Posted by SLS on April 2, 2005, at 9:23:10
In reply to Effexor withdrawal - how long left???, posted by Hawklady on April 1, 2005, at 4:44:54
> Hi,
Hi.
Welcome.
> I have just joined this forum. I am in the UK and started effexor XL 150 mg in Aug 2002, in Aug 2004 I tried to come off it too quickly, the side effects were horrible ,worst I have ever experienced even when I "stupidly" experimented with recreational illeagal drugs in the 90's.
> I am down to 1/4 of a 37.5 mg tablet a day,
That is too little. You might experience withdrawal effects indefinitely that way.
I would try:A. Discontinue the Effexor now and suffer withdrawal effects for a period of time that would be difficult to predict. You can try to ameliorate the symptoms using Benadryl.
B. Going back up to 1/4 tablet 2-3 times a day until the withdrawal effects disappear for a week. You could then either:
1. Go to 1/4 tablet twice a day if you haven't already:
a. maintain this dosage until you are ready to discontinue Effexor completely. Do not bother with 1/4 once a day. It is counterproductive.
b. try to cut the tablets smaller and take a dose only when you first feel the withdrawal effects returning and take one of these small doses immediately. Hopefully, the time in between doses will extend longer and longer. Once you hit a plateau, then you discontinue the drug completely2. Switch over to Prozac briefly and taper the Prozac.
For ME, the way that worked best was to go with the "B-1-b" plan. This is a flexible dosing strategy that focuses on time rather than total daily dosage. To be used towards the end of the taper process, it seems to work best for me when I take only enough Effexor to allow me to go without withdrawal symptoms for between 6-8 hours - no longer. I actually wait for these symptoms to appear before taking the next dose. However, I don't allow them to persist for longer than 1/2 - 1 hour before deciding to dose again. In this way, I guarantee that I am tapering the medication at exactly that rate that the body can handle comfortably.
If "B-1-b" doesnt work, I would then suggest going to "B-2"
This explanation might be a bit confusing. Please post questions if there is something I was unclear about.
Substituting Effexor for Prozac is probably the easiest way to go. Many people report great success with it. I'm not sure where the "sweet spot" is for how many days to take the Prozac before discontinuing it. I would guess 5-10 days.
Hopefully, people will provide replies to your post with alternatives.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:478433
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050323/msgs/478846.html