Nurse thought she knew better. CT
I want to share my experience because I knew better and still went through with too fast of a taper. Hopefully this prevents someone else from ending up where I did.
My psychiatrist had me drop from 75mg XR of v3nl@f@x1n3 to 37.5mg for just 2 weeks and then stop. That’s a 75mg cut in 3 weeks. The information in this group and from the admin was accurate, but even with my own nursing background and gut instincts, I ignored it and pushed ahead.
Within 24 hours of starting the reduction, I went into a full neuro-autonomic crisis. My blood pressure, normally in the 90s–110s, spiked into the 150s. My heart rate surged over 140. I had profuse sweating, tremors, hyperreflexia, and severe dizziness/vertigo. On top of that, my central nervous system began to fail — I couldn’t recall words, was repeating myself, couldn’t complete sentences, and at times I could type more easily than speak. It felt like my whole body was shutting down.
I was admitted to a progressive care unit (just below ICU) for stabilization and close monitoring. I required IV fluids, electrolyte replacement, benzodiazepines, and continuous observation until my system calmed down. The final diagnosis was severe v3nl@f@x1n3 withdrawal triggering autonomic instability and CNS involvement, compounded by my baseline POTS.
This was not “just feeling sick.” It was a life-threatening destabilization of my autonomic and central nervous systems. Please take tapering seriously. The slow schedules shared here are correct and exist to prevent exactly what happened to me. Even as a nurse, I underestimated the risks — and it landed me in the hospital, borderline ICU.
Don’t make the same mistake. Go slow.
