[Espresso]

I would like to stop taking Effexor. Does anyone know how I could do that without the withdrawal effects? Or do you know how to minimize the withdrawal?

[Vossie42]

Taper slowly.

Is this your first time? For some people nothing helps. For some tapering very slowly helps. Some people use a low dose of Prozac to alleviate withdrawal. I intentionally use the term withdrawal. Somehow, discontinuation syndrome or something similar became fashionable.
Some people have no problems at all with stopping. Hope you're one of them

[lozza89]

coming off effexor for me was absolute hell. it didnt help though that a pdoc from catt team wanted me off it in 2 weeks - luckily I ignored what he said and did it at my own pace!!

like others have said you may not have any withdrawals but my advice would be to speak to a dr about it and do it very slowly (it took me almost 2 months to be off it completely - I dont remember what dose I was on though..) and remember that you have to listen to your body and if you make a plan with a dr on how to do it and your body struggles with it it is ok to take it more slowly!

if you do choose to come off it, good luck and I wish you all the best

[kiwi33]

I have been on Effexor for some years and have found it very helpful.

The advice from my psychiatrist is that, should we ever decide that I should discontinue, the taper should be *very* slow, with *close* supervision from my mental health care team.

[DelusionsDaily]

Originally Posted by George H.

Some people have no problems at all with stopping. Hope you're one of them

I just went down 75mg on my effexor and had no problems. Thank god. However, on here it seems the great majority have problems getting off the stuff. You just gotta find what works for you. I hope you have no problem but if you do talk to your doctor and see what they say.

[regretful]

I was able to stop effexor without a taper and without any side-effects. Best to you.

[happy 2 b here]

I am currently tapering off EffexorXR. Going from 150mg. to 75mg. was not all that difficult

I am seeing my family doctor once a month while I am doing this

For the last few months I have attempted to go from 75mg to 37.5mg with some difficulty. This is a big step to take, as we are getting only half of the prior amount of Effexor

I have had to go back to 75mg once or twice, which is a real setback, and you have to start the tapering off all over again -- and of course, very slowly

For this past week, I have been taking a 75mg of Effexor one day, and then for the next 3 days, I take a 37.5.

This past Wednesday was day 3 on the low dose and I was feeling a bit rough by mid day. I took a 75mg. yesterday and will now take 37.5mg. for the next 3 days -- will see how this works out again, for the second time. If this is not too difficult, I will then try one day 75mg, and then 4 days 37.5mg

As has been said here before, the best advice is listen to your doctor and most definitely your body

I have been on this medication since 2005, and really feel like it is time to either stop antidepressants completely or perhaps find a different one

I do live with depression on a daily basis and also experience panic attacks -- my dream of being able to not take any medication at all may be just that -- a dream. But I would at least like to stop taking this particular AD and see how I manage. If not, my GP has said I could try another one

Best of luck -- keep us informed with your progress