Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

This Effexor dependency is too sad. What are these doctors thinking when they prescribe this? This drug needs to be taken off the market.

I agree with you, sears, Effexor needs to be taken off the market. The withdrawal is wretched and painful. I was on 225mg Effexor XR for 12 years. I tried several times to taper down and get off but the withdrawal symptoms were so mentally and physically disturbing that I resumed taking the drug. This time I started in January 2020 and very gradually tapered down to approx. 10mg for the last week of June. My last dose was on July 1st. Still – nearly three weeks later – I have severe withdrawal symptoms with headaches, body aches and pains, brain zaps, fatigue, chills, disturbed thinking, severe mood swings, high anxiety, strange dreams and nightmares.

Doctors need to stop taking advice from drug pushers at pharmaceutical companies and educate themselves about the dangers of this drug. Doctors must try to grow some compassion for mental health patients, and stop prescribing drugs that make our lives hell on earth. Effexor was not superior to any of the other antidepressants (which eventually pooped out) I have taken, so I don’t know why it was prescribed by a celebrated psychiatrist at one of the “world’s greatest hospitals” in the Northeast.

I agree with you, sears, Effexor needs to be taken off the market. The withdrawal is wretched and painful. I was on 225mg Effexor XR for 12 years. I tried several times to taper down and get off but the withdrawal symptoms were so mentally and physically disturbing that I resumed taking the drug. This time I started in January 2020 and very gradually tapered down to approx. 10mg for the last week of June. My last dose was on July 1st. Still – nearly three weeks later – I have severe withdrawal symptoms with headaches, body aches and pains, brain zaps, fatigue, chills, disturbed thinking, severe mood swings, high anxiety, strange dreams and nightmares.

Doctors need to stop taking advice from drug pushers at pharmaceutical companies and educate themselves about the dangers of this drug. Doctors must try to grow some compassion for mental health patients, and stop prescribing drugs that make our lives hell on earth. Effexor was not superior to any of the other antidepressants (which eventually pooped out) I have taken, so I don’t know why it was prescribed by a celebrated psychiatrist at one of the “world’s greatest hospitals” in the Northeast.

@seashore
I disagree about taking this pharmaceutical off of the market. I certainly agree with you on the following statement ” Doctors must try to grow some compassion for mental health patients.” The pharmaceutical company who developed this medication failed to do adequate testing & provide discontinuation procedures so we can’t totally blame the doctors although they should know by now from having enough complaints by their patients that they’re stopping this medication too quickly. A psychiatrist in France was taking this medication and he decided to discontinue this medication the same way he prescribed his patients to stop and obviously he had withdrawl symptoms. Then he stopped at a later time and he use the 5-10% method and it was very successful, he had no withdrawal symptoms at all and now he advocates the 5-10% method. It’s a shame people don’t come here first and read this thread to educate themselves on others experiences, if they did they wouldn’t have to experience the awful withdrawal symptoms. Obviously patients don’t have to obey their doctor and take these large cuts and suffer the withdrawal symptoms. But this drug does help a large number of patients so again I disagree that it should be taken off of the market. However I do believe the pharmaceutical company should educate the physicians who prescribe it.
Take care,
Jake

Jake -

I'm stunned by your heartless response.

You write: "It’s a shame people don’t come here first and read this thread to educate themselves on others experiences, if they did they wouldn’t have to experience the awful withdrawal symptoms." What an utterly odd thing to say. I didn't know this site existed until yesterday! Shouldn’t doctors and pharmaceutical companies be accurately advising patients?

You seem confused about how I have come off Effexor. I did not disobey my doctor and take “large cuts.” We discussed the process and I took 6 months – that’s six months - to taper down and off. Do you consider that "stopping this medication too quickly"?

Many patients have shared their difficult experiences with Effexor on message boards over the past 20 or so years. You admit that doctors and pharmaceutical companies have not focused enough on testing and discontinuation. Prior to starting Effexor 12 years ago, I discussed the side effects and withdrawal experiences Effexor patients were describing on message boards with my doctor and my doctor dismissed those experiences.

You write: “…this drug does help a large number of patients…” Effexor helped me! But it is not worth the nasty side effects and withdrawal experiences. There are other equally effective antidepressants available without Effexor’s downsides. This is why I advocate for removing Effexor from the market. Perhaps then doctors and pharmaceutical companies will be held to a higher standard.

Jake -

I'm stunned by your heartless response.

You write: "It’s a shame people don’t come here first and read this thread to educate themselves on others experiences, if they did they wouldn’t have to experience the awful withdrawal symptoms." What an utterly odd thing to say. I didn't know this site existed until yesterday! Shouldn’t doctors and pharmaceutical companies be accurately advising patients?

You seem confused about how I have come off Effexor. I did not disobey my doctor and take “large cuts.” We discussed the process and I took 6 months – that’s six months - to taper down and off. Do you consider that "stopping this medication too quickly"?

Many patients have shared their difficult experiences with Effexor on message boards over the past 20 or so years. You admit that doctors and pharmaceutical companies have not focused enough on testing and discontinuation. Prior to starting Effexor 12 years ago, I discussed the side effects and withdrawal experiences Effexor patients were describing on message boards with my doctor and my doctor dismissed those experiences.

You write: “…this drug does help a large number of patients…” Effexor helped me! But it is not worth the nasty side effects and withdrawal experiences. There are other equally effective antidepressants available without Effexor’s downsides. This is why I advocate for removing Effexor from the market. Perhaps then doctors and pharmaceutical companies will be held to a higher standard.

@seashore
Good morning,
I’m sorry you found my comment to be heartless. Although it may not have been as compassionate as you may have thought it should have been. I don’t believe I ever targeted you specifically. I never said you disobeyed your doctor or that you took large cuts. Yes, I do believe 6 months is to short to taper off 225mg after taking it for 12 years. Admitting I’m not a medical professional, it’s simply my opinion based on thousands of posts here and other forums. You said I seem confused about how you came off Effexor. I don’t know how I could be confused since I had absolutely no idea how you came off of it. I never saw what your taper schedule was. I am not a medical professional and my opinion is based on the thousands of threads I have read here and on other forum’s and the consensus has been they were having withdrawal effects because they have been coming off it too quickly. It is a perfectly logical and normal conclusion to come to. But the sad truth is regardless of whether people have taken this medication for a few months 10 years or 30 years when they decide they wanna quit they want to quit fast. One lady here who was a medical professional was on it for 30 years, she came off too quickly and had a stroke.

You mentioned there are other equally as effective anti-depressants and that may well be true for you and some others but it’s not necessarily true for everyone. A number of people have said Effexor is the only drug that helped them. It’s possible some of those may not have tried every single anti-depressant on the market but I can only go by what people are kind enough to share.

I do believe doctors need to be more enlightened to some of their patients needs.
You obviously have strong opinions as do I so I hope we can agree to disagree.
Have a nice day,
Jake

Whether I came off Effexor too fast or not is something I don't want to discuss with you any further. My doctor thought we had a sound plan and I did too. I’m not going to second guess my doctor or chastise myself. That doesn’t get me anywhere but into a deep dark hole. Plus, it’s too late now – and I will never go back on Effexor. It’s also not helpful when other people who know nothing about me become scolds instead of trying to be kind. I’m not angry anymore. I realize you probably can’t help yourself. My sole focus now is withstanding withdrawal for however long it takes.