How Do I Decrease Dosage Of Effexor Before Starting Cipralex?

Posted on Wed, 4 Dec 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 4 Dec 2013 Answered on

Sun, 29 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I have been taking one 150 mg tablet of Effexor for about 4 years, and now must change to another antidepressant because the Effexor is no longer helping how do I decrease dosage and how long should. My body be free of Effexor before I start on Cipralex?

Answered by Dr. Pavan Kumar Gupta (1 hour later)

Brief answer...do the tapering of the drug very slowly,otherwise the withdrawl symptoms would be very nasty for you. Detailed answer... Hello, Thanks for the query. It is really very difficult to wean away from anti depressants like EFFEXOR,because it requires very strong desire and extreme patience. There are various ways to taper the drug slowly,like... Cut the pill by a pill cutter and reduce the dosage by 10% every one month or you can make a liquid of the drug and then reduce 10% every one month.All these methods have one problem,that you may not be able to reduce 10% in exact way every day. There is one other way by which weaning can be done quite easily. Start using EFFEXOR in capsule form One capsule of EFFEXOR 75 mg roughly had around 180 to 190 grains in it. You open the capsule and remove 2 grains from the capsule every day. If There are 360 grains in your 150 mg dose,it would take around 180 days ( 6 months ) to completely stop the Effexor. Once you stop Effexor,then you may decide either to start CIPRALEX or even may quit taking antidepressants. At the end,I would want to advise you that,you must discuss with your treating doctor and take him in your confidence,before resorting to withdraw yourself. I hope it helps,however you may revert to me for any further query. Best of luck Thanks

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