Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Doctors play the odds and many people don't react badly to these drugs, both taking and coming off of them. More patients have success than not. It seems as long as the drug companies issue warnings, they are absolved of any responsibility.

Its troubling to think about how being sensitive to this drug ups the chances of other issues after a relatively healthy life. Its lovely to feel better now, but did I wreck the future?

Hi everyone. I self tapered from 225mg effexor to about 4mg currently. No doctor I asked even had any recommendations about how to taper, so I had to do it myself. Sitting at the table every week playing pharmacist. So now I am on my last 4 beads and am needing some help. I tapered so slowly that my withdrawal effects were really minimal. But now I am starting to feel the brain zaps/shivers and little bouts of vertigo. It makes sense, now every time I remove a bead I am taking away a larger percentage of the medication. 5 beads to 4 beads is a reduction of 20%, etc.

So my question is twofold. 1) What can I do to taper these last few milligrams slowly? (I've heard of compounding pharmacies, etc?)
2) What can I do to minimize the withdrawal effects? (Can I take seasickness medication for the vertigo? Does weed or CBD help? etc?)

Also, what happens when I get to my last bead, have people had lasting symptoms after they have gotten off of it completely-or do you have to take that last bead 4 times a week, then 3 times a week, then every there day for months?

Thanks

Congratulations to you! You don't say how long you've been doing this, but if a while, great job tapering slooowwwly.

For this last little bit of tapering, maybe a "Prozac" bridge? (Click on my name to see my previous posts where I describe this.)

Fish oil capsules for the brain shivers (not sure how quickly will start working) and Dram*mine, or Bon*ne (OTC seasickness pills) for the vertigo.

It has taken years on and off. Thanks for the advice.

I've been on Effexor XR for years and I'm on 75 milligrams but getting off of this is hard. I got off it once before but I was on Prozac and I managed to do it. I'm not on Prozac anymore and am on Viibryd. The Prozac seemed to help get me off the Effexor XR for some strange reason. Anyway I was down to 37.5 milligrams of the stuff when the withdrawal started kicking in like bad headaches, fatigue and nausea. Anyway called my doctor and he told me to go back up to 75 milligrams and I hated to do it but my headache was so bad I did it. I need to get off of the stuff because it affects my blood pressure. How can I get off of it without going through all the nasty side effects like headaches? Would it help if he put me on regular Effexor then weaned me down more gradually or increase my Viibryd to 40 milligrams? Or even put me on Prozac temporarily to curb the nasty side effects? I see my doctor next week he has to do something.

Hi, @suzy31 - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I moved your post here as there is such a wealth of people and experiences here in this thread about any kind of tapering off venlafaxine (Effexor), regardless of dosage. Weaning off any medication you've taken for some years. even at 75 mg now, can be challenging. I'm sorry the tapering process got so difficult the last time you tried to do it. @texasduchess has talked before about being prescribed fluoxetine (Prozac) while tapering off venlafaxine.

Have you talked to your doctor or others at his office this week about how you are doing?

I talked to my doctor's office and his nurse suggested that I go back up to my regular dose 75 milligrams. My doctor suggested I go down to half that dose and I did but the withdrawal was just too much. I ended up getting such a bad headache I couldn't stand it. I had gotten off of this stuff before but I had been on Prozac and didn't seem to have any trouble. I don't know what the Prozac does but it helped the withdrawal. I like the Viibryd but it doesn't do a thing for Effexor XR withdrawal. I hate to switch around antidepressants but if the Prozac helps me get off the Effexor XR then I might have to. Right now I'm just plain tired from the headaches I had.

What exactly is the Prozac bridge? I got off of Effexor XR before and I happen to have been on Prozac too and I didn't have the nasty withdrawal symptoms. What does the Prozac do?I don't even think my doctor thought of this.

Hi, @suzy31 - @texasduchess may have some further information for you about a fluoxetine (Prozac) bridge from her experiences with this.

Hello, members of the Depression & Anxiety group. I think it's safe to say that many sharing in this group have been greeted by or helped by @texasduchess. If you'd like to get to know more about her story and how she originally came to be taking venlafaxine (Effexor), how she finds balance in life, and what she likes doing for fun, check out the Member Spotlights and read the latest story about @texasduchess.

– Trading Tips and Coping Strategies to Taper off a Medication: Meet @texasduchess https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/newsfeed-post/trading-tips-and-coping-strategies-to-taper-off-a-medication-meet-texasduchess/

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