Originally Posted by
dedalus
Hi Julie,
I am guessing that you have been taking venlafaxine for a while. It sounds strange that you have had an allergic reaction to an increase in dosage with that drug though. Especially if you have been taking it at a lower dose for some time. Perhaps it is possible though. I wouldn't really know.
You are right in what you say though. There will probably be some major withdrawal symptoms if you stop venlafaxine abruptly. 150mgs is a relatively high dose. I am not sure if citalopram would compensate for the venlafaxine. I have heard of people switching from venlafaxine to prozac but they generally take both for a while before discontinuing the venlafaxine.
I don't like giving advice about these sort of things but in my layman's opinion I think that it might be best to continue on venlafaxine at 150mgs for a while.
The intensity of the withdrawal can depend on how long you were taking venlafaxine also. I have been on this drug for 8 years now and have tried to slowly taper off it at 10% per month and there was always withdrawal. So, I would imagine that if you go from 150mgs to 0mgs overnight then you will have some major withdrawal symptoms. Of course, it would depends how long you were taking it, as I said.
I hope that that is of some help to you. Please let us know how you get on!