Sarah Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Hello fellow members! I've read about how to reduce medication by 10% and seen the video on the Venlafaxine XL capsules and how to get to the beads. It all seems so complicated and difficult! Why on earth can't the manufacturers of these drugs provide a safe and orderly way for users to reduce their medication? All they need do is produce a set of withdrawal packages or capsules in different mg's or is this a stupid question? Hope to hear from someone cos I just missed 3 days of taking tablets BEFORE I read that you shouldn't go cold turkey and I feel really dreadful - just been to take my capsule before I go visit my doctor and introduce him to this website so we can plan my withdrawal properly together Have previously tried unsuccessfully withdrawing from Venlafaxine XL 150mg capsules and had severe withdrawal symptoms - brain zaps, feeling sick, headaches and aggression. Also taking Lamotrigine 50mg. Desperately want to come off Venlafaxine - just joined surviving antidepressants 05.02.13 (UK date). Not yet started any withdrawal as just getting to know all about how to do it! Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus strawberry17 Posted February 5, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted February 5, 2013 Well Sarah they wouldn't want to make it too easy for us otherwise everyone would come off their drugs wouldn't they? (not that I'm cynical or bitter LOL). Welcome to the forums and yes definately start taking the Venlaxafine tablets and do the taper, when you talk to your doctor here is a really useful link to print off and show him/her as well: http://www.mind.org.uk/mental_health_a-z/7996_making_sense_of_coming_off_psychiatric_drugs *** Please note this is not medical advice,discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner***http://prozacwithdrawal.blogspot.com/ Original drug was sertraline/Zoloft, switched to Prozac in 2007. Tapering from 5mls liquid prozac since Feb 2008, got down to 0.85ml 23/09/2012, reinstated back to 1ml(4mg) 07/11/2012, didn't appear to work, upped to 1.05ml 17/11/2012, back down to 1ml 12/12/2012 didn't work, up to 1.30ml 16/3/2013 didn't work, bumped up to 2ml (8mg) 4/4/2013 didn't work, in July 2013 I reinstated Sertraline (Zoloft) 50mg, feeling better now. A few months down the line I switched to 5ml liquid Prozac and tapered down to a compromise dose of 3ml liquid Prozac and have stayed there ever since, no withdrawals and no emotional blunting/loss of libido. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted February 5, 2013 Administrator Share Posted February 5, 2013 Good questions, Sarah, welcome to our community. If you're taking the extended-release capsules, counting out the beads is the way to taper. The other option is converting to regular venlafaxine and take it every 12 hours. The advantage is you can make a liquid from the regular venlafaxine tablet, which makes it easier to make 10% reductions. However, many people have successfully tapered by counting out the beads. Give it a try. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus peggy Posted February 5, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted February 5, 2013 Hi Sarah! Welcome - i am a bead counter - LOL It's not difficult, just a little tedious. I bought a bag of gelatine capsules and once a month i sit down at the table with a piece of black velvet, a sharp knife and my empty capsules and count out my months worth of doses. You do need to count a few whole capsules worth to get an average of how many beads are in your capsules - different brands have different amounts. I personally think the beads make it fairly easy - tedious, but easy. Started in 2000 - On 150mg most of the time, (but up to 225mg at highest dose for 6 months in the beginning)Reduced off easily first time - but got depressed (not too much anxiety) 6 months laterBack on effexor for another 9 months.Reduced off again with no immediate w/d - suddenly got depressed and anxious ++ again 3 or 4 months later.Back on effexor - this time for 3 yearsReduced off over a month - 6 weeks later terrible anxiety - back on.Rinse and repeat 4 more times - each time the period before the anxiety comes back got shorter and shorterJan - July 2012 75mg down to 37.5mg;, 8/3/12 - 35mg. 8/25/12 - 32mg. 9/11- 28mg, 10/2 - 25mg, 10/29 - 22mg, 11/19 - 19.8mg; 12/11 - 17m,1/1- 15.5mg; 1/22 -14mg, 2/7 14.9mg, 2/18 - 17.8mg - crashed big time: back to 75mg where i sat for 2 years.... 