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Effexor Taper
Does anybody have any tips to help deal/cope with Effexor withdrawals? I desperately want my life back and want to stop this drug. The side effects of stopping are almost unbearable and I'm scared even though I'm tapering. I've been down to 37.5 MG for about 6 months now. Tomorrow I start taking splitting the pill in half and taking half in the morning, half at night. After a week it will be only half a day, until I cut it out altogether. I would just love extra information that will help make this rough time as easy as possible. (because it is not the only medication I'm coming off of) Thanks.
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I think I am going to wait until summer to officially kick it. I'm just not sure if I should be doing the taper from now until then so that it could be slower? Or if I should wait to taper then too. All of this is confusing and new to me.
I've read how many people feel the taper doesn't help with Effexor and the withdrawals are inevitable regardless how slow you do it. My take on it is that it's a nightmare either way. I just don't want to make it a slow, grueling process if that's true.
I've read how many people feel the taper doesn't help with Effexor and the withdrawals are inevitable regardless how slow you do it. My take on it is that it's a nightmare either way. I just don't want to make it a slow, grueling process if that's true.
Remember, when you visit the websites, look for the success stories -- they're there too. I had a quack psychiatrist, and even he did a six week taper off Paxil even though it turned out he knew nothing whatsoever about withdrawal. The taper should be the one that suits you -- as slow as you need to minimize long term effects and discomfort. But again, some people just sail through this, so don't anticipate the worst, but since you've had some experiences already with Effexor withdrawal, I'm with Nursegirl -- I'd wait until school is done for the term. But again, that's just me. You know you better than we do.
I was definitely planning on doing that. You just reminded me I needed to call my insurance today to find a psychiatrist and a therapist- thanks!
I hear you! Sounds like a very good reason to give it a go with the Effexor. If you haven't already, please get into some therapy. That is so important!
I think I am going to take the advice and take the taper a lot slower. I will hold on to the tranquilizer I was prescribed and keep it for whenever I completely stop the medication. Because I'm also on adderall right now for ADHD! SO many addictive meds!
I've been on Effexor for two years now, mabe a little longer but now sure. I only got up to taking 75 mg but when I went on vacation a year and a half ago, I stopped taking it for four days. I was in Vegas and since I was drinking alcohol I didn't want to mix my medications with it. By day three I was a wreck, with Verdigo, nausea, etc. For the longest time I thought it was just a massive hangover that lasted forever. Then about 6 months later whenever I would randomly skip the dose on accident, I finally caught on to the fact that it was the Effexor making me feel that way, so I looked it up- and it was! I was so shocked at all of the withdrawals it came with and the terrible things people said about the pill.
Anyway to wrap it up, I couldn't stand the thought of taking something so powerful that my brain could not live without for a day or two. It's gotten to the point where I start feeling withdrawal symptoms just TWO hours after missing a dose. (and I'm on the lowest dose now)
I'm super depressed and feel like a zombie. I have no emotions or interests in anything, but at the same time I don't get stressed out or anxious (because of effexor) I want my life back and I'm just tired of laying in bed every day and only getting up and ready when I have to go to work or school. I feel like I lost the whole last year of my life and I don't want to experience another one of those.
I've been on Effexor for two years now, mabe a little longer but now sure. I only got up to taking 75 mg but when I went on vacation a year and a half ago, I stopped taking it for four days. I was in Vegas and since I was drinking alcohol I didn't want to mix my medications with it. By day three I was a wreck, with Verdigo, nausea, etc. For the longest time I thought it was just a massive hangover that lasted forever. Then about 6 months later whenever I would randomly skip the dose on accident, I finally caught on to the fact that it was the Effexor making me feel that way, so I looked it up- and it was! I was so shocked at all of the withdrawals it came with and the terrible things people said about the pill.
Anyway to wrap it up, I couldn't stand the thought of taking something so powerful that my brain could not live without for a day or two. It's gotten to the point where I start feeling withdrawal symptoms just TWO hours after missing a dose. (and I'm on the lowest dose now)
I'm super depressed and feel like a zombie. I have no emotions or interests in anything, but at the same time I don't get stressed out or anxious (because of effexor) I want my life back and I'm just tired of laying in bed every day and only getting up and ready when I have to go to work or school. I feel like I lost the whole last year of my life and I don't want to experience another one of those.
Let me ask you, why do you want off the Effexor in the first place? I'm just curious.
Yes I know I'm starting to realize that this is going to be a monster to take on. It's definitely making me reconsider. Taking a semester off of school right now isn't an option though. I'm just not sure how else to go about kicking the medications. This is super stressful.
