doctor can write a prescription for a compounding pharmacy to make tapered doses for you (the extra cost may well be worth it because you can glide down in incremental amounts, rather than make rather large jagged drops).

Ask your doctor about a "Prozac bridge"--essentially, the Prozac cushions the effect of no Effexor and lets you "ride out" the withdrawal process.–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/.

P.S. There's a lot of info on this blog--it is worth your time to read it all. You can click on anyone's name and read all their posts.

Count the beads in the capsule. Calculate how many mg are in each bead. (For instance if there were 75 beads in a 75 mg capsule each bead would be equal to 1 mg.) Then take out enough beads to equal between 5 to 10 percent of your dosage (in this case between 3 to 7 beads, always err on the conservative side). Stay at that dosage for a few weeks at least, then you can repeat the process.
This is my second attempt at tapering. I'm on 150 mg and there are over 260 beads in each one of my capsules. Try counting those, if you arent anxious and depressed before you start, you will be by the time you're done playing with those tiny skittering little monsters! Lol. Honestly though, just pour them onto a dark towel to make it easy on yourself. Tweezers help immensely. You will get there slowly but surely.

I was taking 150mg of Ven for a year then 225mg for another year. Since they stopped helping me at all and my depression was there again, I questioned myself why I take them and discontinued taking them. I’m going through hell right now I want to kill my self but at least there’s no such miserable feeling anymore that I’m hooked on useless medication. Well, seems like my body was hooked. There’s no way out apparently. I don’t want to take that poison anymore even though my cells are craving for it. My mind knows it’ll just bring me back in the vicious circle.

Hey, Chicago, please keep reading and stay with us. Last thing you probably want to hear right now is to exercise and meditate, but it can help, if only a little. Also know that there are other medications out there that can help with depression. I can honestly attest that I successfully weened off Effexor - however, my anxiety and depression came back. But now I’m on seroquel and zoloft. I feel almost normal. I am very functional and am able to be a mom and wife. It’s sucks so bad having to be medicated just to feel normal. I would do anything to be as happy as some people seem despite not being medicated. I often wonder if it would have been better if I never started taking meds over twenty years ago. But what’s done is done. Please talk to a doctor or another doctor or nurse practitioner or pharmacist for something to help at least while you get yourself off Effexor. Perhaps even something homeopathic? Have you looked at any posts by Brightwings? CBD works fabulously for some folks! (Not me, but everyone is different). It’s worth a shot!

Stay in touch.

Are you tapering under the supervision of a doctor. It MUST be done very very very slowly.

In my opinion Antidepressants are just as bad as Benzos. Yet the docs want to take one off the benzo and shove those wicked antidepressants on you. And they are wicked!

This is way too fast to taper. Your doctor doesn’t know how to taper. I can’t fathom how she decided this was the proper way to taper an antidepressant especially Effexor. It’s probably the hardest one to get off of.

Excellent advice about the Prozac bridge.

@chicago1211

SLOWLY!!! SLOWLY!!! SLOWLY!!!
We’re talking infinitesimally small doses
If you taper slowly enough you probably won’t have any side effects whatsoever, although it is still possible but much less likely. if your brain hardly notices the difference in dosage you may very well nhot have any withdrawals whatsoever.
How much were you tapering at a time and how long had you been taking the medication prior to beginning your taper?
The longer you had been on this medication before the beginning of your taper the slower you’re going to need to go the longer you had been on this medication before the beginning of your taper the sloooooooooer you’re going to need to go. Some people have been taking this medication for decades but yet they want to get off of it in a matter of weeks are only a few months. That’s completely unreasonable and incomprehensible to me but virtually everyone goes off it t fast and comes back here and complains about their withdrawals.
If you believe you can do without the medication I hope you try it again but this time depending on how long you’ve been on your medicine reduce it by five or 10%. Don’t reduce by the same milligrams every time you decrease your dose and Stay on each does three weeks minimum.
Best of luck to you,
Jake

I appreciate your concern.
“It’s sucks so bad having to be medicated just to feel normal. I would do anything to be as happy as some people seem despite not being medicated”. So true. It’s hard for me to accept this reality so I went off.
I would have continued taking the meds if they’d helped me. But they don’t. Only the first 5-6 months I felt some improvements. Then they’ve become like one those life-sustaining devises. If you discontinue them you’re dead but with them you’re not “living” anyway. Well those devices don’t give you any side effects at least. But antidepressants have a full bouquet. Again, I will bear most of the side effects if I feel like meds are helping.
I haven’t tried CBD, not sure if it could help cause my worst symptoms are vertigo, nightmares, mood swings and absolute loss of coordination.
The shitty part here is that most of them are mental (except vertigo n dizziness) so I’m pretty sure my doc can’t prescribe anything but another dose of psychoactive drug. Check mate here.