Posted by SLS on October 26, 2006, at 10:48:21
In reply to Re: Withdrawl, posted by prasnhym on October 26, 2006, at 0:48:49
> I have to get off of effexor are there posts somewhere that tell us ways to wean off. I am ready to take each pill down a fraction, but i would like some advice as i start....help me someone...
> Tia
Hi Tia.There are several ways you can go about weaning off of Effexor. I recommend that you first begin to take the drug twice a day if you are not doing so already. You might have to ask your doctor for smaller pills for the weaning process.
Although unusual, I personally have had success using a flexible-dosing method that allows me to take a small dose of medication whenever I feel withdrawal symptoms appear. This becomes particularly effective once I reach the lower dosages. However, I begin the taper process by reducing the amount of medication in each capsule by a small amount. I am not too concerned with precision while reducing the doses. If I begin to experience withdrawal symptoms before it is time to take my next dose, I simply take it a little earlier and perhaps take a little more. I dose two or more times a day during the withdrawal process, so this usually does not become a problem. The key for me is that I don't confine myself to some rigid schedule that traps me into suffering a severe withdrawal syndrome for days and weeks. I remain flexible enough to take some minimum amount of medication that prevents that from happening.
At the very end of the taper, I like to use the 25mg tablets to take small pieces of or simply open up the capsules and sprinkle out a few pellets and place them on my tongue to swallow. At dosages of less than 37.5mg, I actually wait for the withdrawal symptoms to reappear before taking my next dose. I try to take an amount of drug that is no greater than will allow a period of 6-8 hours to pass without symptoms reappearing and before it is time to dose again. I end up dosing 3-4 times a day. It's like taking an aspirin whenever you feel a headache reappear. Of course, you should see a trend towards using a smaller and smaller amount of medication each day. My guess is that you can try discontinuing Effexor entirely once you reach 12.5mg a day.
Alternatively, you can substitute Prozac for Effexor at the end of the taper process. You might only need to take a few 10mg doses over the course of a few weeks. I would try to go as far as you can with the Effexor first.
I'm sorry that this was such a clumsy explanation.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:457503
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20061010/msgs/697884.html