Posted by zander on April 18, 2005, at 18:15:27
In reply to Re: Two months off of effexor-still in hell, posted by Readersleaders on April 17, 2005, at 20:19:47
> You say you tapered, but how fast did you do it? According to Dr. Ann Blake Tracy (she has worked with anti-depressant effects for the last 15 years, says if it was too fast you can suffer from withdrawal a lot worse and for a longer time. She also says figure tapering time by how long you've been on the medication and then cut that in half. I was on Effexor for 3 1/2 years before I began to taper, so it's going to take me at least 1 1/2 years and a bit more to taper slowly enough so that I don't send my body into tantrums!
>
> Perhaps take a small dose of the Effexor again and taper down SLOWLY from there. Effexor does come in tablets so you can taper easier than with the capsules.
>
Thank you for your response...I had no idea, nor do most (including my psych), that it takes that long to taper!!!! I was on effexor xr for 3 years and 4 months - I took 2-1/2 months to taper off from 150 mg. Towards the end I did use the tablets and broke them in halves - qtrs as I needed... The problem was that I had the 'withdrawal' symptoms long before I even started to actually withdraw - my reason for going off the effexor. I had brain zaps, black outs, etc starting 1-1/2 yrs before. It appears that I am a poor metabolizer of this medication and some other meds that work in the same pathway (CYP2D6). So I have had problems
even with prevacid - go figure! Am feeling better today - I had a long conversation with my local pharmacist, who seems alot more informed of some of the other medications I was taking, and has been a big help...I like what you said -'body tantrums'- and that is what I've experienced and want no more of!!! I know I am not alone in my experience - I just get so tired, and then have a hard time coping with just the littlest of things.How or where do I find information from Dr. Tracy? Does she have any literature that she has written? I very much appreciate your telling me about her - I am definitely quite interested in learning more.
Again thank you for sharing with me!
poster:zander
thread:484916
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050323/msgs/486137.html