Armed with my research and a doctor’s willingness to listen, I was able to successfully stop taking Effexor!
You might want to read about the Effexor-Prozac Bridge here first.
You may or may not remember that I wrote a lengthly post about my addiction to Effexor XR and how I’ve tried for years to wean myself from the anti-depressant but had never been able to get below 37.5 mg per day. I tried taking the 37.5 mg dosage every other day – as suggested by my oncologist – but I would always feel horrible. Withdrawals from this drug are nasty. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I didn’t really need to take the drug any longer as I was initially using it to help manage hot flashes when I started chemotherapy back in 2008. My oncologist’s advice after I told her I couldn’t follow the every-other-day regimen? She said “just stay on it.” What? Not good enough. I hit Google for answers.
What I found was that I am certainly not in the minority. Hoards of people are taking a very expensive drug every single day because there isn’t an easy to stop taking Effexor. And then I found out about the Prozac Bridge. Basically, you swap Prozac for the Effexor XR. Sounds easy, right? And you know what, it was! With a little bit of patience I was able to stop taking Effexor and have been completely off the drug for about a week now.
In less than TWO WEEKS I was able to stop taking Effexor! It can be done.
At a recent appointment, I simply told my doctor (not the oncologist, but my family doctor) that I wanted to stop taking Effexor. I told her I didn’t have a need for the drug anymore and asked if she had heard about Prozac bridging. Thank God she knew what I was referring to and whole heartedly agreed to put me on Prozac. Her best advice? Open the Effexor capsule and take 3/4 of the granules if you start feeling those crappy withdrawals.
So this is what I did to stop taking Effexor (This information is not to replace any advice your personal doctor has given you):
- Day one – I replaced 1 37.5 mg capsule of Effexor XR with 1 10 mg capsule of Prozac.
The first day I simply swapped pill for pill. Whamo! I started feeling those awful flu-like withdrawal symptoms and worried I wouldn’t be able to break free from my Effexor addiction. And then I remember her advice – TAKE THE EFFEXOR! I broke open one Effexor capsule, poured out and counted the granules (there’s about 35 in each pill)
- Day two – I took 1 10 mg of Prozac and 26 Effexor XR granules. I continued that ratio for another two days.
- Days five and six – I took 1 10 mg of Prozac and had reduced the number of Effexor granules by 1/2, taking about 15 or so. I continued that particular ratio for another two or three days.
- Days nine, 10, and 11 – I took 1 10 mg of Prozac and about 8 Effexor granules.
- Day 12 – 1 10 mg of Prozac and NO Effexor!
It took me roughly two weeks to stop taking Effexor. Two weeks to stop taking a drug that I thought I’d never be able to move on from. Two weeks! Don’t accept that you have to take Effexor XR forever. Talk to your doctor about the Prozac bridge.
Have you ever taken Effexor XR? Tell me about your experience!
This experience with Effexor XR and withdrawal regimen is totally my own. Please do not replace this information as professional medical advice. Please talk to your doctor.
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That’s great news!! I am go glad using the Prozac bridge worked and that it didn’t take too long. I am sure it was a much cleaner transition than my own crazy-stupid cold turkey method.
I totally would have white knuckled it if the bridge didn’t work. I’m so so so glad I didn’t have to do that!
My daughter was taking it for OCD symptoms and it had gotten her out of depression. She was the one who would complain about a headache if she missed a dose. Her Effexor stopped being effective for her OCD and we had to get her off to star Zoloft. I did the every other day thing but I staggered it so it was like every 36 hours. I had wrote down and manage and it was rough but we eventually got her off but she did have a headache. I wish I knew about the Prozac bridge back then.
Congrats to you! So glad you are free!
Interesting. I didn’t realize that the drug could be used for OCD. It did certainly help me out during some dark days after being diagnosed and dealing with treatment. But since then, I’ve been taking something else for my “depressed state.” I’m just SO glad to be done with Effexor!
Dude – this is freaking AWESOME. So happy that you were able to get off that shit once and for all. *high fives and big hugs*
I took Effexor years ago for anxiety and I would get these horrible electric jolts through my entire body if I was late taking a pill. It was horrible and the drug companies won’t admit that there are withdrawl symptoms. I didn’t use the Prozac bridge, but I did open the pill and remove a couple more granules every few days and that did the trick. Good for you for weaning off of it!
Hello Wendy, Did you eventually wean off prozac, too? I am beginning effexor withdrawl today w/ prozac bridge with high hopes of being free of all anti-depressants. Thank you for posting your tips.
