Effexor Tapering Off and Side Effects

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for making your way to my post. I am in pretty bad shape as (I believe) a result of tapering down my Effexor prescription, and I am looking for support, advice, timelines, or suggestions to maybe help me get through this.

Background: I have been taking Effexor 300mg (2x 150mg XR capsules) for about 4 years now for MDD and GAD. I am currently 21. My life situations and state of mind have changed considerably in the last few years, and I've been truly happy for about a year now.

About 5 months ago, I was speaking to a behavioural health specialist about my habit of overeating, and I mentioned to her that it got a lot more frequent and I gained a lot of weight when I started Effexor. I also said that, since I had been doing pretty well mentally and had taken the medication for some time that I would be interested in talking to my regular doctor about coming off it it. I am still relatively young (21) and it sucks having to take medicine when I go on girls trips or to stay with a friend, so I figured why not. She said sure, and that if I feel like I don't need it anymore or at least such a high dose, that I could start coming off of it and even she can help prescribe the tapering amounts, but that we should start in summer. That brings us to now.

About 2.5 weeks ago, I started my first reduction in the dose. I went from 300mg XR to 262.5mg XR, a reduction of the smallest available capsule amount (37.5mg XR). I honestly didn't notice much of anything at all. I took that amount as per instructed for 2 weeks, and then about 3-4 days ago I began the second reduction as instructed of another 37.5mg for a new daily total of 225mg XR.
2 nights ago, shit hit the fan.

I started having terrible withdrawl symptoms. I was flooded with anxiety and nausea, and I was hot, hotter than the sun. I had diarrhea and shaking, too. I couldn't sleep at all that night, I was terrified. The absolute worst of it only lasted 10 hours thank god, before I settled into feeling only moderately physically uncomfortable and anxious. That's where I am now. I'm 4 days in to the 225mg XR and although the worst seems to be over I still don't feel right, I am anxious and shivery. My behavioural health specialist said the worst of it is probably over and each day I should continue to feel more comfortable on this dose, and I should stay on this dose this time for a month instead of two weeks, before another reduction of 37.5mg XR. But I am scared. I am scared of the sickness and pain and the sheer dread/anxiety that rushes over me. I am scared that in a month I still won't feel normal. And even if I do, that's when it's time to decrease it again, and I'm so scared to. I am lucky I am on summer break from University and not working, I can't imagine trying to carry on with life in this condition.

Please somebody, anybody, I would greatly appreciate any support, advice, tips, etc., because more than anything I'm just scared. Thanks.

@kaelan I am so sorry you are in pain. I have taken 150 mg for many years and have switched to other anti-depressants multiple times, for one reason or another, only to return to this med. I am presently on .75 and hope to remain here. I would take longer to lower your dose further. I have found taking 75 mg doses of CBD oil, which helps with anxiety, is an aid while reducing your dose of Effexor. You might ask you doctor for a prescription of Valium while you are going through this, which you could take every few days when the pain is too much. My doctor allowed me, at 80 yrs old, a prescription for Xanax, which my partner keeps in a safe, to take when natural remedies for anxiety don't help. I can sometimes walk away the anxiety. I am careful what I allow myself to watch on TV and Youtube has lots of calming videos to watch for meditation. I hope you have the support of your family while you are going through this. If you can afford it, a message, or at least ask for a hug from your friends, can bring temporary relief. We all need body contact. Hang in there. You will get through this. Just continue to do it slowly.

I am not a doctor, so my comment is based on personal experience and my own research. Your doctor is asking you to make reductions that are too large, too quickly. Please research Mark Horowitz and Anders Sorensen, the experts in the area of deprescribing psychotropic medications. Anything more than 10% every 4-6 weeks is not recommended. I went through hell for a very long time because I was told to follow a similar schedule as you. Doctors are not taught about safe deprescribing, and the current guidelines are not based on how the drug impacts your brain. Please do your research. Good luck.

Just to interject, I will repeat what I have said multiple times on this forum. Given my own experience getting off of Effexor, and the impression I've gathered here that it is the most complained about drug on this site – by my estimation more than all other drugs mentioned here combined – as well as the misery people endure getting off of it – something I've seen on numerous forums – this drug needs to be removed from the market. No pharmaceutical intended to help people should be this difficult to quit taking. In my case the drug made me suicidal and I needed off of it very quickly. It wasn't fun. This shouldn't be happening.

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for making your way to my post. I am in pretty bad shape as (I believe) a result of tapering down my Effexor prescription, and I am looking for support, advice, timelines, or suggestions to maybe help me get through this.

