Coming off Venlaflaxine but the side effects making me so ill

[mrmump]

I have gradually lowered my dose of Venlaflaxine and hurrah! GP said I can try to come off them. But the awful spinny heads and brain zaps are so unbarable that I end up taking a tablet. Can anyone tell me how long these feelings last? Desperate to try living my life tablet free.

What from and to?

I took it for years in my 20s and came off when I discovered I was pregnant. It was a wonder drug for me - but the side effects were so awful I wouldn't take it again. You should be reducing it VERY slowly - I can't remember anything about doses, but I remember going from 3 to 2 tablets being hard, so waited until I felt OK on that (a week or two) then the same for 2 down to 1 (think it was a couple of weeks) and then began opening the capsules and tipping a tiny bit out each day from then on so I could really taper it from 1 tablet down to none. Speak to your GP about REALLY slow withdrawal - if you do it slowly enough (maybe over a month or so) the side effects shouldn't be so bad. Stopping and starting, or taking a tablet every 2 days as one friend was told to do, makes the bad head even worse because you have to start the withdrawal process all over again. Hope this helps.

sorry, just re-read properly, sounds like you just need help lowering from 1 tablet down to none. See if you can get some lower strength ones for a short while to help with this maybe? If you are determined to just stop and not take another tablet, you will probably feel spinny for a while. For me it was 1-2 weeks after stopping.

I came off this one at the end of last year.
I ended up being sooo ill when i stopped my half-tablet a day that I cut up several tablets into quarters then even eighths (yes really!) and had an 1/8 in the morning and 1/8 at night, dropping to 1/8 in the morning...

even going down to this level and eventually stopping it took between 4 and 6 weeks (cant remember exactly) for the effects to go :(

When I was finally off it, and the dizzyness and brain zaps stopped I then ended up with random 'PMT' moments with complete rage or crying etc, jsut because my brain was no longer restrained by chemicals.

I had my last tablet in november and was free of withdrawal effects by christmas....

Keep trying, keep strong if you're sure you want to be off it and take it really really slowly (a month or two from one drop to another) and you'll get there.

xx

Hi, I was on venlafaxine for two years after DS2, did a really slow withdrawal and still had the brain shakes! Couldn't drop that last dose even taking one tablet every other day.
I read some where that transfering to prozac could help, spoke with GP and she agreed to switch to lowest dose of prozac for one week, the one every other (I think, was a while ago!) and the just stopped.
Was really easy and no wierdness and would certainly recommend asking GP.
Hope this helps x

I had venlaflaxine in capsults - only way for very slow reduction for me was to open up capsule and reduce % of granules each day/week - psychiatrist said my dh was a saint to do this... but then he saw how ill I was when I didn't do it that slowly!

I'm only adding to this thread to reassure anyone who is considering taking Effexor and feels worried by the withdrawal descriptions.

I was on 150mg for about 18 months. When I'd felt fully recovered for 6 months, I then dropped to taking 150mg one day, 75mg next, for about 3 months I reckon...

Then I dropped down to 75mg each day for another 6 weeks or so...

Then 75mg alternate days (was the controlled release capsules and I never thought of opening them up!) for another 6 weeks, I think it was, before stopping completely.

Doing it that ridiculously slowly meant that I didn't have a single withdrawal effect at all.

Effexor/Venlafaxine was a complete wonder drug for me and I really do sympathise with everyone who has a bad time coming off it, but I hate to think of anyone being to scared to start taking it when it can, quite literally, be a lifesaver!