Tapering: Effexor

active

8 posts

western canada

Hi, I'm callieflower

April 30, 2026··

Happy to be here! I really like the diet info provided and layout of this site. I'm excited to read more in the learn section. I'm currently tapering effexor from 225mg, at 112.5mg now. I'm also taking 18mg concerta and I need to figure out how to taper that one since its a single tablet with XR properties built in. I'm also on antidepressantrecovery.org and I will copy my info over from there later. I'm excited to see more people actively tapering effexor here, hoping we can support each other off this intense drug.

Effexor — 225mg — since June 2020 — actively tapering, current dose 112.5mg | (Escitalopram 20mg 2017-2020 prior to Effexor) | Concerta — 18mg — since Nov 2020 — researching taper

10 Replies

Roy E4mo ago

LighthousePristiq · active

Hi Callieflower, would be good to hear your story of how your taper has been going to date, I also joined mid way through a taper of Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq), something I was prescribed initially because Effexor (Venlafaxine) had far too many side effects for me.

Pristiq — 30mg — 17 Years — holding | Seroquel — 400mg — 17 Years — holding | Valium — 2mg once or twice a week — 10 years — supporting others | other — Modafinil 200mg — 3 Months — supporting others | with clinician

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Catina4mo ago

Community AnchorEffexor

Hi @callieflower, and welcome to Taper Community! Great to have you. I too am tapering Effexor. It's a beast. There are lot of members tapering it as well. I'm not too familiar with Concerta. I'm glad you're finding your way around the site. Please let us know how we can best help you. 🙂 Warmly, Catina ❤️

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.92 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 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.

callieflower4mo ago

WelcomerEffexor · active

@Roy E Hi! The shorter version of my story is this. I've struggled for a long time with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. I was first put on escitalopram in Dec 2017, and was increased over 2 years up to 20mg. It helped a little but not very much. In June 2020 I was hospitalized for a suicide attempt and was switched to 225mg vemlafaxine. They told me (not very kindly) that my depression would only get worse and I would need this med for the rest of my life. I took this seriously and didn't question it until recently. The list of side effects from "SideEffexor" was pretty long, it changed some fundamental things in my body, including how I percieve taste of food. I also found a lot of benefit, I would say it agitated me out of the state I was in, such that I was able to get things done, both on the daily scale (grocceries, cooking, showering, general functioning), and on a bigger life scale in that I was able to change a lot of my circumstances and apply a lot of the emotional coping techniques I had learned in therapy. Over time things improved a lot, but the side effects that I experienced also continued to build. Last year I managed to isolate seeds as one of the foods that causes inflammation in my body, having removed this from my diet I felt a profound change in my mental state. I wondered lightly if I still needed the venlafaxine, but didn't think too much of it as I was afraid of becoming severly depressed again. This year, Jan 2026 I developed sudden, sever light sensitivity which lead to a concussion and a very awful time. The light sensitivity is when I first began to consider reducing my dose or potentially discontinuing all together. I did some research and I'm so glad to have found peer communities for this, and now I'm here!

Effexor — 225mg — since June 2020 — actively tapering, current dose 112.5mg | (Escitalopram 20mg 2017-2020 prior to Effexor) | Concerta — 18mg — since Nov 2020 — researching taper

callieflower4mo ago

WelcomerEffexor · active

@Catina Thanks for the welcome! This drug is indeed a beast. I read a bit of your story on SA. Its wild how much effect there can be from messing up your dose. I took a dose late ONE TIME and I was very sick for two days, like throwing up/retching all night long and then stuck in bed the following day. I don't think I've ever missed a dose because I was so afraid of what consequences I would suffer.

Effexor — 225mg — since June 2020 — actively tapering, current dose 112.5mg | (Escitalopram 20mg 2017-2020 prior to Effexor) | Concerta — 18mg — since Nov 2020 — researching taper

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Catina4mo ago

Community AnchorEffexor

"This drug is indeed a beast. I read a bit of your story on SA. Its wild how much effect there can be from messing up your dose. I took a dose late ONE TIME and I was very sick for two days, like throwing up/retching all night long and then stuck in bed the following day. I don..."

Yeah, I can't believe a drug like this is legal to be honest! It really does a number on people if a dose is not taken on time or forgotten. I guess the geniuses who created this evil drug didn't factor that in. Anywho, I'm so glad we're both finding our way off of it. I'm glad you're finding out that by making dietary changes, we can improve both our physical and mental health! 🙂

Roy E4mo ago

LighthousePristiq · active

@callieflower Seed oils can definitely have an impact due to inflammation, I did a group research study for depression and bipolar from a metabolic mental health clinic where I live. We removed all processed meats and replaced them with fresh meat including ham, added a lot of fish to our diets and replaced all oils with extra virgin olive oil, for margarine/butter we also put just pure olive oil into a plastic container and into the freezer, then moved it into the fridge once it set solid after a few days and used that instead. They also encouraged some form of mild exercise for at least 15 minutes per day, most of the people in the group improved dramatically from this over 3 months.

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Catina4mo ago

Community AnchorEffexor

"Seed oils can definitely have an impact due to inflammation" — @Roy E

YES! Thank you for saying this. They're so inflammatory and behind so many health issues. You have to learn to read the ingredients of any packaged food because they seem to be in everything!

callieflower4mo ago

WelcomerEffexor · active

@Roy E @Catina Yes seed oils are insidious and in everything!! I have been cooking mostly all my foods from scratch for over a year now in order to avoid them. I also cannot have any spices made from seeds, or large amounts of whole seeds themselves; though if one to two got in I'd probably be okay. I'm extremely grateful for garlic, ginger, onion, and cinnamon otherwise my diet would be so bland!!

Effexor — 225mg — since June 2020 — actively tapering, current dose 112.5mg | (Escitalopram 20mg 2017-2020 prior to Effexor) | Concerta — 18mg — since Nov 2020 — researching taper

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Catina4mo ago

Community AnchorEffexor

"I have been cooking mostly all my foods from scratch for over a year now in order to avoid them"

Good going! I only cook in refined coconut oil or butter. I have also used Avocado oil and organic beef tallow. Ghee is great too!

callieflower4mo ago

WelcomerEffexor · active

"Good going! I only cook in refined coconut oil or butter. I have also used Avocado oil and organic beef tallow. Ghee is great too!" — @Catina

Same here! I mostly use avocado oil or olive oil. Its very labour intensive but I've noticed a lot of results in my health so it makes it worth the work :)

Effexor — 225mg — since June 2020 — actively tapering, current dose 112.5mg | (Escitalopram 20mg 2017-2020 prior to Effexor) | Concerta — 18mg — since Nov 2020 — researching taper

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