Hello everybody!
We have been discussing medications every Thursday for some time and one of the most discussed medications has to be Effexor. Most people who want to know about Effexor wish to know about Effexor withdrawals.
I wanted to give members all the information we have about Effexor withdrawals and also ask for any new feedback and information you can give for people who are ceasing to take Effexor and what they may expect in terms of withdrawal symptoms.
Here is our page about Effexor withdrawals.
If you want the patient firsthand experience this question about Effexor withdrawals garnished over one hundred comments and is still going strong.
And here, member Rosemarie talks about her personal experience weaning from Effexor and gives hope to others who are wanting to do the same thing.
And now we would love to hear your stories about any withdrawal symptoms from ceasing to take Effexor. Your comments may be the thing which helps someone to survive the side effects of stopping Effexor.
Please share here! We want to hear from you.
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weaning off the meds s l o w l y is the key. Takes a long time to avoid a crash and burn. Down (say) from 30 mg it would be 5 mg less each day for TWO weeks, then down 2.5 mg for another two weeks, then another 2.5 and so on and so on, when it gets near the end -- try the less than for one week per dosage. Sometimes when you are near the end of the weaning phase it is possible to change medications. That's what I did, otherwise I would jump from the basement (kidding).
How to handle miscreant friends and relatives -- ignore the comments. Since (according to Buddhism) we make up our reactions as we go along, make up a different reaction. Remember what makes me smile could make you wince and what makes me sad I ruminate for a minute or two then move on. Otherwise it is crash and burn time -- AGAIN, and again, and again .......
Hi all, It seems such a long time ago and yet it isnt, since I withdrew from Efexor XL. Firstly, dont read websites re same. I found them extremely negative. people who couldnt get off Efexor. I had 2 aborted attempts because,simply I went about it the wrong way.
Firstly you have to really WANT to come off. Secondly, dont wait/ think all the time about symptoms, they will come in waves, they will go. Im not Wonder woman. The End Result is the important thing.
I have the added bonus of suffering v badly with anxiety and phobia so Im not a typical person and would have perhaps found it doubly difficult.
All I would day again is - Go slowly, go down 5mg every 2 weeks in conjunction with a Doctor. Dont overplay your withdrawals because alot of Docs play it safe and are afraid of you doing something silly. So they may decide to put you back up on a dose - Dont !! Stick with it. Take a Sedative [any benzodiazepine] whist coming off if youre finding it hard, this will help your sleep, panic or head zaps and physical symptoms. Finally when youre on a low dose, do go on to another SSRI to avoid a crash landing. Finally GOOD LUCK !!! It can be done.