When a patient has difficulty getting off venlafaxine

Venlafaxine appears to be associated with a greater incidence of moderate-to-severe discontinuation (“withdrawal”) symptoms than at least some SSRIs, e.g., sertraline (Sir et al., 2005). In some cases, repeated attempts to slowly taper and stop venlafaxine don’t work because significant discontinuation symptoms occur when the final, low dose of venlafaxine is stopped. For example, a…