Hi Robin!
Yes, I did eventually wean myself from the Prozac and it was fairly easy (versus trying to quit Effexor without doing the bridge). It was the start of my third month on Prozac that I started to wean from the drug. I followed an every-other-day regimen at first then adding an additional day in between and so on until I felt I didn’t need it any longer.
I hope to be anti-depressant free in 2013 too. I am still currently taking Wellbutrin (I changed from XL to SR a few months ago) and still waiting for the perfect time where I feel well enough (I’ve been battling cold after cold) to make the change.
Best of luck to you and let me know if you have any other questions. You can always email me at wendy@wendy-nielsen.com or find me on Facebook.
I have been completely off of Effexor since November 24,2012 after taking it for a year. Started at 35mg that was later increased to 75mg a day. All for my irritability which I would rather have then what I have dealt with the past 2 months. I took myself to the ER because I was sitting at my desk one morning and had this intense feeling of vertigo and my chest felt fluttery. I was discharged from the ER because all the tests came back normal. I asked if it could be from my Effexor and of course, they said no way. So I went for a follow up appt and was treated for vertigo. Then I was told I was having panic attacks. After being completely frustrated with not knowing what the hell was wrong with me I started to do my own research and came across ssri/snri discontinuation syndrome. Hmm why didn’t this come up in any of my appointments with my internist!?! I told my internist I wanted to be weened off the Effexor XR. She dropped my dose to 35mg once a day, then once every other day for a week, then once every two days for a week and then none at all. The first three days off of it I could definately feel some signs of discontinuation. While I was sleeping I felt like I was wide awake and thinking. Had some crazy deams as well. Then I felt fine for about a week. That is until out of no where I was at Toys R Us xmas shopping having a jolly time and boom that same feeling that put me in the ER came back. Hit me so fast I had to stop. I didn’t feel like everything was spinning. It was more like my balance was off and I felt light headed accompanied by the tightness in my chest. I stopped in my tracks, told my boyfriend to grab me a water and held on to the shopping cart so tight bc I thought I just might pass out. I wanted to abandon the cart full of toys and get the hell in the car so I could sit down. Went to the doc to complain about this and this is when she said I was having panic attacks. Hmm never been an anxious person in my life, pretty damn calm if you ask me and why the f would I have a panic attack when I’m buying my daughter a bunch of toys for Christmas. I was so excited!! She wrote me a script for Xanax. She advised me to take one when the episode happened again. About a few days later it happened again in the shower. I felt this huge feeling of doom like I wanted to cry my eyes out accompanied by the off balance strange feeling. Xanax did calm my nerves but the imbalanced feeling and sort of out of body feeling was still there until I went to bed. Happened AGAIN a few days later at work but was much more intense. Standing in line to get food at our Holiday party just chatting and boom HERE WE GO AGAIN! Dizzy, anxious, and this time I had an intense feeling of needing to walk and not stand still. Popped a xanax, did barely anything for me, so I drove home. To be honest I don’t know how I got home! I cried the whole way feeling completly hopeless. Never in my life have I felt this way. Back to the doc I go and she tells me Effexor wouldn’t be causing discontinuation syndrome bc it is XR. EVEN after I explained the syndrome to her since she didn’t know anything about it. Left the office with a script for a tilt table test and a referral to a neurologist. My mom had an appointment with her psychiatrist the following day. I was so desperate for answers and had a feeling I was going through the discontinuation syndrome that I asked her to please ask her pyschiatrist if he knew of it. My mom was explaining to him what was going on and he stopped her and said “she is experiencing withdrawals known as discontinuation syndrome.” He told her to tell me to get on the phone with my internist and request with his referral to write me a script of Prozac at 20 mg once a day for one month. I almost cried when I heard this because I FINALLY felt like I wasn’t crazy or going to die from a stroke or something. This psychiatrist didn’t have to tell my mom anything (he is nearly $250/a visit). But he did because he isn’t a pill pushing doctor who thinks everything in the world is wrong with you besides what is really wrong. I am picking my script up today. I am praying to every god out there that this is my miracle I’ve been waiting for. I am just hoping taking the Prozac is going to do what he says. Take away this god awful nightmare of withdrawals. He said I can stop taking it after a month without the worries of withdrawals occuring from it. Any feelings on this?
Hi Angie!
