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VENLAFAXINE WITHDRAWAL

Posted by iceberg @iceberg, Jan 2 11:39pm

I am nearly at week 6 of discontinuing Venlafaxine, I tapered over the last two years, original dose was 300mg. No brain zaps, stomach upset, muscle aches any more just extreme fatigue and feeling miserable day after day. All I want to do is lay in bed playing word games I'm too exhausted to want to do anything. Is there anyone who has been through the same experience who can offer advice as to when this may improve or strategies to help, thank you.

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tisme | @tisme | 9 hours ago
In reply to @njoys "@tisme My independent pharmacist gave me a bottle of empty capsules, a tiny funnel, and a..." + (show)
Profile picture for njoys @njoys

@tisme My independent pharmacist gave me a bottle of empty capsules, a tiny funnel, and a little plastic tray with pinched corners. I empty one 37.5 mg capsule into a small clear glass bowl, press my fingers onto the granules and count them as I move them to a clear glass custard dish. I pour those onto the tray, and funnel them into an empty capsule, cap and repeat. I do this over a plate with a rim, to catch any escaping granules.
To start, I counted the number of granules inside three capsules--an average of 136. (The number may vary by manufacturer.) Then I calculated how many beads I needed to remove for the next lower dose. I'm doing reductions of no more than 10%.
My pharmacist assured me I could do it, and he was right. Good luck.

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@njoys I was told to open a capsule onto a black piece of cloth, count out the beads take 10% out and put the 10% in a gelcap, I would have to do it for each capsule as you're not always guaranteed to get the same number of beads in each capsule.

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italianttavel | @italianttavel | 7 hours ago
In reply to @mariavictoria "I wholly agree with you. I was put on 300mg Effexor by my psychiatrist some 4..." + (show)
Profile picture for mariavictoria @mariavictoria

I wholly agree with you. I was put on 300mg Effexor by my psychiatrist some 4 years ago. No consultation, no advice, no warning. It’s been hell getting off it. Have managed to bring it down to 150mg after two months of weaning, and so far so good. But I know this second half will be a lot more challenging. But U’m utterly determined to rid my body of this terrible drug. Patience and faith in the process! Keep you eyes on the end product and keep going!

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@mariavictoria good luck with your plan. I’m so determined to get off this horrible stuff. I have had advice from (new) doctor on sensible plan so hope to be completely off it in 5 months.

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