Posted by ed_uk2010 on February 5, 2015, at 17:42:53
In reply to Came off Effexor, posted by ando35 on February 5, 2015, at 17:04:58
>I just sort of lowered the dose really low to like 25 mg or 15 and stayed there because I couldn't come off it.
Were you feeling well on such a low dose?
Depending on whether you can cope, you could wait to see if your anxiety passes. If you had a long-term problem with severe anxiety before you started Effexor, that problem is still likely to exist. If you started Effexor after a short-term problem, your current anxiety might not persist.
Severe anxiety disorders do tend to be quite long lasting without treatment.
Assuming you were not having any side effects from the low dose of Effexor, and you were feeling well, I don't see any major risk of restarting it. I can see you fear the idea of depending on it.
I do not know what else you've tried for your anxiety. People who respond well to low doses of Effexor also tend to respond well to low doses of SSRIs. This is not always the case of course. Among the SSRIs, paroxetine (Paxil) is particularly difficult to withdraw from, like Effexor. Fluoxetine (Prozac) is the easiest SSRI to withdraw from. People with anxiety should start with a low dose and increase if needed. High starting doses can cause a temporary aggravation of anxiety.
>Wellbutrin
Wellbutrin can treat depression, but it does not generally reduce Effexor withdrawal symptoms or make Effexor easier to stop. SSRIs such a fluoxetine do reduce Effexor withdrawal symptoms.
poster:ed_uk2010
thread:1076024
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20150129/msgs/1076032.html