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Suggest Ways To Deal With Withdrawal Symptoms Of Effexor

Posted on Tue, 25 Nov 2014

Question: I have been taking Effexor XR 150mg for 3 years. I have also been taking Lamitrogine 150mg for 1 year. I have unpleasant side effects from both. Effexor has caused mammoplasia and myoclonic jerks. Lamitrogine has caused increased mammoplasia. I have a prescription for 20mg of Celexa. Can I remove 20x beads per day from Effexor while starting on 10mg of Celexa? I do not want to go through the withdrawal symptoms of Effexor. My doctors instructions were to stop taking Effexor for 2 days then start Celexa. That doesn't seem like a good idea to me. I have read online that you can taper off of Effexor while taking Celexa. I want to stop the Effexor in a month- that is my reasoning for removing the beads of Effexor at a rate of x20 per day (day 1 remove 20 beads- day 2 remove 40 beads, etc). Right now I am on day 3 with removing 60 beads from 150mg of Effexor. I do feel the withdrawal effects. I feel sleepy, detached and a little anxious. If I can counteract this by taking half of my Celexa (10mg) I would rather do that.
As far as the Lamitrogine is concerned- I want off of that too. I have weaned down to 37.5. Taking a quarter of a 150mg pill.

Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (21 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
You you can do that

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query.
I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through.
I totally agree with you and the procedure you are following is good and this is called as cross taper. YOu reduced one medicine and meanwhile buildup another medicine. Instead of reducingthe beads, effexor may come in other strengths as well like 75 mg and 37.5 mg. However if these medicines are difficult to procure then what you are doing is good. But make sure that what ever beads you are taking, they should all be covered with a capsule.
Regarding lamotrigine, it can be stopped at 37.5 mg abruptly as it may not cause withdrawal side-effects at this small dosage.
Further while you are undergoing this cross taper, I would suggest that you augment cognitive behavioural therapy along with your medicines. This will help in keeping your medicine dosages low.
This therapy is taken by either a psychologist or a psychiatrist in which the therapist identifies impaired cognitions (Thoughts) and try to correct them. They are 15-20 min weekly session and there should be around 8-10 sessions to help you with your illness.
Hope I am able to answer your concerns.
If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you.
If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback.
In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link:
bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy

Wish you good health,
Kind regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Srikanth Reddy (4 minutes later)

Thanks you for your quick response.

Do you suggest starting with the 10mg of Celexa immediately, or 20mg (while tapering Effexor)? If you suggest 10mg, how long should I wait to increase to the full 20mg?

Yes, removing the beads is the easiest way for me. I do take the medication with the capsule intact.

Thank you for the suggestion regarding the Lamitrogine. I will discontinue tomorrow.

Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (2 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Celexa dosing

Detailed Answer:
Hello
You may start at 10 mg and then increase it to 20mg after a week and that should be sufficient. Celexa takes around 2 weeks to who its effects and that would be time you would be coming off venlafaxine totally.
Regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar