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Anyone tapered off Effexor and used Prozac as a bridge?
Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: Jul 30 10:33pm | Replies (74)Comment receiving replies
Hi there, I’m just wondering how you do this as I’m being told to wean off but having hell, psychs just say cut fast, deal with withdrawals but the Prozac bridge seems best, I just do not know how to do it, ptsd. I can’t handle the Effexor it did nothing for me, just bad side effects trying to come off. Thanks so much. You can private message me if you like too, thanks again. I have a doc willing to prescribe but doesn’t know how exactly, liquid Prozac given but no instructions just take 5mg and wean Effexor but no info how, I’m on 112.5 at moment of Effexor xr, bead counting even too hard
Replies to "Hi there, I’m just wondering how you do this as I’m being told to wean off..."
Many start as low as 1.25 mg liquid daily try for a week and then bump up very gradually
What did you end up doing? I'm in severe withdrawal from Effexor, planning to get liquid Prozac and start with 2.5mg (using a very thin syringe). I hope it helps because my anxiety and fear are horrible. I'm so scared.
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There's another thread on Mayo Clinic Connect "Tips on minimising withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)"—it is 500+ pages, but full of good information and tips posted by people encountering withdrawal issues (or hoping not to) when trying to get off Effexor and I HIGHLY recommend all who are trying to get off, or even just reduce their Effexor to read EVERY page.
I'm not a doctor and cannot speak to the efficacy of using a Prozac bridge, nor did I try this method of withdrawing from Effexor, but some time back found and posted this link to "Tips ..." about using a Prozac bridge for others who were wondering about it and two posters there, Josheek and mikl_pls, detailed their Prozac bridge methods—https://www.depressionforums.org/forums/topic/107532-coming-off-of-effexor-with-prozac-bridge/
Please discuss these options with your doctor. Good luck with your taper and keep in mind that often doctors are more optimistic than their patients find comfortable regarding how quickly they drop and how steep the drops should be—most folks find tapering slowly is usually more successful than rushing the process.