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Effexor tapering question
I was on 112.5mg of XR for chronic pain. I started to taper from it over 20 weeks ago by cutting every 2 weeks. It was changed to IR in liquid form and I split it into 3 doses a day. Problem is I never did the math on how much the psychiatrist was cutting every time. I wasn't having issues at first as soon as I came down to around 60mg I'm getting stomach pain constantly, lost weight because can't eat due to pain, insomnia is horrible 3 4 days no sleep. I'm at 31mg and I can't keep going like this. I did the math and if I ask for an adjustment to cut 10% of the last dose every 2 weeks will take me another year or so to get off this horrendous drug. Is there a way I can ask to be given another medication that can cover effexor so I don't have to take it anymore and taper off that other one then. This is too painful.
Will I face withdrawal if I cross to another antidepressant? Please inform me.
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Hi , don’t do the taper fast. You need to let your body adjust . Cut the 25 mg. tablets in 1/2. You still may feel an adjustment but not as bad. It’s normal to want to go fast but it is not a race. Everyone is different but slow and steady is much better. Good luck 🤞
@mitch4444
Sorry I missed the part about pills not being splittable. Ask the pharmacist if they do liquid form of the medication.
@cistus I weigh the small beads because they are so variable.
And venlafaxine and Efexor are the same medication.
I read the replies to medication advice with some trepidation. Antidepressants are such a mixed bag of variables from start to finish. They work wonders for some, devastate others. Some people can come off easily, some it's a nightmare. Dr's, Psychiatrists, Therapists help, of course .... but the reality is that the brain is SO complex, barely understood and different in absolutely everyone. With no substantive tests to measure any of the "chemicals" in our brains, it is all a slightly guided crap shoot. Everyone's journey is different.
I have been on Effexor 150mg for 22 years & Celexa 20mg combined. Most of the time my MDD was well managed and life was good.
A sudden an complete relapse on Dec 7th now has me venturing down the path of finding that stability again.
I've increased Effexor to 225, no progress, then a couple of weeks ago went to 300, which was clear to me and my body, WAY to much. It's a bumpy, terrifying, anxiety filled road to travel.... I have to commit myself to doing whatever it takes to live in the light again....
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1 ReactionEfexor's company, Viatris, told me that the amount of active drug present in each spheroid does not relate to the size or weight of it of it....
Help!
@cistus
Also it was not supposed to be used in tapering.
I expect they want us to stay on it, not taper off it.
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.
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