J
Jeremy (Jezza)
February 25, 2026··
Been on Venla for over 20years, introduced to tapering Sept 2024 by my GP in Australia. Wasn’t given much information, stuck to a routine of dropping every 4 weeks, suffered badly for 12 months, hit the wall very badly at 25mg In August 2025, reinstated to 37.5mg September, recovered. Educated myself and discovered everything I’d experienced was withdrawals (vertigo, Disassociation, headaches, fatigue, apathy, suicidal ideation, watering eyes, increased pain, poor focus, grinding teeth, Anger, irritability, ) bought Mark Horowitz book, educated myself, set a better plan out, have been tapering again with Holds at different levels since October 2025, reductions of 5% every 2-4 weeks currently holding at 24mg for last 6 weeks. It’s a marathon. Happy to assist anyone.
Effexor — 22mg — 20+ years
10 Replies
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Community AnchorEffexor
Hi Jeremy! Welcome to the community.
Looks like youve been through quite the ringer of symptoms, your experience will be a great addition to the community. But happy you have found your way through all of the information to find something that works.
If you had one tip to share with the community that you learned in your taper process, what would it be?
Creator of Taper Community, here to help you.
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Community AnchorEffexor
Wise words my friend. Interested in your opinion on cross tapering to a long acting.
I went to go look in the Learn tab where the education module is, it says venlafaxine is substituted for fluoxetines longer dose. interested if you have experience with this.
Creator of Taper Community, here to help you.
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Community AnchorEffexor
Amazing, as they say, trust the process. All the best
Creator of Taper Community, here to help you.
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Catina6mo ago
Community AnchorEffexor
Hi Jeremy! Nice to have another Venlafaxine person on here. I also tapered it too fast and it nearly did me in. I had to updose back up to 37.5 mg and have been very slowly tapering it since. I'm planning on it taking a few more years.
I'm glad you have armed yourself with the correct knowledge and are able to continue in a safer manner.
I hope we can all support one another through this process! ❤️
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.
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Community AnchorEffexor
Well said Jeremy. I think thats a really good approach that sometimes is missed. Torture isnt necesary, you can go at whatever pace needed.
So 6 week hold, is this a pattern youve settled into or just the last cut?
Creator of Taper Community, here to help you.
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Community AnchorEffexor
Great work! Is the my taper function in the website good for this? If you have tips on improving for you, let me know
Creator of Taper Community, here to help you.
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