Well with the Vicodin I have no choice but to do it quickly because I'm almost out of my prescription, so I started my own taper and will be completely out by Saturday. So Sunday begins the 7 day hell of withdrawals. (I know how rough they are because I've kicked Vicodin for a couple days before without knowing that there are side effects to doing so)
With the Effexor I suppose I could consider doing it a bit slower because the advice everyone is giving is kind of freaking me out and putting things in to perspective. It sounds good to me now but I can't speak for how I will be feeling when I actually start going through it.
Was it only doing each dose for one week that is too fast? Or do you think 2 weeks is even too fast? I tried talking to her and she seemed to be putting all of the power in my hands, which was weird. The tranquilizer wasn't even her idea-it was mine. But when she said to take it every 4 hours I told her I would only take it as needed, since I'm sensitive to meds.
I don't know what to do now =/ I'm in college, this is my last semester at a community college and then I'm transferring to a University, So this semester is a big deal. I don't want to drop all of my classes that are already registered and paid for.
With the Effexor I suppose I could consider doing it a bit slower because the advice everyone is giving is kind of freaking me out and putting things in to perspective. It sounds good to me now but I can't speak for how I will be feeling when I actually start going through it.
Was it only doing each dose for one week that is too fast? Or do you think 2 weeks is even too fast? I tried talking to her and she seemed to be putting all of the power in my hands, which was weird. The tranquilizer wasn't even her idea-it was mine. But when she said to take it every 4 hours I told her I would only take it as needed, since I'm sensitive to meds.
I don't know what to do now =/ I'm in college, this is my last semester at a community college and then I'm transferring to a University, So this semester is a big deal. I don't want to drop all of my classes that are already registered and paid for.
It sounds like you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself to quit two meds at once, as Nursegirl has wisely said. Quite frankly, nobody knows how bad your withdrawal will be -- people have hugely different experiences -- but both of the drugs you're quitting can pack a wallop of withdrawal. What level of schooling are you at? If it's still high school, that's a problem, but if it's college level, you can delay that, can't you? If it were me, I'd go off one until I was finished, then do the other, but it isn't me. And as for the Ativan, listen to the wise Nursegirl again -- this is another addictive drug, so you don't want to take it regularly as your doctor has prescribed it if you don't have to. And there are alternatives that aren't as difficult to quit and aren't addictive. I know you're in a hurry, but school will be difficult if you're in withdrawal anyway, so again, the timing of this should be considered very carefully. School will still be there. There are some things people have done to mitigate withdrawal symptoms, such as taking a healthy dose of fish oil every day, but it's always hard to do things when there are multiple meds involved, whether in starting or quitting. There are many withdrawal sites on the web you can consult for what worked for people. Good luck whatever you do.
Oh boy, well no doub that will be rough, hon. I commend you for taking the initative to admit that there's a problem with the Vicodin. It would be a lot better if the Effexor taper was much slower, what your doctor advised is awfully fast, and coming off the two meds at once is going to cause some unpleasant symptoms. Most of the symptoms will likely be from the Vicodin, although the Effexor symptoms will exacerbate the emotional aspect of the w/d for sure.
Ativan will be helpful in minimizing the symptoms of anxiety and w/d, just be VERY careful as it, too is habit-forming. I hope your doc has written the Ativan to be "as needed" and not every four hours regularly. "AS NEEDED" would mean you don't automatically take it, rather, you take it when anxiety is at its peak. The less you end up needing to take the Ativan, the better.
If you DO end up taking it every day, I would limit the duration of the course of the Ativan to no more than 2 or 3 weeks, or then you'll have a new issue and the anxiety will be a BEAR once you stop taking the Ativan. Just tread very carefully.
I really wish you could do this a little slower, it really would minimize the disconfort for you, at least some. Nothing makes Vicodin w/d go away completely, but the Effexor discontinuation syndrome could be minimized with a more deliberate taper. Why is the doctor holding such a hard line on that? Could you maybe try to talk with her again?
Ativan will be helpful in minimizing the symptoms of anxiety and w/d, just be VERY careful as it, too is habit-forming. I hope your doc has written the Ativan to be "as needed" and not every four hours regularly. "AS NEEDED" would mean you don't automatically take it, rather, you take it when anxiety is at its peak. The less you end up needing to take the Ativan, the better.
If you DO end up taking it every day, I would limit the duration of the course of the Ativan to no more than 2 or 3 weeks, or then you'll have a new issue and the anxiety will be a BEAR once you stop taking the Ativan. Just tread very carefully.
