Dont Take Effoxer If You Want To Come Off It

[Kiwi Bird]

I've been on 375mgs of Effexor a day for more than eight years and after 30 years of complex PTSD and depression it was like finding a light-switch in the dark. I doubt I would still be alive without it.

It takes months to stabilise your dosage, and during that time things can get a little weird BUT for me it was worth it. I'd tried so many drugs that didn't work for me it mean't all the discomfort during the adjustment phase was worth it. Simply changing from taking it in the morning to taking it at bedtime was also very helpful with side affects.

When it comes to weaning off of any dose of Venlafaxine (Effexor), you need to do it under medical supervision very very slowly. Even though the capsules are 37.5mgs, you can cut the decrease by very carefully opening up the capsule and tipping out some of the contents so your 37.5 capsule contains half or quarter that amount.

I've been told about people who very carefully tipped the individual granules out and counted out the number of granules to dispose of. Week by week you make the does smaller and smaller until you can stop altogether.

I've trialled coming off my Venlafaxine, but life is much better when I am on it. To me it isn't toxic at all. It's something you have to use with knowledge, and with patience.

 

[Femke]

I agree that you shouldn't start Efexor unless you plan to use it for life... I was put on Efexor in a traumatic period, because I was fearful and sad - I was not clinically depressed, but had a good and temporary reason to not feel good. I hesitated whether I'd start a med and specifically asked whether there would be withdrawal symptoms... they said there weren't any!!! While using it I was more stable, but never fully me. My grandma and my dog died in this period and I couldn't even feel really sad about it. Withdrawing caused brain zaps, extreme mood swings (from wild euphoria to deep darkness) and psychosis. I have never recovered from that and still need antipsychotics that make my life bland and meaningless. I hate the doctor who prescribed me this med while giving me dishonest information. If I had known the truth I'd never had taken Efexor.