SubEx

Myth check

Tapering venlafaxine slowly wasn't the part that held off relapse

Across 76 trials, a slow taper with talking support halved relapse, matching staying on. A slow taper alone did not clearly beat stopping abruptly. The support seems to be what made the difference.

Venlafaxine

People stopping venlafaxine hear the same advice: go slowly. Across 76 trials, slowness did protect people, but only when a taper of over four weeks came with talking support; that pairing halved relapse against abrupt stopping and matched staying on, while a slow taper alone did not clearly beat abrupt stopping. The trials measured relapse, not always told apart from withdrawal, and pooled venlafaxine with other antidepressants. The slowness may be the smaller half of what kept people well.

The findings behind this

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Mood & wellbeingA slow taper with support kept relapse as low as staying on the drug

Across 76 trials, tapering over more than four weeks with talking support halved relapse compared with stopping abruptly. A slow taper on its own did not clearly beat stopping abruptly.

★★★Well replicated — this finding’s sources average out to meta-analyses, systematic reviews or high-powered trials.The outcome is relapse, and in the underlying trials relapse was not reliably told apart from withdrawal. Slow means longer than four weeks, not the months-long schedules now advised. Venlafaxine was not separated from other antidepressants. The therapy comparison rests on two studies.Click to keep this openSupport moodVenlafaxine

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