I really wish you could do this a little slower, it really would minimize the disconfort for you, at least some. Nothing makes Vicodin w/d go away completely, but the Effexor discontinuation syndrome could be minimized with a more deliberate taper. Why is the doctor holding such a hard line on that? Could you maybe try to talk with her again?
Oh and I forgot to mention, she prescribed me adavan (sp?) to take every 4 hours when I stop taking Effexor completely. I guess it's to help with the heightened anxiety and uncontrollable crying spells.
Yes, the other medication I'm tapering off of is Vicodin. I'm not sure how it will all turn out but I am on a slight time crunch because school starts back up February 19th. It's easy to get time off of work while going through this but school will be full time and I can't miss it.
It was my decision to taper off of Vicodin because I'm taking way more and it's working less. I feel super addicted to it and I just don't like what it's doing to my life. I am tapering throughout this week and Sunday my will be my first day of not taking Vicodin.
Tomorrow I begin the Effexor taper (doctor's instructions) and have to take half of the 37.5 in the morning and the other half in the evening. She told me to do each taper for 2 weeks but when I told her of the time rut she said one week. So after a week I only take half a day and then half every other day, until I stop completely.
So I will still be taking Effexor when I'm experiencing the Vicodin withdrawals. I'm not sure if I'm going to regret it or crazy for doing it this way, I just don't see any other option for my situation.
I started looking for ways to cope and handle all of it, this website being one of them, and I'm hoping it just all works together in making the process easier. But I'm SUPER anxious about all of it.
Thanks so much for the response. I really appreciate the support everyone gives on this site, it helps a lot.
It was my decision to taper off of Vicodin because I'm taking way more and it's working less. I feel super addicted to it and I just don't like what it's doing to my life. I am tapering throughout this week and Sunday my will be my first day of not taking Vicodin.
Tomorrow I begin the Effexor taper (doctor's instructions) and have to take half of the 37.5 in the morning and the other half in the evening. She told me to do each taper for 2 weeks but when I told her of the time rut she said one week. So after a week I only take half a day and then half every other day, until I stop completely.
So I will still be taking Effexor when I'm experiencing the Vicodin withdrawals. I'm not sure if I'm going to regret it or crazy for doing it this way, I just don't see any other option for my situation.
I started looking for ways to cope and handle all of it, this website being one of them, and I'm hoping it just all works together in making the process easier. But I'm SUPER anxious about all of it.
Thanks so much for the response. I really appreciate the support everyone gives on this site, it helps a lot.
Oh wait! Just caught at the very end that you're tapering off another med at the same time? What med, how long have you been on it, and at what dose? When did you start each taper? It's almost always better to tackle only one med at a time. Who recommended you come off both together, or is that something you were insistent about?
Yeah, that's never a good idea, as your body is trying to readjust to not having BOTH meds on board....that can lead to a nightmare!
Yeah, that's never a good idea, as your body is trying to readjust to not having BOTH meds on board....that can lead to a nightmare!
Hello there!
Yes, unfortunately, Effexor has a bit of a reputation as being quite rough to come off. The VERY best advice I could give you is to tell your doctor you want to taper off as slowly as possible, with some time off in between drops in the dose. Sometimes that can ease the symptoms a bit. Is your doc a psychiatrist? If not, you could always ask for a referral to one...as they usually have much better experience with these types of meds.
What kinds of symptoms have you been experiencing with the taper? So sorry you're having a rough time. Please update us, let us know how you're doing, okay? Hang in there...fingers crossed!
Yes, unfortunately, Effexor has a bit of a reputation as being quite rough to come off. The VERY best advice I could give you is to tell your doctor you want to taper off as slowly as possible, with some time off in between drops in the dose. Sometimes that can ease the symptoms a bit. Is your doc a psychiatrist? If not, you could always ask for a referral to one...as they usually have much better experience with these types of meds.
What kinds of symptoms have you been experiencing with the taper? So sorry you're having a rough time. Please update us, let us know how you're doing, okay? Hang in there...fingers crossed!
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If you were abusing the Vicodin, you're going to have to put some kind of aftercare plan in place to stay clean, as unfortunately, relapse is a big reality for so many addicts.
If you can't put off the Effexor taper, I would most DEFINITELY recommend a much much slower taper. We're not permitted to give specific taper instructions, but it would be wise to do the taper over at least a month, if not longer. The slower, the better. It's less of a shock to the system.
I know this is stressful, the good thing is...it won't be TOO too long until you're going to be feeling a lot better, and drug free, which is great! Keep us updated, okay?