What to bridge when tapering off effexor

I have read that Prozac is good for helping with avoiding withdrawal because it has a longer half life. I don't know if that is what is meant as a "bridge." And that may be true of Cymbalta. Does your doctor have a preference?

Personally I would prioritize minimizing withdrawal (having seen the effects in a family member) vs pain relief. Then dealing with pain after fully off. SSRI"s are supposed to help with pain receptors but not sure if that is true of Prozac (or Cymbalta) so maybe that is something to ask.

Gabapentin, in our experience, is good for neurological pain (if tolerated) and helps with anxiety.

Your doctor sounds like a good one !

@julishka
I'd be curious why the doctor wants to add medication when your trying to get off it unless he's trying to stop your effexor to quickly. I'm wondering if your doctor is not taking into account the length of time you've been on this medication. This isn’t a medication you should expect to get off of quickly. Although bridging may be necessary for some people personally I would never do it since I've always gone off medications extremely slowly. It's been my experience that doctors often try to reduce your medication at two quickly thereby causing withdrawal effects. I stopped some powerful medications and all without any withdrawals and and I credit doing it slowly. as the reason.
Take care,
Jake

@julishka and @jakeduck1 I assumed a long taper. @jakeduck1 you are right about what doctors tend to suggest: "Cut in half for a week and stop.'!

Even when on an SSRI for a much shorter time, my family member needed to taper down over months, using small dose reductions and then, when at the lowest amount (I think the lowest was using liquid) doing longer time intervals between doses.

I have read that switching from a short acting SSRI to a longer acting one like Prozac can help with this but I do not remember at one point that is suggested.

@ julishka I may be misunderstanding your use of the term "bridge." I am using it as a term for concurrent meds at one point, with Prozac intersecting with the med being withdrawn, and then the Prozac being tapered. Prozac is easier to taper due to its long half life. Just wanted to be clear.

Doctors use a "bridge" blood thinner while going off and on Coumadin for surgery. I used Pepcid as a "bridge" for getting off omeprazole. In the latter case, I slowly replaced omeprazole with Pepcid and then tapered the Pepcid because it is shorter acting.