Venlafaxine - tapering

[TheOrigRights]

I think I am ready to come off my ADs.
I am currently on 150mg extended release Venlafaxine.

GP has advised to switch to immediate release and to start with take 75mg twice a day and see how I get on before I attempt any sort of reduction.

I've read that withdrawal from Venlafaxine can be tough.

Has anyone done tapering this way? I know everyone's experience is different but it can help to share. I'm a bit nervous. I've been on ADs of one sort or another for 5 years.

How did you get on OP? Just saw your post.

I did it without GPs help, many years ago. I was on capsules, and I did it by unscrewing each capsule and tapping out a tiny amount, gradually increasing how much I removed.

It was really unscientific but i couldn't tolerate a faster taper so i just did it. I can't remember how long it took to come off it, i think a good couple of months.

I did have brain zaps periodically for several years after stopping, but eventually they went away.

You just feel weird, shaky, sweating with odd sensations going through your head, dane. It passes.

Venlaxafine is horrible anyway, I was on it for a while, it did nothing to help me. Sometimes you just have to live through things.

I sympathise with you but you will be fine eventually.

Not that I would necessarily recommend this approach, but I was on 225mg venlafaxine for two years and stopped cold turkey recently. I felt very nauseous, had an upset tummy and was in a fog for about 4 days. I was hot and cold, exhausted and headachey, but about 10 days after I stopped I felt fine. When I started I didn't have any side effects and I started straight on 150mg, so it might be why my withdrawal was not too bad.

I'm definitely not advising doing what I did, but just wanted to say that I had read horror stories about withdrawal too, and it was not as bad as I expected. I felt pretty rough for a few days, but I still managed to work even on the worst days. Good luck however you decide to do it.

Venlafaxine
I have been on this for many years. It does not appear to lift my mood any more. Has anyone experienced this after long term use. I still can get extremely low mood on it.

I’ve not come off it for many years (don’t remember brain zaps at all) but I reduced from 300 to 225 with no probs.