How to get off of Effexor and other SSRI's

[CL90231]

My daughter is taking 225 mg of effexor xr for the last 8 months. Before that, she was taking 150 mg for 5 years.  She is 24. She tried to quit a year ago, when taking 150 mg, but the side effects terrified her and she is now in denial and would rather succumb to taking this horrid drug for the rest of her life. She has given up.

This is a tragedy, and one that the drug company needs to address. A class action law suit is fine, but that does not solve the problem of getting off of this drug.

I've read all the posts in this forum pertaining to withdrawal effects of this drug, and think that the VERY slow, tiny decreases in dose seems to be the only answer. Not everyone is capable of doing what one poster did - cutting pills into eighths or crushing into water to decrease by very tine mg's.

The manufacturer of Effexor should be required to make these incrementally lower doses. I need back up and a case to proceed

[wannabefree330]

Effexor is really hard to get off.  I have tried to taper before and the w/d *****!  It has to be done under medical care.  Slow, small changes.  What does she take it for?  And, you can't cut it because it is a capsule that has little granules in it.  Does she have depression?  Maybe she can be switched over to another antidepressant while weaning off the Effexor?

[LONESOME]

Hi I was on lexapro and that is an SSRI and I just stopped all together I was taking 10mg a day for 3 months and I didn't have any problems that I know I was also taking trileptal and I was told I had to taper of and I didn't either and I been of it for almost 2 weeks.
I don't know if that helps anyways good luck ok

[enemy48]

Hi there~

I was on effexor for a few months when I didn't see it helping me.  I too tried to just stop and it freaked me out also.

This is a horrible drug to get away from.  What I did is broke apart my capsule & started taking 1/2, then less than that, less & less, over a period of about a month.  When I finally got down to nothing and didn't put anything in my system again, I didn't feel any withdrawals.

Please give her hope.  It can be done.

[CG32]

Oh yea....Effexor is the devil.  My wife and I has been on 225mg for a few months now.  We were given it because of back and neck pain.  But, geeesh, you go to long without one and you have all kinds of freaky stuff......brain shivers, hearing goes in and out, and just the overall of feeling freaky. We are trying to ween off but its hard.....not to mention our insurance covers very little of it.  Good Luck and God Bless!