Posted by SLS on August 6, 2005, at 7:03:37
In reply to going crazy trying to get off effexor xr, posted by DizzyNikki on August 5, 2005, at 16:36:46
Reducing from 75mg to 0mg will often produce an intense withdrawal syndrome. It might be a good idea to restart the Effexor and continue to taper gradually to 0mg. The withdrawal syndrome can sometimes get worse instead of better when someone stops taking Effexor so abruptly. The last 25% of the original dosage is often the most difficult to taper, but it can be done.
Most people are resistent to the idea of restarting Effexor when they reach your point of discontinuation. However, it appears that it can actually take *less* time to get beyond withdrawal symptoms by restarting it and tapering than to remain suffering. The withdrawal syndrome seems to feed off itself and continue long beyond one's taking their last dose. The key is not to let the withdrawal syndrome appear in the first place. I use a flexible-dosing strategy whenever I need to discontinue Effexor or other SRI serotonergic drugs.
There are alternatives to restarting Effexor. I'll let some of the other members of the board who have personal experiences with them make suggestions.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:538141
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050712/msgs/538226.html