Posted by SLS on July 2, 2005, at 9:42:21
In reply to Effexor XR NO Withdrawal?, posted by TJ3 on June 27, 2005, at 22:10:35
> Does anyone have a positive experience with discontinuing Effexor XR? I have been decreasing over the past 2 weeks from 150 mg. Today I tried to go without, and felt a little "high" (?) and dizzy on & off throughout the day. It got progressively worse until I decided to take a small dose. Is there any way to come off this stuff more quickly? (I don't want it to take months!!) And how long does it really take to feel mostly normal after totally stopping?
I have had success coming off of 300mg of Effexor several times using a flexible-dosing strategy. It takes me no longer than 2 weeks to discontinue the medication entirely. I've written a whole bunch of posts on the subject of flexible-dosing, but I'll try to summarize it here.
First of all, do not try to be a hero. You will take whatever is the amount of Effexor that is necessary to prevent withdrawal symptoms from persisting. It is best to take smaller amounts of Effexor several times a day rather than as a single dose. I recommend 3-4 times a day, but this will really be determined by how quickly withdrawal symptoms appear between doses. The idea is to actually wait for the beginnings of the withdrawal symptoms to reappear. However, you want to take your next dose immediately once you are sure that what you are experiencing is indeed the withdrawal syndrome. It is a good idea to become familiar with the withdrawal symptoms that are unique to you. Perhaps dizziness, anxiety, heart palpitations, and "brain zaps" are what you experience. For other people this might be different.
You will be using small amounts of Effexor as a PRN as needed much like you would use aspirin for a headache. Experiment to find the dosage that allows you to go 6-8 hours without symptoms. Precision is really not necessary. If you can get the 25mg tablets to work with, that would be ideal. Many people simply open a capsule and count the number of beads to consume. I used to place them on my tongue and wash them down with water. They have no bitter taste because they are enteric coated. Still, I find the 25mg tablets easier to work with. You can split them in any number of ways. Again, precision is not necessary. I used to bite off pieces of the tablet whenever I felt the withdrawal effects reappear.
You should find that the amount of Effexor necessary to last 6-8 hours becomes smaller and smaller. There will also be a tendency for the time in between doses to lengthen, however, the idea is to "force" the body to change by "feeding" it smaller and smaller amounts of drug at exactly the same rate that the body can effect these changes. That's the idea of allowing the withdrawal symptoms to appear before dosing. It forces the body to change. You will, however, reach a point when no further dosage reductions will allow you to reach the 6 hour mark. At this point, you discontinue the drug entirely. The withdrawal period should be relatively mild and brief.
Any questions?
Please post of your progress. There are other strategies that you can use, but I get the impression that using the original drug to taper will probably prevent the necessity for an extended withdrawal period best. I hope it works for you. I must tell you that I am a bit biased towards this method. I developed it myself (although I'm sure other people have as well) based on a little common sense, a little theory, and a little luck.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:520693
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050611/msgs/522476.html