Sunny1980 Effexor 75mg Taper gone wrong - need guidance

[Sunny1980]

I was started on Celexa, don’t remember the dose, in 1999 at the age of 19 for “depression” after we moved to a new city, and I had trouble adjusting.  No counselling was offered. 

 

It was a visit to my family doctor for feeling sad because I missed my friends and family in my old city and then on to a psychiatrist who started me on medication after one visit. Things improved as I made friends and adjusted to the new city.  From there I tried to come off celexa due to sexual dysfunction about a year later. I was told to alternate days taking the medication and stop after 2 weeks. 

 

The side effects improved but what I now know as withdrawals started within weeks.  I saw the doctor again and he said it was my depression coming back and I had a chemical imbalance and I needed to go back on medication.  He put me on Effexor, which was later switched to Effexor XR 75mg, and I have been stuck on this medication since then. 

 

I have tried to come off Effexor Xr many times over the last 20 years but never make it more than 1 month off the medication before I start to basically break down into a non-functioning human being. 

 

I found this site and saw the 10 percent every 4 week of the previous dose protocol here and was eager to start and get off this medication that has numbed me for so long. 

 

I saw my psychiatrist, but he declined to follow the plan and said it was extreme, but he would support 10 percent cuts of the previous dose up to 10mg and then cut 1mg from there per week until I was off.  I had my reservations, but I was desperate to get off this medication and agreed.

 

My cuts were as followed, and I used a compounding pharmacy here in Toronto Canada called Pharmacy.ca who weighed the beads in each capsule for accuracy.  My work insurance covered the medication and compounding service costs.

 

75mg starting dose Effexor XR

-          Cut 10 percent of the previous dose every 2 weeks.

67mg

60mg

54mg

48mg

43mg

38mg

34mg

30mg

27mg

24mg

22mg

20mg

18mg

16mg

14mg

12mg

11mg – I did have some mild withdrawal effects on the way doing this 2 week cut of 10 percent previous dose but I was still able to function and get 6-7 hours of sleep most night.  I really wanted off this medication and was blinded by that.   I should have found another doctor who was more supportive or just done the bead counting myself and stuck to the plan of 10 percent of the previous dose every 4 weeks. 

 

-          Weekly cuts at 1mg per week from here and this is where a lot off my issues started.  My sleep got worse, and it was harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.  There were days I was going to work with 3-4 hours of sleep and my mood was steadily declining.  I talked to the doctor, and he assured me I would be fine and my body and would rebound once off the medication and I was overly sensitive after being on the medication for over 20 years.

10mg – weekly cuts going down from here.

9mg

8mg

7mg

6mg

5mg

4mg

3mg

2mg

1mg

 

I started the taper November 8, 2022, and ended Aug 30, 2023.  September was downhill spiral, and October has been awful.  I am barely functioning.  I barely sleep 2-3 hours a night and I’m crying at basically a drop of a bucket.  I ruminate on all kinds of nonsense and my concentration is awful.

 

I contacted my doctor and he give me his only option of going back on the lowest dose of Effexor XR 37.5mg and told me I had a “chemical imbalance.”

I filled the script but before I took the pill I decided to go back on this website and see what I could do as I spent almost a year to get off this drug and did not want to give up without a further fight. 

 

I saw there was a way to reinstate a small amount of the drug and hold for stability and then resume tapering once stable.  I saw that at 5.8mg Effexor XR affects 50 percent of serotonin activity. No wonder I crashed so hard as the lower dosages are way more important and need to be taken super slow.   

 

I watched the video on how to open the capsule and count beads.  My capsules were the name brand version, and I counted the beads and did the math, and each bead is 0.28Mg rounded up. 

 

I was completely off Effexor for 7 weeks and felt awful.  I mulled between 10 beads and 20 beads and finally settled on 15 beads which is 4.2mg and made new capsules to last me 4 weeks and saved the rest as instructed.   I am not sure if I went too high or too low with the 15-bead choice.

 

This morning has been my second dose and I can’t say for sure what’s happening, but I think I feel very subtle signs of withdrawal lifting.  I know it can take 4 days for the drug to build up in my system and even longer to achieve proper stability.   

 

I would like to join this group and receive support for the next steps and hope I can kick this drug once and for all.  I have no more faith in the medical system.  I hope I can post my story here to help others and eventually come off the last bit of this drug. 

 

Am I on the right track with the 15 bead reinstatement dose of 4.2mg mornings on an empty stomach?  Should I lower this or raise this?

