Posted by SLS on February 15, 2005, at 14:29:25
In reply to Sweatin' like a son-of-a-gun!, posted by brainshiver on February 15, 2005, at 8:03:04
> Hiya! Brainshiver is back. I'm on Day 10 of switching from 150mg to 75mg.
Maybe a 50% drop is too much for you. It would have been interesting to see how you would have done at 112.5mg instead or 75mg. 50% is a big number.
Likewise, going from 75mg to 37.5 is a 50% decrease. You could try going to 18.75 three times a day for a week and then to 18.75 twice a day. If you can manage it, you could cut the tablets even smaller (I nibble off small pieces) and continue 2-3 times a day until you are ready to take the last step to 0mg. The idea is to avoid the withdrawal syndrome completely until full cessation, wherein the magnitude of the final withdrawal symptoms are minimal. Of course, this is might not work for you.
Alternatively, you can discuss with your doctor using Prozac to help wean you off of Effexor. Prozac acts like a surrogate for Effexor. Because its half-life is as long as a week (compared to 5-7 hours for Effexor), the taper is much less steep. Some people can actually take a single 20mg dose of Prozac followed by a 10mg dose a week later. I wish I could give you a personal account of how best to do this, but I've never needed to use this strategy.
If you decide to drop from 75mg to 0mg, perhaps you can try using something to mitigate the withdrawal symptoms. Benadryl (diphenhydramine) has been suggested. I have seen others, but I would rather hear from others regarding what have been their personal experiences.
I don't think it is necessary for you to suffer through two more severe episodes of withdrawal. You can either taper more slowly, use Prozac as a temporary substitute, or treat the symptoms using other medications.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:457497
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050214/msgs/458222.html