I’m so sorry – I just came across this comment from you! Your experience sounds so awful! And most frustrating working with a doctor who doesn’t know what the Effexor withdrawals can do to a person. I’m so glad you found help.
Please let me know if the Prozac bridge worked! I’m anxious to hear!
My daughter who has been on effexor for 10 years just tapered off. She was taking 225mg and quickly tapered down to 150mg and then started taking 10mg of prozac with the effexor. 3 days ago she curtailed the effexor and she’s had a couple emotional moments and some physical symptoms but nothing she couldn’t handle. My question is how long were you on the prozac. Did you just stop taking it all at once? I don’t think 10mg is a big dose so I’m hoping she can just stop taking it or did you have to taper that as well?
Hi Nancy, Yes, I did eventually wean myself from the Prozac and it was fairly easy. It was the start of my third month on Prozac that I started to wean from the drug. I followed an every-other-day regimen at first then adding an additional day in between and so on until I felt I didn’t need it any longer.
Best of luck to your daughter! I’m certain she’ll find it much easier than weaning from the Effexor!
I took the Prozac for almost a month and it stopped all my withdrawal symptoms from Prozac within a week. At week 3, I started to feel this terrible nervous feeling in my stomach and chest that was making me feel extremely anxious. My psychiatrist told me to discontinue the medication because it served its purpose of stopping the withdrawals from effexor but once it was completely in my system at 3 weeks and making me feel nervous it was obviously not what I needed to be on. SO, it’s been a month of being off that and I’m ok. Mentally, I feel great actually! However, at least once a week I keep getting this out of breath, fluttery feeling in my chest. Sometimes it lasts all day, sometimes it is short lived. I do believe it is anxiety and my brain just trying to adapt to not having it controlled by anything (common for this to occur for quite some time after discontinuing ssri/ssnri’s.) I have a prescription of .25 xanax which I ONLY take if I feel I can’t talk myself out of the rushes of anxiety that is triggered by absolutely nothing. I’ve had a script of 20 for 2 months and still have 10 left. My hopes are to eventually not even have to take those but I can tell you it is much better than being on effexor and great that I only have to take as needed which isn’t often. I do agree that weaning off effexor is much better than weaning off Prozac! What a nightmare it is! I will be seeing my psychiatrist the 26th so I will let ya know what he thinks of my progress. He has been a god send so far!!
note: I meant it stopped all my withdrawals from Effexor.
Until last week I had been taking a split dose of 225mg effexor. I have been on it for 7 years for severe depression combined with lamotragine as a mood stabiliser for the last 5 yrs. every year i would try wean off and have to resume due to how ill I felt.
last week i didnt have the money to get a script filled for effexor so I went cold turkey. Today is day 4 and had the worst symptoms nausea, light n noise sensitive. Only place i was happy in a cool dark room. Then I remembered the prozac and got hold of some. Took 2 at lunch (instant relief) and tomorrow ill do am and pm for couple of days. Then 1 a day for a week.
SO HAPPY to not b a prisoner of effexor any longer !!!
As I write this, I’m on my 4th day after my last Effexor XR and feel like I am dangling from a thread that is going to drop me into a bottomless pit at any second…..I have been taking a min. 300ml of Effexor since …well honestly I can barely type let alone remember the date; over 10 yrs for sure. My Dr. gave me prozac to ease the withdrawl which I’m taking but these symptoms are HELL. I just found your website and opened the 6 EFXR I have left and will try this method of bridging. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE!!!!!!!!
I’m so sorry you’ve been dealing with those awful symptoms!! I hope the bridge works!! Please keep me posted!!
Just saw this post (a bit late, I know). I weaned off Prozac in Nov/Dec of last year and oh my god, it was the worst experience ever. I wasn’t transferring onto a diff SSRI (at least that was the plan) and I think my Dr. had me halving the doses too quickly- I was getting brain zaps so bad I was in bad for almost 2 weeks. However, I’ve weaned off some SSRI’s while going ONTO others, and that’s been a ::much:: better experience. Now (because after a couple months AD-free I realized that wasn’t going to work) I’m trying Wellbutrin XL– a SNRI that’s not known for weight gain, yay– but apparently it takes 6-8 weeks to really see any results. It’s a fun process, no?
Update…7 days ALE ( after last Effexor)…and the symptoms have subsided. The bridge definitely helped with the ‘shifting head’ feeling and nausea. I awoke on day 5 with a fabulously clear head! What a relief to be able to work and think again.
