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Restarting Effexor and Struggling

Posted by njp1013 @njp1013, Sep 20, 2019

Hi everyone, I am new here. I recently tapered off of Effexor 150mg in May and was doing pretty well, until I had a major panic attach in church two weeks ago, which has precipitated another round of severe anxiety and depression. I re-started my Effexor at 75mg on Monday, and depending on how i feel in a month my doc may take me back up to 150 which seemed to be the magic dose for me last time.. so am on day 5 of that now and it sucks...its that part of starting a med where the benefits are minimal but the agitation felt while the body adjusts is on the increase. i've been waking up at like 330-4 every morning for 2 weeks then toughing it out at work or at home with the kids on weekends..its rough..anyway im hoping to hang out here and get some support and support others as groups like this have helped me in the past..i know every recovery is different but it helps me to think about the other times ive recovered..ok well hi everyone look forward to talking with you

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delia74 | @delia74 | Jan 23, 2025
In reply to @lynn1957 "I was on 75 mg. Effexor many years ago. Getting to a stable state was typical..." + (show)
Profile picture for lynn1957 @lynn1957

I was on 75 mg. Effexor many years ago. Getting to a stable state was typical of most ssri's and snri's. When I decided I was ready to taper off. I had noooooo problems. Not everyone does. I went down by a few beads a week. Yup counted out every little one. When I was down to two beads left. I quit. Never had any withdrawal at all. Not all negative. My only negative was some weight gain.

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Consider yourself fortunate. You don't say how long you had been on Effexor. The longer one has been on a drug such as this one, the more difficult it will be to taper, deal with the effects on every aspect of the human body as the person prays to make it to the end goal. That you had no effects is another fortunate aspect for you, because that is not the norm.
Understand that this is not a criticism, but counting the beads within the capsules is not supported by medical professionals and institutions. Yes, quite a few members on this site have posted of their successful attempts just by counting down on the beads. And just as many have told of the difficulties and hardships while on those journeys, some returning to the higher levels just to stop the harsh effects.
Wishing you a future without needing to take any antidepressants so that you will never have to chance having the challenging and draining effects that is part of the process of having your body struggle to adjust to not having the drug in your system. Because it is hell on earth.

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lynn1957 | @lynn1957 | Jan 23, 2025
In reply to @delia74 "Consider yourself fortunate. You don't say how long you had been on Effexor. The longer one..." + (show)
Profile picture for delia74 @delia74

Consider yourself fortunate. You don't say how long you had been on Effexor. The longer one has been on a drug such as this one, the more difficult it will be to taper, deal with the effects on every aspect of the human body as the person prays to make it to the end goal. That you had no effects is another fortunate aspect for you, because that is not the norm.
Understand that this is not a criticism, but counting the beads within the capsules is not supported by medical professionals and institutions. Yes, quite a few members on this site have posted of their successful attempts just by counting down on the beads. And just as many have told of the difficulties and hardships while on those journeys, some returning to the higher levels just to stop the harsh effects.
Wishing you a future without needing to take any antidepressants so that you will never have to chance having the challenging and draining effects that is part of the process of having your body struggle to adjust to not having the drug in your system. Because it is hell on earth.

Jump to this post

It takes months to taper down. When I say a couple more beads per week, I am serious. I was on it for several years. Each week on Monday, I would remove a couple of beads out of ten capsules. The next ten days I would up it to four removed and so on. It really did work.

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1 reply
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delia74 | @delia74 | Jan 24, 2025
In reply to @lynn1957 "It takes months to taper down. When I say a couple more beads per week, I..." + (show)
Profile picture for lynn1957 @lynn1957

It takes months to taper down. When I say a couple more beads per week, I am serious. I was on it for several years. Each week on Monday, I would remove a couple of beads out of ten capsules. The next ten days I would up it to four removed and so on. It really did work.

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As I already posted, consider yourself more than fortunate, and most definitely the exception to the rule.

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mmsm | @mmsm | Jan 24, 2025
In reply to @delia74 "Consider yourself fortunate. You don't say how long you had been on Effexor. The longer one..." + (show)
Profile picture for delia74 @delia74

Consider yourself fortunate. You don't say how long you had been on Effexor. The longer one has been on a drug such as this one, the more difficult it will be to taper, deal with the effects on every aspect of the human body as the person prays to make it to the end goal. That you had no effects is another fortunate aspect for you, because that is not the norm.
Understand that this is not a criticism, but counting the beads within the capsules is not supported by medical professionals and institutions. Yes, quite a few members on this site have posted of their successful attempts just by counting down on the beads. And just as many have told of the difficulties and hardships while on those journeys, some returning to the higher levels just to stop the harsh effects.
Wishing you a future without needing to take any antidepressants so that you will never have to chance having the challenging and draining effects that is part of the process of having your body struggle to adjust to not having the drug in your system. Because it is hell on earth.

