Method to taper off Efexor

I want to reduce my Effexor dose and thought of using the following method to decrease it at a rate of 10% per month (recommended for example at survivingantidepressants):

 

- open 30 capsules one by one and weight the granular material in each of them (let's call Wi the weight of the material in capsule i)

- calculate the average of this weight for the 30 capsules (let's call this W)

- collect all the granules from the 30 capsules in a container

- refill the capsules with an amount of material equal to 0.9xW

 

Repeat the procedure one month later and so on.

 

Any idea on how I could refill the capsules? They are so small!

 

Thank you in advance

 

I’ve no idea. Pdoc switched me directly to Wellbutrin XR 150 and I went nuts. I hope you have the 75 mg Effexor XR capsules, Magnesi. The beads inside are very small, I remember them. One hell of a job.

 

I think they should give you a detailed info on "Surviving Antidepressants", when you register an account there. They are quite good at helping people quit ADs. I only know tapering Effexor XR is extremely difficult.

 

Funny, just found out they discontinued it in the US. I wonder why.

 

 

I’ve no idea. Pdoc switched me directly to Wellbutrin XR 150 and I went nuts. I hope you have the 75 mg Effexor XR capsules, Magnesi. The beads inside are very small, I remember them. One hell of a job.

 

I think they should give you a detailed info on "Surviving Antidepressants", when you register an account there. They are quite good at helping people quit ADs. I only know tapering Effexor XR is extremely difficult.

 

Funny, just found out they discontinued it in the US. I wonder why.

 

I didn't now, Estee, but it seems that the slow release versions continue to be available http://injury.findlaw.com/product-liability/effexor-faq.html. Anyway, I'm terrified to tapering it off because it makes me feel so bad when I skip or even just delay a dose.

 

I'm thinking of using a generic version, in which the capsules contain 12.5mg mini.tablets http://www.mhra.gov.uk/home/groups/par/documents/websiteresources/con062651.pdf - this I got from "Surviving Antidepressants" which I agree have very good information. I was never able to really engage with them, though... I can remove one mini-tablet from time to time because counting the small granules of Effexor feels indeed like a kind of punishment!

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Try to taper as slowly as possible. You may always reduce to a smaller dose and stay on it. This is a strange AD. I’m wondering whether all my problems didn’t start when pdoc switched me from it to Wellbutrin. Effexor XR was great for sleep. I took like 75-150 mg. But I felt kind of crazy on it overall. Very calm as I remember. A bit manic. I prefer Prozac, which comes with its’ nasty set of sxs.

Thanks Estee, I wanted to reduce Effexor to 50%, i.e. 75mg. Then, I plan to finish taper off the benzo and afterwards the remaining 50% of the AD. This is my plan, although I might still adapt it if needed during the process. But I'm very discouraged because at the 10% per month rate that Surviving Antidepressants recommend, it'll take me another 6 months to just reduce the first 50% of the AD. And at least another year to be med free  I know that two years may not seem too much, but for me they are like being in prison .

Thanks Estee, I wanted to reduce Effexor to 50%, i.e. 75mg. Then, I plan to finish taper off the benzo and afterwards the remaining 50% of the AD. This is my plan, although I might still adapt it if needed during the process. But I'm very discouraged because at the 10% per month rate that Surviving Antidepressants recommend, it'll take me another 6 months to just reduce the first 50% of the AD. And at least another year to be med free  I know that two years may not seem too much, but for me they are like being in prison .

 

I tapered SSRIs twice and the 10% rate is the best way to go. I have doubts whether you should taper Effexor XR before the benzo. I really don’t know. Effexor XR is both energizing and calming. It also helps sleep a lot. I chiefly stopped it cause it interacted with another med I was taking. I had problems with my skin while on it. That was also a determining factor to quit it.

 

I took it for two yrs, while off benzos. You may try the 5% rate, but difficult to predict the consequences. I think I used to switch between 75 mg and 150 mg dose. My pdoc was okay with that. You should consult with your pdoc. Some ppl have extreme reactions to Effexor XR taper. You might do some further research online or try to google "effexor xr" and "surviving antidepressants". Maybe you’ll get some interesting results.

I think that Effexor is to a whole class of antidepressants what Ativan is to a whole class of benzodiazepines. They are both some of the strongest and have very short half-lives. Something to keep in mind. One cannot be too careful when tapering each of those drugs.

 

I did try Effexor for all of 3 days more than 20 years ago, and looking back, it was strange that I was given Effexor in the first place, as the doctor I was seeing knew I suffered from anxiety/panic, yet she stubbornly kept calling it all "depression". Anyway, she gave me 75mg tablets and told me to cut in half if I thought 75mg was too much. So being cautious, I cut it in half and took it. After about 1 hour, I felt like I was injected with a couple of adrenaline shots. Too strong, way too strong. I lasted 3 days on this pill. Decided to stop. I concluded that this anti-depressant was meant for people who have a lot of depression but pretty low levels of anxiety.

 

Long story short, it makes me wonder. Were you able to withstand being on 150mg Effexor because you were also on Ativan, or was this anti-depressant not as stimulating to your nervous system? I think asking yourself some of these questions may help you in your future decisions. My understanding is that Effexor has a very short half-life, just like Ativan does. But then again, your CNS has handled the ativan taper extremely well so far, which is an extremely good sign, although it is not a predictor of how well you can handle Effexor withdrawal and at what rate you can do it.

Hi Lorazepam, yes, I was prescribed Effexor because I was feeling down, with no energy. I had what they call situational depression, due to staying for too long in a negative job-related situation. Effexor helped to have enough energy to cope and then to look for alternatives. However, looking back I see that the best would have been not to cope but to give up, rest and then think of alternatives. With no meds! But everyone around me pushed me to cope and cope (a word I now hate...) and I also could not see a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

This inability to deal with the situation, the depression, the lack of energy, etc. was probably, at least in part, due to being on Ativan for so many years. So, yes, I agree with you, but at the time I didn't know it.

 

Thanks

So sorry to hear, Magnesi. I dealt with similar job situation where I loved my work, but the people around me were constantly shifting their alliances and were more interested about their own dominant strategies rather than working together to solve problems, which is a must in the type of work I was doing.

 

But there is something good I am hearing in your post. Yes, you were tired and depressed from Ativan, but it seems that you were not getting over-agitated from Ativan (which is good) and were not getting over-agitated from Effexor. There is nothing good in this process, but I think what may be good is that you were still on Ativan without getting extremely anxious on it. I had three phases on Ativan. The first was feeling anxiety relief and feeling relatively ok. The second was some loss of energy and increased depression. And then, in the third phase, the anxiety started getting significantly bad that it was breaking through Ativan. It seems to me that you are certainly getting some bad withdrawal/breakthrough anxiety on ativan, but that it's not gotten to a complete paralysis stage, with the adrenaline jolts and anxious paralysis. So you're doing pretty well, so far.

 

So far, so good. Yes, I can see how Effexor can actually help someone who is depressed and exhausted. It makes total sense. Sure, it would have probably been better if we didn't take anything, but being in a situation of exhaustion and depression from ativan, it is not often clear what the best path to good health is.