taylornicole: Effexor tapering

[taylornicole]

Hello everyone,

I am currently tapering off of Effexor and am needing some advice.

 

So, to start off, I was put on 2.5mg of Lexapro in Feb. 2020 for depression and anxiety. This was the first psych med I had ever tried or been put on. It initially worked very well, but of course, that only lasted for about 3 weeks before I went back to normal, however, I was not feeling as depressed as I was. I had my doctor up my dose to 5mg in April 2020 to see if that initial feeling would come back, it didn't, but I continued on the meds. Somewhere along the way I increased my dose to 10mg, though I can't remember when. I believe the highest amount I got up to was either 15-20mg before I started to taper off. Sometime in Spring 2021 I tried to taper off and I believe I got to about 10mg, maybe 5mg, before an awful depressive episode hit me. Convinced I was just like this and would have this crippling depression forever if I got off my meds, I went back on the Lexapro and stayed on it until December 2021. 

 

In December 2021 my depression was really bad so I decided I wanted to change my meds. This time I went to an actual psychiatrist (the first time was just a family doctor). She put me on 37.5mg of Effexor. Initially I felt like this helped quite a bit and a few weeks later she raised my dose to 75mg. I was still not feeling as good as I was hoping, so we raised it again to 150mg. It was helping with my depression somewhat, but the anxiety/akathisia it was giving me was unbearable. We raised it again to 225mg, as I was hoping the akathisia would go away after my body fully adjusted to the meds. The akathisia continued so I began to taper in April 2022, tapered for about 2 months and had little side effects, once I got down to 37.5mg, I was hit with bad depression and an awful sense of hopelessness and confusion. I was on the 37.5mg taper for about 5 days before I stopped completely, not realizing that is not the proper protocol. I had awful brain zaps from this constantly. After about a week of this not getting any better, I began taking 5 beads from a capsule, gradually reducing for about a week or two. This alleviated the brain zaps, but the depression and hopelessness I had was unbearable. I was off the Effexor for about a couple weeks before getting back on it.

 

Again, I started with a 37.5mg dose in June 2022, and then increased to 75mg. Getting back on the Effexor did not help my depression and brought back the akathisia. I cut my dose down to 37.5mg in July after taking the 75m dose for about 2 weeks. Cut down to half a capsule at the beginning of August, stayed at that for about 1-2 weeks, and am now taking 25 beads out of a capsule, so 1/4 of a 37.5mg capsule. 

 

My question is, am I tapering too fast? Now that I cut down to 1/4 of a capsule, I am having extreme fatigue. It's hard to do anything, I am constantly exhausted, every thought I have feels tiring. Is this normal and does it go away, or should I taper more gradually? I know Effexor requires a very slow taper, but I am curious if that is still the case for someone who has been on it a relatively short period of time.

 

Sorry this was long winded, I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this and any advice they can give.

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @taylornicole

 

From your post, it appears you had at least 2 periods of withdrawal syndrome, first from going off Lexapro and then while going off Effexor the first time.

 

On 8/18/2022 at 4:54 PM, taylornicole said:

Now that I cut down to 1/4 of a capsule, I am having extreme fatigue. It's hard to do anything, I am constantly exhausted, every thought I have feels tiring. Is this normal and does it go away, or should I taper more gradually?

 

 What we see is that if people had withdrawal syndrome or adverse drug effects (such as anxiety/akathisia), they are vulnerable to withdrawal symptoms and need to taper slowly. See Tips for tapering off venlafaxine (Effexor)

 

How did you feel after you did this, for those 1-2 weeks?

On 8/18/2022 at 4:54 PM, taylornicole said:

Cut down to half a capsule at the beginning of August, stayed at that for about 1-2 weeks