Effexor Tapering Off and Side Effects

UPDATE! It is almost a full year since tapering off and discontinuing Effexor! Praise God! It caused so many side effects which I have realized over the last year of research--dry eye, low Vitamin D, aches in hips, depression symptoms(a diagnosis I did not have initially but, over the last 4 years of taking this, it began to cause depression), weight gain, etc. I can say this has been one of the hardest years. I want to give all of you hope who are trying to phase off of it! I am medication free! (except for prescription Vitamin D and eyesdrops for the dry eye)
It has taken a lot of hard work, patience, prayers, supportive family and friends and God's grace to get me through to this day! I found an ob-gyn who not only is specialized on peri-menopause/menopause, but also a knowledgeable and licensed psychologist!! Because I was so afraid of trying yet again another medication, I asked if and how we could try to use as many natural products as possible. She has recommended magnesium glycinate, Vitamin B, Fish Oil(north atlantic fish) and recently a probiotic! We have also discussed Maca and will begin this after I feel comfortable on the probiotic(after blood work, discovered my hormone levels were low, I could go on hormone therapy but wanted to try natural again). For me, this has been the key to decreasing the anxiety and the mild depression. 18 years ago, I was placed on effexor for panic attacks that seemed to come out of nowhere along with other peri-menopause symptoms. But, once off the effexor, I experienced a full blown case of anxiety and depression. Thankfully, with the supplements prescribed in April, it has become almost none existant. I had to remember my brain was trying to recuperate and heal from the effexor having controlled the highs and lows all those years. So I was quite gentle to myself which is hard for many of us to do with work, family responsibilities and personal goals. I go to the gym 3x/week, walk outside when I can, try to eat proper, have weekly contact with a friend for Bible Study via Facetime, take my daily supplements, keep a schedule, attend groups I enjoy and challenge my mind(such as genealogy research). One book which really helped me was Craig Groeschel's "Winning the War in Your Mind". It explains ways the brain functions and gives encouragement and work to do to train your brain. It really works! Lisa Osteen's, "It's On the Way--Don't Give up on your Dreams and Prayers" and "The Mindful Marriage" by Ron and Nan Deal(because the dysregulation was affecting my marriage and this book has a very useful tool for all of us to use if we find ourselves frequently being triggered--You actually have homework to do But, IT WORKS). I also researched Effexor research articles from Medical Journals, Mayo Clinic, John Hopkins and NIH and whatever else I could find to try to understand the trauma my brain has experienced going off the Effexor. I am beginning to use the word trauma more to explain what happened to my brain tapering off the Effexor. There is so much more for all of us to understand regarding this medication. Find a good therapist who believes you and doesn't just treat the anxiety and depression or whatever you are on the Effexor for, but, will also treat you as if you have a brain trauma if you are tapering off the Effexor. (Just my opinion) I am concerned medical providers continue to use Effexor to treat peri-menopause symptoms when there are gentler medications not as difficult to phase off of. When I look back at how far I've come since last Nov 1, I am amazed and thank God for all of my progress and healing! Good wishes to all of you!

I have been weaning off effexor er for a year, and am down to 8.1mg (weighing beads). At what point is it safe/recommended to jump to zero? I have seen different recommendations by different experts (Sorenson, Horowitz).Also, I'm having such a tough time with the amount of time this is taking. How can I wrap my brain around it and be more patient? I feel like I'm just missing my life.

I have been weaning off effexor er for a year, and am down to 8.1mg (weighing beads). At what point is it safe/recommended to jump to zero? I have seen different recommendations by different experts (Sorenson, Horowitz).Also, I'm having such a tough time with the amount of time this is taking. How can I wrap my brain around it and be more patient? I feel like I'm just missing my life.

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.

I have been weaning off effexor er for a year, and am down to 8.1mg (weighing beads). At what point is it safe/recommended to jump to zero? I have seen different recommendations by different experts (Sorenson, Horowitz).Also, I'm having such a tough time with the amount of time this is taking. How can I wrap my brain around it and be more patient? I feel like I'm just missing my life.

@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 have been weaning off effexor er for a year, and am down to 8.1mg (weighing beads). At what point is it safe/recommended to jump to zero? I have seen different recommendations by different experts (Sorenson, Horowitz).Also, I'm having such a tough time with the amount of time this is taking. How can I wrap my brain around it and be more patient? I feel like I'm just missing my life.

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!!

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

@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?