Trying to stop taking Effexor - WOW!

CidneyI · December 2015

Effexor is no longer helping with my hot flashes so I am trying to get off of it. Another reason I want off of it is because it makes me feel very spacey or like I am really high, I guess would be a good way to describe it. My dr told me to take every other day for a week and then stop. This is the second week and today would have been my 3rd day in a row to go without and I was feeling very, very strange to the point of feeling nauseous as well. I finally took half of the capsual and feel a little better. How long does it take before this stuff no longer has a grip on you? I am tired of feeling like I am wasted or really high all the time.

farmerlucy · December 2015

I tapered off really slow by taking out five little beads extra at a time - I think I did it a week at a time but you could taper every three or five days. I started at 75 and went off. I noticed I was really cranky after a few weeks and I started back at 37.5. I just feel better on it.

glennie19 · December 2015

Some people have a hard time getting off of Effexor. Dr's try to get you off really fast,,, faster than some can tolerate. You would right to take a half a capsule. Do that for a few days,, then try to knock out some of the insides,, every few days,,, taper off more.

Also you might ask for a RX of a lower dose to help with your tapering. If you are on the 75mg capsule,, ask for the 37.5mg capsule.

My ex-husband was on it,, and he would miss one dose, and start to feel like crap by the middle of the afternoon,, like he had the flu,, and then the lightbulb would come on,,, **oh I forgot my Effexor**.

glennie19 · December 2015

Another thread on this topic is here: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/78/topics/834814?page=1#post_4505782

Anonymous · December 2015

Farmerlucy's way of tapering off worked for me. It's a horrible drug to stop. I got the spins so terribly when I tried to do it my PCP's way, which was to take it three-two days, then stop, then one, then skip, etc. etc. I had to open the capsules and take out a few beads at a time, then a few more, then a few more, over a period of about a week or so. I did it in a bowl where I could see the little beads better.

I think the effexor combined with my AI was also contributing to my inability to lose weight and gain more easily so another reason for me to get off of it.

I'll never take that freaking drug again; I'd rather have the hot flashes. I am using 100 mg of 5-HTP and it seems to help hot flashes for me. The research from government sites claims it doesn't help, but the sample was small.

Anyway, I feel your pain but it's temporary.

lyzzysmom · December 2015

I know Effexor helps many women but it gets prescibed so freely to women with bc due its lack of interaction with tamox, and with little warning from the doctors.

i could never take ssris and though this is a bit different it was the drug from hell for me. I felt awful from the first pill, and kept taking it for 6 weeks but went from going to the gym to barely getting out of bed and having anxiety that felt like a band pressing around my middle. I went away one weekend and forgot to take 2 then realized that my breathing did not feel right laying in bed so I took one and was ok again. I then tapered of over only about a week, pretty much cold turkey and had the head zaps for longer than I was even on it Even months later I get the occasional zap. For me the only good thing was it actually caused weight loss as I lost my appetite and lost 6 pounds in the 6 weeks I took it but I was not on any other meds at the time. Tapering is supposed to be the best way to get off it if you have been on it for any length of time rather than doing what I did but I just needed to be off it. As Claireinaz said l'll never take that freaking drug again!

mustlovepoodles · December 2015

Many people experience withdrawal syndrome when stopping SSRIs, especially the ones with short half-life, like Effexor--Effexor's half-life is about 24-48 hours, which is why the symptoms start so suddenly. I have taken various SSRIs for many years, due to chronic depression and I know exactly what you're going through--the withdrawal can be hellish. The only thing that ever helped me was to go on a short course of Prozac WHILE decreasing and discontinuing the other SSRI. Prozac has a long half-life, about 2 WEEKS. When have needed to go off the SSRI, I ask my doctor for a 1 month prescription for Prozac to help me get through it. Works like a charm, and because Prozac has a long half-life you can stop it suddenly with little or no side effects (I have never had side effects from stopping Prozac.) Hope this helps.

windingshores · December 2015

There is a lot of info online about withdrawing from these meds. Doctors always seem to say "cut in half for a week then stop" Perhaps this works for some, but many people taper off over MONTHS. Some even use liquid to get a tiny dose at the end before stopping. Some say the last 5mg is the worst. Brain zaps happen too, and other neuro events.

If you are sensitive to withdrawal, go down a little bit and then wait a week or even two. You can taper by decreasing the amount of the med, and then also by slowly widening the time between doses.

And Prozac is often used, as described above, to help because of its long half life.

Trying to stop taking Effexor - WOW!

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