I've been reducing my Venlafaxine for about 5 months now, starting at 375mg and I’m now down to 93.75mg, which is 2X 37.5mg tablets and a half. Dropping this amount I haven’t noticed much withdrawal apart from a couple bad days a week in to lowering the dose the past 2 times I’ve dropped by 18.75mg. Lately I've become highly stressed and negative and I was hoping this is another withdrawal symptom.
I just wanted to know how others have been getting on coming off this drug.
Hi damian i tried 375mg for a few days but my mertazipine was a lot better for me with 300mg instead ... There is blno way i would come off my venlafaxine....i dont know why people mess up there medication by reducing it .... If its took you 375mg to feel ok i would not be reducing it i would of just stayed at that and jist kept taking it
it improved my mood but didn't affect my anxiety which was the main problem. i've been on and off antidepressants for 16 years and i've had enough of the probems they are now causing me. i want to control my anxiety without them now.
Hi Damian, I am sure you have a perfectly good reason for wanting to come off your Ven. I think you are experiencing withdrawal, especially if you feel this is out of character for you and there aren't actual realistic reasons to have these feelings. In withdrawal, we experience what is termed "neuro emotions," emotions that come from the effects of withdrawal and not "Us." I have definitely experienced this, both when I was in protracted withdrawal from Effexor, having come off too fast, and also while tappering, having reinstated and then going much slower to come off.
The type of tapper you are doing is a bit too steep. How many mgs are you on, now? Working within the parameters of the tablet dosages we have access to unfortunately means the cuts are a bit too steep, especially as you get to the lower dosages. Your nervous system doesn't notice 50% cuts as much when you are at the higher dosages, but at the lower dosages, your system really notices a 50% cut! This is because at the minimum effective dose of 37.5 mg, your neuron receptor blockage is still 80%! It's complicated, but to try to regain balance, our systems actually ADD receptors, so that is why we tend to have to keep raising the dose, an arms race of sorts. SSRIs work by occupying the neuron receptors to prevent the neurons from resorbing serotonin, making it hang around in the gap longer.
So, when you make cuts that start bringing you below 80%, your system starts to really notice the imbalance the cut creates. This means we have to make cuts smaller the lower we go in dose.
It may be possible for you to get a liquid version of ven, which would make it easier to cut smaller than what is convenient with the tablets. Some, myself included, go as far as to buy a jeweler's mg scale and weigh out our doses. Ven withdrawal is one of the worst, so it is actually recommended to make 10% cuts of the previous dosage every 3 to 4 weeks. It is important to feel stable before making the next cut.
I put together a post that has helpful links and resources for tappering, here:
I hope this helps!
hi betsy,
i had a very bad reaction about 2 months after stopping venlafaxine. i was taking just 37.5mgs a day for a few weeks before stopping. i didnt plan to stop like that but i went on holiday and forgot my medication.
i can't believe how bad it was the stress was overwhelming. it started fairly mild just a lot of stress but it go worse and worse, i tried diazepam but it did nothing even when i was put on the highest dose for over a month. i went to the doctors numerous times trying different things to help with the constant suffering and stomach pains i was experiencing. nothing the doctors game me worked. i ended up turning to alcohol foe a few months as it was the only thing that helped. thinking back i think the alcohol helped the stress which was causing all this stuff i didnt understand. im back on venlafaxine now. it took about two or so months to get back to where i was. i do really want to come off it as i get a number of side effects and believe the reason it went so bad is that i became dependant on antidepressants.