When to jump to zero mg effexor? (and being patient!)

I would suggest you continue to taper as you have, since you have apparently been successful thus far in doing so. If you're down to 8mg, that's tremendous progress, so celebrate it! I'm down to 25mg. I know I have a long way to go, but I want to get there, so I am doing it slowly as recommended by Mark Horowitz, who has done it himself.

I have been weaning at 3 mg every 30 days I tried to stop it at 18mg and had horrible panic attacks. It really needs to be a slow process to give your receptors in your brain time to adjust. I think even with that it will be a rough few days/weeks when I actually quit Don’t plan to do it until I am as low as possible without symptoms. That attack scared me to death!!!
Be patient and do the exercises for relaxation now so they are second nature when or IF you are in a bit of trouble when you quit

I would love to wean off it , the only reason I still take it is because I tried once and the brain zaps wow, if you have gotten down this far think about that , and the risks u take if you come off it to quick even at that dose, better to be safe than sorry.

@tisme I think I am going to slow down and do a smaller percentage, like 5%. I just don't know how long it will take to feel stable enough to do the next drop.

I remember a doc saying if you have been on a med ( not effexor ) for a year it could take 18 months to 2 years to get off.

@mmsm I am taking 0.5 ml of solution 37.5/5
I use a syringe
Frighten to go quicker as do get brain zaps
It is said this stage is worse
Trying to be patient

I had a different experience. I was on 150 mg of Effexor and tapered by 50 mg/month with no problems. Obviously, that’s not everyone’s experience! I was on it for a severe depression—not so much anxiety. What resolved that depression was 2 weeks of SAINT (Stanford Accelerated Intermittent Neuromodular Therapy)—which is a variation of TMS treatment. Even tho’ the depression was completely resolved with SAINT, I was afraid of going off the Effexor—but eventually, after a year or so, I started the above taper. In May, it will be 4 years post SAINT with no recurrence. I understand that in some people there is a recurrence, which just goes to show that there is individual variation in response to treatments.
Perhaps try tapering by 1 mg/month? You can always go back up if you start having anxiety or “zaps.” If that happens, then try a 0.5 mg/month taper. You’ll get there!!

@5148branelly we cannot get the liquid in Australia only the capsules.

@pjs70
Why are people choosing to wean off this drug? Is it because you are cured and don’t need it anymore or has it stopped working? If you still suffer depression/anxiety, what will do after you’re off Effexor?

@meingan Effexor has caused liver damage for me, so I don't have a choice.