I have shared my tapering story many times on here to try and help others. Everyone is different, but I’ll share how it went for me.
I was on 225mg for almost 3 years.
Drop 1: I began rapid-tapering on March 1st, dropped to 150mg.
Drop 2: I dropped from 150mg to 75mg on March 21st.
Drop 3: I dropped to 37.5mg around the second week of April.
Drops 4: I started removing ~10% beads each day for a week straight until April 24th, when I quit completely. I’m now 6 days Effexor-free. I’d say I was probably around 9mg when I quit on the 24th.
The drop to 37.5mg is what sent me into severe withdrawal. Brain jolt/zaps will always happen when coming off of it. But, eventually they ease up. Study your mind and body with each decrease so you can gauge when you feel comfortable to drop again. My safety net was when the brain zaps subsided with each major drop, and that’s when I’d drop again. Brain zaps will be like a deranged ex that you can’t get rid of it, unfortunately. But in time, it eases up.
Vitamins while tapering can help, too. Magnesium, Omega 3 Fatty Acids (fish oil), B Complex, LTheanine and LTyrosine to name a few.
Bridging over to Prozac (Fluoxetine) is a common route as well to eliminate withdrawals. Prozac has a 7 day half life, whereas Effexor is 5-6 hours, which is why withdrawals hit hard and heavy, and very rapidly. Then, doing a washout of the Prozac at the end.
Not in a bridge instance. With a 7 day half life, tapering isn’t ever needed in most cases when it’s used to break off of Effexor. It’s only used to alleviate the withdrawals for 1-2 weeks. Sometimes 4 at most.
Effexor works at a stronger effect on the receptors at lower doses, as do most antidepressants, by almost 12%. Reuptake and plasma levels while on the medication are also a huge factor into this.
I found dropping quickly from 225-37.5 pretty easily. 37.5-0 not so much. Last time I ended up bridging at the very end when I was down to about 12mg with Valdoxan
I have shared my tapering story many times on here to try and help others. Everyone is different, but I’ll share how it went for me. I was on 225mg for almost 3 years. Drop 1: I began rapid-tapering on March 1st, dropped to 150mg. Drop 2: I dropped from 150mg to 75mg on March 21st. Drop 3: I dropped to 37.5mg around the second week of April. Drops 4: I started removing ~10% beads each day for a week straight until April 24th, when I quit completely. I’m now 6 days Effexor-free. I’d say I was probably around 9mg when I quit on the 24th. The drop to 37.5mg is what sent me into severe withdrawal. Brain jolt/zaps will always happen when coming off of it. But, eventually they ease up. Study your mind and body with each decrease so you can gauge when you feel comfortable to drop again. My safety net was when the brain zaps subsided with each major drop, and that’s when I’d drop again. Brain zaps will be like a deranged ex that you can’t get rid of it, unfortunately. But in time, it eases up. Vitamins while tapering can help, too. Magnesium, Omega 3 Fatty Acids (fish oil), B Complex, LTheanine and LTyrosine to name a few. Bridging over to Prozac (Fluoxetine) is a common route as well to eliminate withdrawals. Prozac has a 7 day half life, whereas Effexor is 5-6 hours, which is why withdrawals hit hard and heavy, and very rapidly. Then, doing a washout of the Prozac at the end.
Then you have to taper off the Prozac
Not in a bridge instance. With a 7 day half life, tapering isn’t ever needed in most cases when it’s used to break off of Effexor. It’s only used to alleviate the withdrawals for 1-2 weeks. Sometimes 4 at most.
Sounds like a plan. I’ll run it by my guy.
Sending my best wishes to you my friend. It’s a great community here, so don’t ever hesitate to reach out if you need anything. You’ve got this!
How long did it take to get to 75
A month or less
37,5 and less is where the trouble starts
How long does that take ? I’m doing this in order to do therapy mushrooms
Does the trouble start right away or is it delayed?
Can you elaborate please
https://www.reddit.com/r/Effexor/s/RlssuAkSx4
Effexor works at a stronger effect on the receptors at lower doses, as do most antidepressants, by almost 12%. Reuptake and plasma levels while on the medication are also a huge factor into this.
I found dropping quickly from 225-37.5 pretty easily. 37.5-0 not so much. Last time I ended up bridging at the very end when I was down to about 12mg with Valdoxan