Coming off Venlafaxine.

Hi damian i tried 375mg for a few days but my mertazipine was a lot better for me with 300mg instead ... There is blno way i would come off my venlafaxine....i dont know why people mess up there medication by reducing it .... If its took you 375mg to feel ok i would not be reducing it i would of just stayed at that and jist kept taking it

Hi Damian, I am sure you have a perfectly good reason for wanting to come off your Ven.  I think you are experiencing withdrawal, especially if you feel this is out of character for you and there aren't actual realistic reasons to have these feelings.  In withdrawal, we experience what is termed "neuro emotions," emotions that come from the effects of withdrawal and not "Us."  I have definitely experienced this, both when I was in protracted withdrawal from Effexor, having come off too fast, and also while tappering, having reinstated and then going much slower to come off. 

The type of tapper you are doing is a bit too steep.  How many mgs are you on, now?  Working within the parameters of the tablet dosages we have access to unfortunately means the cuts are a bit too steep, especially as you get to the lower dosages.  Your nervous system doesn't notice 50% cuts as much when you are at the higher dosages, but at the lower dosages, your system really notices a 50% cut!  This is because at the minimum effective dose of 37.5 mg, your neuron receptor blockage is still 80%!  It's complicated, but to try to regain balance, our systems actually ADD receptors, so that is why we tend to have to keep raising the dose, an arms race of sorts.  SSRIs work by occupying the neuron receptors to prevent the neurons from resorbing serotonin, making it hang around in the gap longer.  

So, when you make cuts that start bringing you below 80%, your system starts to really notice the imbalance the cut creates.  This means we have to make cuts smaller the lower we go in dose.

It may be possible for you to get a liquid version of ven, which would make it easier to cut smaller than what is convenient with the tablets.  Some, myself included, go as far as to buy a jeweler's mg scale and weigh out our doses.  Ven withdrawal is one of the worst, so it is actually recommended to make 10% cuts of the previous dosage every 3 to 4 weeks.  It is important to feel stable before making the next cut.

I put together a post that has helpful links and resources for tappering, here:  

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/withdrawing-from-antidepressants-and-benzos-safely-485891?page=0#1809368

I hope this helps!