Hi, I'm madz

October 6, 2026··

i am tapering off effexor after a little over year and went from 150 to 112.5 to1 75 to 37.5 within ~2.5 months. i am going thru lots of med changes lately and want to reduce side effects as much as possible within these last few dosages, and to reduce the risk of long-term side effects from tapering. after expressing this with my psychiatrist they assured me that going cold turkey after 37.5 would be fine, but i would love to hear from others and how i should proceed based on their experiences.

Effexor — 37.5mg — 1 year 3 months — actively tapering | Intuniv — 1mg — 5 months — holding | Vistaril / Atarax — 25mg — 8 months — planning taper | Inderal — 10mg twice as needed — 7 months — holding | Vyvanse — 40 mg — 3 months — holding | Adderall — 10mg IR — 1 month — holding

1 Reply

Gigi.080933m ago

NavigatorZoloft · active

Hi @madz, welcome to the community! Doctors unfortunately still work on outdated assumptions most of the time, so your gut instinct to question that advice is spot on. Here is some info on how to safely taper Effexor doses: https://taper.community/resources/blog/how-to-taper-off-effexor-xr To quote from the guide: "The standard commercial capsules come in 37.5mg, 75mg, and 150mg strengths, jumps too large for the final stretch of a taper. That gap is exactly why bead-counting exists as a technique. Horowitz and Taylor's 2019 paper in The Lancet Psychiatry explains that receptor occupancy follows a hyperbolic curve, meaning the last few milligrams off the body have a disproportionately large pharmacological effect. For a drug that already clears fast, that combination is what produces the withdrawal reports patients bring to forums and support groups." You might find this helpful in making an informed decision; and maybe even discuss it with your psychiatrist, if possible.

Withdrawal is not a preview of who you are without the drug.
Zoloft — 10 years, 50 mg — currently 22.5 mg — holding

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