1. < Depression & Anxiety

Tips on minimizing withdrawal symptoms from Effexor (aka Venlafaxine)

Posted by richyrich @richyrich, Nov 2, 2016

I have been taking Effexor/Venlafaxine for years and tried to get off it a few times but each time I try to give up the chemical withdrawal symptoms are a horror story and I give up giving up. Anyone got any tips or tried and tested strategies? Thank you

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kbmayo | @kbmayo | Mar 31, 2019
In reply to @secretwhitepop "Weird tip. Ear plugs. Sometimes I used to feel like all of the stimulation in the..." + (show)
@secretwhitepop

Weird tip. Ear plugs. Sometimes I used to feel like all of the stimulation in the world was coming at me all at once. I was not diagnosed with schizophrenia, for which I am grateful, but that’s when I was prescribed Effexor. As we all know, Effexor isn’t a cure all, but, my husband works in a field where earplugs were required and always had a ton on hand. I tried some once while in a walk. It was great and extremely helpful! For me, the worst part was my anxiety when I was trying to relax and breathe and chill. We lived in a city where there were always sirens and loud cars and yelling. With the earplugs, I could still see and focus on beauty and filter out the garbage! It’s worth a shot. I keep some in the car when there are a lot of people in there. You can still hear, it’s just peaceful!

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Great idea! I think many of us are more sensitive to stimulation than most people and it's easy for us to become overwhelmed.

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farmboy | @farmboy | Mar 31, 2019
In reply to @babydoll "I am 4 weeks out Effexor free and my anxiety is crazy bad! I can’t relax,..." + (show)
@babydoll

I am 4 weeks out Effexor free and my anxiety is crazy bad! I can’t relax, or function! I tried 5htp and it made me sick. I want my life back. My husband doesn’t understand and doesn’t want to understand. I’m expected to just “snap” out of it. So I keep all my feelings inside and know that isn’t good for me. I went to my Dr and was asked what I wanted to do about it. I want to be back to normal and enjoy life.

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@babydoll I had the same thing happen to me. Unfortunately I had to go back on effexor and start over some other time. But when going back to effexor my anxiety and panic attacks didn't get any better. So my Dr put me on serquel and up my clozepam to 1mg 3 x a day. You might ask your Doc about the serquel and clozepam. The serquel helps me alot (50mgs) is what I take and it really helps me sleep and relax at night. The clozepam during the day helps to. Best of wishes to you.

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coco2739 | @coco2739 | Apr 2, 2019

Weaning from Venlafaxine having terrible nausea what helps

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1 reply
Merry, Alumni Mentor | @merpreb | Apr 2, 2019

@coco2739- I hate that feeling. Call your Dr for an antinausa mef ! They work

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sharonlou | @sharonlou | Apr 2, 2019

I saw this "The New Yorker" article dated 4/1/19 online that I thought people here would be interested in. Titled "The Challenge of Going Off Psychiatric Drugs" by Rachel Aviv. I don't have a link. Perhaps someone else could share that.

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2 replies
Lisa Lucier | @lisalucier | Apr 2, 2019
In reply to @merpreb "@coco2739- I hate that feeling. Call your Dr for an antinausa mef ! They work" + (show)
@merpreb

@coco2739- I hate that feeling. Call your Dr for an antinausa mef ! They work

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Hi, @coco2739 - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You'll notice I moved your post here to a larger discussion of your same topic on tapering off of venlafaxine (Effexor). If you click on VIEW & REPLY in your email notification, you will see the whole discussion and can join in, meet, and participate with other members talking about their or their loved ones' experiences.

Glad you got to meet @merpreb and that she had some suggestions for you on your nausea. Are you experiencing other symptoms in addition to nausea as you've been proceeding through your tapering schedule?

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sandij (Sandi James) | @sandij | Apr 2, 2019

Ginger works for nausea. Candied or crystallized, or ginger tea. Also ginger hard candies.

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texasduchess | @texasduchess | Apr 2, 2019
In reply to @sharonlou "I saw this "The New Yorker" article dated 4/1/19 online that I thought people here would..." + (show)
@sharonlou

I saw this "The New Yorker" article dated 4/1/19 online that I thought people here would be interested in. Titled "The Challenge of Going Off Psychiatric Drugs" by Rachel Aviv. I don't have a link. Perhaps someone else could share that.

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@sharonlou
Here is the link to the article--
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/08/the-challenge-of-going-off-psychiatric-drugs

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1 reply
kbmayo | @kbmayo | Apr 2, 2019
In reply to @sharonlou "I saw this "The New Yorker" article dated 4/1/19 online that I thought people here would..." + (show)
@sharonlou

I saw this "The New Yorker" article dated 4/1/19 online that I thought people here would be interested in. Titled "The Challenge of Going Off Psychiatric Drugs" by Rachel Aviv. I don't have a link. Perhaps someone else could share that.

Jump to this post

I don't have a link to the article, but I found it by going to newyorker.com. Thanks so much for letting us know about it. I subscribe to The New Yorker, but I haven't yet received this issue and didn't want to have to wait to read the article. I highly recommend it! It's about us and it lets us know that there are so many people like us out there, going through the same things and trying to help each other because we're each other's community and support circle. I'm an AA member and our preamble says AA is ``a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.'' That's the way I look at this forum -- we share our experience, strength and hope with each other in order to help each other solve our common problem. And I look at this as being similar to alcoholism or any addiction in another, vital way: unless you've been there, you can't know what it's like. I think of that every time I read a post where someone shares their experience of having someone in their life who just doesn't get it, who just thinks they should toughen up and get over it. They have no idea what they're asking!

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