Posted , 6 users are following.
Hello,
I've been (very) slowly tapering down off venlafaxine 150mg. So far it has taken me a year and a half to reduce to 100mg. I would like to get off this drug as soon as possible but previous attempts at tapering more quickly have failed due to bad side-effects. Does anyone have any experience of using the prozac bridge method? Did it work or not work for you?
Many thanks,
Lucy
0 likes, 4 replies
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Jojocull lucy159
Posted
I'm on my second attempt and have made it through fast tapering from 150 down to 0 in two weeks. My journey has been nothing short of pure hell. I was advised by my psychiatrist not to take Prozac but i went against what he said as reading through the web it has been prescribed to so many people to help the withdrawal effects. I found for me they had no effect whatsoever so I never continued with them. Give it s go and see is all I can say. They may or may not have an effect. My psychiatrist also said that (and I wonder if he has a point) to not take anything else than the venlafaxine whilst coming off and then at the end have a wash out period of two days and then start my new antidepressant. I hope this helps. Keep in touch with me if you need support whilst coming down off them. There isn't enough of it!!
lucy159 Jojocull
Posted
Hi Jojo,
Sorry for taking so long to reply! How are you doing? I'm still at 100mg. How did it go in the weeks/months following you fast tapering down?
Lucy x
betsy0603 lucy159
Posted
First of all, I want to congratulate you on a proper job of slow-tapering down to 100 mg! I did a fast taper off 1 1/2 years ago and failed, 10 months out reinstating. I am now doing the ultra slow method, since having been on it for 12 years, my system will need a very long time to adapt back to life without.
I will send you a link from another forum that has a lot of good info about the Prozac Taper, some good and some bad. You can't just swtich from Ven to Prozac - a washout period of two days just won't cut it. You must introduce Prozac and do a taper off Ven, albeit faster than if you were doing just Ven. Some feel it is better to stay with the devil you know and continue slow-tapering off ven. You will still have to taper the Prozac, slowly, I might add. The Prozac does not make it magically possible to switch off Ven and then do a fast taper off Prozac. And Prozac can have withdrawal symptoms, too. So, you must weigh the pros and cons.
lucy159 betsy0603
Posted
Ah, thanks Betsy,
Apologies that It's taken me so long to reply. It sounds like maybe i should stick to Ven and keep tapering slowly x