Posted by AIK on September 28, 2004, at 13:49:47
In reply to Beginning my tapering off, posted by dbh on September 28, 2004, at 13:20:52
Call or better yet, go talk to your pharmacist and he/she will give that information to you as far as "half-life" of the drug and other questions you may have. If you do mail order for your medication, you may not get the response in a timely manner and have that "one on one" thing going on as you would face to face. If you can get through the next few days without getting severely ill with what your doctor told you to do, that would be great. Only your body, not mine or anyone else's, will determine it's own reactions, if any (please be one of the fortunate ones!).
> AIK, that was an incredibly "lucid" post. I'm serious, that was a joy to read. It went right to the heart of the matter, IMO.
>
> I started my own "tapering" process yesterday, stepping down from my normal 75mg XR to 37.5. My doctor (a GP), first suggested going to 37.5 for "a week or two" and then stopping completely. I said I would be more comfortable tapering off more slowly than that, so he then suggested alternating 75 and 37.5, then going to 37.5, then taking 37.5 every other day. How long I stayed at each level he left up to me. He gave me a box of 37.5 capsules plus a script for another 30. He then said he would see me in 6 weeks. :-/
>
> So, here I am, "on my own" for the next 6 weeks, left to my own devices for deciding how much to take and for how many days.
>
> I am going to follow his original advice and drop straight to 37.5 and just see how that goes. If it goes real easy, I might stay there for only two weeks. If it goes real bad, I will start alternating 37.5 and 75, although I am concerned about a possible "roller coaster" effect. I have read where the "half-life" of venlafaxine (Effexor) is only like 5 hours, but I don't know about the XR (timed release) version. So my concern is that by alternating dosages, my body could get even more screwed up than purely reducing the dosage.
>
> In other words, this feels like a chemistry experiment.
>
> So far (this is just the beginning of my second day at 37.5) I have had no strong symptoms. I have had MAYBE some mild symptoms, but so far nothing worth mentioning.
>
> BTW, I tend to post a LOT, so if there is a more "appropriate" place for me to post, such as a new thread, please let me know.
>
> David
poster:AIK
thread:12459
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040927/msgs/396346.html