How did you cope with Effexor discontinuation symptoms?

Please don’t think I’m being nosy, but what do you and your doctor consider a minimal amount of klonopin or Valium. I’m in a struggle myself with all this. I can’t take mirtazapine. Wish I could it was great for anxiety.

.5 mg/twice a day for Klonopin, or 5-10mg. /day for Valium. Twice a week. That’s the best I can do. Mirtazapine has been a godsend for me.

You only take the Valium or klonopin twice per week? I know mirtazapine is great for anxiety. I took it for two months. Even with dosage adjustments it made me too lethargic.

I take the Mirtazapine 1.5 hrs. before bed. It helps me sleep 6-7 hrs. Doesn’t do much for depression. It’s sedating quailties are wonderful. But not to be taken full dose in the a.m. Never makes me tired the next day. Been on it 2 yrs. now. The benzos, quite frankly, scare me. I’m experimenting with two times a week....in a row. 5 days off.....sometime even two weeks. Hoping to not reach any tolerance.....or dependence. We’ll see how it goes.

Thank you so much for your replies.

Let’s talk again.

@behrouz, how is your son doing?

Xanax is the quickest acting benzo. That’s why they’re so helpful for panic attacks

I’m afraid of ALL physch meds. They’re all dangerous and have long and short term side effects. It’s such a catch 22. Damned if you take them, damned if you don’t!

With all due respect, you shouldn't be afraid of all psych meds. Granted, it takes some tweaking to find the ones that work for you. But they are out there. If it had not been for the work I've done in the past 30 years, I would not have found the combination that allows me to live a life today. I've accomplished quite a bit in my life. I held down a job for 40 years, I went to Afghanistan for two years with the DOS, I helped raise an amazing son (he was a captain in the army deployed to Iraq first with a tank platoon and then with a sniper platoon and now he is an FBI agent - perhaps he is the reason I was put on this earth; he has made a significant contribution to society), I started playing the piano when I was six, and I play moderately well - not Carnegie Hall mind you, but enough to satisfy me. Despite the pain, the depression, the anxiety, the family-of-origin PTSD, I've had a life thanks to my meds (and thanks very much to my husband of 46 years who has never turned his back on me). Don't lose hope; find a psychiatrist and psychologist you trust and work with them to find your answer. Keep you head up.