Hi, I'm Nico Williams

September 21, 2026

Hi everybody, i'm a italiano male 45 yo. I'm here because after 17 years on 150mg of Venlafaxine for generalized anxiety, panic attacks and agoraphobia, i've decided to start tapering mainly because one year ago i discovered to suffer hypertension, around 145/95. Now i'm taking 20mg of Olmesartan for blood pressure and i've quickly improved, but i want to see of i can get normale Blood pressure reducing venlafaxine dosage. Hope to share my experience with others in the same situation. Live long and prosper.

Effexor — 75 — 17 — actively tapering

5 Replies

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CatinaSep 21

Community AnchorEffexor

Hi @Nico Williams, welcome! Yes, Venlafaxine can affect blood pressure so hopefully once you taper off your BP will return to normal. Taper Community recommends Hyperbolic tapering. You can read about that here: https://taper.community/resources/blog/hyperbolic-tapering-explained https://taper.community/resources/blog/how-to-taper-off-effexor-xr Have a look around the site, there's lots of helpful information and articles in the forums. Looking forward to having you here! Catina 🌸

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.

Nico WilliamsSep 21

WelcomerEffexor · active

Thank you. I'll give a read of the links you shared. Here i discovered that Omega 3 fatty may help someway reducing withdrawal symptoms while tapering. I've already have home, i'm gonna try that.

Effexor — 75 — 17 — actively tapering

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CatinaSep 21

Community AnchorEffexor

Yes, some people do find it helpful, others not so much. You can try it to see how you react. Let us know how it goes!

StuartSep 22

LighthouseEffexor · supporting

Hey @Nico Williams, welcome! I tapered off Effexor over a long period of time, doing the hyperbolic taper, 10% reductions per month. Once I took the final step off it was relatively easy and the withdrawals didn't interfere much with my life. The hard part was sticking to the long taper, as I technically tapered longer than I had initially been on it 😅 Kind of scary as my Dr.'s plan was to reduce the dose by half for 1-week, then stop the next week. However, he was open and receptive to me tapering and said he would share that approach with future patients.

Historic experience tapering off: Citalopram 20mg | Zyprexa 2.5mg | Effexor 75mg | Valium 20mg

Nico WilliamsSep 22

WelcomerEffexor · active

After 17 years at 150, when my doc prescribed me the 75mg i was a little dubious. It's passed just a week, so i don't exclude to have some weird days in the close future. Anyway i've read a lot about hyperbolic tapering in these days, so i will not hurry for sure.

Effexor — 75 — 17 — actively tapering

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