← Return to Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

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@lisalucier

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?

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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.