4th March 2015 - 67.5mg; 31st March - 60mg; 24th April - 53mg; 13th May - 48mg; 26th May - 45mg; 9th June - 41mg; 1 July- 37.5mg; 20 July - 34mg; 11 August - 31mg; 1st Sept - 28mg; 1st Dec - 25.8mg; 28th Dec - 23.2mg; 23rd Jan-21.9mg; Feb 7th- 21mg; March 1st - 20.1mg, March 30th - 18mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Jemima Posted February 6, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted February 6, 2013 Hello fellow members! I've read about how to reduce medication by 10% and seen the video on the Venlafaxine XL capsules and how to get to the beads. It all seems so complicated and difficult! Why on earth can't the manufacturers of these drugs provide a safe and orderly way for users to reduce their medication? All they need do is produce a set of withdrawal packages or capsules in different mg's or is this a stupid question? It's all about the money. Get you off the drugs, profits go down. Logic and morality have nothing to do with this. Big Pharma is EVIL. Hope to hear from someone cos I just missed 3 days of taking tablets BEFORE I read that you shouldn't go cold turkey and I feel really dreadful - just been to take my capsule before I go visit my doctor and introduce him to this website so we can plan my withdrawal properly together Welcome. I'm very glad that you found us before you ended up in severe and prolonged withdrawal. There's a truckload of good information here and many people who will reach out to support you. It's been a godsend for me after a too fast taper off of Lexapro. Psychotropic drug history: Pristiq 50 mg. (mid-September 2010 through February 2011), Remeron (mid-September 2010 through January 2011), Lexapro 10 mg. (mid-February 2011 through mid-December 2011), Lorazepam (Ativan) 1 mg. as needed mid-September 2010 through early March 2012"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." -Hanlon's RazorIntroduction: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1588-introducing-jemima/ Success Story: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6263-success-jemima-survives-lexapro-and-dr-dickhead-too/Please note that I am not a medical professional and my advice is based on personal experience, reading, and anecdotal information posted by other sufferers. Link to comment
Janie Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Sarah you are so lucky to have found this site and smart to research before your taper. Venaflexine or however you spell it IS made in tablet form, which can be split into halves, quarters, and down to crumbs. That is how I did my taper. I had a pill slicer and at the end was taking crumbs. I was on extended release but pharmacist (doctor was clueless) told me tablet form is available, so I took the tablet portions throughout the day, had a chart to help my taper. The trick is to do it very slow - maybe over a year (?) to be safe. I thought 3 months was slow enough but am suffering from prolonged withdrawal. It was too fast afterall. 2002? zoloft. Start of synthroid unknown. 2002? switched to paxil - Developed restless leg syndrome. stopped all caffeine which helped for many years. 2003? switched to effexor XL 75 mg. May 2012 began taper July 2012 stopped all effexor . Usual WD symptoms, lost excess weight, had more energy. RLS stopped immediately! Sept 2012 depression off and on, increasing. Tried tryptophan and acupuncture Dec 2012 severe anxiety began February 2013 used magnolia bark for anxiety - helped but developed central sleep apnea, so I stopped it by April 2013- stopped tryptophan, using saffron herb successfully and started HRT June 2013 doctor noticed bradycardia. I tried very small dose cytomel sev days for hypothyroidism but seemed to strain my heart. July 2013 stopped saffron due to slow heart and palpitations - did not help. July 2013 Increased synthroid from 50mg to 75mg. depression and anxiety improved. Heart problems continue. September & October 2013 - 2 month course of antibiotic for possbile lyme disease - mood and anxiety improved further. Heart pvc's flair up at times. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted February 6, 2013 Administrator Share Posted February 6, 2013 Thanks, Janie. It sounds like you have a lot of wisdom to share. Please start a topic for yourself in our Intro forum, to track your progress as you recover. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
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