admike Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Hi, I am 37 male (not a native english speaker so please excuse my english). I read a lot from this forum many other sources on the internet. I have been taking venlafaxine XR 150 mg several years, then switched to XR 75mg without big issues, after another year I tried taking only about half capsule. Couple of weeks later taking even less than half capsule daily I decied to go cold turkey. Bad idea! After horrible withdrawal, I gave up the fourth day and reinstated. I developed tinnitus since that, but I get used to it. Now I would like to taper slowely and get off this medicine. I have Velaxine from Egis (Hungarian pharma company) which come in small pellets (each about 0.30mg). Pellets have different sizes- they are obviously coated for extended release. Strangely they have also two colors- white and yellow (there are much more yellow than white pellets). Could it be that white pellets are with immediate release and yellow are with extended release? Also, I wonder if amount of venlafaxine is the same in each pellet and only the coat mass differs. Tried asking manufacturer and pharmacy, but they were reluctant to share any information:( I am glad to be here, always good to know we are no different and share our troubles. admike's Intro topic and admike's drug history Cipralex (lexapro) 2009-2009 Velaxin 75mg XR (venlafaxine, effexor) 2009-now anxiety got worse during treatement cold turkey 2019, reinstated after 4 days, developed persisting tinnitus tapering since 2019 (current dosage about 15mg) Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Gridley Posted February 17, 2020 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted February 17, 2020 Welcome to SA, admire. Your English is fine. We're happy to help you taper off Venlafaxine XR. I'm not familiar with the Hungarian Egis brand or why they have two colors. We recommend tapering by no more than 10% of current dose every four weeks. Some have to taper more slowly. Why taper by 10% of my dosage? The following link is specifically about tapering Venlafaxine, including XR. It gives information about how to get the nonstandard doses needed for a 10% taper. Tips for tapering off Effexor (venlafaxine) We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium (glycinate is a good form) and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system. Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) Add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems. This is your Introduction topic, where you cans questions and connect with other members. We're glad you found your way here--and especially so before you continue your taper. Gridley Introduction Lexapro 20 mg since 2004. Begin Brassmonkey Slide Taper Jan. 2017. End 2017 year 1 of taper at 9.25mg End 2018 year 2 of taper at 4.1mg End 2019 year 3 of taper at 1.0mg Oct. 30, 2020 Jump to zero from 0.025mg. Current dose: 0.000mg 3 year, 10 month taper is 100% complete. Ativan 1 mg to 1.875mg 1986-2020, two CT's and reinstatements Nov. 2020, 7-week Ativan-Valium crossover to 18.75mg Valium Feb. 2021, begin 10%/4 week taper of 18.75mg Valium End 2021 year 1 of Valium taper at 6mg End 2022 year 2 of Valium taper at 2.75mg End 2023 year 3 of Valium taper at 1mg Jan. 24, 2024: Hold at 1mg and shift to Imipramine taper. Taper is 95% complete. Imipramine 75 mg daily since 1986. Jan.-Sept. 2016 tapered to 14.4mg March 22, 2022: Begin 10%/4 week taper Aug. 5, 2022: hold at 9.5mg and shift to Valium taper Jan. 24, 2024: Resume Imipramine taper. Current dose as of Aug 26: 4.0mg Taper is 95% complete. Supplements: multiple, quercetin, omega-3, vitamins C, E and D3, magnesium glycinate, probiotic, zinc, melatonin .3mg, iron, serrapeptase, nattokinase, L-Glutamine, milk thistle, choline I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice. It is information based on my own experience as well as that of other members who have survived these drugs. Link to comment
admike Posted February 18, 2020 Author Share Posted February 18, 2020 @Gridley thank you very much for your warm words. I am happy to be in such a nice community. I see you managed to almost get off from Lexapro- congratulations, hope you are doing well! I tried to post question about amount of medicine in those venlafaxine pellets to the thread you linked, but I may not have enough persmissions to do so or something. Anyway, I don't think someone else could give an answer than the manfucturer. So frustrating they refuse to communicate. When I asked them politely- "don't separate dosage, crush pellets, ask your doctor etc", they even threatened me with off label use penalties (after I tried lying I am a doctor). I have already been taking omega3 and magnesium, tried other supplements to deal with tinnitus like betahistine, ginkgo, taurin, dlpa, vinpocentine, but none seem to help much. admike's Intro topic and admike's drug history Cipralex (lexapro) 2009-2009 Velaxin 75mg XR (venlafaxine, effexor) 2009-now anxiety got worse during treatement cold turkey 2019, reinstated after 4 days, developed persisting tinnitus tapering since 2019 (current dosage about 15mg) Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Gridley Posted February 18, 2020 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted February 18, 2020 6 hours ago, admike said: I tried to post question about amount of medicine in those venlafaxine pellets to the thread you linked, but I may not have enough persmissions to do so or something It's better to post all your questions here in your Introduction topic so all your information is in one place. I'm sorry the manufacturer is so uncooperative. They are trained to give you the official "party line" and nothing else. Gridley Introduction Lexapro 20 mg since 2004. Begin Brassmonkey Slide Taper Jan. 2017. End 2017 year 1 of taper at 9.25mg End 2018 year 2 of taper at 4.1mg End 2019 year 3 of taper at 1.0mg Oct. 30, 2020 Jump to zero from 0.025mg. Current dose: 0.000mg 3 year, 10 month taper is 100% complete. Ativan 1 mg to 1.875mg 1986-2020, two CT's and reinstatements Nov. 2020, 7-week Ativan-Valium crossover to 18.75mg Valium Feb. 2021, begin 10%/4 week taper of 18.75mg Valium End 2021 year 1 of Valium taper at 6mg End 2022 year 2 of Valium taper at 2.75mg End 2023 year 3 of Valium taper at 1mg Jan. 24, 2024: Hold at 1mg and shift to Imipramine taper. Taper is 95% complete. Imipramine 75 mg daily since 1986. Jan.-Sept. 2016 tapered to 14.4mg March 22, 2022: Begin 10%/4 week taper Aug. 5, 2022: hold at 9.5mg and shift to Valium taper Jan. 24, 2024: Resume Imipramine taper. Current dose as of Aug 26: 4.0mg Taper is 95% complete. Supplements: multiple, quercetin, omega-3, vitamins C, E and D3, magnesium glycinate, probiotic, zinc, melatonin .3mg, iron, serrapeptase, nattokinase, L-Glutamine, milk thistle, choline I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice. It is information based on my own experience as well as that of other members who have survived these drugs. Link to comment
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