Background: I have been taking Effexor 300mg (2x 150mg XR capsules) for about 4 years now for MDD and GAD. I am currently 21. My life situations and state of mind have changed considerably in the last few years, and I've been truly happy for about a year now.

About 5 months ago, I was speaking to a behavioural health specialist about my habit of overeating, and I mentioned to her that it got a lot more frequent and I gained a lot of weight when I started Effexor. I also said that, since I had been doing pretty well mentally and had taken the medication for some time that I would be interested in talking to my regular doctor about coming off it it. I am still relatively young (21) and it sucks having to take medicine when I go on girls trips or to stay with a friend, so I figured why not. She said sure, and that if I feel like I don't need it anymore or at least such a high dose, that I could start coming off of it and even she can help prescribe the tapering amounts, but that we should start in summer. That brings us to now.

About 2.5 weeks ago, I started my first reduction in the dose. I went from 300mg XR to 262.5mg XR, a reduction of the smallest available capsule amount (37.5mg XR). I honestly didn't notice much of anything at all. I took that amount as per instructed for 2 weeks, and then about 3-4 days ago I began the second reduction as instructed of another 37.5mg for a new daily total of 225mg XR.
2 nights ago, shit hit the fan.

I started having terrible withdrawl symptoms. I was flooded with anxiety and nausea, and I was hot, hotter than the sun. I had diarrhea and shaking, too. I couldn't sleep at all that night, I was terrified. The absolute worst of it only lasted 10 hours thank god, before I settled into feeling only moderately physically uncomfortable and anxious. That's where I am now. I'm 4 days in to the 225mg XR and although the worst seems to be over I still don't feel right, I am anxious and shivery. My behavioural health specialist said the worst of it is probably over and each day I should continue to feel more comfortable on this dose, and I should stay on this dose this time for a month instead of two weeks, before another reduction of 37.5mg XR. But I am scared. I am scared of the sickness and pain and the sheer dread/anxiety that rushes over me. I am scared that in a month I still won't feel normal. And even if I do, that's when it's time to decrease it again, and I'm so scared to. I am lucky I am on summer break from University and not working, I can't imagine trying to carry on with life in this condition.

Please somebody, anybody, I would greatly appreciate any support, advice, tips, etc., because more than anything I'm just scared. Thanks.

@kaelan
In January of this year I went off 225mg Effexor using a Prozac bridge and it was very easy. I had no withdrawal symptoms. I don't know why all doctors don't prescribe it.

@sallyo420 when did the prozac start working for you? I am day 1 of week 6, i still feel anxious and jittery

@sallyo420 when did the prozac start working for you? I am day 1 of week 6, i still feel anxious and jittery

@depressedbutnotdead

I stopped cold turkey about a year-and-a-half ago. I don't advise this, but in my case, after long term use, it began driving me into a very dangerous depression and causing serious behavioral issues and self-harm actions. There are studies showing this is a rare but documented response. I was on it for 20 years, yet somehow managed to ride out the worst of the withdrawal in about four to six weeks. After that I had months of surging emotions, although I was good with this as, looking back, I feel that Effexor shut down a lot of my capacity for feeling the fullness of life, both the joy and the sorrow. I was emotionally flatlined except for extreme rage, which began developing as I tumbled into massive depression and is very uncharacteristic of me.

It became a nightmare drug for me, and even my psychiatrist is in full agreement that the antidepressant was what was fueling my severe and deepening depression. 18 months after quitting, she's all but cut me loose. She's not worried about me harming myself now (I was hospitalized about two years ago).

I've grown deeply critical of how the drug is handled. I was never told about the difficulties of quitting it (I'm an outlier for being able to wean off of it so quickly; I've heard no end of nightmare stories from others). I was never told about the black box warnings that, it turned out, applied to me. It was prescribed by a family physician who just handed it to me and said if it doesn't work, come back. No medical monitoring. No psychological monitoring. No warnings. Nothing. Just take it and hopefully you'll feel better. Frankly, I don't know if a lot of general practitioners are even aware of the potential pitfalls of it.

I have come across this story on forums repeatedly. People are prescribed it, but not told that quitting it could be a brutal and prolonged experience. They only find out when they decide to quit. This should not be happening.

Antidepressants do save lives, but patients need to be making informed decisions. But in my case, as well as that of many I've seen who have recounted their experiences on forums, this simply doesn't happen.

I did switch to a different provider, a much younger P.A. who is fully cognizant of the possible negative side effects of antidepressants. As I was relaying my experience, he told me that he's very cautious with antidepressants, informs patients before prescribing them that if they need to quit, it could be extremely difficult, and if they do decide to try them he has them to come in regularly for a emotional and physical checks. That's how it should be.