97th Effexor Update - Feeling Fair

November 1, 2026

I removed another 2 beads this morning - woot woot! So happy to be making progress, slowly but surely. I still struggle with anything that stresses my nervous system, so I try to keep things low stress. Of course, life has a way of throwing wrenches into things sometimes. My mom had some health issues last month, so that was stressful, but thankfully she's doing better now. I am fighting a cold right now. Hopefully it won't get any worse. I felt it come on in the middle of the night last night. I think because my Vitamin D is low it's making me more susceptible to viruses. I can't tolerate supplements unfortunately. As long as I don't experience anything too stressful, I'm able to manage okay overall. After 5 long years of struggling I'm in a much more stable place and am taking my taper extremely slowly.

Catina’s taper progress

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Dose (mg)

Mood (/10)

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 16.64 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Synthroid - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

4 Replies

Cherylll2d ago

WelcomerEffexor · active

Can you sit outside and get some sunshine for the vitamin D ? Or maybe lozenges that have vitamin C in them. ? For your cold ?

Effexor — 37.5 — 15 — actively tapering

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Catina2d ago

Community AnchorEffexor

Thanks for responding Cherylll, that's sweet of you. I do try to get outside as much as I can, but I can always do better. I'm taking Vitamin C and also crushed fresh garlic. ❤️

guava3781d ago

Community AnchorAbilify · active

I’m so glad to hear your mom is doing better, but I’m really sorry you’re dealing with a cold on top of everything else especially since supplements aren't an option right now. I hope your cold clears up quickly, your vitamin D levels rise fast, and you feel much better soon. I feel lucky that I can at least take vitamin D supplement; my level was down to 23.4 even after getting sunlight for weeks, so I was really low. One thing I wanted to share is that high vitamin D levels can speed up the CYP3A4 enzyme, so getting sunlight is a great option for staying in the moderate / safe range.

- Aripiprazole / Abilify:
17-May-2026 (15mg -> 10mg)
11-July-2026 (10mg-> 7.5mg
17-Aug-2026 (7.5mg -> 5mg)
28-Sep-2026 (5mg -> 3.6mg)
11 months - actively tapering
- Procyclidine 5mg - 11 months - actively tapering
- Propranolol - 20mg - 14 months - holding
- Xanax - 0.25mg - 9 months - holding

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Catina1d ago

Community AnchorEffexor

So kind of you to respond @guava378, thank you! I think I'm fighting this cold pretty well. I read somewhere that as soon as you begin to feel sick, you can crush a garlic clove and wait 10 minutes before consuming it. It releases Allicin, which fights viruses and infections. I did this a few times yesterday and I feel better today. Maybe it worked! I hope you're getting along okay! ❤️

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