Posted by SLS on July 22, 2005, at 9:17:29
In reply to Coming off EffexorXR after 2 years?!?!?!?! Help, posted by robz on July 19, 2005, at 12:07:27
> I am trying to taper off this stuff slowly cause I hear the withdrawal can be bad. Well I am taking one 37.5 every other day. I feel these wierd body zaps/zaps of anxiety. Anyone else had these symptoms? Any suggestions????
> RobynHi Robyn.
My suggestion is to take the drug every day as you taper off of it. It will mean that you must divide your pills into smaller amounts.
Effexor disappears very, very quickly from the body. It acutally makes sense to take very, very small amounts of Effexor several times a day in what I refer to as a "flexible-dosing" strategy. I have written much about this method in more detail in my earlier posts.
I think you can pretty much control your own withdrawal more by deciding for yourself when it is that you need to take your next dose. Some people have had a great deal of success by taking small doses (18.75mg and less) only when you need them. It is best to actually wait for the withdrawal symptoms appear before taking your next dose. However, try not to let these withdrawal symptoms persist for more than an hour before taking that next dose. Additionally, try to take an amount of Effexor that will leave you free of symptoms for no longer than 8 hours. The idea is to use the minimum necessary per day to avoid withdrawal. Use small amounts of Effexor as you would aspirin to treat a headache. Eventually, you will find that it takes less and less drug to last 8 hours.
You must have questions. I only summarized briefly the flexible-dose method. Personally, I have used it to discontinue Effexor 300mg on several occasions.
To begin with, I would consider return to taking Effexor 18.25mg every day. Better if you take 6.0mg three times a day. If you are using capsules, you might have to actually count the number of beads you take. You can make it easier on yourself by getting the tablets that you can break up.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:530948
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050712/msgs/531475.html