Tapering Off of Effexor

in reply to @kelvinthomas Thank you very much. I am working on tapering from 37.5 mg downward. I tried weighing the small "pebbles" inside the capsule on my kitchen scale, but they did not register. My next option will be to add them to a 1/4 teaspoon and try to decrease a little each day. Interestingly enough, I am still having nightmares, even when I went back to the 37.5 mg, ones that I wish I did not remember, as they are so real and relate to the recent horrible experience of a couple of weeks ago. I did discuss all of this with my psychologist who also is a MD, and she cautioned me to go very slowly because this medication is "all time awful." I had no idea that at one time it was pulled from the market, and suppose I should not be surprised that my doctor prescribed it in the first place. I know I no longer have a "chemical imbalance" in terms of my depression, as it is primarily the consequences of living with a chronic, incurable illness, When I tapered from the 150 mg to 112.5 mg I had no serious side effects, just sort of feeling "out of it" for the first week or so. After a few weeks I went down to the 75mg as described on this platform, then finally to the 37.5mg where I am at present. Yes, I am still young, but even still, I feel the relevance of coping with my ever changing physical maladies, if you will. I am still determined to remain strong and active as I possibly can, even if it makes me feel worse on some days. I really wish sometimes I were wired to curl up in a ball and feel what people have called, "immobilized." But I just cannot give in. Doctors understand so little today as it is, and I have found a way to navigate the system to the best of my ability, even if that means going against the advice of my doctor. Thank you for telling me about the nightmares, as I have never experienced such vivid ones in the past that actually wake me up.

Weighing did not work for me either. I found it worked well to open capsule and remove and throw away 2 white pebbles/spansules out of each capsule for the next month.
After that month take out 4 white pebbles from each capsule for the next 30or 60 days.
Then when you feel level and adjusted. Take out 5 out of each for next month and so on and so on. It takes many months to wean down but it’s better than experiencing the withdrawal symptoms. Have patience.

If you look at the research, you are decreasing the dose in the wrong direction. One should start by removing more beads in the beginning (no more than ten percent) and reduce by fewer and fewer beads over time. If you think about it, this makes sense because removing more and more beads would mean you are decreasing the dosage by a larger percentage of the drug, which is not what you want to do. See this link for a better explanation:

I had very good success tapering by measuring beads. Purchased jewelers scale and capsules. Weighed beads in original capsule. Set up schedule by reducing bead weight by 10% each month based on previous month. Doing the same now with Temazepam (powder in capsules). Good luck on your tapering program. You can do it!

in reply to @sassysaveur Thank you! I appreciate this information very much. Those beads are so tiny, that removing them feels like I am back in the chemistry lab in college. I will move ahead as you have suggested, as I really want to get off of this medication. I do not need it and do not want to take it going forward. After the discussion with my psychologist, who is also a MD, I am even more determined to remove this medication from my already spilling over medicine cabinet. This information is so helpful!

I did this reduction over a period of a year for my adult child. It’s tedious taking out an additional spansule every month or two but it worked. He’s been completely free of Effexor for over 5 years now and it’s a great feeling.
I will say he did get a few zaps here and there but nothing near as bad as it could have been. The reduction of one more spansule each month or two is not a science. You could consider reducing one spansule every other day for a month and then every day for the second month and continue that way. See how you feel as you go. There were some months we stayed at same dose a bit longer so as to acclimate. It’s by no means as controlled as I would have liked it to be.
I actually called the manufacturer and a pharmacist. I learned that the spansules are not equal in size/dosage. But honestly, it was the best I thought I could do.
The best part is taking control and getting off of the drug and moving forward with your life. Cheers to you!

I did this reduction over a period of a year for my adult child. It’s tedious taking out an additional spansule every month or two but it worked. He’s been completely free of Effexor for over 5 years now and it’s a great feeling.
I will say he did get a few zaps here and there but nothing near as bad as it could have been. The reduction of one more spansule each month or two is not a science. You could consider reducing one spansule every other day for a month and then every day for the second month and continue that way. See how you feel as you go. There were some months we stayed at same dose a bit longer so as to acclimate. It’s by no means as controlled as I would have liked it to be.
I actually called the manufacturer and a pharmacist. I learned that the spansules are not equal in size/dosage. But honestly, it was the best I thought I could do.
The best part is taking control and getting off of the drug and moving forward with your life. Cheers to you!

Once you open the capsules to remove beads, do you have to put the beads back in the capsule to swallow the drug?