Jump to this post

Has anyone experienced very high anxiety during withdrawal? If so, does it go away with time with the other symptoms? Right now, I am handling the physical symptoms, but the anxiety is overwhelming at times, and no CBT strategies seem to be working. I might be able to gut it out if I know it gets better.

REPLY
1 reply
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delia74 | @delia74 | Jan 26, 2025
In reply to @mialucy123 "Yes, this is what I’ll be doing. However, I’d like hear from others how long it..." + (show)
Profile picture for mialucy123 @mialucy123

Yes, this is what I’ll be doing. However, I’d like hear from others how long it took before you were ready to do another lowering? A month, two months, 6 months?

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Your posted question indicates that it is mean for people who tapered, etc on their own. HOW it would affect a person is totally an individual thing. No two people are going to have the EXACT same experience.

Perhaps you might re-read what I posted above. I don't support anyone doing a tapering of ANY medication on his or her own. A trusted medical professional is a must.

Consider that with EFFEXOR, there can be drastic consequences including damage to the heart. And totally ceasing the drug cold turkey, documented cases of death have been reported.

I'll say it again: Please don't follow someone else's dosage and means of tapering. Your best success is for you to reach your goal with the lead possible problems, with a doctor (neurologist, primary care) that you TRUST. It's not an easy journey. But I can tell you that it is DAMN WELL WORTH DOING RIGHT.

Best of luck and may you reach your goal.👍🏼

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1 reply
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mialucy123 | @mialucy123 | Jan 26, 2025
In reply to @mmsm "Has anyone experienced very high anxiety during withdrawal? If so, does it go away with time..." + (show)
Profile picture for mmsm @mmsm

Has anyone experienced very high anxiety during withdrawal? If so, does it go away with time with the other symptoms? Right now, I am handling the physical symptoms, but the anxiety is overwhelming at times, and no CBT strategies seem to be working. I might be able to gut it out if I know it gets better.

Jump to this post

What helps me with the anxiety is listening to Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. They are both Buddhist psychotherapists. Look for their podcasts or go their websites. Listening to them really calms me down.

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Profile picture for delia74
delia74 | @delia74 | Jan 26, 2025
In reply to @delia74 "Your posted question indicates that it is mean for people who tapered, etc on their own...." + (show)
Profile picture for delia74 @delia74

Your posted question indicates that it is mean for people who tapered, etc on their own. HOW it would affect a person is totally an individual thing. No two people are going to have the EXACT same experience.

Perhaps you might re-read what I posted above. I don't support anyone doing a tapering of ANY medication on his or her own. A trusted medical professional is a must.

Consider that with EFFEXOR, there can be drastic consequences including damage to the heart. And totally ceasing the drug cold turkey, documented cases of death have been reported.

I'll say it again: Please don't follow someone else's dosage and means of tapering. Your best success is for you to reach your goal with the lead possible problems, with a doctor (neurologist, primary care) that you TRUST. It's not an easy journey. But I can tell you that it is DAMN WELL WORTH DOING RIGHT.

Best of luck and may you reach your goal.👍🏼

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"meant" NOT "mean"....
and in last paragraph:
"for you to reach your goal with the LEAST" not "lead"

For whatever reason, the "edit comment" was not offered this time....

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moonpalacerose | @moonpalacerose | Dec 16, 2025

Hi currently going through the same thing. How are you doing now?

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pjs70 | @pjs70 | Dec 18, 2025

I know about the panic attacks well. I am in the process of weaning off the effexor very slowly 3mg at a time. In 30 day increments. My doc has given me inderal to help with the panic attacks and advised me to use benedryl for break through needs as well. This drug is awful! I want off and I will not go back on it. There are other medications out there for depression and for anxiety that will not give you the nasty side effects that come with effexor.

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pjs70 | @pjs70 | Dec 19, 2025

I also forgot to mention that I have tried using CBD for anxiety and it has really helped. No THC products are available on line and in stores in most of MN as it is legal.

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