I was on venlafaxine 75mg xr for approximately a year then tapered too quickly to 56 mg for four weeks and then 37.5 mg for four weeks then to 25 mg for six weeks but then I had to go back up to 37.5 mg which is where I have been for the last 7 months. I have had some windows but I’m not where I thought I would be after 7 months. Morning adrenaline waking me up at 5 in the morning, waves of flatness, dread and a horrible chemical feeling in my head.

From previous experience I know about tapering too fast but am now worried that I will never stabilise on this dose and may have to force a taper or try the Prozac bridge. I’m also considering switching to IR and taking 3 times a day.

I am desperate for a window.

Has anyone had similar problems after this amount of time?

Any advice much appreciated.

Hi @VenlaJohn

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

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I'm so sorry to read about the tough time you've had recently you will find plenty of support here for sure.

45 minutes ago, VenlaJohn said:

I was on venlafaxine 75mg xr for approximately a year then tapered too quickly to 56 mg for four weeks and then 37.5 mg for four weeks then to 25 mg for six weeks but then I had to go back up to 37.5 mg which is where I have been for the last 7 months. I have had some windows but I’m not where I thought I would be after 7 months. Morning adrenaline waking me up at 5 in the morning, waves of flatness, dread and a horrible chemical feeling in my head.

It is a good sign you are having windows, Im sorry it is taking so long for you to stablise. It can take a long time. You updosed quite a bit 7 months ago and this can cause kindling and is likley why things are so tricky for you still. Hypersensitivity and kindling

 

49 minutes ago, VenlaJohn said:

From previous experience I know about tapering too fast but am now worried that I will never stabilise on this dose and may have to force a taper or try the Prozac bridge. I’m also considering switching to IR and taking 3 times a day.

I would strongly advise against switching to Prozac, in my experience this makes things worse for people.

I would also be careful about switching types of drugs too, often people react to this also.

Can you confirm if you taking Effexor XR? There is some information in this post about making up doses from Effexor XR that might be where I would start to help you get a more consistent dose.

Tapering Capsules That Contain Beads

53 minutes ago, VenlaJohn said:

Morning adrenaline waking me up at 5 in the morning, waves of flatness, dread and a horrible chemical feeling in my head.

When do you take your dose? Do things imporve as the day goes on?

When you are stable here is our tapering guide for more information.

Tapering Information

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

Chippy

Thanks Chippy. I take 37.5 capsule xr (has 3 mini tablets inside) 10am every morning. Evenings after around 8pm seem to be better for me. I’m just worried about the time and wondering how much longer of the torture.

Thank you for the support I will have a look at kindling link.

2 minutes ago, VenlaJohn said:

I take 37.5 capsule xr (has 3 mini tablets inside)

Thanks for letting us know. These smaller tablets can be cut to make smaller reductions when the time comes. They become IR so dose splitting becomes necessary.

7 minutes ago, VenlaJohn said:

Evenings after around 8pm seem to be better for me.

This is very common.

7 minutes ago, VenlaJohn said:

I’m just worried about the time and wondering how much longer of the torture.

It can take a very long time to stabilise sometimes.

Have you been avoiding other drugs and substances like alcohol? This can really make things worse. Just checking there isn’t something else adding to this.

8 minutes ago, VenlaJohn said:

Thank you for the support I will have a look at kindling link.

Pleasure. You are very welcome here.

I hardly ever drink because I heard it is very bad for withdrawal. (Did have a couple of beers a month ago). Don’t take any other drugs. Dont smoke. I have been given diazepam last year but didn’t take it also propanalol 10mg but haven’t taken since last year and only had a couple. Have others taken this long to stabilise?

Im considering getting the ir off the dr. Im supposed to be going on a family holiday in a couple of months but unless things improve I don’t think I can travel. Windows are rare. I had a bad back and anxiety before venlafaxine but nothing compared to what I’m experiencing now☹️

Hey @VenlaJohn

Some people do take a very long time to stabilise.

I think the fact that you are seeing windows is a very good sign.

I would hold where you are. Don’t drink any more alcohol at all. Avoid all the advised to be avoided substances, eat well, drink plenty of water and give it more time.

Just to add some can be really destabilised by just one drink so bear that in mind.

Can you rate your symptoms out of 10? 10 being the worse?

I would say 7 as it was worse last year when I did the taper. It varies day to day. It’s just relentless and I wake up and think here we go again every day is a struggle I’m still managing to work but not much. When the morning adrenaline goes I will get waves of flatness and dread thinking what is the point which then gives me more adrenaline for having that thought. Thanks for your advice it very much appreciated. If there was an end in sight it would give me hope. I’m too scared to up the dose or taper so I just pray something will change soon.

Thanks

@VenlaJohn

With you. Yeah 7/10 not nice! Sorry you’re suffering so much.

It’s hard to know how long these things take. If it’s just a recalibration of the brain I think it’s faster for that to happen. What I think a lot of people are suffering with is some protracted injury which takes much longer to heal.

I’d wait till you can see symptoms to be more 1-3/10 on a pretty consistent basis and perhaps call that baseline to work from for your taper rather than symptom free.

Have a look in the coping skills area. Particularly at acceptance topics. That and distraction helps so much in getting through the day and not adding to the wd symptoms with extra fear by reacting to them.

Being better in the evenings seems to be pretty common, both for people still taking drugs and struggling with the effects of them or tapering them, and people who are off of everything but in protracted withdrawal.

Various theories as to why have been pondered about, that I've seen in various groups, but truthfully nobody knows why.

Actually I think it involves cortisol, which naturally is higher in the morning giving you energy to start your day. But it is too high I think due the medication imbalance. There some more information on the survivingantidepressants.org site if you go there and search cortisol or cortisol spike.

Edited May 23May 23 by umbra

17 hours ago, umbra said:

Actually I think it involves cortisol, which naturally is higher in the morning giving you energy to start your day. But it is too high I think due the medication imbalance. There some more information on the survivingantidepressants.org site if you go there and search cortisol or cortisol spike.

Yes, that's a common theory in prescribed harm groups. So far, it remains a theory until someone does some objective testing.