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As promised, my successful tapering off Effexor (Venlafaxine)
Below you will find the tapering plan that I used to successfully wean myself off Effexor (Venlafaxine). Feel free to share this with your doctor If you would like. I researched and came up with this plan, which was approved by my doctor, although she thought I could probably have weaned myself off sooner. But the reality is that we all have differing tolerance levels for tapering and weaning off this powerful drug from our bodies. Some people can taper faster, but usually not those who have been on this drug for years (like myself, since October 2002). I tapered off EffexorXR 150mg capsules about 5 years ago down to 75mg, and was on that maintenance dosage for a couple of years until I started weaning off the 75mg a year ago in April 2019. As of October, 2029, I’ve been withdrawal symptom free, but I still have occasional periods of anxiety when triggered. But I realize these waves of anxiety will soon pass, and I cope by deep breathing, taking a walk, having a cup of chamomile tea, etc. Cutting my exposure to watching upsetting news has really helped a lot as well. These days I seek things that bring joy and peace in such a turbulent world. Wishing you all a successful weaning off this powerful drug.
Weaning off Venlafaxine XR 75mg (Effexor-(extended release)capsules:
Weaning plan off plan that worked for BSS:
1. Inform your doctor you are tapering down from 75 mg Venlafaxine and ask them to prescribe 37.50 tabs to help with tapering doses (1/2 dosage down from 75 mg Venlafaxine capsules). The tabs are easier to cut into halves and quarter dosages than counting out beads from the capsules.
2. Begin your taper only after you are on a non-withdrawal symptomatic dosage level. If you were having w/d symptoms at 75 mg, you’ll need to go back to the level at which you were symptomless and stay there for 2-3 weeks before deceasing to a slow taper. NOTE: after successfully tapering from 150mg Venlafaxine down to 75mg for a month, I was unable to tolerate a drop cold turkey from a daily dosage of 75mg down to 37.50mg (50%) without having bothersome withdrawal symptoms of dizziness, brain fog, brain zaps, and nausea. So after researching various tapering plans, I came up with a slower tapering schedule my body could tolerate to finish the tapering from 75mg to 37.50mg, and then on to complete the tapering. Your body may even need slower tapering, so adjust according.
3. Week 1-2: Take 75mg caps MWFSu; take 37.50mg tab on alternate days Tu,Th, Sa. At the end of week 2, if you only have relatively mild to no withdrawal symptoms, proceed to week 3. IMPORTANT: If you have intolerable symptoms, adjust to a slower tapering schedule by adding an additional 1/2 tab on the alternate days (or take a total of one and a half 37.50 tabs on alternate days). You’ll then have to tweak the rest of your tapering schedule. If all goes well, proceed with week 3.
4. Week 3-4: Cut a few 37.50 tabs in half with a pill cutter or exacto knife blade to create quarter pieces. Take 37.50mg tab on MWFSu and take 3/4 tab on alternate days Tu, Th, Sa.
5. Week 5-6: Take 3/4 of a tab MWFSu, and take 1/2 tab on alternate days Tu, Th, Sa. If only mild symptoms, proceed to week 5.
6. Week 7-8: Take 1/2 tab on MWFSu; and take 1/4 tab on alternate days Tu, Th, Sa. If no symptoms, continue to week 7.
7. Week 9-10: Take 1/4 tab on MWFSu; and take 1/8 tab (cut 1/4 tabs in half) on alternate days Tu, Th, Sa. *Notice the quartering of doses into crumbs now...very important to keep small dosage tapering to remain withdrawal symptom free.
8. Week 11-12: Take 1/8 tab crumb on MWFSu; take none on alternate days Tu, Th, Sa. *If skipping alternate days produces symptoms, stay on 1/8 tab crumbs for a couple of weeks before alternating skip days for a couple of weeks.
You’ll find that this schedule may have to be tweaked for you by extending the time you stay on a taper...possibly up to 3-4 weeks before beginning a new tapering down. It all depends on how you tolerate the first two weeks.
