My Venlafaxine withdrawal diary

[TheOrigRights]

Someone (I'll tag you in the other thread!) asked if I would be willing to keep a diary as I taper off Venlafaxine with the aim of coming off entirely.

I'm happy to do so and think it will be useful for me, too.

Been on venlafaxine 150mg modified release for a few years.

Month 1 - changed from modified release 150mg to 2 x immediate release 75mg just to get used to 2 smaller doses.

Month 2 - 75mg in the morning and 37.5mg at night
This is where I am now. I've been a bit muddled, partly because I was issued with 56 x 75mg and 56 x 37.5mg with instructions to take 1 each morning and night, and what with everything and 37.5 being a STUPID number to work with in your head, I didn't work out that this would be an increase. Twit.
I'm not sure how many tablets I have left, but I'll see where I am when all the 75mg ones have gone.

Month 3 (ish) - 37.5mg in the morning and 37.5mg at night.

Month 4 (ish) - 37.5mg in the morning

Month 5 (ish) - nothing!

So far I can report only some brain zaps and some fuzziness.
When getting used to taking 2 doses a day I did forget to take the morning one a few times, and only remembered when I started to feel zappy, by which time it was too close to the night time dose to take it.

Mood wise I can report no change. Unlike others I can't say it saved my life. I can't say it didn't. I just don't know.

I am off the meds! As of 14th Feb. I was taking 1/2ml of 37.5mg/5ml oral solution (down from 1ml for 4 weeks) for a few days and just decided to stop.

So, it took 6 months to come off them, first by splitting the daily dose into 2 smaller doses, then slowly reducing down month by month, then moving to oral solution to enable me to taper to tiny doses.

I feel really good about it. I am myself. That does actually come with some anger which flares up and I need to keep an eye on that. I have a 12 yo who is very challenging.

How's everyone else doing?

Hi I've just found this thread !
I am on veneflaxine , 225 mg nite time and 150 mg morning
Tried a cold turkey two weeks ago but couldn't do more than 3 days
You have done so well OP

Thank you.
I probably don't need to tell you that the cold turkey method sucks!
May I ask why you wanted to come off so abruptly? I did that with a different AD ages ago - just cos I was pissed off.
Venlafaxine isn't one to come off that way.

@TheOrigRights :)
I think I was in a similar frame of mind , I have had years of being on and off AD's and recently moved house and been through so much crap I wondered why I'm on these what really is it helping sort of thing
Cold turkey I managed before a couple of years ago but couldn't this time

I understand.
I think once I accepted it was going to take a long time to taper I felt better able to get on with it. This probably indicates that it was the right time for me. I also went in with a very open mind, prepared to go back up if I needed to, or slow it down.
But with each drop I felt emotionally stronger just knowing I was on the right track and being a grown up about it (I am 51 so being a grown up shouldn't be so hard you'd think!).

I also feel that I would be fine going back on them if I needed to.

I wish you all the best.

Thank you so much and for sharing how you've done it
I think I absolutely do want to start the process of coming off of them properly , I have a gp booked for the end of the month I know for sure I can't do it the way I tried
I'm almost 48 and I think I was first given them for pnd when I was 21 so been a lot of years chopping and changing them
Please keep sharing how you're doing , I really appreciate it :)

Hi @dane8

I am on the capsules for both , I was really stupid about it to be fair I didn't think it would be quite so horrible as it was
How do you feel on yours ?

Generic forms only differ in the stuff they've added, not the active ingredients.
I wonder would it be worth trying to work out what is it that you don't tolerate so you could work towards moving towards tablets.

You're right, a drop from 150mg to 75mg is very big.

Dane8 I was listening to a programme on radio 4 recently - Inside Health; it was about hrt and breast cancer risks. The risks are reported as v low but increase incrementally each 5 years you are on them. It got me thinking that if I am menopausal and that's what is causing all these symptoms, then that perhaps venlafaxine is in fact the better option, provided I don't get physical symptoms.

I feel a lot better a month into 75mg. I have also split from my horrible husband and I think that will help too, although i expect the divorce process will be challenging.

I wonder...how do you know for sure it's the venlafaxine causing the poor memory? Wouldn't that come with age anyway? I'm
50 and am not sure my memory is what it was.

@dane8 I can relate to the
Memory issue , I think I'm much more forgetful on the venaflaxine , simple little things but I'm almost 48 , I expect my memory to change but even the most silly things I can't remember quite often.
I am on my second month of hrt patches for peri menopause , I think they are helping me to sleep a bit better , my sleep is shocking as a rule

I definitely feel sharper now I am off the ADs.
It's a balance isn't it. In losing some of my sharpness and that feeling of 'me', being on ADs enabled me to get through a very difficult period of my life and probably stopped me doing something I'd regret.

It's really only in hindsight I can see this. Someone in the position of needing ADs probably isn't in the best place to see the full picture of pros and cons and long term effects.

@TheOrigRights yes I can understand that totally

It's nice of you to think of me @dane8
I'm doing OK. Overall I'm happy to be medication free.
I've had incidences where I've doubted whether it was the right thing to do.
I just feel everything more and sometimes struggle to manage my (negative) emotions. I can become overwhelmed quickly.

I think I would benefit from learning ways to cope and manage, as I feel so bad when my mood spills over into how I parent my son.

I am also struggling with staying on top of my intrusive eating disorder thoughts/behaviours, but I am truck loads of self-awareness so hope I can manage that.

Hi , I hope this doesn't come across in the wrong way but as this comes up when searching coming off Venlafaxine I just wanted to add my comments for anyone. It really doesn't have to be this hard or complicated and I think your withdrawal diary is erring a little into ED behaviour - the control of it having to get the liquid form exercising our physical symptoms forgetting does etc. For the most part any liquid form etc won't be necessary. I came off 375 going down 75 each time for 1 week easy as. There were 12 tablets inside the 150mg i had so able to do this. When I got to 75 reduced 12.5 each time. I just wanted to give a different point of view for anyone searching!

I think it's good that people share their own experiences of tapering, then individuals can look around and hopefully find something that works for them, or see that their own experience isn't unusual.

For me your system would not have worked - it would have been too much of a reduction too soon.

The only way for me to get a dose lower than 37.5mg was in liquid form - I didn't have capsules to split open (and it's not recommended to do so).

Hi OP,

I just wanted to say Thank You! 🙏🏼 for starting this thread. I hope you're doing ok off them still.

I've been on Venlafaxine for 22 years, but as of Tuesday I am now totally FREE!!

In April I had all but given up hope of ever coming off them, as it's notoriously hard. I then came across your thread/updates and it really spared me on and I realised I was doing it wrong (for me!).

I was on the capsules so was able to taper them differently to you.

Here's to lots of ups and downs but being in control for now, but also realising that I should never say never, as it got me through a horrific time after having my child, and when I struggled to realise I was a good Mum for caring but I just needed some assistance.

Cheers! 🥂 🍻

Hi, I know this is an old post but I'm wanting to taper off Venlafaxine and I'd love to know how you're all doing now?

@TheOrigRights and everyone else 😊