Suggest Ways To Manage Side Effects Of Stopping Effexor

Posted on Sun, 28 Dec 2014

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

Sun, 28 Dec 2014 Answered on

Fri, 16 Jan 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello, I'm a 27 year old male who has been on Effexor for a few years due to major depressive disorder. i have weaned myself off of 225 mg and am down to 37.5 mgs without many side effects. My new psychiatrist (since I moved away) had me take Lexapro along with the 37.5 mg of Effexor for a week and then had me drop the Effexor. Now I feel terrible and am sobbing and feel so depressed. What would be your recommendation as I know Effexor to be extremely difficult to get off of. Thank you in advance for your help. XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Manisha Gopal (42 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
effexor will be better in your case & not lexapro

Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX

I have read the query and I feel that there are few important points which you need to know apart from the medication you should be taking.
The main thing is that please dont be upset- you will definitely get back to normal self..this is just a temporary phase.

1. It is not a problem of weaning from effexor or withdrawal issue but you are having a relapse ( possibily due to drug change or may be a new stressor in life).

2. You have been keeping fine on effexor satisfactorically for past few years. This means that you have had a prominent anxiety component along with sadness. Escitalopram ( lexapro) is not a good choiceto control anxiety. Effexor has a better action in such cases.

So, ideally you should be on one drug- i.e. effexor - on its minimum effective dose suitable for your body and mind.

OR if you ( or your doctor) wants to step down to simpler and milder drug like lexapro- you should continue with 37.5 -75mg of effexor simultaneously. These two should continue for few months to may be an year. Thereafter one can reduce and stop effexor.

P.S. I would still recommend that you take only one drug i.e. effexor: at minimum effective dose coz--
Monotherapy is always better.
And also because you have tried zoloft and ativan in past without good results--suggesting that lexapro is not going to be a good choice.

Please talk to your doctor about the above points.
Feel free to ask more queries for clarification.

I hope the reply is useful for you.
Dr. Manisha Gopal
MD Neuropsychiatry

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