Successful Venlafaxine withdrawel

[brit]

Just thought i would stop by with a progress report.
I am now off venlafaxine totally, and have been since early April. ALL discontinuation symptons are gone, and have been for about 6 weeks.


Im suffering from panic attacks, but i will just have to learn to live with them as the docs answer is to go back on Venlafaxine! :doh:
Not likely!

Anyway, thank you to those who posted messages of support on here for me, it helped. I wont lie, it was a horrendous time BUT i have got through it, and so can others.

If anyone is interested to know how i did it please feel free to ask.
Cheers :)

[kibbutz83]

Hi brit, I'd be interested to know how you did it without going completely bananas... I tried twice, and both times I went back on it :( I'm going to have to do it again soon, as the psychiatrist wants to change my meds... any tips would be gratefully received :)

[kibbutz83]

ps.. well done!

[brit]

Hi Kibbutz, and thank you :)

I was on 75mg daily, so first i dropped it down to 37.5mg. I felt rough for about a week, but it wasnt to bad.
I stayed on that dose for a good 6 months or so before i decided to taper off completely.
I tried the skipping days method, until i figured out that because of the short half life it was never going to work (despite what my GP said...)

So, i decided to switch directly to Fluoxetine (Prozac)
I took the Fluoxetine for a week, and then stopped. Due to the long half life of this drug it leaves your body more gradually, thus making it easier to deal with.


I wont lie, it was pretty horrendous, but the worst of it was over in a couple of weeks and i'm lucky in that my wife supported me through it.
Having said that though it was easier than just stopping completely.

Benadryl helped with the brain zaps, and i made sure i drank plenty of water (which did help)

Good luck with getting of Venlafaxine, it was the best thing i ever did.
:)

[haz]

Benadryl helped the brain zaps? That's interesting. Where did you get that tip if you don't mind me asking? I used to get bad brain zaps on Seroxat but I take cetirizine daily anyway cos I'm allergic to my cats!

Switching to Prozac sounds like it was a good move for you, unfortunately I can't tolerate Prozac.

Well done.

Haz. x

[kibbutz83]

Thanks Brit, I'll give it a try :)

[brit]

I heard about Benadryl helping the brain zaps on the net, in quite a few places, so i thought nothing ventured nothing gained.
Same with the Fluoxetine.

I never thought i would be free of Venlafaxine, but im living proof that it IS possible to come off it. Its not easy, but it can be done relatively quickly.

[Lizziesaurus]

This is good to know, I don't want to come off venlafaxine at the moment, but I'm guessing one day it will happen and it worries me after hearing all the awful stories. Least I know it's possible. I can have withdrawl symptoms if I don't take the stuff at the same time each day. Luckily it's still working for me and I don't feel ready to come off yet.

Well done though :D

[James1983]

What messed me up with venlafaxine was going on holiday last September i went straight off them, and after a month i needed them again but they made me sick so Dr changed me from capsules to tabs which are no good so i came off them i am in an in between tabs period at the moment!:weep:

[deepreason]

I tried the skipping days method, until i figured out that because of the short half life it was never going to work (despite what my GP said...)


I found the exact same thing, shows what some gp's know :p It's much better to use gradually smaller dosages than to skip days with this drug.

[deepreason]

Something I read today and hadn't previously heard is that sometimes Buprenorphine can be prescribed to help with Effexor withdrawal. It's a painkiller that lasts a long time and isn't too addictive.