Other than the priceless advise from Wendy’s website, I take away 2 main lessons from this experience. 1. Doctors MUST listen to us when we tell them the SSRI discontinuation syndrome symptoms may not out weigh the benefits of the medication. I was never told by any doctor over the last decade that discontinuation for any reason would be so horrible.2. DO NOT TRY TO DO THIS without a mate, friend or family member around. IF YOU LIVE ALONE …try to have someone stay with you for a few days or stay with them. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful friend invite me to their house where he cooked and cared for me for 24 hours.I experienced mental anguish; extreme anxiety and mood swings on days 2-5 ALE that honestly made me feel crazier than before medication. I am now taking 40ml daily of Prozac compared to the 300 ml of Effexor I was taking. I can’t say I feel 100% yet but I am on to better days……
Maggie
Excellent points, Maggie! I’m definitely not a doctor so I would never recommend anyone trying this without consulting a medical professional first. I’m so happy you’re feeling better!!
I have been doing the bridge method for 7 months now. But if I skip a day or 2 of Prozac, I start to feel very mild withdrawal symptoms again! Do I now have to slowly ween off of prozac as well? How long do I have to continue taking Prozac to not feel any withdrawals?
I’m sorry you’re having such a difficult time. Are you still taking part Effexor, part Prozac? Or just Prozac alone?
I didn’t have a problem weaning from the Prozac. I stayed on it for about a month when I started to wean. Is there a lower dose your doctor can prescribe?
Keep me posted!!
I have been trying to come off effexor for a little over a month. I am having trouble. I have had issues with depressions for two years. I came off Ciprolex about 10 months ago with some withdrawl, but nothing like this. I can handle the physical withdrawl, but the mental, mood swings, rage, anger, withdrawl I have experienced is so intense, I do not feel like I can control myself. I know many have written here and on other sites about similar problems, but I want to know…will it end….will the mood swings stop?. I have been tapering down 2 beads a day from the 75 mg capsule (250 to 150 to 75 and now 2 beads a day for a month. and at first, the first week was crazy, I was crying everyday, angry, agitated, and then full out rage, so emotional, just a mess. Then i started to get a bit better. But yesterday I missed my dose and today I am a mess. Crying, starting fights with my partner over silly things, and going into a full out rage…crying, screaming…this is not me,,,,this has never been me, even at my worst. I wish it could end. Would the prozac bridge help the mood swings?…please, I need some advice. I have a great partner and life, and I fear totally messing it up because of this emotional side effect to the withdrawal. I wish I never went to the Dr that day, and got the script for Effexor. Will it get better….
I wish I knew that answer, Kylee! I know what worked for me and the Prozac bridge definitely worked ease the withdrawals from the Effexor. Please seek out medical help. Ask your doctor about bridging the two drugs. If your doctor won’t listen – find another one! Please keep me posted!! xo
Hi Kylee,
I think that you’re tapering too quickly! I was on effexor XR for 5 years (like Wendy, I was given it after a breat cancer diagnosis) and I am now in month 4…yes, MONTH 4, of discontinuing. I still have a planned 2 months to go until I am effexor-free. I started at 3 x 37.5mg caps/day and reduced to 2 caps/day for 4 weeks, then 1 cap/day for 4 weeks and now 1/2 cap. I will be switching to 1/2 of a 25mg tablet/day soon, and will stay on that for 4 weeks, then 1/4 tab for 4 weeks, and then I’m done!! Even with this snail-pace taper, I still experience slight withdrawal symptoms. The half-life of effexor and its metabolites are super short, and this is why the symptoms appear after even one missed dose. Prozac has a much longer half-life, thus it can be used a the bridge Wendy speaks about. I would never advise an alternate day approach to tapering as this is like ping-pong on your brain. If you don’t have the time to taper slowly, the Prozac bridge is a recognized aternative.
I wish you the best of luck!!
Patty
I started effexor during radiation for breast cancer. I’m tapering off of it now and it’s rough! I asked my doctor for a short prozac script and he said it wasn’t necessary. I really think doctors should be knowledgeable about drugs before they prescribe them!
Effexor was definitely needed when I first got it, so I wouldn’t say I regret it, but it’s not something that should be as casually prescribed as it seems to be. Thanks, Wendy, for sharing your story. It makes me not feel so crazy to be having such a hard time with this!
Thanks for commenting, Stephanie! Ask your doctor again. You must be your own advocate! If he won’t give you a short prozac script, ask another doctor! Keep me posted on your progress!! xo