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Online sources I have found (because you are correct; doctors don't know much about this, though those in the UK seem to be ahead of the US) suggest a taper of 5 to 10 percent. I have written up a plan for myself to begin to taper by removing 5% (9 of your 180 beads) for the first two or three months, before removing another 9 (18 total) as a second step. The new number of beads I remove will decrease over time, as recommended, so I am prepared to take three years to accomplish this. I have failed at weaning off twice, with withdrawal symptoms ambushing me two months after a complete stop and feeling normal, so I know that it will be an extra-slow process for me. I was on Effexor 75 mg for many years and am now on 37.5. Outro dot com is another reference for those of us looking to withdraw from antidepressants, with information available through a link near the bottom of the page: https://www.outro.com
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2 ReactionsGlad you found this offering helpful. Hope that whatever your illness - physical, mental, spiritual - you are alwaysworthy to choose life and sanity over the destructive force of the illness. My trust in a Power greater than myself tells me that I along with this Power can overcome illness. I'm a 52-year survivor of cancer and and now a recent survivor in my case of medically overprescribed venlafaxine for 30 years. I thank this Higher Power for giving me the opportunity to recover from psychotropic drug dependency & codependency over people, places, things I am powerless over. I do have the power, though, to take care of myself and just say no to irresponsible physicians who have no understanding of the side effects of the medications they prescribe over time; even if they do, they choose not to share their knowledge with their patients. Deoressives out there: You do have the power to partner with a compassionate psychiatrist in your treatment plan and the monitoring of your prescriptions & their side effects which multiply & change over time. Please don't make your docs your gods. We are all just human beings who need to listen to our body, mind, and soul. That takes work - a lifetime! If you are not for yourself who is for you? Your 15-minuteZoom practitioner? Think again...miover which
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3 ReactionsSo far, I've been off venlafaxine entirely about a week. I don't have side
effects to the extent that you describe. The weaning process has taken me
3-4 years, based on my trust and collaboration with 2 practitioners who a.
Confirm a practical/ medical relationship between spiritual practice and
mental/physical health. b. Both happen to be male, have a mindfulness
practice in their own lives or have an ongoing physical/emotional/spiritual
relationship with a Power greater than themselves. They understand me and
nod their heads when I describe my inborn resistance to authority, the love
& acceptance I've found in 12-Step programs all over the world for 36.5
years - starting in HI in 6/'87. Feel free to email for more on this, if
you care to learn more. Will never forget a talk I heard in Honolulu, 1988
from a cancer surgeon with a spiritual approach to all illness. Dr. Bernie
Siegel, the author of "Love, Medicine, & Miracles" & other inspirational
books & media on how to heal ourselves, Hay House, concluded that talk with
this: "My cancer patients taught me this: The quickest way to recovery is
daily spiritual practice. The cancer patients who healed long-term were
either members of AA, Al-Anon, or a 12-Step support group. If you don't
already have an alcoholic or addict in your family, get one." There's humor
in this, yes. But also truth & wisdom. It's taken me a lifetime to wake up
to life, accept who I am, others who they are, and do my best to trust God,
clean house, and help others, 1 day at a time. Good luck and God bless!
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2 ReactionsSorry you're going through this weaning off process alone. Alone is a mistake. Please keep on trying to find a responsible psychiatrist who will gradually cut Effexor down every month or so. If you want the name of my physician, just to email him, private message me. It's hard work to advocate for yourself, but it must be done with responsible, professional help. Don't give up your search. Do-it-yourself- weaning off psychotropicdrugs is Russian roulette. The brain is a baby that needs to be weaned from chemical dependency oh so gently & carefully. Prayer & positive, courageous action are vital. I know from experience. Be strong & believe in the life force within you.
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3 ReactionsGlad you've weaned off from this terrible drug.My question now is ,if someone is diagnosed with the same problem you went through all these years,what else I can do to cure it without taking any psychotic drugs?
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1 Reactionin reply to @tglapin1974 Hi, my pharmacist suggested getting the Effexor non extended release and try breaking the tablets in half or taking one tablet every day and then next week take one every other day. She said the extended release stays in the body for 30 hours. What do you think of this suggestion as opposed to measuring out those beads in the capsules? I have the tablets now.
