Hi, I am new here....well new to posting. I have been reading the boards for awhile but haven't posted until now. I started Effexor XR 10 days ago and I have decided to stop. I have been reading horrible things and it is scaring me. I know that I should give it a try and stay on it for a bit longer but I am afraid. I was on Celexa before this (for anxiety) and it didn't do anything for me. In fact it made it impossible for me to sleep which was very hard. I am wondering if I can just quit the Effexor cold turkey sine I have only been on it for 10 days. I took the 37.5 capsules for 7 days and then I have been taking the 75mg capsules for the last 3 days. Do I have to taper myself down or can I just quit since I haven't had it in my system for long? It will be easier for me to deal with my anxiety than to deal with all of the side effects from these different meds. I also have high blood pressure so I am afraid that it might keep going up while taking the Effexor. My doctor is monitoring it but it still worries me. I just want to feel normal!!! Any advice or suggestions will be much appreciated. Thanks so much.

Usually they say taper off.
But usually it is for a time longer than 10 days.
I would go back down to 37.5 and then maybe even split that in half after a week or so.

I talk smart though… what I actually did way quit cold turkey and had the dizziness, headaches and other stuff for a week or 2.

If you have problems with sleeping I think they say take it in the morning only.

Try and work with your doctor though.

I wish you the best.

Thanks very much for your reply. I haven't taken a pill for two days now and I am feeling fine. Maybe that is because I had only been on it for 10 days or maybe it is just because I haven't started to feel bad yet. I have an appointmnet with my doctor on Friday so I will see what she says.

I was taking Effexor for several months and quit taking it cold turkey. I didn't have any withdrawal symptoms at all. It actually worked pretty well for my anxiety (I still had Xanax as a back-up), but I didn't like the weight that I put on and the loss of interest in sex.