Ryagrace: Peace of mind

[Ryagrace]

I have successfully micro tapered off 150mg of Effexor over the last 4 months (after 12 years of being on it). It was a rocky road full of sick days, dizzy spells, brain zaps and sleepless nights. But, it is done. Now after 3 days of being completely free the “real” fun has begun... emotions. I don’t find myself feeling physically sick like I did while coming off. I do however find myself very emotional. Normal?? Not emotional in a harmful way just lots of emotional tears, some trouble with sleep and an over all feeling of uneasiness. It is my hope that this is just residual from the absence of medication and that it will pass in time. Have others experienced this? How did you cope? How long did it last? 

[ChessieCat]

Hi Ryagrace and welcome to SA,

 

What you have experienced, and are experiencing are typical withdrawal symptoms from reducing and stopping your drug too quickly.  Dr Joseph Glenmullen's Withdrawal Symptoms   It's good that you did taper, however it is much faster than SA recommends.  SA's tapering protocol is reducing by no more than 10% of the current dose followed by a hold of about 4 weeks to allow the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug.  Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

The only known way to reduce withdrawal symptoms is to reinstate the drug you were taking.  Because you have only been off completely for a few days reinstatement is highly likely to work.  My suggestion is to immediately take the last dose you were taking.  Please read Post #1 of this topic:  About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms.    It takes about 4 days for a dose change to get to full level in the blood and a bit longer for it to register in the brain.  We suggest you keep daily symptoms notes on paper.  This will allow you to see how reinstatement is affecting your symptoms.  It is important to be patient during this time and not panic and end up increasing your dose too soon.  The idea of reinstatement isn't to get rid of withdrawal symptoms completely but to bring them to a bearable level.  After stabilising, which may take 3-6 months, you can then taper more slowly.

 

Q:  Have you been skipping days?  If yes, please let us know and we can suggest what dose you would take daily.

 

This really helped me to understand SA's recommendations:  Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

Tips for tapering off Effexor (venlafaxine)

 

Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

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