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1 ReactionAccording to what I have read, the problem with the tablets is cutting them into smaller and smaller pieces over time. Half a tablet, not a problem. But weaning off properly requires minor reductions over time in the amount of the drug one takes, and it is difficult to get precise measurements of anything other than half a tablet (assuming it is marked and one can cut it precisely).
Frances, I'm sorry you feel that the pain medication is the only way you
can survive until death. I know nothing of your situation.
All I know is that for almost 30 years, I trusted m.d.'s to relieve me of
emotional pain with psychotropic meds. which blocked feelings and over the
long haul induced neurological and cardiovascular side effects like high
blood pressure & tolerance of anti-depressants that I didn't need, to face
reality and deal with it. That was the story in my situation with too-long
medical prescription of anti-depressants and mood stabilizers that should
have been titrated from my system years before.
Far be it from me, with 2000 hours of trained & supervised pastoral
counseling in palliative, end-of-life care to suggest stopping meds. that
help you to live a quality of life that is right for you. Please accept my
apology for suggesting that in any way. Only wish you blessings of healing
in any possible way during a difficult time of life. All the best to you
and yours during the holidays. And thank you for reminding me that every
painful situation is different.
Trudy
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2 Reactionsin reply to @tglapin1974 I have a rare disease and have lost 40 percent of my body weight, now weighing in at 95 pounds, and finally coming out of my denial that all these designer clothes in my closet will either need to be sold or donated because I will never be a size 6 again. I now live in leggings, and while many shun or shame me because of the way I look, I think I look quite swell. I have always had this mantra, "If I look good, I feel good." However, sometimes it backfires on me as it did a couple of weeks ago when I ran into a neighbor who said to me, "you look different." I said that I had new glasses, which she liked, but that wasn't it. I told her I had eye makeup on, "THAT'S IT, you look so much better!" I said, "better than what?" Silence. I try, I really do.
I have accepted my situation, and the fact that I may never be "cured." But the thing is, being sick has made me feel so much better about myself, I have a lot of humility, gratitude, and I help others every single day, and all of this sheds a different light on those who choose to shun or shame me, keeping in mind that these people I am talking about are all VERY RELIGIOUS and are constantly asking me if I want them to pray for me, which I do not. When my friend told me that I looked gaunt, needed to wear makeup, and looked like a holocaust victim, I asked her, "what do you think Jesus Christ would say about that comment you just made to me?" Her response was that she did not find her comment offensive and she was "just trying to help me."
Sometimes I envy those who find comfort in religion, but I just can't. I am an intellect and question everything. I read philosophy and find comfort in the words of people like Marcus Aurelius or Kant of whatever book I might randomly select from my library. I have read the bible and also the koran, both so different. The one problem I have with the Christian bible is that there are so many versions, whereas there is only one koran. In fact, I was taking care of my friend last night and we were discussing religion and the terrible war going on in the Middle East. I turned to her and said, "how is it that Jesus, born a Jew, is now revered by the Christians? How did Jesus become a Christian?" Now I have something new to research.
I agree with you about the psychotropic drugs. Many doctors do not take enough courses on pharmacology during medical school, and they end up prescribing drugs they have no business doing so. This recently happened with my sister, who was prescribed a new drug on top of her Zoloft, to deal with her demented husband. I begged her not to take it , as I had read so many patient stories about the drug, even sent her selections of what people had posted. Well, she is taking it, and the results are "official", as she is a walking zombie. Unlike me, she refuses to talk to anyone. However, I give her a pass because she is my sister, the only one who cares about me.
I suffer from chronic and often debilitating pain on a daily basis, and this is why I choose to take the opiates that are prescribed.
Have a wonderful and warm holiday filled with laughter and joy
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4 ReactionsSounds like a reasonable approach to titration. Often, a compassionate pharmacist can help you get weaned off a drug because they know more about the long-term effects of drugs on our bodies than an m.d. or o.d. Good for you! This is at once a practical and spiritual (not religious) way to listen to your body & care for yourself. Bravo! Keep up the good work.
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