Posted by Mark H. on April 25, 2000, at 17:48:45
In reply to Panic and Effexor, posted by Kris on April 25, 2000, at 14:55:50
Hi Kris,
If you dig a little deeper, you'll find that for lots of people, Effexor is extremely difficult to get off of. It took me six weeks of flu-like symptoms and VERY slow tapering to get off; but my doc told me he has another patient who needed seven MONTHS to get off of Effexor. That said, no sooner had I posted my tale of woe than someone else said they quit it all at once without any discomfort at all, so it obviously varies greatly with the individual.
My advice would still be to taper slowly. If it goes well, that's great. If it's tough, you'll understand why tapering is important. By the end, I was chiping a tiny piece of a tablet a couple of times a day before I could quit altogether without experiencing overwhelming nausea.
If you wanted to try a transitional drug, I would recommend clonazepam, which is available generically, is the least addictive benzodiazepine, is very easy to quit, and has a positive effect on anxiety. My doc uses clonazepam to help patients get off of more difficult medicines.
Good luck, and please let everyone here know what worked for you.
Best wishes,
Mark H.
poster:Mark H.
thread:31238
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000420/msgs/31257.html