Withdrawal Symptoms after Serotonin-Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitor Discontinuation: Systematic Review
Worth asking your prescriber, before starting or stopping venlafaxine, what the tapering plan would look like and how to tell withdrawal symptoms apart from a returning depression or anxiety.
Suggestive but preliminary. Not settled. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: Included evidence is mixed (RCT discontinuation phases, open trials, and case reports), so withdrawal incidence for venlafaxine cannot be precisely quantified; design scored conservatively as a review including observational data.
A systematic review of 61 reports (including 22 double-blind randomized trials) found withdrawal symptoms after stopping any SNRI, occurring most often with venlafaxine, typically starting within days and lasting weeks — and appearing even with gradual tapering.
Worth asking
Worth asking your prescriber, before starting or stopping venlafaxine, what the tapering plan would look like and how to tell withdrawal symptoms apart from a returning depression or anxiety.
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Major depressive disorder
- Generalized anxiety disorder (extended-release only)
- Social anxiety disorder (extended-release only)
- Panic disorder (extended-release only)
Source
Withdrawal Symptoms after Serotonin-Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitor Discontinuation: Systematic Review — Fava GA, et al. (2018)
Reputable peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1159/000491524
DOI: 10.1159/000491524
How this was scored
- Study design
- Systematic review of observational studies
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
- Published in
- Reputable peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- not recorded
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- No
- Independent of proponent
- not recorded
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "early signal". Suggestive but preliminary. Not settled. It scores 52 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: Included evidence is mixed (RCT discontinuation phases, open trials, and case reports), so withdrawal incidence for venlafaxine cannot be precisely quantified; design scored conservatively as a review including observational data. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Withdrawal Symptoms after Serotonin-Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitor Discontinuation: Systematic Review — Fava GA, et al. (2018). Published in: Reputable peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1159/000491524. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Systematic review of observational studies. Funding: Funding not disclosed. Independence from the proponent is not recorded. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is venlafaxine (Effexor), effexor FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Major depressive disorder, Generalized anxiety disorder (extended-release only), Social anxiety disorder (extended-release only), Panic disorder (extended-release only). Approval is for a specific indication, not for everything the drug is prescribed for.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.