Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

I hope you don't believe tapering a dose is as simple as asking yourself how to mechanically split it... extended release system involve a lot of techs and complexity that you need to consider... That's the very reason why tapering off is a shit to deal with when monography alone never provide the reason why they advice not to split/crush/break their original form..

Dammit. So complicated:(
Going off Paxil doc had me cut pills and drop 5 mgs every two weeks which I discovered later was too fast and I’m still reeling 8 months later😞
Docs have recommended cymbalta, remeron or Effexor.
I’m freaked out about tapering off any of them if they don’t work or I have side effects.
But….I need something for my mental health and hoping for something that would be easier to cut doses. Reading about counting beads makes me crazy to think about. I don’t understand any of your photos but it all looks terribly complicated.

Tapering off 37.5 mg in just 20 days is a very fast taper. If you start experiencing withdrawal symptoms you can't tolerate, people here have found relief by going back to a dosage where they weren't having symptoms, staying there until they stabilize (may take weeks) and dropping by a smaller amount at the next taper. Generally, commenters on this forum have found a gradual taper (dropping only 5–10%) over a longer period of time is a more successful strategy and is much less stressful.

My experience with Cymbalta has been good. I plan to stay with it unless it stops being effective so I don't know what a taper would be like. The Effexor taper was so god-awful I wouldn't ever go on it again unless there was no other option. I should say, too, that I also take metoprolol, a beta blocker which an emergency room physician prescribed when I was there for a really bad panic attack. I was already on it when I started the Cymbalta and my doc said there was no conflict so I've stayed on it.

I think the cymbalta taper would be just as bad!
Did you count beads with Effexor?
Isn’t cymbalta also beads?
Are you on for depression and anxiety?
That’s what I need something for but so afraid to taper if they don’t work…..my Paxil WD was cutting tabs and WD was horrible

I did count beads with Effexor. And the Cymbalta taper might be just as bad; I don't know because I haven't done it. I suppose it is beads; again, I don't know because I haven't opened a capsule. I take them for depression and anxiety. The depression is bad, but it's manageable. The panic attacks, however, come out of nowhere and they're what I want to prevent. I don't know how long you have to take a drug to see if it will work. If you haven't been on one for too long, the taper may be bad, but you know you can get through it. I'd been on Effexor for 25 years, with an increasing dose over that time. I don't remember the amount I was taking when I tapered. I do know it was higher than the 60mg of Cymbalta I take now.

Effexor and cymbalta have been recommended to me for depression and anxiety, 8 months after a horrendous withdrawal from 25 years on Paxil (which worked great all those years until depression crept in)
My depression and anxiety are through the roof and all I can do is obsess over these two drugs.
What if it doesn’t work? Side effects? Trying to go off???
Which one has worked better for you?

I tapered by decreasing my dosage. I tapered down in a short amount of time about a month. It was way to fast. I got awful side effects both physical and mentally. It was one of the worst experiences in my life. I call it the poison pill.

You acknowledge that you need to replace the Paxil you were taking for depression and anxiety—but right now it seems you're "putting the cart before the horse" and mostly worrying about how to get off whichever you try IF it DOESN'T help you.

Please remember that—
1) NOT everyone has difficulty getting off a drug; this site is for folks who ARE having, or DID have problems, so of course, it seems that quitting Effexor/venlafaxine is a nightmare. For some it is, but mostly because they're going too fast; quite a few here found "slow and steady" a successful strategy.
2) You learned something about tapering through your own experience getting off Paxil—that going too fast put you into a tailspin. Again, this reinforces the "slow and steady" approach to tapering if discontinuing a drug is needed.
3) You may learn very quickly that your post-Paxil choice IS, or ISN'T working. Usually, it is long-time use (or high dosages) that make discontinuing a drug difficult.
4) What drug will work for you is solely dependent on YOUR body—no one else's physiology, mental/medical issues, or past treatments are going to be like yours, so their experiences good, or bad aren't a prediction of yours.

You will set yourself up for success by reading up on how these possible next drugs work and for what conditions/issues they work best and having an in-depth talk with your prescriber. Good luck and much success going forward.

Most medical professionals only know what we shouldn’t do. Most know little to nothing about what we should do.