Jelle: From 225 efexor to zero.

[Jelle]

How can I build of the best? Now I've cut my pil in half and have no severe side effects. What should be the next step? And is there anyone there who als went of this dose. My dokter said it wasn't a high dose, but i don't see much people with my dose on internet. With love

Edited July 27, 2016 by KarenB
added tags

[KarenB]

Hello Jelle,

 

I'd say that's a very high dose of effexor, although occasionally people are given higher doses.  Other doses are 150mg (which is also considered fairly high), 75mg or 37.5mg. 

 

When did you cut your pill in half?  It can take at least 4 days for effects to show up, and sometimes weeks. 

 

We recommend a gentle taper, reducing by no more than 10% of your current dose each month.  This allows your brain time to adjust as you go, and lessens any withdrawal.  So, if it is only in the last few days that you halved your dose, I'd actually suggest returning to your full dose, holding for about a month, and then beginning your taper again. 

 

If it was in the last few weeks, we'd probably suggest a dose a bit lower than your original 225mg. 

 

Please put your withdrawal history in your signature – all drugs/dates/dosages etc - so we can see your situation easily whenever you post, and help you more accurately.  Thanks.

 

The troublesome thing with SSRIs is that you can't just flush their effects out of your system.  They change the way your brain works, and that takes much longer to heal.  Suddenly stopping the drug (or reducing too quickly) puts your brain and Central Nervous System into shock.  It's like yanking a trellis out of a garden instead of gently untangling the plants and slowly removing the wood – it’s too much trauma for the plants/your brain.  (For the source of that simile, plus further discussion, see http://survivinganti...el-your-brain/)

 

Many people find Fish oil and Magnesium useful during withdrawal.

 

Tips for Tapering Effexor.

 

Have a read of those and then you can come back to this thread to discuss things further.  This can be your journal to record your tapering and healing progress, and to ask questions. 

 

Welcome to SA, from another effexor taperer,

Karen

[Susanne]

Hoi Jelle, welkom op dit forum!

I think the 50% cut is a bit too much. How long have you been on the 112,5 mg? 
Some people have withdrawal symptoms right after they dropped down, others feel fine for the first few days and experience (new) withdrawal effects after 5-7 days. Some people don't anything from tapering...but those are rare. I wasn't going through withdrawal the first time I fast tapered fluvoxamine, but I did relapse after 2 months (intrusion/phobia). I should have tapered a lot slower to prevent this (I assume, maybe the relapsed happened anyway).

Sterkte!