

Should symptoms of withdrawal become severe, it may be necessary to slow down the taper or go back up in dose. Symptoms of withdrawal most commonly occur within the first week and for up to 3 weeks. In antidepressant withdrawal, patients can potentially experience the following symptoms: One of the main reason for tapering drugs is the potential of a drug to cause withdrawal symptoms if a patient stops the therapy too abruptly. Below is some information on withdrawal symptoms from antidepressants that you may find helpful. This will need to be discussed with your doctor to ensure you safely get off your medication. Since there are many considerations to take into account when tapering a patient off a particular medication, there is no single tapering method that can be discussed safely here. Individualization of tapering may be necessary." In clinical trials with Effexor XR, tapering was achieved by reducing the daily dose by 75 mg at 1 week intervals. Subsequently, the physician may continue decreasing the dose but at a more gradual rate. If intolerable symptoms occur following a decrease in the dose or upon discontinuation of treatment, then resuming the previously prescribed dose may be considered. A gradual reduction in the dose rather than abrupt cessation is recommended whenever possible. Patients should be monitored for these symptoms when discontinuing treatment. The prescribing information for Effexor (venlafaxine) states the following when it comes to tapering the medication: "Symptoms associated with discontinuation of Effexor XR, other SNRIs, and SSRIs, have been reported (see PRECAUTIONS). Reason for the taper: Patients having side effects that are of concern may warrant a quicker taper than a patient who’s condition has improved or is stable.Other drug therapies or disease states: Other medications or disease states may influence how quickly the taper may safely be able to take place.Diagnosis of patient: There may be different taper schedules for different diagnoses.Half-life of the drug: How long the drug stays in the body can influence the timing of a taper.Patient’s age: Very young patients or very old patients may need a different taper schedule than other patients.However, patients on a drug for several years may need a much longer taper. Patients only on certain drugs for a couple of days that may require a taper if they were on them longer, may just be able to top the drug.


I am currently taking 75mg of Venlafaxine daily.
