Posted by AuntieMel on December 1, 2004, at 9:28:28
In reply to Re: Effexor works for me » AuntieMel, posted by dancingstar on November 30, 2004, at 17:32:24
Yes, I was on 300, along with 300 wellbutrin. I got off half the effexor by opening up the capsules (150 mg each) and pouring some out, staying at that rate for a day, then emptying more and so on until I was down to one capsule. I didn't replace it with anything - I did it because a trial with inderal proved to me that I was too high on NorE and that the anxiety I was feeling was physical, not psychological (many thanks to chemist for the advice)
I didn't need anything to help, but others have had success with adding a little prozac at the end of the tapering to help with the last bits.
You are right that knowledge is king. Without it I wouldn't have known that gradual reduction was the way to go. If I'd just quit taking half and experienced the withdrawal symptoms I would have assumed that I wasn't ready to go off it.
Luckily, my doctor does know about the side-effects. When he switched me to effexor from paxil he had me reducing one while increasing the other.
Time of day is also important. I was told to take effexor and wellbutrin in the morning, as they can interfere with sleep, and when I was on paxil I was told to take it in the evening.
Current cocktail:
AM: 150mg effexor, 300mg wellbutrin, 300mg provigil
PM: 50-100mg trazedoneIt's a huge leap forward from anything I've taken before. I'm still having some problems with motivation and focus, but for the most part I can function now.
poster:AuntieMel
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041201/msgs/422769.html