Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Oh dear, this is WAY too fast. You will feel worse, much worse. I would reinstate ASAP to 200mg.

I dropped by 12.5mg every 3 weeks, and 2 months after 0mg my horrible withdrawal started. I was originally on 112.mg

You need to taper by 10% every month but stabilize yourself first and do it longer if you have to. It gets harder after you hit a smaller dose. Then there is the 'endgame' when you reach like 5mg.

How are you now in December??

Thanks for the advice! Honestly, I gave up and returned to 225 mg when the withdrawal symptoms became too much for me. I’ll probably wait until the holidays are over and give it another shot (at a much slower pace) in January. How did you determine what 10% was? Did you have to empty out the capsules? My goal is not to discontinue this medication, but to get down to 150 mg, stay there awhile and see how I do, then perhaps aim for 75 mg.

Sadly, I never did the 10% taper, just went down by 12.5mg. I had capsules that had little disks/tabs inside and I know they are 12.5mg each. Based on the occupancy graph, going down to 75mg should be easy. Even 37.5mg shouldn't cause a huge difference. It's after that things get steep and crazy. If you could switch to the 12.5mg tab brand I would round up and take out the tabs. So for you first 10% of 22.5mg you could go down by 25mg, i.e. take out 2 tabs of the capsule. Or go slower by 1 disk. But when the drops get smaller than 12.5mg you need to use bead versions and start counting beads out. With lots of beads I think people get jewellery scales on Amazon. And then some people dissolve a bead or two in water when they get that low. I don't know. My beads are 0.4mg and yeah, people fine tune to two decimal places. That's a long way off for you so for now, I'd try to get to 37.5mg and take it from there. You might not even want to get off fully by then.

10% taper. Do not alternate days or doses. There is wide consensus on this.
survivingantidepressants.org

Thank you! I’m his appears to be an awesome website, and I will follow the advice given and share it with my doctor.

Hi there.
I hope you don't mind me asking you this.Did you manage to come off Venlafaxine?.
I've been on this horrendous drug for 12 years and have tried to withdraw from it 4 times but always went back to the full dose of 225mg as the withdrawals were so bad.
Many Thanks for reading this post.

I am presently on 150mg of venlafaxine. I was bumped up from 112.5 because of renewed anxiety, lack of concentration, trouble sleeping, digestive issues. However I am still feeling these things. I am asking myself are they symptoms of the disease or side effects of the medication. Has anyone had this happen to them?

bonniepie70

Hi, it took me 4 yrs to titrate down & off from 75mg V. I have been off for 1 year. The issues you have had are seemingly commonplace, as the lower the titrated dose, the more extreme are the w/drawl effects. So, giving up is tempting. Even after a year after stopping, they persist in my case. I have read such (post cessation) effects can "wax & wane" for a very long time, but do (eventually), become less debilitating & frequent. Having said that, everyone is different and these (withdrawal) symptoms reportedly vary wildly. It seems nearly half of people on VEN / EFFEXOR get varying degrees of withdrawal effects.

I am having a hard time understanding why so many are getting off Effexor/Ven. If it is helping you why would you go want to go off it ?? Unless your doctor has prescribed something else he thinks would be better for you ???
I am currently taking 300 mg.

For me, it is the side effects, some of which I only just realized were a result of this drug. It was too long ago that I first read the list of negative effects, and when I did, I did not think most would apply to me. I blamed constipation on calcium supplements, when it was Effexor. I would have periodic dizziness and occasional spells of chest spasms, irregular heartbeat, profuse sweating and feeling faint--which used to be quite scary; now I know it's this drug. The reason I know it's the drug is because I went two months over the summer without it, after weaning myself off (too quickly), and felt great until crushing anxiety and depression hit. I went back on 37.5 mg instead of my former 75. I feel better, but not good. Now I just want to be rid of it because I don't like what it has changed in me. Had I been placed on the drug for anxiety or depression (instead of hot flashes), I might feel differently. Still, I'd rather have been placed on a drug that is not one of if not the most difficult to discontinue--perhaps an SSRI instead of an SNRI. It was a mistake made by my gynecologist many years ago (before we googled everything); I hope these drugs are no longer prescribed for any "off-label" use.