Sadly, many on here can attest that many doctors do not know how to taper someone off Effexor. Trying to taper by skipping days means that the levels of Effexor in your body yo yo dramatically; this drug has a very short half-life already which makes it hard to get off of. You'd do better to reduce the amount of drug you take at each dosing.

You may need to go back to 37.5 daily (or even more) until your withdrawal symptoms ease and hold there for some weeks before trying to taper again. When you do try tapering again, reduce by a small amount (5–10 percent), stay there for weeks before making another small step down.

Your doctor can prescribe a different formulation–I was on 25mg regular-release tablets that could be cut, or he could specify 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/.

OTC medications and supplements can help with some of the withdrawal symptoms. Ben*dryl, Bon*ine, or other seasickness remedies can reduce/minimize the dizziness/vertigo. Here's a good article re how to mitigate withdrawal effects with supplements–https://www.4mind4life.com/effexor-withdrawal-symptoms. (Fish oil may be more helpful than krill oil.) Do NOT take l-tryptophan, or 5-HTP while still on Effexor.

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