Seeking support and advice on Effexor 37.5mg taper

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Effexor (Venlafaxine)Support Symptoms & Self-Care Tapering

November 5, 2026

Hi everyone, I have been on Effexor since May 2024. I started on 70 mg (I think?) and eventually got down to 37.5. Which I think I’ve been on for over a year now. I decided to try to wean off of it as I wanted to see where my baseline is for my depression/despersonalization since I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress in my journey. My psychiatrist recommended I taper off of it by taking it every other day for 2 weeks. My last official dose on this taper was this past Sunday. So I’m on day 4 now. Yesterday, I felt so depersonalized and overwhelmed and I started crying. Today, depersonalization is better but I feel “flu-like” fatigue and getting electric shock feelings consistently throughout the day. This seems to be common from what I’ve seen. My psychiatrist and I said we can wait till Friday to see if we need to go back on it and slow down the taper. I feel like I’m in a pickle of wanting to go back on it to feel better, but also not wanting to lose the progress of these past 4 days of getting the Effexor out of my system. But I also am really physically active and enjoy lifting and running and I don’t want this taper to impact that more than it has. I would love and appreciate some support, experiences, success stories, advice— anything really.

Effexor — 37.5mg — 2 years, 5 months — completed taper | Wellbutrin — 300 — 6 years — supporting others

2 Replies

Geoff20h ago

WelcomerEffexor · active

Hi @Kyfi , let's start with the positive: great you are trying to get off Effexor and being physically active while doing so. That really helps to get your mind and body in a positive state. But sorry to read the advice your psy gave you. Coming off the 37.5 tablet in such a way is proven to give unwanted side-effects. Please read documentation on hyperbolic tapering here and other sources. Expect to take 1 year to get off the last 37.5 mg when doing hyperbolic tapering. Best!

Effexor : 150mg for 16 years — actively tapering: 70.7 - 69.54 mg.

Polly's Farm5h ago

Trusted VoiceTrintellix · researching

Hi @Kyfi , I'm sorry you're having such a hard time at the moment. I have to agree with Geoff above, skipping days is usually a bad idea. In order to minimise withdrawal symptoms it's best to reduce slowly and gradually. Dropping by 10% of the current dose every four weeks is good starting point, but you might have to make smaller reductions towards the end. If you click on "Resources", you can read about this method and why it works better, especially when someone has been taking a drug for a long time or at a high dose. It's great that you're so physically active! I think that'll really help you deal with symptoms. I hope you have a good doctor's appointment and feel confident in whatever decision you make.

Trintellix — 15mg — 4 years, 9 months — researching taper | Risperdal — 0.25mg — 4 years, 9 months — actively tapering | Depakine — 1000mg — 12 years — supporting others | with clinician

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