Time of day to take venlafaxine

I used to take 150 mg every evening for many years. Now I am down to 50 mg which I take every morning. I don't think it makes that much of a difference. If you take your dose in the evening it may interfere with your sleep. I would think it is okay to take it in the morning. But I am not a doctor.

@david707 thank you for your reply it’s hard to know what to do did it affect your sleep?

@david707 David, how do you take your 50 mg dose? I would like to taper down from the 75 mg capsule I’m on, but the next smallest tablet is 37.5 mg. Do you take a liquid form of this medication?

@bella04 When I was on 150 mg Venlafaxine I took it at night and it didn't affect my sleep. Now I am on 75 mg and I take it in the morning.

@cjcurtis Sorry. Actually I take 75mg and since I have several bottles of 150 mg capsules, I open the caps and swallow approximately 1/2 the beads, put the capsule back together and take the capsule the next day. If I was you, I would take the 75 every other day. The medicine is in your system a long time and one day difference will not be felt. Relax. Be confident. Your attitude can make a difference. After a month like this you could then be ready to just take the 37 1/2 capsules, but only if you feel ready. I can only speak from my personal experience. I am not a doctor.

@cjcurtis Sorry I made a mistake. I take the usual 75 mg capsule every morning. You think their must be a significant difference between 75 and 37 1/2. I don't think so. When you realize some people take 225 mg daily. I don't think you need to take baby steps to reach your goal with this small amount. Counting the beads seems unnecessary to me, but if you want to you could do that. Or You could take 37 1/2 one day and 75 the next and I would be surprised if you noticed the difference.

@david707Thanks for your insight and suggestions, David. I have read probably too many horror stories about tapering off Venlaxafine, and so I’m expecting it will be difficult to reduce my dosage. I’m going to ask my doctor for his advice (even though I don’t always find it very helpful!).

@david707 There is a huge difference between 75 and 37.5--double in fact, or 50%, depending how you look at it. Experts on deprescribing do not recommend alternating varying dosages, but rather a steady, SLOW decrease--generally, no more than 10% over time as tolerated.

Extended release Effexor is available in capsules; immediate release is available in 25mg tablets. I have been tapering for more than a year (after two unsuccessful attempts), and doing it according to Horowitz's recommendations. I have used capsules, tablets and liquid forms, but am currently at less than 10mg, so am counting the granules in a 37.5mg capsule. I purchased empty capsules to hold a lowered dose, as the pharmacist said the granules should not be consumed otherwise.

@njoys I am glad this is working for you.