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Reducing doses

Posted , 5 users are following.

midgeo8
midgeo8

Hi guys. Bit of advice needed. How long between reducing doses. I've been on ven for about 5yrs. Gone down from 150 to 37.5. From reading your blogs I have discovered the little beads inside the capsul. There are three. I remove one and just take the two. How long should I leave it before I omit another? 

1 like, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • RICHARDJ1985
    RICHARDJ1985 midgeo8

    Posted

    I would talk to your doctor as they are the only ones that can give you the right advice, i know this is a discussion board but someone could give you the wrong advice.... No 2 people are the same even if takin the same tablets and it could result in overdose or death ... Honestly your doctor would be ur best bet x
    • midgeo8
      midgeo8 RICHARDJ1985

      Posted

      Thanx RICHARDJ1985. I want this drug out of my body, but my doctor wants me to stay on it for ever. I am fine, been fine for yrs. just want to get of Ven. It's done its job and I'm thankful. X
    • RICHARDJ1985
      RICHARDJ1985 midgeo8

      Posted

      Ah right a wish it would help me and am on 225mg but i have server anxiety with s phobia on top so am not good sad
    • Kit1981
      Kit1981 midgeo8

      Posted

      Hi.......although Richard makes a good point about always asking the doctor. I don't exactly agree with him. My doctor would have quite happily just let me take ven for however long I wanted without even a mention of reducing. In 3 years he never mentioned it. My bros doctor has let him take them for 15 years without trying to help him get off. I wanted to do it my way. I weaned myself off exactly how I needed and then I let the doctor know afterwards. I don't think a doctor would advise opening the capsule and splitting the beads? But it obviously works. I think you should do what YOU feel is working for you. When I was finally on 37.5 I kept that dose for about a month then I stopped taking altogether. Ive read that halfing 37.5 doesn't do anything so I didn't bother trying it. It was tough going but I've been off for 4 weeks now and I feel excellent. I think when you've been on these tablets for a while and you know how they work, it's fine to wean yourself off exactly how you need to.
    • midgeo8
      midgeo8 Kit1981

      Posted

      Exactly how I feel. Well done for getting off them, and you said it, you feel excellent. X
    • midgeo8
      midgeo8 RICHARDJ1985

      Posted

      i hope they find something to help you. Sending a big hug. X
    • midgeo8
      midgeo8

      Posted

      oooops wrong Pearson. Lol x
    • midgeo8
      midgeo8 RICHARDJ1985

      Posted

      hi, I hope they find something to help you. Sending a big hug. X
    • j17344
      j17344 Kit1981

      Posted

      I agree. Although they are doctors, they are not necessarily more educated on this topic than patients are. Make sure your doctor is knowledgeable about the subject (protracted venlafaxine withdrawal) before you take his/her advice.
  • betsy0603
    betsy0603 midgeo8

    Posted

    Hi Midge, 

    I've never heard of ven that only has three beads!  Mine has something like 40 or so for the 37.5 mg.

    You are at a dicey stage.  At 37.5 mg, your serotonin receptors are still blocked by about 80%.  At the highest doses, they are blocked by 95%, so not a huge amount of change has occured.   Dropping below 37.5 mg, small cuts cause huge drops in occupancy, causing big imbalances which mean withdrawal symptoms!

    Your nervous system needs to adapt back to operating on its own in the absence of the drug's action.  It down-regulated, slowing down serotonin production and paring back receptors, in an effort to regain homeostasis in the presence of the drug.  These changes are not quick to reverse.  It is best to do a 10% taper from here on out, because even 10% of the previous dose opens up a lot of receptors.

    That means switching to the immediate release version and making a liquid.  I know, it's a real pain in the butt.  If you only have three beads in your 37.5 mg, that is a 12.5 mg drop removing one, 33%, which will be pretty destabilizing.  If you get away with it, then when you drop another bead, that is actually a 50% cut as far as your nervous system is concerned!

    See the topic for Reducing ADs using a 10% withdrawal method in the following link:

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/depression-resources-298570

    It explains why doing a slow taper is so necessary.  Many people have done too fast tapers off Ven and failed after 6 months or so when the withdrawal hits hard and causes depression and anxiety, which everyone thinks is relapse but is really withdrawal.  After five years on the med, you deserve to succeed but will need to take this slow and carefully.

    I am reducing Ven. It is recommended to not cut more often than every 3-4 weeks, and only as long as you feel stable.

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