 

I was planning on holding this dose of 4.2mg, 15 beads, for 6 weeks to stabilize and then resume cutting one bead every 2 weeks.  This plan would take me until June 2024 to be off this drug once and for all.  Is this a good plan of stabilize and taper? 

 

Thank you for providing such an amazing resource, support and community here.

Edited October 18, 2023 by Sunny1980
paragraph correction

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @Sunny1980

 

I am sorry your psychiatrist was not more helpful.

 

22 hours ago, Sunny1980 said:

Am I on the right track with the 15 bead reinstatement dose of 4.2mg mornings on an empty stomach? 

 

This seems to be going in the right direction. How long have you been taking 15 beads?

 

Did you tell the psychiatrist that you developed withdrawal syndrome following his instructions?

[Sunny1980]

3 hours ago, Altostrata said:

Welcome, @Sunny1980

 

I am sorry your psychiatrist was not more helpful.

 

 

This seems to be going in the right direction. How long have you been taking 15 beads?

 

Did you tell the psychiatrist that you developed withdrawal syndrome following his instructions?

Thank you for your kindness. 
 

Today is day 3 of 15 beads.  I barely slept 3 hours last.  
 

I told him I’m experiencing withdrawal but he insists it’s a “chemical imbalance” and I need to go back on a proper dose of Effexor.   
 

Do you think I should stick to my current 15 bead plan? 
 

Thanks for the guidance

[Altostrata]

You started taking 15 beads on Monday? It's going to take a week for full effect. You'll probably have ups and downs from withdrawal for a while. Please let us know how you're doing. 

 

Please add dates to the events in your signature.

[Sunny1980]

3 hours ago, Altostrata said:

You started taking 15 beads on Monday? It's going to take a week for full effect. You'll probably have ups and downs from withdrawal for a while. Please let us know how you're doing. 

 

Please add dates to the events in your signature.

I appreciate your help.  Dates added to my signature.  I decided to move up to 24 beads which comes to 6.5mg Effexor XR.  This dose should ensure I am achieving a 50 percent serotonin response from Effexor.  I will hold here for at least 6 weeks and then do a proper taper off of 10 percent per 4 weeks of the previous dose from 6.5mg. I will hold longer than 6 weeks at 6.5mg if I'm still experiencing withdrawal effects.  I will update here in one weeks time as to how I am feeling.  

 

Does this sound like a good plan Altostrata?  Thank you so much for all your help

[Altostrata]

15 hours ago, Sunny1980 said:

I will hold longer than 6 weeks at 6.5mg if I'm still experiencing withdrawal effects. 

 

Good idea. Please let us know how you're doing. 

[hazeleyez85]

Wow! We have very similar stories as to how we started on antidepressants. I was 16 when I was started on Effexor because my family also moved to a new state and I had a hard time adjusting. Over a couple of years the dose was increased to 37.5 mg and 75mg daily. I've been on Effexor for 22 years. I never had any issues with Effexor but over the passed few years I have felt somewhat numb to emotions. Last year I started thinking about weaning off of it because I would like to have a child and I know there are a lot of risks involved with being pregnant while on this medication. I finally built up enough courage in February to try to wean off of it. Under the guidance of a physician I tapered off of it in a 3 month span. I was doing fine until I got down to the last week and then I started experiencing severe withdrawals. So I went back on 75mg of effexor and then I started feeling better. So in August I saw a psychiatrist who convinced me to switch to Zoloft which was a mistake. Over a 3 week span he Tapered me off Effexor and started me on Zoloft. By the end of week 3 I was experiencing EXTREME anxiety to the point where I was almost having panic attacks and could not go to work because I was so fearful. So the doctor increased the Zoloft to the maximum dose of 200 mg and prescribed Klonazapam 0.5 mg ( which made me feel like a zombie) as needed for the anxiety. Fast forward to today I found a new psychiatrist that does not prescribe controlled substances like Klonazapam and tries to use safer alternatives to help with withdrawal symptoms. I'm still experiencing anxiety, fatigue, feeling lightheaded and jittery. Both the doctor and I agree that Zoloft is not working. I'm thinking about going back on the Effexor and trying a very slow wean. I commend you for your strength, patience and courage. Until you have experienced this first hand no one can begin to understand how incredibly difficult it is to do this. Thank you for sharing your experience and I pray you continue to share your progress and that you are able to come off of this medication successfully.