PeanutButterGirl: successfully titrating off venlafaxine

[PeanutButterGirl]

Hello All.  Thank you for letting me join this group.  My dilemma is not with Benzos, but with the antidepressant Venlafaxine, which is a generic for Effexor.  I was on 75 mg.  I was put on it about five years ago by my psychiatrist because I was experiencing much anxiety and depression after my diagnosis of cancer.  I have been on it ever since and I really want to get it out of my system.  I spoke to my nurse practitioner (I no longer have the psychiatrist). She prescribed it at 37.5 mg. and told me to take one pill every day for two weeks and then one pill every other day for two weeks and then she would taper me down to 15 mg.  I need someone who has been through this to advise if that sounds right.  Should it be a slower taper?   Would you suggest that I stay on 37.5 mg. for a longer period before going down to the 15 mg?  I already began the 37.5; started the day before yesterday.  Yesterday I felt ok; I was functional.  Today I felt as though I was being pulled from both ends.  This is very difficult and it is only the beginning.  I need some good advice and great encouragement.  I await an answer from someone in this group that has been or is going through this currently.  Thank you.

 

 

Edited November 25, 2022 by ChessieCat
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[Onmyway]

Dear @PeanutButterGirl, 

welcome to SA. Can you please fill in your signature - here are the instructions on how to do that - https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/28240-how-to-summarize-your-drug-history-in-your-signature/  This will help us advise you better. 

 

The advice your nurse has given you is awful and will likely get you into a state of nervous system sensitization which will make the withdrawal itself much much worse than it needs to be. Here we recommend a very slow taper (over years) so that you do not harm your nervous system and do not experience withdrawal symptoms. We recommend that you lower your dosage by no more than 10% of your previous dose every 4 weeks. So your initial cut would be 7.5 mg to 67.5 and the subsequent one will be 6.7 to 61.8 and so on. The cuts will get progressively smaller.  

 

This is the tapering forum where you can find tons of information. https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forum/14-tapering/

 

 I would read carefully the links in this one https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/300-important-topics-in-the-tapering-forum-and-faq/ and particularly this one -https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/22958-never-skip-doses-to-taper/

 

The risk from skipping doses is hypersensitivity and kindling. [alcohol consumption and use of other psychoactive substances also increase risk of kindling] https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/27800-hypersensitivity-and-kindling/

 

Venlafaxine is one of the hardest drugs to taper (it is an SNRI) both because it causes symptoms and because it is hard to get the doses right (doesn't come in a liquid). This thread explains how to taper venlafaxine -  https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/272-tips-for-tapering-off-effexor-and-effexor-xr-venlafaxine/ 

 

Your nurse may suggest bridging with prozac - we do not advise it unless you have tried to come off of the drug and it hasn't worked the proper slow way. If your nurse dismisses your concerns and doesn't want to prescribe you the full dose from which you can slowly wean off, your best bet is to get your original prescription and then do your own thing.

 

But please, do not make a large cut of your dose and definitely do not skip doses to taper. Things can go very wrong that way esp. with a difficult drug like venlafaxine. 

 

It is good that you found us on time before things went bad and you can follow the proper conservative, harm reduction tapering protocols in order to avoid much potential suffering later. 

 

OMW