Effexor Tapering Off and Side Effects

Yes, sorry! Im done! No more! Feeling great, no turning back. 6 weeks it took

Hey there,
I too weaned off of Effexor and the ONLY way I was able to was by getting on another antidepressant. It sounds like you have made it much further than I did. When I was weaning off, I cut out caffeine completely and that seemed to help. I wish I had more advice but I wish you luck on your withdrawal. Will you come back and let us know how you’re doing?

Hi , things are going better with me. I worked with true hope(a nutrition based antidepressant program) and with heir guidance and coaching I went true the tapering down and then quitting. After I stopped taking the last dose of Effexor I felt ok for a week or 2 but then started to feel very bad, this lasted for almost 3 months, but things are better now, still feeling some anxiety and worry and stuff but it's not too bad and it seems to be slowly improving. I would encourage u to give true hope a chance if u like. They also told me that Effexor is one of the hardest meds to come of off, so yes it was very hard for me for 3 months, I often felt like giving up and turning back but things are better now.

To all who struggle, remember these disorders MDD and BPD, often treated with the same meds, belong to us. I have been sick since age six I am turning 60 this month. During that time I’ve been on everything from ETC to Smoking Pot. The one thing I know for sure is I have to do my own research and keep a record of everything? Sleep, meds, exercise and how I feel day to day.

The last time I followed a doctor blindly I ended up in prison, suicide would have been preferable,

I know make written reports to my provider before our meetings, I include my thoughts on what we should do next, This is not a “set it and forget it” disorder, as much as the providers and we might want it to be. It changes constantly!

Do your own research, you should know more about your illness then your provider does!

It’s your life!

My best wishes to all who suffer anywhere from any disease or injustice. That is my “estranged” Father’s Day wish,

Hello everyone, I have been in effexor for fifteen years been on 150 for seven. Finally found out a lot of my issues were do to ADHD so was on the wrong med. Finally think I found a good ADHD medsso been trying to lower my dose of effexor with psychatrist help. I went from 150 to 75. During the first few weeks felt vertigo and Shakey that went away. Then about four weeks into it felt body shocks. Now I feel like itchiness in scalp and tingling and brain zaps. Is this a normal side effects? Also thinking I jumped to big of a dose so thinking about going up 37.5 then taper off again from there. I do have a psych and he recommended that he is fantastic. It's been hard and stressful. But I am getting through it. Thank you for listening. Blessings.

Hello @keola07, Welcome to Connect. I know it must be difficult and stressful tapering off of Effexor. It's good that you have great support to help you through the process. There are a couple of discussions that you might want to look at on the topic.

--- As promised, my successful tapering off Effexor (Venlafaxine): https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/as-promised-my-successful-tapering-off-effexor-venlafaxine/
--- Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine): https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tips-on-minimising-withdrawal-symptoms-from-effexor-aka-venlafaxine/

Thank you

Hi everyone, hope you all are doing well. I am wondering if anyone has similar experiences and suggestions that may help, thanks!

I started to take antidepressants in 2012 when I was 13 because my mood was unusually low for long periods of time and sometimes felt tearful. I was first put on Zoloft for a year and then switched to Effexor. The dosage was 75 mg for most of the time. Since 2016 I also started to take Depakote, a mood stabilizer, because I was suspected of bipolar disorder (which was likely not the case in hindsight), and stayed on it because the doctor thought it could enhance the effect of Effexor.

For me, a palpable unwanted effect of these medications is emotional blunting. I consider myself a likable, confident, and sociable person by nature. I have always wanted to have a romantic relationship but have never been able to. The sexual attraction is there but my emotional responsiveness is just too low to develop the attachments needed for either friendships or relationships. In fact I think despite the sexual attraction I stopped having crushes (which I think are a sustained emotional effect) on girls since I started to take antidepressants. The emotional blunting made me mostly stay in a not-fully-conscious mental condition in the past 10 years.

I made several attempts to go off Effexor. For me, each time I reduce the dosage, after about 2 months I would start to feel tearful. Then, I had to go back on the old dosage, and the tearful feeling would be resolved almost immediately. Recently I tried to wean off Depakote. But the robot-like state worsened after I stopped.

Any comments would be helpful, thanks!

Why are trying to go off Effexor??
If I read this right when you tried to go off it, you went into a tearful depressed state, and went back on it.

Yes, that's correct, but I think Effexor causes emotional blunting so I try to go off it.